Gloria Chuku: 2020-21 Lipitz Professor in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

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Toyin Falola

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May 8, 2020, 12:37:04 PM5/8/20
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A big congratulations to our own Gloria Chuku…the release by the Dean of her college:

 

 

2020-21 Lipitz Professor in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

 

Dear colleagues,

 

I am delighted to announce that Professor Gloria Chuku, of the Department of Africana Studies, has been named the Lipitz Professor of the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences for 2020-21. This professorship is supported by an endowment created by Roger C. Lipitz and the Lipitz Family Foundation "to recognize and support innovative and distinguished teaching and research in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County."

Dr. Chuku is a historian with nearly three decades of experience as a scholar, teacher, and leader. Her scholarship broadly examines the history and culture of the Igbo people, one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria (Africa’s most populous country). Dr. Chuku’s signature strength is her intellectual dexterity: she has adroitly used her deep knowledge of Igbo culture as a foundation from which to develop seminal and widely cited monographs on ethno-nationalism, gender, economics, decolonization, conflict, and African-centered epistemological traditions. She has published three books (with a fourth due out shortly) and more than three dozen book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles, and has presented her work through more than 63 refereed conference presentations and 48 invited lectures, symposia, or keynote addresses. Her research is internationally renowned for its innovation, methodological rigor, and critical intersectional analysis. She has received funding support for her research from UMBC, the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad grant, the West African Research Association, the Dresher Center for the Humanities, and the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa. 

Dr. Chuku’s publications have increasingly appeared as part of the canon of interdisciplinary historical literature in universities in Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and South Korea. In 2017 she received the prestigious Ali Mazrui Award for Scholarship and Research Excellence, an international award that recognizes a pre-eminent scholar of African studies for their research and scholarly achievement, becoming the first woman to receive this award. In 2018 she organized an international conference at UMBC on the history and legacy of women’s roles in the Nigeria-Biafra War, bringing to campus internationally renowned scholars and activists from Africa, Germany, England, Canada, and the United States.

Throughout her career Dr. Chuku has held positions of leadership within her field, notably as president and vice president of the Nigerian Studies Association and as a member of numerous advisory boards for journals and scholarly presses. Since 2016 she has served as Chair of UMBC’s Department of Africana Studies. She has revived UMBC’s participation in the Model African Union, a national student simulation conference, and has created the annual Taste of Africa event for the UMBC community. Dr. Chuku’s service to the UMBC community is wide-ranging and deep, including on the coordinating committees for Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies and the Language, Literacy, and Culture Doctoral Program and the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary Activities.

As the Lipitz Professor, Dr. Chuku will carry out research for her new book project, Becoming Igbo in Nigeria and the Diaspora: A History of Ethnic Identity Formation and Negotiation.

Please join me in congratulating Gloria Chuku on this well-deserved recognition!

With best wishes,

Scott E. Casper

Dean, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences / Professor of History

University of Maryland, Baltimore County / 1000 Hilltop Circle / Baltimore, MD 21250

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Additional Information

 

Gloria Chuku is the first Black faculty to receive this award.

 

Previous Lipitz Professors have been Professors Carlo DiClemente, John Sturgeon, Thomas Field, James Grubb, Leslie Morgan, Raphael Falco, Linda Dusman, Devin Hagerty, Shari Waldstein, Anne Sarah Rubin, Carole McCann, Dan Bailey, and Jessica Berman. 

 

Gloria Emeagwali

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May 8, 2020, 12:42:46 PM5/8/20
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Hearty congratulations to 
Gloria Chuku.


GE



On May 8, 2020, at 12:37 PM, Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:


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Harrow, Kenneth

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May 8, 2020, 12:42:47 PM5/8/20
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lovely to read!
congrats to prof chuku on this important position
ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu


From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu>
Sent: Friday, May 8, 2020 12:35 PM
To: dialogue <USAAfric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Gloria Chuku: 2020-21 Lipitz Professor in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
 
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Moses Ebe Ochonu

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May 8, 2020, 12:58:15 PM5/8/20
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Congratulations to Professor Gloria Chuku. She is a first rate scholar and she is a wonderful program builder and scholarly collaborator. A richly deserved honor.

Femi Segun

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May 8, 2020, 1:21:47 PM5/8/20
to 'Chika Onyeani' via USA Africa Dialogue Series
Congratulations, Prof Gloria Chuku. 

Anthony Akinola

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May 8, 2020, 1:21:47 PM5/8/20
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Ayo Olukotun

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May 8, 2020, 5:47:29 PM5/8/20
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Absolutely inspiring Congratulations to Prof Gloria Chukwu  The cap fits

OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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May 8, 2020, 5:47:29 PM5/8/20
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Felicitations with Professor Gloria Chukwu on this well earned recognition.

OAA



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Bola Dauda

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May 8, 2020, 5:47:29 PM5/8/20
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Congratulations Professor Chuku for this well deserved award. I wish you a productive tenure and all the best for the future. Bola Dauda
From: Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu>
Sent: 08 May 2020 16:35
To: dialogue <USAAfric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Gloria Chuku: 2020-21 Lipitz Professor in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
 

Okey Iheduru

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May 8, 2020, 5:47:29 PM5/8/20
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Congratulations, Gloria for ceaselessly making us proud!

