Paul Tiyambe Zeleza is Professor of African History, Diaspora, and Interdisciplinary Studies in the Department of Social Sciences at Global Studies University. An interdisciplinary scholar, his work spans African economic history, development studies, intellectual history, diaspora studies, gender studies, human rights, cultural studies, and literary studies.
Previously, he served as Senior Advisor for Strategic Initiatives at Howard University and as Associate Provost and North Star Distinguished Professor at Case Western Reserve University. From 2016 to 2021, he was Vice Chancellor and Professor of the Social Sciences and Humanities at the United States International University-Africa in Kenya.
Zeleza has held senior academic and administrative positions at universities in the United States and Canada, including Trent University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Illinois Chicago, Loyola Marymount University, and Quinnipiac University. He has been an Honorary Professor at the University of Cape Town since 2006 and at Nelson Mandela University since 2019.
He has served numerous international and national academic organizations, including as President of the African Studies Association in the United States. He has also served on the Administrative Board of the International Association of Universities, the University of Ghana Council, and the advisory and governing bodies of several higher education initiatives in Africa and internationally.
Zeleza has published more than 400 journal articles, book chapters, encyclopedia entries, reviews, short stories, and essays. He has authored or edited over 30 books and five short monographs, with several of his publications receiving international awards. His body of work also includes two collections of short stories and a novel.
He earned his BA from the University of Malawi and his MA in African history and international relations from the University of London. He holds a Ph.D. in economic history from Dalhousie University in Canada.
His research interests include African economic history, development studies, intellectual history, African diaspora studies, gender studies, human rights, cultural and literary studies, and higher education in Africa and around the world.
