A gift of $500,000 that’s rooted in reparations and recognizes the powerful contributions being made by the Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS) toward racial and social justice will benefit the students and faculty for generations to come.
The Adrian Dominican Sisters, a Catholic congregation of more than 400 Dominican sisters and 200 laypeople headquartered in Adrian, Michigan, gifted the money to create student scholarships within AAAS and to support AAAS faculty with student engagement initiatives.
“We looked at all Michigan institutions of higher education and what kind of programs they had for Black studies or African American studies, and it was MSU’s program that jumped out at us as being the most dynamic, interesting, alive, committed, and unequivocally, unabashedly unapologetic about Black Lives Matter,” says Sister Elise D. García, prioress of the congregation. “We were so struck by the integrated approach of all the different elements that are being taught and are part of the department. It aligns with our sense as Dominicans of the integration of study, community, prayer and ministry in justice. MSU’s program was the one we were drawn to and wanted to support.”
AAAS is the newest department within MSU’s College of Arts & Letters. In 2022, the department launched the Bachelor of Arts in African American and African studies and celebrated the opening of its new space on the second floor of North Kedzie Hall.
Visit the College of Arts & Letters to learn more about the Department of African and African American Studies and the impact of this gift.
LEARN MORE about support for the College of Arts & Letters by contacting Senior Director of Development Christine Radtke at radtkech@msu.edu or by calling (517) 432-6693.