Generations of OU students majoring in African and African-American Studies will benefit from the generosity of donors who give to the Raymond Gary Memorial Scholarship program.

 

Students in OU’s African and African-American Studies Program are immersed in a rigorous academic program and taught by outstanding faculty members from a variety of disciplines.  The program focuses on the historical, political, economic, social, religious and artistic experiences of Blacks in the United States, Africa, Latin America and Europe.

 

Since 2002, the program has seen a surge in the number of majors and students enrolled in classes.  The vitality of student activities and the diversity and strength of the faculty have improved.  More than 700 students of all races and ethnic backgrounds enroll in the program’s courses each semester, and more than 40 current students have declared African and African-American Studies as their major.  Forty more students are earning a minor in the program.

 

Faculty members appointed directly to the program include scholar-teachers with terminal degrees from Temple, Yale and Duquesne Universities.  Other faculty members who teach in the program come from journalism, art, human relations, social work, history, political science and English.  An outstanding group of adjunct professors includes Melvin Hall, an attorney and former member and chair of the OU Board of Regents, and Tibor Nagy, former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia.

 

Outreach activities include relationships with the Ralph Ellison Library in Oklahoma City, schools in Oklahoma City and Norman, the Norman YMCA and the Fifth Street Baptist Church.  Recent events open to the university community and the public have included a performance and master class by Chuck Davis, a top African dance choreographer, and lectures by an acclaimed filmmaker and an accomplished actor.  The director of the program has been involved in community events each year to honor Martin Luther King Day, including a recent tribute to Rosa Parks.

 

The program also plays an important role when speakers come to campus.  Visiting dignitaries from Ethiopia, Liberia, South Africa and several American cities have been hosted by program faculty and students.

 

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