Published:
By Kate Callahan ’14
Oluwatoyin Awoderu shares an African proverb to illustrate her new role as director of the Central Connecticut State University Center for Africana Studies: “The comfort of the tree is the comfort of the bird.”
In Awoderu’s view, the foundation, or roots, of the center must be nourished for its students, faculty, and guests to benefit from it.
“We all talk about change, but change has a way of hitting us without knowing it’s here,” Awoderu notes. “It’s a different world now. We have Generation Z, we have the Millennials, we have the professors, and we have the administrative staff. Somewhere in there we all need to be speaking with one voice and coming together to make that difference. And that difference is what I am going to do.”
Awoderu’s vision for the Africana Center builds upon its ongoing goal of sponsoring cultural programs designed to promote awareness of Africa, Africans, and the African Diaspora. Current programming includes film and lecture series, Inspirational Mondays, Tools for Success Tuesdays, Poetry at Lunch, student development and wellness programs, and an annual conference, coming up this year on March 2.
Awoderu also wants people to have a better understanding of the social, economic, and political systems across the continent and diaspora.
“The goal for me is to teach and to speak to and let people understand that the continent of Africa is different from what we see on TV, which is the negative bias and the negative stereotypes,” she says. “There is much more to the continent, and we all need to explore.”
Awoderu brings years of international experience to her new role. She earned an MBA in International Business from Central in 2006 and worked with international students for several years at CCSU’s Center for International Education (CIE) — first as a student worker and later as CIE’s associate director. She is the first administrative faculty member to be appointed as director of the Africana Center.
“I’ve been able to work with a lot of departments and learn the systems and the people, which is at my core. Having traveled everywhere, you tend to land in a place and learn about the people to be able to survive in that environment,” Awoderu says.
Born in Nigeria to parents who were academics, Awoderu spent 23 years there followed by a brief time in the United Kingdom before she moved to the United States.
“Each state and town felt like a different country,” she recalls. “Being exposed to many cultures has been the basis for who I am today.”
Awoderu did not aspire to work in academia. Initially, she revolted against her parents’ academic ambitions for her.
She says, “I ran, but my genes found me.”
Awoderu’s mother, living in Nigeria, would always say to her, “You have this energy and whatever you set your mind to do, you always do … you are so impactful.”
Awoderu aims to make an impact at the Center for Africana Studies for years to come, and she already has a strategy in place to get there.
“We can make it simple by taking baby steps, simple steps, and before we know it raindrops make the ocean,” she says.
The Center for Africana Studies is in Marcus White Hall, Room 008. The 2023 Center for Africana annual conference, titled “Giving Back Black: Contributions to the Sciences and Arts from Africa and the Diaspora,” takes places on Thursday, March 2, from noon to 6 p.m. in the Constitution Room at Memorial Hall. This year’s event will highlight contributions to the arts and sciences from Africa and the African Diaspora. All are welcome.