Faculty and Staff
Program Coordinator
Jack Mangala
Professor
Ph.D., Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium
Africana Studies
Areas of Interest: Migration, Diaspora Engagement Policy, Global Governance
(616) 331-8512
101 Lake Ontario Hall
[email protected]
Core Faculty
Steeve O. Buckridge
Professor
Ph.D., Ohio State University
History Department
Area and Global Studies
Areas of Interest: African History, Caribbean History, Material Culture, Gender and Sexuality
(616) 331-8550
105 Lake Ontario Hall
[email protected]
Jack Mangala
Professor
Ph.D., Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium
Africana Studies
Areas of Interest: Migration, Diaspora Engagement Policy, Global Governance
(616) 331-8512
101 Lake Ontario Hall
[email protected]
Richard Yidana
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Binghamton University-State University of New York
Area and Global Studies
Sociology Department
Areas of Interest: Social Movements, Anticolonial and National Liberation Movements (Africa & the African Diaspora), Development & Culture (Africa, Asia, and Latin America), Ethno-Nationalism and Social Change (Developing World)
(616) 331-3183
2156 Au Sable Hall
[email protected]
Affiliate Faculty
Dianne Green-Smith
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Loyola University-Chicago
School of Social Work
Areas of Interest: Therapy with families and children, couples therapy, parenting groups, pregnancy and infant adoption, chronic health issues, and marriage preparation, HIV / AIDS education and counseling with a special emphasis on sub-Saharan African immigrant women
(616) 331-6565
367-C Richard M. DeVos Center
[email protected]
Sherry Johnson
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison
English Department
Areas of Interest: 19th & 20th Century African-American Literature, Neo-Slave Narratives, Diasporic Black Women’s Writing, 19th & 20th Century African-American Visual Culture, Multicultural Literature, Rhetoric of Multiculturalism
(616) 331-2385
248 Lake Huron Hall
[email protected]
Louis Moore
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of California, Davis
History Department
Areas of Interest: African American History, Sports History, Gender History
(616) 331-2852
D-1-114 Mackinac Hall
[email protected]
Rachel Peterson
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of Michigan
Liberal Studies Department
Areas of Interest: Liberal Studies
(616) 331-8151
319 Lake Ontario Hall
[email protected]
Dwayne Tunstall
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Philosophy Department
Areas of Interest: How Africana philosophy, existential phenomenology, moral philosophy, religious ethics, and classical American philosophy can complement one another when thinking about issues of moral agency, personal identity, race, and the legacy of Western modernity
(616) 331-3415
B-3-211 Mackinac Hall
[email protected]
Ayana Weekley
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of Minnesota
Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Areas of Interest: Race, Gender, and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic, Black Feminist Studies, and Periodical Studies
(616) 331-8173
215 Lake Ontario Hall
[email protected]
Olivia A. Williams
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Michigan State University
College of Education and Community Innovation
Areas of Interest: Cross Cultural Cross Racial Friendship in Middle School, Blacks (A/A; Caribbean; African) in schools, Non-traditional families (same gender parents; teen parents; grandparents raising grandchildren) in schools, Desegregation-Re-segregation of U.S. Schools, and Urban Education
(616) 331-6610
428-C Richard M. DeVos Center
[email protected]
Faculty Emerita
Veta Tucker
Professor Emeritus of English and Africana Studies
Ph.D., University of Michigan
Veta taught early American and African American literature, Africana Studies and Black Women's History at GVSU for 19 years