The Center for Africana Studies and Culture in the IU School of Liberal Arts in Indianapolis welcomes A’Lelia Bundles, its inaugural Prestigious Fellow, back to campus for the second Bundles Scholars Research mini colloquium on April 23.

She will join Patricia Turley, assistant professor of Africana studies, and Ronda Henry, associate professor of English and Africana studies, in sharing research strategies and scholarly resources with graduate and undergraduate students for the community-engaged research they are conducting in Indiana’s Black neighborhoods.

“I’m very excited to learn more details about the students’ projects and the issues they care about, as they prepare for the first Institute for the Study of Undergraduate Researchers of Color conference,” Bundles said. 

“This type of engagement is vital to students’ growth as researchers, and it offers them a unique experience with utilizing their inquiry to address and solve community problems long after they leave our campus,” said Henry, who is also the founding executive director of the Institute for the Study of Undergraduate Researchers of Color.

Bundles is the author of “On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker” and an upcoming work, “Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance.” She spent 30 years in broadcast journalism, holding numerous positions with ABC and NBC News. She is a vice chair emerita of Columbia University’s board of trustees and chair emerita of the National Archives Foundation. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College and a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

As the Inaugural Prestigious Fellow for the Center for Africana Studies and Culture, Bundles deepens the value of the center’s presence on campus and in the community by engaging in activities that help strengthen research and outreach.