“I will demonstrate that, in rethinking violence, reconstruction, and reconciliation, women’s narratives are not only essential, but also imperative to fostering critical solutions,” she says.

Mugo joined the Syracuse faculty in 1993, following appointments at Cornell and St. Lawrence universities, as well as at the universities of Nairobi (where she was Kenya’s first female dean) and Zimbabwe. She has held a number of prominent roles at Syracuse, including chair of AAS; director of AAS’ Graduate Studies Program; co-founder of the M.A. in Pan African Studies, which she helped develop and launch; and the first long-term director of the campus wide Africa Initiative.

Mugo has written or edited 15 books—including her acclaimed collection of speeches and essays, Writing and Speaking From the Heart of My Mind (Africa World Press and Red Sea Press, 2012)—all of which draw on indigenous African cultural traditions and address women’s rights and education.  She is also founder and former president of both the Pan African Community of Central New York and the United Women of Africa Organization.

Established in 1957, ASA is a membership organization devoted to enhancing the exchange of information about Africa. With nearly 2,000 individual and institutional members worldwide, the U.S.-based organization encourages the production and dissemination of knowledge about Africa, past and present. ASA supports understanding of an entire continent in each facet of its political, economic, social, cultural, artistic, scientific, and environmental landscape. Members include scholars, students, teachers, activists, development professionals, policymakers, and donors.