While studying for her master’s degree in information science at UNC’s School of Information and Library Science, Nicci Gafinowitz ’16 (MSIS) met Eunice Sahle, associate professor and chair of the department of African, African American and diaspora studies.
Like everyone that had come to know, work and study with Sahle, Gafinowitz deeply admired her depth of experience and understanding of African life, particularly from a human rights perspective, and her ability to meaningfully translate them to international audiences.
As Sahle prepares to step down as chair of the AAAD after serving two terms, the Gafinowitz family has created the Dr. Eunice N. Sahle Excellence Fund in African, African American and Diaspora Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences.
“This is every chair’s dream,” said Sahle. “It’s really an important gift that will make a difference in very substantive ways to the department. For this to happen in a very difficult moment in the world in terms of fundraising and other challenges that the coronavirus global pandemic has generated — I’m really touched by the steadfast generosity of the Gafinowitz family to AAAD.”