FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2025
Contact: Alix Saba, Executive Director, asaed@africanstudies.org
PDF Press Release for Distribution: Download Here
African Studies Association Announces the 2025 ASA Samora & Graça Machel Presidential Fellows
PISCATAWAY, New Jersey – The African Studies Association (ASA) is pleased to announce the selection of the 2025 cohort of the ASA Samora & Graça Machel Presidential Fellows. This prestigious fellowship supports exceptional scholarship and academic exchange opportunities for Africa-based scholars in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
The 2025 fellows—Kudus Oluwatoyin Adebayo, Khumisho Moguerane, and Eugenia Anderson—were selected through a competitive process recognizing scholarly excellence, originality, and contributions to African Studies.
Kudus Oluwatoyin Adebayo is a research fellow at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His interdisciplinary work focuses on African migrations, urban transformations, migration health, and knowledge production. Dr. Adebayo is also affiliated with institutions in South Africa and has held fellowships from ACLS, CODESRIA, and CARTA. Dr. Adebayo was nominated by Dr. Julia Cummiskey and will be hosted by Johns Hopkins University.
Eugenia Anderson is a gender historian and lecturer at the Department of History and Political Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. Her interdisciplinary research explores women’s leadership in higher education, student activism, religious and gender-based activism, and decolonisation. Dr. Anderson was nominated by Dr. Jennifer Hart and will be hosted by Virginia Tech.
Khumisho Moguerane is a historian at the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Her research explores ordinary people’s experiences of empire, vernacular knowledge, and nationalism. Her book Morafe examines family history as a method of historical inquiry. Dr. Moguerane was nominated by Dr. Joel Cabrita and will be hosted by Stanford University.
Fellows will attend the ASA Annual Meeting, visit U.S. institutions, collaborate with Africanist scholars, and present their research. The program aims to foster intellectual exchange and amplify emerging voices in the field.
The Fund was made possible by a generous gift from Allen and Barbara Isaacman, noted scholars of Mozambique and long-time contributors to African Studies. Named in honor of Samora & Graça Machel, the fellowship celebrates the legacy of these influential Mozambican leaders and their lifelong commitment to liberation, education, and human rights.
About the ASA
Established in 1957, the African Studies Association is the flagship membership organization devoted to enhancing the exchange of information about Africa. The ASA is based in the United States and aims to cultivate a better understanding of the continent, by providing access to path-breaking research and facilitating interdisciplinary exchanges with African scholars and institutions. The ASA Annual Meeting fosters global networks by convening people with scholarly and other interests in Africa, and ultimately broadens professional opportunities in the field. The organization publishes two leading journals on Africa, African Studies Review and History in Africa and promotes an informed understanding of Africa to educational institutions, the public, businesses, media, and other interested communities.
