‘Dimeji Togunde, Ph.D. is a tenured Professor of International Studies and Vice Provost for Global Education at Spelman College, where he leads the Campus internationalization and its assessment. He has more than 20 years of strategic leadership experience in developing and implementing global studies curriculum, program development/management, expanding access to international education, student learning outcomes, faculty development, accreditation and strategic initiatives for diversity and inclusion in international education.
As the chief advocate for global learning at Spelman, Dr. Togunde has passionately created strategic initiatives to increase access by breaking down barriers to study abroad while simultaneously fostering diversity and inclusion. Through semester and affordable credit-bearing short-term programs, participation has included students from all academic divisions, all classifications, first-generation College students, international students and Pell-grant recipients. Dr. Togunde has also led the efforts to increase study abroad destinations from 22 in 2012 to 33 in 2019 to include non-traditional locations that have enabled Spelman students to explore their identities and connect with other Black people in the diaspora.
Besides Dr. Togunde’s efforts in leading a transformative global learning for students at Spelman, he has also supported faculty international research; facilitated and guided faculty in developing courses on global topics/issues; built strategic partnerships and created opportunities for faculty to lead students abroad. Within the last eight years, 34 global courses have been added to the curriculum while faculty-led programs have increased from 8 in 2011to 44 in 2019. Of these, Dr. Togunde has developed 18 international programs in 4 continents and has consistently generated grants and scholarships to support faculty and students’ global engagement from the Department of Education (Title III and Title VI), Mellon Foundation, US-Japan Foundation and international education providers.
His successful leadership has produced reputational gains for Spelman through several awards that include the 2017 Senator Paul Simon award for campus internationalization from NAFSA; Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion in international education from Diversity Abroad in 2018; and the Generation Study Abroad Seal of Excellence from the Institute of International Education (IIE) in 2019. Previously, he held the John S. Ludington Trustees’ Chair in the Social Sciences as Professor of Sociology; served as Chair of the Department of sociology/anthropology; director of ethnic studies program; chair of global studies curriculum at Albion College, Michigan, where he spent fifteen years before joining Spelman in 2011 as the inaugural Dean of Global Education. He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Demography & Social Statistics from the University of Ife (later renamed Obafemi Awolowo University), Nigeria, and a Ph.D. Degree in Development Sociology from Cornell University.
