US Mission Welcomes Yale Professor With Nigerian Roots to UNILAG

The United States Mission has welcomed Dr. Cajetan Iheka, a professor of English at Yale University, to Nigeria for a 10-month Fulbright appointment at the University of Lagos.

Iheka, who has Nigerian roots, commenced the appointment on August 20 and is expected to contribute to academic development, faculty mentorship and postgraduate training during his stay at the institution.

At UNILAG, he will lead seminars and training programmes for early-career faculty members and postgraduate students. He will also support course development, contribute to the redesign of graduate curricula and mentor faculty members through teaching and publishing workshops.

The appointment is part of the Fulbright programme, the United States government’s flagship international academic exchange initiative, which supports educational and professional exchanges between the two countries.

The US Mission said more than 1,200 Fulbright scholars have participated in programmes in Nigeria since 1960. It added that many former participants have gone on to occupy leadership positions in government and public, private and international institutions.

Iheka is a professor of English at Yale and serves in several academic leadership roles. He is director of Yale’s Whitney Humanities Center, chair of the Council on African Studies, head of the Yale Africa Initiative and editor-in-chief of African Studies Review.

His academic interests include African and Caribbean literatures, ecocriticism, ecomedia, postcolonial literature and world literature. His scholarship examines literature, culture, environment and media.

Iheka has authored or edited seven books. His works include Naturalizing Africa: Ecological Violence, Agency, and Postcolonial Resistance in African Literature and African Ecomedia: Network Forms, Planetary Politics. He has also edited Teaching Postcolonial Environmental Literature and Media.

His presence at UNILAG is expected to strengthen academic exchange, knowledge sharing and professional development.

His engagement highlights the role of international academic partnerships in supporting research, curriculum development and mentorship for scholars at Nigerian universities.

The Fulbright appointment provides an opportunity for students and faculty members at UNILAG to interact with an internationally recognised scholar whose work focuses on African literary and cultural studies.

The welcome underscores educational ties between Nigeria and the United States, while his Nigerian roots add a personal dimension to his academic return to the country.