The creation of an African Language and Area Center

Taking up where the Ford Foundation funding left off, in 1965, Indiana University entered into its first contract with the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare (also known as HEW), a cabinet-level department of the US government from 1953 to 1979. The contract, signed by Indiana University President Herman B Wells, facilitated the creation of an African language and area center (now known as National Resource Centers) at IU.  

Indiana University's African Studies Program is contemporaneous with other highly regarded African Studies programs at large, public Midwestern universities, including Michigan State University (1955) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1961). The combination of a persuasive intellectual rationale, and generous government funding put IU on track to establishing a robust and influential program of African Studies.