Nigerian Scholar, Prof. Wale Adebanwi, has been awarded the esteemed Guggenheim Fellowship, a recognition given for prior career achievements and exceptional potential.
Prof. Adebanwi, serving as the Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Africana Studies and the Director of the Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, U.S., is one of the 188 recipients of the 2024 awards.
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation’s Board of Trustees announced that the Fellowships represent a “distinguished and diverse group of culture creators active in 52 different disciplines.”
“Humanity is confronting some profound existential challenges,” stated Mr. Edward Hirsch, President of the Foundation, in a statement released by The CRUX on Friday.
The Guggenheim Fellowship represents a transformative honor, marking a significant investment in the careers and lives of eminent artists, scholars, scientists, writers, and other cultural pioneers. These individuals confront challenges directly, creating new opportunities and forging paths within the wider cultural landscape.
Adebanwi has the distinction of being the inaugural African appointed as the Rhodes Professor of Race Relations and Director of the African Studies Centre at Oxford University in the UK.
A prolific writer, Adebanwi holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Ibadan and another in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Bill and Melinda Gates Scholar.
His publications include “The Nigerian Press and the Politics of Meaning,” “Authority Stealing: Anti-Corruption War and Democratic Politics in Post-Military Nigeria,” and “Yoruba Elites and Ethnic Politics in Nigeria: Obafemi Awolowo and Corporate Agency.”
According to NAN, since its inception in 1925, the Guggenheim Foundation has granted over 400 million dollars in fellowships to upwards of 19,000 recipients.
Regarded as one of the most esteemed awards globally, the fellowships this year attracted over 3,000 candidates.
In total, the fellowships encompass 52 scholarly fields and artistic endeavors, categorized broadly under natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and creative arts.
