Award Winning Educator Presents Free Lecture In Shreveport
The Centenary Department of Foreign Languages, Centenary Black Student Union, and the Centenary Student Government Association will be presenting a lecture this month featuring an award-winning educator with a unique perspective on education in America.
This upcoming lecture will be Thursday, November 9th at 6:30pm inside Centenary's Hurley School of Music in Shreveport. It will be hosted by Dr. Kodjo Adabra, the Associate Professor of Francophone (French-speaking) Studies at the State University of New York (SUNY) Geneseo. Adabra's lecture is titled "From Africa to the American Dream", and covers a wide array of topics, rooted in Adabra's journey from Togo to America. This will include his experiences as a graduate student, and his work in the State University of New York system.
Adabra's journey in higher education began at the Université de Lomé in his native Togo. He then went on to earn a Masters in French Studies at North Carolina State University, and eventually a Ph.D. in Francophone Literatures from the University of Tennessee. Adabra then joined the State University of New York faculty in 2010.
Among Adabra's numerous awards and recognitions, he has received the SUNY System-wide Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2020, and the Chancellor's Award for Internationalization (CAFI) in 2011. Additionally, he has published several articles and books in both English and French, including a memoir, The Power of An Untamed Mindset: A Story of Resilience, published in 2023.
Having Adabra lecture at Centenary will be a big moment for students, because Centenary Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies, Dr. Andia Augustin-Billy, has used Adabra's work inside course studies. This will allow students to personally interact with the author of the work they're studying.
But this lecture isn't only for Centenary students. It is open to the public, and not only that, its free. The public can attend the event Thursday, November 9, at 6:30 p.m. in Anderson Auditorium at Centenary’s Hurley School of Music.