David Wiley was one of the founders of the Association of African Studies Programs and has actively participated in AASP policy making and planning. He initiated many of the organization’s policies of inclusion and has consistently worked to encourage participation in the organization by Africanists from institutions with small African studies programs. He served as the director of the Michigan State African Studies Center for many years and before that he was the African Studies Center director at the University of Wisconsin. He has also served as the president of the African Studies Association and as the co-chairperson of the Council of Directors of Title VI National Resource Centers. He is an active scholar in the field of sociology and has conducted extensive research in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. He is the author of Southern Africa: Society, Economy and Liberation (with Allen Isaacman), Group Portrait: International Education in the Academic Disciplines (with S. Groennings), The Third World: Africa (with M. Crofts), Africa on Film and Videotape, African Language Instruction in the United States: Directions and Priorities for the 1980s (with D.Dwyer), and Academic Analysis and U.S. Foreign Policy-Making on Africa (with M. Bratton and L. Bowman). His Ph.D. in sociology is from Princeton University. He also holds a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University.

The Association of African Studies Programs’
David Wiley Travel Awards
Application deadline: New extended deadline February 8, 2009
Award notification: February 22, 2009

Description: The two David Wiley Travel awards were established by the Association of African Studies Programs (AASP - http://aasp.asrc.cornell.edu ) of the United States at its annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in April 2008 to honor David Wiley’s contribution to the association. The annual awards, of no more than $ 500 each, are designed to encourage and support new members to attend AASP’s spring annual meetings.

Eligibility: Any Dean, Director, Chairperson, Committee Head, or individual who is responsible for organizing or leading an African Studies program at his or her college or university not currently a member of AASP and who has not attended an AASP spring meeting in the last 2 years is eligible to apply.

How to apply: Submissions should include: (1) a current CV; (2) a brief description of the following: (a) type of institution (for example, 4 yr, 2 year, public, private, HBCU, non-profit, other (specify) institution (list all that apply)); (b) the state of African Studies on applicant’s campus; (c) applicant’s current and or expected involvement with his or her institution’s African Studies program; (d) brief description of how beneficial applicant’s participation at the spring meeting of AASP will be to home institution; (3) estimate of costs of attending.

For the 2009 AASP Spring Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., March 26 to 28, 2009, please submit your travel award request by February 8, 2009 to Alexandra de Montrichard, Former AASP Chair, at ademontrichard@fivecolleges.edu with the subject “David Wiley Travel Awards.” Alternatively applications can be faxed to 413-577-3781 or mailed to AASP David Wiley Travel Awards, c/o Alexandra de Montrichard, Five College African Studies, 706 Herter Hall, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003. A committee of three AASP members, including the former chair, will review the applications and select recipients.

Award Notification and reimbursement: Awards recipients will be notified by February 22, 2009 and award checks will be distributed at the AASP Spring conference. Failure to attend the spring meeting will forfeit any winner’s claim to the award.