The board of trustees at Princeton University in New Jersey has granted departmental status to the Center for African American studies. As a result, students at Princeton will be able to major in African American studies beginning in the 2015-16 academic year. Students concentrating in African American studies will choose from one of three thematic subfields: African American Culture and Life, Global Race and Ethnicity, and Race and Public Policy.
Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber stated that “Princeton’s outstanding faculty members in African American studies address cultural, social and political issues of urgent importance to our students, our nation and the world. By approving the establishment of a new Department of African American Studies, the trustees and the faculty of the University have provided Princeton’s students with new opportunities for learning, and they have deepened our commitment to support scholarship of the highest quality in this vibrant field.”
Eddie Glaude Jr., the William S. Tod Professor of Religion and African American Studies, will chair the new department. Professor Glaude noted that “the vibrant field of African American studies is now an integral part of Princeton University. And I believe the scholars who are currently here, and the community we are building, will have long-lasting effects on this institution. It is an exciting time to be at Princeton and a glorious moment in the history of this great university.”
Professor Glaude joined the Princeton faculty in 2002. Earlier he served on the faculty at Bowdoin College in Maine from 1996 to 2001. Dr. Glaude is the author of several books including In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America (University of Chicago Press, 2007). Professor Glaude is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he majored in political science. He holds a master’s degree in African American studies from Temple University and a second master’s degree and a Ph.D. in religion from Princeton University.
