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Dr. Darius J. Young will serve as director of the new Center for African and African American Studies at Florida A&M University.
Young is a history professor at the FAMU College of Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities. His plans for the center include helping to advance African and African American studies as a discipline and to create a more substantial intellectual community through interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty, students, and the local community.
“Dr. Darius Young is a transformational leader, thought partner, and historian. This investment from the Luce and MacArthur foundations will spotlight African Americans’ invaluable and historically significant contributions to our society,” said Dr. Allyson L. Watson, provost and vice president for academic affairs at FAMU. “Interdisciplinary research will play a significant role in our efforts to achieve Carnegie 1 Research status.”
The center, which will open its doors during the 2024-25 academic year, is made possible in part, from funding from two major philanthropic organizations. The Henry Luce Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation granted a total $550,000 to support the center; each gifted FAMU $275,000.
The funding supports faculty and student fellowship programs, undergraduate and graduate student research, learning communities for curriculum development and course enhancements, and cultural programming.
“Through the support of our partners at the Luce and MacArthur foundations, we are providing opportunities for faculty and students to actively explore our origins, tell our stories, artistically express our truth, and collectively think critically about our future,” said Young.