News | Academics

How 4 faculty helped create Columbia’s first African American and African Diaspora studies department

By Caroline Dailey / Senior Staff Photographer

Scholars of African-American history have found their way to Columbia and to IRAAS in different ways, but one thread remains constant: the draw of a community of passionate leaders.

By Shubham Saharan and Madison Andrus • February 25, 2019 at 8:12 AM

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Photo by Caroline Dailey / Senior Staff Photographer

Frank Guridy, an associate professor in the history department, specializes in the history of the African Diaspora in the Americas.

Photo by Lula O'Donnell / Griffin presented at the Forum when the Senate voted unanimously to approve a new African American and African Diaspora studies department.

Photo by Anna Beloborodova / Columbia Daily Spectator

The Forum, while relatively small in stature, is a central part of the University's plan to create an open and community-centered campus that showcases Columbia’s outward-facing goals.