In Temple’s 25th anniversary year of the doctoral program, the Department of African American Studies is currently in receivership. Previous faculty nominations for a Chair have been dismissed and an external Chair search has been denied by Dean Soufas of the College of Liberal Arts. We are asking your support in maintaining the agency of our program and the respect of professors in this discipline. Discrepancies over the department being able to elect their own Chair/ leadership has been an ongoing struggle since spring 2012. Ultimately the Dean is disrespecting our faculty's rights, our department's intent to have a qualified Chair of its choosing, the black students of Temple, and the larger Philly black community.

We are asking for your support in: (1) demanding the dean acknowledge the will of the faculty during this chair selection period or (2) grant the department an external Chair search and hire.