African American Studies

African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign originated in 1969 as the academic branch of the Faculty Student Commission on Afro-American Life and Culture. In 1970, the Faculty Student Commission was dissolved and replaced by the Afro-American Studies Commission, which included three branches: academic, cultural, and service, that reported directly to the Vice Chancellor. During the 1974-75 academic year, the Afro-American Academic Program was transferred to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences where it received the title Afro-American Studies and Research Program, and later, African American Studies and Research Program (African American Studies). Now, nearly forty years later, a movement has grown into a department. In June 2008, African American Studies became the Department of African American Studies.