The University of Toledo

What Can Our Africana Studies Program Provide?

	Exposure to the distinctive intellectual tradition as well as the core ideas and approaches of Africana Studies.
	Preparation to assume leadership in environmental organizations and to pursue sustainability entrepreneurship.
	Gain proficiency in clear and critical thinking and  writing about complex concepts and theories (i.e., broadly transferable skills).
	Learn the ways the field of Africana Studies prepares individuals for diverse and important careers.
	Appreciation of how Africana Studies’ intrinsic-value provides intellectual satisfaction.
UT Africana Studies Engages Climate Change Africana Studies Director Reports on the 2011 UN Climate Change Meetings in Durban, South Africa   Photos and Slides from COP 17

At its core, the Sustainable Development and Environmental Justice focus of Africana Studies at The University of Toledo seeks to increase and enhance minority environmental leadership. Our Africana Studies program is a forerunner in the field due to its
early concentration on sustainable development and environmental justice. Students in Africana Studies at the University of Toledo uniquely learn the general knowledge of this field of study, as well as gain an in-depth background in sustainable development and environmental justice. Read an example of Student community-based learning
at UT in Sustainability and Africana Studies.

Dr. Rubin Patterson, the Africana Studies program director, writes a regular “green column” in Toledo’s African American newspaper, The Sojourner’s Truth, to help enrich the community conversation about environmentalism and preparing for green-collar employment. He also works on grants related to research on green jobs and publishes regularly on the topic in peer-reviewed journals and books.

UT alumnus, Jeff Johnson, who helped establish Africana Studies as a student leader in the early-1990s, funds and remains actively involved in an endowed scholarship open to Africana Studies majors and minors.

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