Your gift to DAAS will support community-engaged student learning experiences and other areas of greatest departmental need.

DEPARTMENT OF AFROAMERICAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES (DAAS) STRATEGIC FUND - 308499

Gifts to the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies (DAAS) will support the department’s Community Engaged Learning Initiative through the Strategic Fund.

The Community Engaged Learning Initiative supports faculty research and projects that take students beyond the classroom and into community spaces. Through our required DAAS-in-Action capstone courses, students have the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills to issues confronting Black communities across the globe. Community Engaged programs include the Filming the Future of Detroit Project, where students produce films offering perspectives on the city’s future; and the Semester in Detroit Initiative, where students have the opportunity to live, learn, and work in the City of Detroit.

In addition to this initiative, DAAS’ Strategic Fund supports the department’s greatest needs related to research, community outreach, scholarly knowledge pertaining to Africa and its diaspora, and student experiences on the local, national, and international levels. Support the next generation of leading scholars!

“DAAS gave me the space to be myself and the support that I needed to expand academically and professionally. [DAAS] is everything to me because of the resources that are provided to students, the variety of classes that I can take, and knowing the support that is behind me.”

— Ryan Noble, B.A. 2025

“My experiences in the [graduate] certificate program were foundational in building out my dissertation framework. … I was able to present at the African Studies Association of Africa (ASAA) in Kenya among some brilliant Africanists and Black studies scholars. I was a second-year student at the time, and this fellowship helped me to envision myself and my work as part of a radical, Black intellectual tradition that prioritizes the ‘margins.’”

— Sadiyah Malcolm, African Studies Certificate Recipient 2021

The Regents of the University of Michigan has 501(c)(3) non-profit tax-exempt status. Federal tax ID number: 38-6006309