Okey Iheduru

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Ezinwanyi Adam

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May 8, 2020, 5:47:29 PM5/8/20
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Hearty congratulations to Prof. Gloria Chuku. A deserving honor indeed. More honors to come as hardwork always pays off.

Warmest regards,
Ezinwanyi

Adeshina Afolayan

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May 8, 2020, 5:47:29 PM5/8/20
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A huge huge congratulations, dear Professor Gloria Chuku!


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segun ogungbemi

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May 8, 2020, 6:25:36 PM5/8/20
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Congratulations Dr. Chuku. We are proud of you. 
Segun Ogungbemi

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Nimi Wariboko

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May 8, 2020, 6:38:16 PM5/8/20
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Congratulations, Gloria. I am so proud of you. More blessings.

Nimi Wariboko 

On May 8, 2020, at 6:25 PM, segun ogungbemi <segun...@gmail.com> wrote:



Michael Afolayan

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May 8, 2020, 10:19:47 PM5/8/20
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Congratulations are in order on Prof. Chuku's achievement. May this be a launching pad to greater glories. We are proud of such mammoth accomplishment!

Michael O. Afoláyan




Gloria Chuku

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May 8, 2020, 10:40:28 PM5/8/20
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Thank you all for your kindness and warm wishes. I couldn’t have done it without your collective support.
In solidarity,
Gloria 

Sent from my iPhone

On May 8, 2020, at 10:19 PM, 'Michael Afolayan' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



Uyilawa Usuanlele

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May 8, 2020, 10:52:01 PM5/8/20
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Congrats Prof. Chukwu. More feathers to your cap/headtie.
Uyi 


From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Gloria Emeagwali <gloria.e...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, May 8, 2020 12:40 PM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Gloria Chuku: 2020-21 Lipitz Professor in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
 

Chikwendu Ukaegbu

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May 8, 2020, 11:09:20 PM5/8/20
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Hi GLORY. Cheers & Congrats for a job well done. You deserve it,

Chris Ukaegbu


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Ademola Dasylva

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May 9, 2020, 3:44:17 AM5/9/20
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Hearty congratulations, Prof! The reward of hardwork is more work. This is a well deserved recognition and Award. More grace to your efforts. Again, congratulations!

Prof. Ademola Omobewaji Dasylva, FNAL.
Professor of African Literature, Oral Poetics & Performance;
Coordinator, Ibadan Cultural Studies Group (ICSG);
Chairman, Board, & Convener, TOFAC (International);
Recipient, 2009 Distinguished Africanist Award for Research Excellence, University of Texas at Austin, USA;
Recipient, 2019 Asante Award for Outstanding Research in African Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, USA.
Rm. 68, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
+234(0)802 350 4755

   

Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju

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May 9, 2020, 3:44:18 AM5/9/20
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gnuzoigwe

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May 9, 2020, 11:32:37 AM5/9/20
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Cornelius Hamelberg

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May 9, 2020, 12:53:39 PM5/9/20
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Sweet Congratulations to Professor Gloria Chukwu !

Dompere, Kofi Kissi

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May 9, 2020, 3:24:10 PM5/9/20
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OH GREAT CONGRATULATIONS TO PROFESSOR  GLORIA CHUKU. KEEP UP

KOFI

 

From: 'Chikwendu Ukaegbu' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Friday, May 08, 2020 11:08 PM
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Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Gloria Chuku: 2020-21 Lipitz Professor in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

 

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Michael Vickers

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May 9, 2020, 3:24:10 PM5/9/20
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Oh Gloria, 
I am so very pleased for you. A well-earned honour. 
From the start of my active re-engagement in Nigeria and Africa Studies, back in 2008, and that unforgettable Afigbo Celebration Conference at Nsukka, you have been a steady participant/ a quiet part of that important process. Your work has been prodigious/ varied/ engaging/ revealing/ informative. And I note there are several firsts in this your most recent achievement. 

And in a very selfish way, you provide yet more proof of what I continue to stress is the great and steady Light that Africa folk and Africa Women bring to this our world/ indeed a Light that will one day illumine the final steps to the Civil Commons that we can see today when we allow ourselves the time to stop and recognise the direction of great promise that we are travelling. Your spirit, along with those of other special pioneer folk selected by the Creator--many, along with you, being members of the "Falola Family of Progressive World Spirit and Humane Commitment"--to be in that vanguard that is taking us forward, and into that world that exists within us all--given finally the chance, and the Creator's opportunity. You are there. One of those who is leading the way. 

Of your many works, I have clear and special memories of that draft you passed me re your work on another important vanguard person; yes Mbonu Ojike--the Boycott King. I had long known about his various amazing liberation feats in Nigeria -- along with such stellar performers as the Great Nduka Eze, and of course JIG Onyia. You opened my eyes to what huge strides he achieved in the 1940s during his "Activism Days" in America. He took it and them all on. And opened many eyes and minds, that were forced to recognise, that Africans had much to offer to a world that had a much broader/ deeper/ indeed passionate reach than the poor old whiteman clanging on with his ever more amazing machines and inventions was able/ had time to grasp. 

