Meet New Director of Africana Studies, Evelyn Simien

How long have you been at UConn?  I’ve been at UConn since 2001. I went through the ranks of assistant, associate, and full professor in the Department of Political Science — I was a joint hire with what at the time was called the African American Studies Institute, and this was my first job out of graduate school. I defended my dissertation that summer and started in August 2001.  What has changed at UConn and in your areas of study since you started?  A lot! Africana Studies has grown significantly. When I started, I was one of two African American women with joint appointments. It was just me and Dr. Michelle Williams, who is now Chief of Staff to the President. At that time, she was going up for tenure. I was the second woman in Africana Studies.    How many Africana Studies faculty were there when you started versus now?  Back then we could fit in a small conference room. Now, we’ve grown so much we meet in the Dean’s conference room. We had about six faculty then; now it’s tripled to about 15 core faculty, which is large compared to other programs in the field. We represent both the...