Ifeoma Kiddoe Nwankwo

Dr. Ifeoma Kiddoe Nwankwo is Dean of the College of Liberal & Creative Arts, overseeing the College's academic, financial, and administrative functions.

An accomplished administrator and scholar, Dr. Nwankwo has had the honor of serving in multiple higher education leadership roles, including as Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships at Vanderbilt University and Co-Director of the Atlantic Studies Initiative at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She previously served as Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Sarah Lawrence College, as Director of the American Studies Program at Vanderbilt, and as an associate professor of English at Vanderbilt, where she was affiliated with the Latinx Studies Program, Center for Latin American Studies, and Center for Medicine, Health and Society. Her academic research explores U.S. African American, Caribbean, and Afro-Latin American literature, music, and popular culture. She is the author of Black Cosmopolitanism and co-editor of Rhythms of the Afro-Atlantic World among other publications. Dr. Nwankwo also founded Voices from Our America, an international digital & public humanities project integrating research, curriculum development, and community engagement. She also initiated and spearheaded The Wisdom of the Elders: Life Lessons from and for African American Seniors, a community-centered health humanities initiative.

Dr. Nwankwo holds a B.A. in English and Spanish (with Honors) from Rutgers University (New Brunswick) and a Ph.D. in English with certificates in Latin American Studies and African and African American Studies from Duke University.