Photo: UNC Global. From left to right: Pam Silberman, Amanda Corbett, Harmony Chi, Shay Slifko, Fatima Ly, Rohit Ramaswamy, Rector Ibrahima Thioub, Mamarame Seck, Barbara Anderson, Suzanne Maman, Mamie Sackey Harris and Jim Herrington. Photo by Linda Kastleman.

The African Studies Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill hosted a delegation Jan. 20 to 22, 2016, from University of Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD) in Senegal, led by Rector Ibrahima Thioub. The delegation visited UNC to renew the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2009 between the institutions and to explore opportunities for further collaboration.
Thioub, a noted historian of West Africa, was joined on the trip by Fatimata Ly, head of the Department of Medicine and Specialties, and Mamarame Seck, research professor at UCAD’s l’Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire (IFAN). Seck previously was a faculty member and African language program coordinator at UNC-Chapel Hill from 2008 to 2014 and continues in an adjunct capacity.
The renewal of the MOU extended the partnership between the two universities, which has involved numerous units at UNC, including the African Studies Center, the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations, Carolina Performing Arts and World View. UCAD has hosted two study trips of North Carolina teachers to Senegal organized by World View. In addition, a number of UCAD faculty and researchers have spent time at UNC as visiting scholars through the African Studies Center.