Mbonu shocked his audiences by explaining how Africa folk could maintain an active and fiery spirit and humanism, AND at the same time, probe ever deeper into the mechanics and productive processes of the material and cognitive world with which America and Euro folk of that time--and still are--grappling. He caused many an audience to depart his Meetings throughout the US, scratching their heads/ the more perceptive of them recognising that Mbonu was providing persuasive evidence that these Africa folk were in fact easily well ahead of the cold, hard-working and dead serious Whiteman. For Mbonu demonstrated how the Cognitive, the Techno-material, could be ignited and carried by a powerful engine of Light and Spirit within. ...We lost him so young. A great tragedy. But what a powerful message he opened to folk at the centre of the evolving modern world--the Americans. ...It was a wondrous and magical feat, achieved by one, who lived the life of the Horizon Future, of which we now talk, and many see as increasingly close to their grasp. 

Prof Gloria Chuku, is the articulator of that spirit embodied by Ojike. I could immediately sense this. And very simply;  to do this, you must be a part of/ you must have within, the power/ the force of that spirit/ the Joy of that Great One. ...Gloria will continue in her outer quiet way. But within? So much is bursting to get out. For Igbo and for Africa peoples, Gloria possesses the heart and mind, the being of greatness, that allows us to grasp and more fully to understand, just how much Ojike, for one, brought to the awareness, deep within, of those of us who comprise that larger world of which we are all members--many young of heart and spirit, just awaiting their release to carry them far forward into that world of equity and achievement, about which Prof Chuku, will be the one to guide them. ...Lucky students of UMBC. 

Well done, Gloria. We are all celebrating your achievement. And look forward to the even greater things that will come. 

Our Sussex Spring garden after a recent freak Hail-Storm
image1.JPG

Love, Baba m


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Bisi Falola

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May 9, 2020, 5:44:35 PM5/9/20
to Gloria Chuku, Charles Kader, DOYIN AGUORU, Disawin Ballard, EC Zelenak, Eugenia Herbert, Jane BUNTING, Marilyn Cook, Marion Cumming, Michael Vickers, Oladipupo Adamolekun, Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso, PROF Nana A AMPONSAH, Prof Toja OKOH, Remi SONAIYA, Robert Lee, S Omo UWAIFO, Toyin FALOLA, Toyin Falola, dialogue, ffa...@gmail.com, mafo...@yahoo.com, profbayo...@yahoo.com
Hello and congratulations to you my dear sister and prof. Greater heights in your future. Very proud of you
Thanks Baba m.
With much love,
Bisi

On Sat, May 9, 2020 at 4:04 PM Gloria Chuku <ch...@umbc.edu> wrote:
Dear Baba M,

What a sweet congratulatory message! It is emotional, philosophical and humbling. Thank you so much for your support. I will forever cherish it. It gladdens my heart to know that you are well and safe. Please take care.
Warmest regards,
Gloria

--
Gloria Chuku, PhD
Professor and Chair of Africana Studies
Affiliate Professor of Gender & Women's Studies
Affiliate Professor of Language, Literature & Culture PhD Program
Specialty Areas: African History, African Women & Gender Studies
University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Chiedo Nwankwor

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May 11, 2020, 8:01:20 AM5/11/20
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Dear Dr Chuku,

Congratulations on well- deserved honor!!! 

Chichi 

Sent from my iPhone

On May 8, 2020, at 10:40 PM, Gloria Chuku <gcla...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thank you all for your kindness and warm wishes. I couldn’t have done it without your collective support.

tunde jaiyeoba

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May 11, 2020, 8:01:21 AM5/11/20
to Gloria Chuku, usaafric...@googlegroups.com, Charles Kader, DOYIN AGUORU, Disawin Ballard, EC Zelenak, Eugenia Herbert, Jane BUNTING, Marilyn Cook, Marion Cumming, Michael Vickers, Oladipupo Adamolekun, Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso, PROF Nana A AMPONSAH, Prof Toja OKOH, Remi SONAIYA, Robert Lee, S Omo UWAIFO, Toyin FALOLA, Toyin Falola, ffa...@gmail.com, mafo...@yahoo.com, profbayo...@yahoo.com
Congratulations Prof Gloria for this great achievement !!!

Wish you more successes and academic laurels and a special Divine Grace for success in this one!!!



Babatunde JAIYEOBA





















Prof. E. Babatunde JAIYEOBA PhD
Head, Department of Architecture
Faculty of Environmental Design and Management
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria


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Chika Okeke-Agulu

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May 11, 2020, 9:28:46 PM5/11/20
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Congratulations, Lipitz professor!

yobanwo

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May 12, 2020, 9:15:46 AM5/12/20
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CONGRATULATIONS! Prof. Gloria Chuku!



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