University to celebrate new initiative for African-American research April 29

The University of South Carolina community and the public are invited to celebrate an initiative for the Institute for African American Research Tuesday, April 29, in the university’s Thomas Cooper Library.

The 3:30 p.m. event, to be held in the Graniteville Room on the library’s mezzanine level, will feature a short program, reception and tours of the institute, located on the library’s second floor. To attend, call 803-777-4472, or send an e-mail to fairf@mailbox.sc.edu.

Speaking at the event will be Dr. Daniel Littlefield, institute director and history professor; Dr. Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; and Dr. Patrick Scott, director of rare books and special collections in university libraries.

The institute will provide additional research to that done by the university’s African American Studies Program, further enhancing the scholarly study and public understanding of race and black life in South Carolina and the Southeast as well as the United States and broader African Diaspora.

“The new Institute for African American Research reaffirms the university’s commitment to encouraging and supporting research on the African-American experience and highlighting South Carolina’s unique relationship to African-American culture and history,” Littlefield said. “It will serve as a forum in which to bring together diverse faculty across campus who study various topics that relate to African Americans and also be an effective means to attract and retain concerned scholars from around the nation.”

The Institute for African American Research will do the following:

• sponsor ongoing research projects that provide an opportunity for multi-discipline collaboration;
• help develop new research proposals and initiatives that enhance public understanding;
• attract and retain scholarly expertise in the study of black life and encourage junior scholars by sponsoring post-doctoral fellowships;
• sponsor and co-sponsor research symposia and conferences geared toward public understanding;
• assist in the publication of monographs and reports that result from scholarly activity; and
• encourage training of graduate students through their involvement in research initiatives.