Conference Program

Schedule & Details

Thursday, April 12, 2012
6.00-8.00 pm
Reception at Tennessee State University Main Campus, Elliott Hall, Room 301

Friday, April 13, 2012
All conference events will hold at the Avon Williams (Downtown) Campus, 330 10th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37203

7:45-8:30: Arrival and Registration
Venue : The Atrium

8:40-8:55: Opening Remarks
Dr. Adebayo Oyebade, Professor of History, Tennessee State University
Dr. Erik Schmeller, Chair, Department of History, Geography, Political Science, & Africana Studies, Tennessee State University
Dr. Joel Dark, Associate Dean, College of Liberal Arts, Tennessee State University

9:00-10:45: Panel #1: United States, Health Initiative, and Sustainable Economic Development in Africa
Venue : Room 353
Chair: Dr. Michael Bertrand, Associate Professor of History, Tennessee State University
Panelists:
1. Dr. Gashawbeza Bekele, Assistant Professor of Geography, Tennessee State University, “The Role of the African Diaspora in America in Africa's Development and U.S.-Africa Relations”
2. Dr. Victor Eno, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Florida, “International Health Intervention as Foreign Policy: Case study of United States’ Global Health Initiative’s HIV/AIDS Program in Sub-Saharan Africa”
3. Dr. Israel Ogunlade, Associate Professor of Agricultural Extension & Rural Development, University of Ilorin, Nigeria; MS. Kemi Funmilayo Omotesho, Accountant, University of Ilorin Resort; Dr. Mathew A. Adewumi, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics; and Dr. Sarah Nicholas Oden, Associate Professor of Curriculum Development, “Africa ’s A gricultural P otential and its I mplication for U.S . F oreign P olicy”
4. Dr. Ayoka Mopelola Olusakin, Professor of Counseling Psychology and Head, Department of Educational Foundations, University of Lagos, Nigeria, “The School Counselor’s Roles in Preventing the Spread of HIV and AIDS in Nigeria and the United States”
5. Dr. C.I. Ogunleye-Adetona, Visiting Senior Lecturer, Department of Geography & Regional Planning, University of Cape-Coast, Ghana, “United States’ Global Health Initiative for a Sustainable Economic Development in Africa: A Case Study of Nigeria”

10:50-11:00: Tea/Coffee Break

11:00-12:45: Panel #2: United States and Conflict Resolution, Democratization, and Good Governance in Africa
Venue : Room 353
Chair: Dr. Peter Nwosu, Associate Vice-President for Academic Affairs (Institutional Planning and Assessment), Tennessee State University
Panelists:
1. Dr. Sabella Ogbobode Abidde, Alabama State University, Montgomery, Alabama, “The Spring Revolutions in North Africa: Gaddafi’s Sins, Cold War Politics, and the New Imperialism”
2. Fatai Ajao, U.S. Army, FT. Campbell, KY, “U.S. Foreign Policy in Africa and Conflict Resolution: A Case Study of the Crisis in Darfur, Sudan”
3. Dr. John Miglietta, Professor of Political Science, Tennessee State University, “The United States and Libya: The Evolution of a Complex Relationship”
4. Dr. Felix Omoh Okokhere, Department of Political Science, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo state, Nigeria, “Evaluating the Role of the United States in the Democratization Process in Africa”
5. Faith Okpotor, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Delaware, Newark, “Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy: A Normative Assessment of Humanitarian (Non)Intervention in Africa”

1:00-1.45: Lunch Break

1:50- 2:45: Guest Lecture
Venue : Room 353
Introduction of Speaker: Dr. Wosene Yefru, Professor of Africana Studies, Tennessee State University
Guest Speaker: Ambassador Neneh MacDouall-Gaye, former Gambian Ambassador to the United States; Founder and Host, Talking Point Africa USA, “Conflicts in Africa: Is Democracy and Good Governance the Answer?”

3:00-4:45: Panel #3: The Obama Administration’s Foreign Policy, Counter-Terrorism, and America’s Military/Strategic Partnership with Africa
Venue : Room 353
Chair: Dr. Sheri Browne, Associate Professor of History, Tennessee State University
Panelists:
1. Dr. Olayiwola Abegunrin, Professor of International Relations, Howard University, Washington, D.C., “Africa Command Center (AFRICOM) and U.S. Foreign Policy of Militarization of Africa under the Obama Administration”
2. Bona Chizea, Department of Political Science, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria, “U.S. and Africa: Reflecting on U.S./Nigeria Relations under President Barack Obama”
3. Jon Horler, Graduate Student, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, “The Obama Administration and American Foreign Policy in Africa through the Lens of Uganda”
4. Diane Orefo, Independent Research Analyst, “The Obama Administration and U.S. Security Cooperation with African Countries”
5. Dr. Adebayo Oyebade, Professor of History, Tennessee State University, “ Evaluating America’s Perception of Threat of Islamist Terrorism in Nigeria”
6. Dr. Ibikunle H. Tijani, Professor of History and Dean, Faculty of Arts and Education, Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria, “Broadcasting and the Cold War: The Establishment of U.S. Monitoring Stations in Nigeria on the eve of Independence”

4:45-4:55: Tea/Coffee Break

5:00-6:45: Panel #4: Perspectives on American Foreign Policy toward Africa, and Educational and Cultural Interactions with the Continent
Venue : Room 353
Chair: Dr. Learotha Williams, Assistant Professor of History, Tennessee State University
Panelists:
1. Dr. Clifford F. Buttram, Jr., Campus Director, National College of Business and Technology, Fort Wayne, IN, “Improving Africa’s Tertiary Education Efforts: Proposing an African Community College System Model”
2. Dr. S. Adele Doherty, D-Wellness Center, pc, Goodlettsville, TN., U.S. Policy in the Creation of a Special Post-Primary School Education in Nigeria: A Pilot Project”
3. Dr. Moses Ochonu, Associate Professor of History, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN., “America in the Eyes of Northern Nigerian Tourists, 1955-59”
4. Dr. Jyotsna Paruchuri, Professor of Political Science, Tennessee State University, “The Nixon Administration’s Policy towards Ugandan-Indian Refugees in the United States”
5. Dr. Peyi Soyinka-Airewele, Associate Professor, Department of Politics, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY “Strange Bedfellows: The Violence of Ordering and Othering in US Foreign Policy and African Landscapes”

7:00-9:00: Banquet and Keynote Address
Venue: The Atrium
Welcome: Dr. Adebayo Oyebade, Professor of History, Tennessee State University
Remarks: Dr. Gloria Johnson, Dean, College of Liberal Arts, Tennessee State University
Introduction of Keynote Speaker: Dr. Adebayo Oyebade, Professor of History, Tennessee State University
Keynote Address: Dr. Toyin Falola, the Higginbottom Centennial Professor of History, University of Texas at Austin, Texas, “United States' Foreign Policy in Africa in the 21st Century: Determinants, Issues, and Future Scenarios”

9.05: Closing & Vote of Thanks
Dr. Wosene Yefru, Professor of Africana Studies, Tennessee State University

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