A 47 year old Nigerian scholar named Wale Adebanwi has become the first black African to be given a chair at Oxford University since its conception 60 years ago.
Adebanwi now holds the Rhodes Professorship in Race Relations. The chair is placed in the School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies at Oxford University. As a backgrounder, the Rhodes Professorship in Race Relations is named after Cecil Rhodes. Rhodes was a Prime Minister of Cape Colony in South Africa in the 1890's. Because of his work in mining and business, the Rhodesian Selection Trust Mining Company established the professorship in 1954.
Wale Adebanwi's chair comes from a long line of professorships but he is the first black African scholar. Previously, Professors Kenneth Kirkwood, Terence Ranger and William Beinart held the position, as reported by the Vanguard.
But before he takes his position at the University of Oxford, he is currently wrapping up his work at the University of California, Davis, United States. He is described to be a scholar of international distinction. He has an amazing record of of leadership in teaching and research. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos. He also holds a Ph.D and Master's degree in political science from the University of Ibadan. As well as a Master's degree and Ph.D in social anthropology from the University of Cambridge. He also worked as a journalist and writer for multiple Nigerian publications.
Aside from his outstanding educational record, he was also praised by Bill Gates. Adebanwi was a former Gates Scholar and Bill Gates's scholarship funded his education at Cambridge. He will become a fellow of St. Anthony's College at Oxford this July 2017. He will also become the next Director of the African Studies Center which is Britain's oldest university, as reported by the Nigerian Tribune.
Interested in joining Oxford University? Check out this 30 second video below:
