# @pennstateliberalarts on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DadNjtImnOZ
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/71142584-pennstateliberalarts-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/aa6776bd0e.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-07-06T15:27:33.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Penn State College of the Liberal Arts (@pennstateliberalarts) — https://gondola.cc/pennstateliberalarts

## Caption

The Department of Africana Studies is now official. 🎓

Effective July 1, the Department of African American Studies and the African Studies Program have reunited into a single academic unit, following approval from the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, University Faculty Senate, and faculty in both units.

This decision came after an extensive, inclusive process. A joint Reunification Task Force gathered input from students, faculty, and staff through surveys and listening sessions before submitting its recommendations to Dean Clarence Lang.

“This is a pivotal next step for Penn State and our college to take to strengthen the interdisciplinary study of Africa and people of African descent as a critical component of a liberal arts education,” said Dean Lang. “The reunification heightens our ability to solidify the academic and scholarly interconnections between African and African American Studies and build on the complexities that a unified field can advance. It also aligns our approach with those being taken by our counterparts in the Big Ten and elsewhere and better positions us as leaders in the field in terms of student success and faculty productivity.”

Sinfree Makoni, Liberal Arts Professor of African Studies and Applied Linguistics, will serve as the department's inaugural head. Over the next two years, the department will develop its bylaws, administrative structure, and strategic plan, with a new curriculum on track for Faculty Senate review ahead of the 2027-28 academic year.

Current students in African Studies or African American Studies programs will not be affected and can complete their degrees under existing program terms.

Congratulations to everyone who contributed to this milestone!

Read the full release at the link in our bio.

#WeAre #PennState #PSULiberalArts #AfricanaStudies

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## Credits

These are the roles credited on Gondola. Credits may be incomplete.
A brand, account owner, or featured person is not necessarily the creator.

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Penn State College of the Liberal Arts | @pennstateliberalarts | https://gondola.cc/pennstateliberalarts | Brand |

## Tags

psuliberalarts, weare, pennstate, africanastudies

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