Faculty
CHRISTOPHER ADEJUMO, Ph.D.
Associate Professor Adejumo received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts (Graphics Design) from the University of Benin, Nigeria in 1983. He studied at the University of Massachusetts, in Dartmouth, where he received an MFA degree in Visual Designs (Printmaking) in 1993. In 1997 he received a Ph.D. in Art Education from Ohio State University. His artwork has been shown in various solo exhibitions in Africa, Europe, and the United States.
JOSSIANNA ARROYO MARTINEZ, Ph.D.
An Associate Professor with a doctorate from University of California at Berkeley, Dr. Arroyo Martinez’s interests are in Latin American, Carribean, Luso-Brazilian, Afro-Diasporic literatures and cultures, race, gender and sexuality in colonial and postcolonial societes, as well as Latin American discourses in literature, ethnography and sociology.
TOYIN FALOLA, Ph. D.
The Frances Higginbotham Nalle Centennial Professor in History, Dr. Falola is a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, the author of numerous books, including “Key Events in African History: A Reference Guide,” “Nationalism and African Intellectuals,” and many edited books including “Traditions and Change in Africa” and “African Writers and Readers.” He is the co-editor of the “Journal of African Economic History,” Series Editor of “Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora,” and the Series Editor of the “Culture and Customs of Africa” by Greenwood Press. Dr. Falola has received numerous awards and honors, including the Jean Holloway Award for Teaching Excellence, the Texas Exes Teaching Award, and the Ibn Khaldun Distinguished Award for Research Excellence.
FEHINTOLA MOSADOMI, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor Mosadomi holds a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Linguistics with a minor in Francophone Studies from Tulane University, including two Masters from the University of Delaware. She is a poet who has authored several articles in books and journals on Creole Studies, Language and Gender, African Linguistics, and Pedagogy. Dr. Mosadomi is currently completing her manuscript on Yoruba Grammar for the Yoruba Language courses taught here at UT-Austin. She was awarded the Dana-Dartmouth Fellowship and is a Fellow at the Center for Research on Women at Tulane University.
OLORIYA AINA OLOMO
Onifa Oloriya Aina Olomo, a spiritual activist with more than 30 years in Orisa traditions, has worked throughout the Yoruba diaspora, including Lukumi of Cuba, Oyotunji Village of South Carolina, Osun and Ifa of Nigeria, Egungun of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as New York and Texas. In 2006, she was conferred as Oloye Ajidakin of Ile-Ife, Nigeria. She is currently the spiritual leader for Orile Olokun Sanya Awopeju of Cedar Creek, Texas and Trinidad and Tobago. She has conducted feminist workshops, conferences, and festivals, and is founder of the African American and Caribbean Culture Center of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She is presently enrolled as a ministerial candidate at The New Seminary for Interfaith Studies in New York City, and is a participant in the Memnosyne Speaker’s Series for the Sanctuary for Life. Oloriya is the author of The Core of Fire: A Path to Yoruba Spiritual Activism and the forthcoming Out of the Silence.
JONI L. JONES Ph.D./OMI OSUN OLOMO
Associate Professor of Performance Studies in the Department of Theatre and Dance, and Associate Director of the Center for African & African American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Jones conducts ethnographic work on Yoruba cosmology specifically related to the divine force Osun. She received her doctorate from New York Univeresity and was a Fullbright Senior Fellow as Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Her print scholarship can be found in “Text and Performance Quarterly,” “TDR,” “Theatre Topics,” and “Black Theatre Network News.”
