ASC Welcomes New Director, Amb. (ret.) Mark Storella
To the Scholars, Staff, Affiliates and Friends of BU’s African Studies Center:
It is a great honor to succeed Michael Woldemariam as Director of Boston University’s African Studies Center. ASC is the jewel in the crown of the Pardee School of Global Studies and is a national resource for African language training, documentation, research publication and outreach.
I join you with humility and excitement — humbled to be in the company of some of the most eminent Africa scholars in the nation and excited to get to work to help bolster ASC’s important contributions.
As a former diplomat serving in Africa, working on issues that span the continent and as a former dean of the State Department’s leadership school, I am convinced that a deep understanding of countries, cultures, and regions is the foundation of any effective approach to our global challenges. Our leading African languages program is a flagship in preparing generations of scholars and practitioners. ASC’s interdisciplinary collaboration across the university is one of ASC’s signal strengths. At this juncture in American history, the African Studies Center’s vocation in preparing K-16 educators to teach about Africa and Africans’ many contributions to our national life is all the more vital.
As we prepare to celebrate ASC’s 70th anniversary in 2023, I look forward to supporting ASC’s work and to getting to know all of you. I wish you all a great summer.
Cheers,
Ambassador Mark C. Storella (ret.)
Director, African Studies Center
Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy
Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies
Boston University
