Our People

​Jean Allman

• J.H. Hexter Professor in the Humanities
• Professor Emeritus 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
• Interim Director of the Center for the Study of Race
• Professor of English and of African and African-American Studies (On sabbatical Fall '23)

• 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) (On sabbatical Fall '23)

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

Rowhea Elmesky

• Director of Graduate Studies
• Associate Professor of Education

• E-mail: relmesky@wustl.edu

Jonathan​ Fenderson

• ​Associate Professor of African and African-American Studies

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

Karma Frierson

• ​Assistant Professor of African and African-American Studies and Performing Arts (Affiliate)
• (On sabbatical Fall/Spring '23-'24)

• E-mail: karma.frierson@wustl.edu

Ron Himes

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

• E-mail: RHimes@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-3347

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

• E-mail: leath@wustl.edu

Zachary Manditch-Prottas

• Lecturer in African and African American Studies and American Culture Studies

• 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
• Acting Director of English Undergraduate Studies, 2023-2024

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

Thembelani (Themba) Mbatha

• Postdoctoral Fellow, AFAS ('23 -'24) Assistant Professor, AFAS (Fall '24 - )

• E-mail: mbatha@wustl.edu

Dwight A. McBride

• Gerald Early Distinguished Professor
• Senior Advisor to the Chancellor (On leave '23-'24 school year)

• 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' Munoz Martin

• Senior Research Scholar

• E-mail: j.munoz@ed.ac.uk

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

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

Gabriel Peoples

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

Michelle Purdy

• Associate Professor of Education
• Director of the Undergraduate Program in Educational Studies Director of Academic Planning Affiliated Faculty, African and African-American Studies, Urban Studies, and Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Equity

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

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
• Faculty of Urban Humanities

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

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​

• ​Assistant Dean in the 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

Miguel Valerio

• Assistant Professor of Spanish
• Performing Arts (Affiliate)

• E-mail: m.a.valerio@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-5175

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

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

Geoff Ward

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

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

Gabrielle Weeden

• Community & Program Coordinator

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

Rafia Zafar

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

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