KASC Staff

Liz MacGonagle is an African historian in the Departments of History and African & African-American Studies. In her research, she crosses historical, geographical, and theoretical boundaries to link nation, culture, and ethnicity to processes of identity formation in African and Diasporan settings.

Peter Ojiambo is an Assistant Professor of African & African-American Studies. His research focuses on African education, especially in studies on Starehe Boys Center and School of Kenya. He has published in this area and on education, democracy and development. His area of teaching is KiSwahili and he has developed a KiSwahili teaching website. Dr. Ojiambo has held teaching positions at Ohio University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Emily Riley has more than a decade of experience researching Africa, engaging with African Studies and African languages, and working on university partnerships in Africa. She holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology with a focus on political anthropology and gender in Senegal and West Africa. Her research and teaching interests include women and politics, identity politics, social media and social change, national identity formations, and hospitality.

Elene Cloete has more than 10 years of experience in community development programs. This included working in both rural and urban music programs and coordinating community outreach programs. Elene holds a masters degree in Culture and Development Studies and a PhD in Social Anthropology. Her research interests include youth development initiatives, social justice, and community arts programs. 

Christian is a native speaker of Czech and German. He received his BA in Economics and a Minor in Business from KU in 2008, and his MBA from Washburn University in 2011. Before joining the KU School of Languages, Literatures & Cultures, Christian worked in consumer retail for three years as Director of Global Digital Sales for an international sports apparel company. 

Jessica began working for KASC in Fall of 2013. She has been at KU since 2009, working with the Center for Global & International Studies. She provides administrative and general program support for KASC, CEAS, CGIS (including European Studies, South Asian and Middle East Studies.)

Cassandra (Casey) Mesick Braun is the co-director of the "Native American and African American Education in Kansas, 1830-1960" workshop. In addition to attending all workshop events and serving as a primary contact for you, Casey is curating the special exhibition Separate and Not Equal: A History of Race and Education in America specifically for the workshops. She will lead an interactive tour of this exhibition and share the other collections and resources the Spencer Museum of Art will offer during the workshops. With Celka Straughn and Connor Warner, Casey is a Core Faculty member for this workshop and will serve on the selection committee.

Cody is a Program Coordinator for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Student Success.  His primary responsibilities are to help students solve problems, find the right resources they need to succeed, and coordinate programs and projects that support the College DEI strategic plan. He is an ardent advocate for equity, inclusion and intercultural communication and experience.

Dr. Straughn is Andrew W. Mellon Director of Academic Programs at the Spencer Museum of Art. Her doctoral dissertation at the University of Chicago examined Jewish art and expressionism in early twentieth-century Germany.

Tiphani Dixon, Program Coordinator holds an M.A. in East Asian Studies from Indiana University. Her main duties include advising students and coordinating faculty-led program opportunities in Belgium, France, Italy, Greece, the Continent of Africa and the Middle East, as well as advising students interested in pursuing Fulbright scholarships.