Our People

​Jean Allman

• Emeritus J.H. Hexter Professor in the Humanities
• Professor Emerita of African and African American Studies, History (Affiliate), and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (Affiliate)

• E-mail: jallman@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-9599 (History); 314-935-5576 (Center for the Humanities)

Marlon M. Bailey

• Professor of African and African American Studies, Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Faculty Affiliate in the Performing Arts Department and the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Equity
• Associate Chair Co-Director of Graduate Studies

• E-mail: b.marlon@wustl.edu

​​John Baugh

• Professor of Psychology, Anthropology, Education, English, Linguistics, and African and African-American Studies

• E-mail: jbaugh@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-5960

​Iver Bernstein​

• Professor of History, African and African-American Studies, and American Culture Studies

• E-mail: icbernst@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-5401

​J. Dillon Brown

• Associate Professor of English

• E-mail: jdbrown@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-9241

Sheretta Butler-Barnes

• Associate Professor of Social Work

• E-mail: SBARNES22@WUSTL.EDU
• Phone: 314-935-8318

Kia Lilly Caldwell

• Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Diversity
• Professor of African & African American Studies Courtesy joint appointment at the Brown School of Social Work

• E-mail: c.kia@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-5068

Carol Camp Yeakey

• Professor of Education, Urban Studies, International and Area Studies, African and African American Studies, and American Culture Studies
• Founding Director of the Center on Urban Research & Public Policy and the Interdisciplinary Program in Urban Studies

• E-mail: cyeakey@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-6241

Rudolph Clay

• Head of Library Diversity Initiatives & Outreach
• Senior Lecturer in African American Studies AFAS Subject Librarian

• E-mail: rudolphc@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-5059

Adrienne Davis

• William M. Van Cleve Professor of Law
• Vice Provost of the University

• E-mail: adriennedavis@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-8583

Ashley Dennis

• Past Postdoctoral Fellow, AFAS '22-'23

El Hadji Samba Amadou Diallo

• Senior Lecturer in African and African American Studies

• E-mail: ediallo@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-8741

​Gerald Early

• ​Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters
• Professor of African & African American Studies & English

• E-mail: glearly@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-4008

Lauren Eldridge Stewart

• Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology
• Performing Arts Department (Affiliate) Department of African and African-American Studies (Affiliate)

• E-mail: leldridgestewart@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-5581

Rowhea Elmesky

• Interim Chair of Education
• Associate Professor of Education

• E-mail: relmesky@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-7581

Jonathan​ Fenderson

• ​Associate Professor of African and African American Studies
• (On sabbatical Fall/Spring '24-'25)

• E-mail: jfender@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-8739

Ron Himes

• Henry E. Hampton, Jr. Artist-in-Residence

• E-mail: RHimes@wustl.edu

Justin A. Joyce

• Senior Publications Editor / Managing Editor, James Baldwin Review

• E-mail: j.a.joyce@wustl.edu
• Phone: 3149355631

David Kirkman

• Artist-in-Residence

Esther Viola Kurtz

• Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology

• E-mail: ekurtz@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-5581

Seanna Leath

• Assistant Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences
• Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Affiliated Faculty

• E-mail: leath@wustl.edu

Zachary Manditch-Prottas

• Lecturer in African and African American Studies and American Culture Studies
• (On sabbatical Fall '24)

• E-mail: zmanditch-prottas@wustl.edu

Raven Maragh-Lloyd

• Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies and Film and Media Studies

• E-mail: lloydr@wustl.edu

William J. Maxwell

• Professor of English and African and African American Studies

• E-mail: wmaxwell@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-5579

Thembelani (Themba) Mbatha

• Assistant Professor of African & African American Studies
• Assistant Professor (Courtesy Affiliation), English

• E-mail: mbatha@wustl.edu

Dwight A. McBride

• Gerald Early Distinguished Professor of African & African American Studies,
• Executive Director of CRE2, Senior Advisor to the Chancellor

• E-mail: mcbrided@wustl.edu
• Phone: 3149355631

Shelley Mitchom

• Administrative Coordinator

• E-mail: mitchom@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-5631

John Mundell

• Postdoctoral Fellow, AFAS

Jose'-Maria Munoz

• Senior Research Scholar

• E-mail: m.jose@wustl.edu

Sowande’​ Mustakeem

• ​Associate Professor of History and of African and African-American Studies

• E-mail: mustakee@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-3442

​Mungai Mutonya

• Teaching Professor in African and African American Studies
• Kenya Summer Program Coordinator

• E-mail: mmutonya@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-5280

Bronwyn Nichols Lodato

• Assistant Professor, Education & African & African American Studies

• E-mail: provost@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-3000

​Shanti Parikh

• Chair of African and African-American Studies
• Professor of Sociocultural Anthropology and of African and African-American Studies

• E-mail: shanti.parikh@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-8755

​Timothy Parsons

• ​Professor of History and of African and African-American Studies
• On Sabbatical Spring 2025

• E-mail: tparsons@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-4974

Gabriel Peoples

• Past Postdoctoral Ford Foundation Fellow '22-'23
• Assistant Professor, Gender Studies, Indiana University

Kyle Proehl

• Editorial Assistant, James Baldwin Review

• E-mail: kylep@wustl.edu

Michelle Purdy

• Associate Professor of Education
• Affiliated Faculty, African & African-American Studies, Urban Studies, Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, & Equity, and History

• E-mail: mpurdy@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-8724

Jessica Samuel

• Postdoctoral Fellow, AFAS

• E-mail: jssamuel@wustl.edu

Kelly Schmidt

• Reparative Public Historian and Lecturer, Special Collections Management Research Associate, WashU & Slavery Project

• E-mail: kschmidt@wustl.edu

Samuel Shearer

• Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies
• (On sabbatical Spring '25)

• E-mail: sshearer@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-8740

Monisola V. Smith

• Postdoctoral Fellow, AFAS

Vetta Thompson

• E. Desmond Lee Professor of Racial and Ethnic Diversity
• Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

• E-mail: VTHOMPSON22@WUSTL.EDU
• Phone: 314-935-3432

​Wilmetta Toliver-Diallo​

• ​Senior Assistant Dean of Advising, College of Arts & Sciences
• Lecturer in African and African-American Studies Director of the Senegal Summer Program Coordinator of the Washington University African Film Festival

• E-mail: toliver-diallo@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-7879

Rebecca Wanzo

• Chair and Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
• African and African-American Studies, Courtesy Affiliation American Culture Studies, Courtesy Affiliation English, Courtesy Affiliation Film and Media Studies, Courtesy Affiliation

• E-mail: rwanzo@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-5172

Geoff Ward

• Professor of African and African American Studies
• Director, WashU & Slavery Project, Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity (CRE2) Faculty Affiliate in Sociology and American Culture Studies (On sabbatical Spring '25)

• E-mail: gward@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-9884

Gabrielle Weeden

• Community & Program Coordinator

• E-mail: weeden@wustl.edu
• Phone: 3149359093

Rafia Zafar

• Professor Emerita of English and African & African American Studies

• E-mail: zafar@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-3465