The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program (CADFP) Advisory Council selected to fund a project that will allow MSU researcher and College of Arts & Letters alumnus Ike Iyioke to travel to South Africa for collaborative research efforts and graduate student teaching and mentoring.

Iyioke is a Research Specialist working in the Analytics Unit of MSU’s Office of Research & Innovation. He is a member and contributor to the Toolbox Dialogue Initiative, which is based at MSU’s Center for Interdisciplinarity. He also received his Ph.D. in Philosophy and M.A. in Journalism, both from MSU. 

The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program is a scholar fellowship program for African higher education institutions in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South African, Tanzania, and Uganda to host African-born scholars to work on projects in research collaboration, graduate student teaching/mentoring, and curriculum co-development. 

“I’m highly honored to receive the award and hope to use it to make my mark in the field. It’s a rare opportunity and I’m grabbing it with both hands,” Iyioke said. “I’m truly grateful for the support from my college. In particular, I appreciate the strong endorsements from Professor Christopher Long, Dean of the College of Arts & Letters; and MSU Dean of Graduate School, Professor Thomas Jeitschko. In addition, I’m indebted to my mentor, Professor Michael O’Rourke, Director of MSU’s Center for Interdisciplinarity, for his continuous encouragement.”

I’m highly honored to receive the award and hope to use it to make my mark in the field. It’s a rare opportunity and I’m grabbing it with both hands.

Dr. Ike Iyioke

As part of the CADFP-funded project, titled Collaborative Research in African Bioethics and the Impact of COVID-19, Dr. Iyioke will travel to the University of Cape Town, South Africa, where he will be hosted by Dr. Ryan Nefdt in the Department of Philosophy. During his visit, a two-day research workshop will be held on African Bioethics and COVID-19 with Iyioke as the invited scholar. 

“It will be a practical workshop aimed at opening up a wider philosophical discussion on bioethics, the current pandemic, and medical ethics in general at the University of Cape Town,” Nefdt said. “We hope to discuss these issues as they particularly impact the continent of Africa. Dr. Iyioke has spent his career asking these questions and his expertise dovetails well with our research platforms in African philosophy and Bioethics, respectively.”

Also part of the project, Iyioke will hold a masterclass on African approaches to philosophy for graduate students and research staff at the University of Cape Town, drawing partly from his 2017 book, Clinical trials and the African person. 

“The masterclass is aimed at the next generation of teachers and scholars in our country,” Nefdt said. “It will involve face-to-face interaction on research topics and interests of our current students. The activity will be guided by the research expertise in African philosophy of Dr. Iyioke. He will discuss his work, how to approach the integration and inclusion of different voices in the discipline.”

While at the University of Cape Town, Iyioke also will present in a weekly departmental seminar and have the opportunity to present a public lecture with the HUMA – Institute for Humanities.

Iyioke is tentatively scheduled to visit the University of Cape Town in September 2021, depending on travel restrictions due to COVID-19. 

The primary objective of this project is to use the expertise of our chosen visiting scholar to open up a new channel of research into African bioethics and the pandemic.

Dr. Ryan Nefdt

“The primary objective of this project is to use the expertise of our chosen visiting scholar to open up a new channel of research into African bioethics and the pandemic,” Nefdt said. “The secondary objectives involve providing additional and external support for our graduate students and possibly also research collaboration for the future between our staff and the visiting fellow.”

The long-term goal for the project is to establish a regular scholar exchange between Michigan State University and the University of Cape Town.

“We hope to create a larger network between our universities and departments for the exchange of students and faculty,” Nefdt said. “We hope to build capacity in the field of

African philosophy for the future of our department going forward. A joint conference on African approaches to philosophy and ethics co-organized by our two departments would be an ideal means of instantiating a connection in the future.” 

The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program is offered by the Institute for International Education in collaboration with the United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa). The program is funded by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY).