Published: Jan. 20, 2023

񱦵’s newest center will celebrate its grand opening on Feb. 1.

The Center for African and African American Studies(CAAAS—also called “the Cause”) will open its doors to campus members and the community during this event, which will feature high-profile speakers and performances from artists and local high school students.

If you go

Who: Open to the public
What: CAAAS grand opening
When: Wednesday, Feb. 1, 3:30–6 p.m.
Where:Macky Auditorium, Room 116


Stamp your passport

Faculty and staff: Attending or participating in this event? Don't forget to afterward for a chance to win a prize.

This grand opening is open to all campus and community members and will take place on the first floor of Macky Auditorium in the west and central lobbies and gallery from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. .

“The Center for African and African American Studies has been a long time coming,” said Reiland Rabaka, the center’s founding director and an ethnic studies professor. “A dream long-dreamed has materialized and become reality...Now it is the official research, creative work and student services division of the broader Black community at the 񱦵.”

The center will be the “focal point for campus and community life grounded in, and growing out of, the historical, cultural, spiritual, sociopolitical, economic and artistic experiences of Africans, African Americans and the African diaspora,” Rabaka added.

The center will do this by supporting interdisciplinary teaching, research and creative work, providing a forum for collaboration and the ongoing exchange of ideas, and increasing public awareness about CAAAS, its focus and the field of study centered on understanding the experiences of people of African descent around the world through scholarship, research and engaging classroom experiences for students.

More information about CAAAS is available on its website.