Faculty Awards & Achievements

		Mbye Cham, Ph.D., Professor, Department of African Studies, received a grant from the Howard University-Sponsored Faculty Research Program in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Education to conduct research on “Literature and Film in Senegal.” He did field research in Senegal in May-June 2007.
		David Smedley, Associate Professor, Department of Art, is serving on the Selection Committee for Public Art for the new Washington, D.C. baseball stadium. He is the only sculptor invited to sit on a panel of 10. By the end of August the committee will have commissioned at least three projects for the stadium.
		Nikongo BaNikongo, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Afro-American Studies, will release a new film this fall on relations between the Black Americans and Black immigrants. The movie, titled, Take a Stand, explores stereotypes that are held by both parts of the Black community, and is designed to open a dialogue and bridge the gap. In the Department of Afro-American Studies, BaNikongo teaches courses on the African-American Experience, the African Experience in the Caribbean and West Indians in America.
		Sandra G. Shannon, Ph.D., Professor, Department of English, was invited to speak about the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson, on August 1, at the 2007 National Black Theatre Festival (NBTF) in Winston-Salem, N.C. The title of her talk was “For the Warrior That He Was: The Fighting Spirit in August Wilson.” The NBTF features presentations by Black Theatre scholars as well as playwrights, actors and directors. Shannon is president of the Black Theatre Network and incoming editor of Theatre Topics Journal.
		Cudore L. Snell, Ph.D., Dean, Howard University School of Social Work and chair of the Global Commission on Social Work Education, participated in the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction held at the Centre International de Conferences de Geneva, Switzerland in June. Chaired by John Holmes, the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, this new body brings together governments, the United Nations, members of financial and academic institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others to address the new challenges posed by climate change and urban risks on vulnerable populations.
		William B. Lawson, M.D., Ph.D., DFAPA, will be presenting at the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Annual Meeting. Lawson will participate in an “Ask the Doctor” section and a workshop about “Minorities and Mental Health.” Lawson is professor and chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Howard University College of Medicine and Hospital and director of the Mood Research Program.