Cornell University alumni Reuben A. Munday and Cheryl Casselberry Munday have created an endowment that will allow the university’s Africana Studies and Research Center to bring in a leading scholar of African and African-American studies to the Ithaca campus for an annual lecture.
The endowment is the first major gift of its kind to the ASRC since its establishment in 1969.
“This is a milestone that celebrates the success and momentum of Africana in the last 10 years, and we deeply appreciate the Mundays’ recognition and enhancement of Africana’s success by endowing this lectureship,” said Gretchen Ritter, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She noted that a major hiring drive has brought nationally and internationally prominent scholars in African and African-American studies to the ASRC, including a number of well-known women scholars.
“As African-American graduates of Cornell, we felt that it was important for us to support the Africana Studies Center and the Cornell community by bringing to campus renowned scholars in the field of Africana studies,” said Reuben Munday.
Reuben Munday is chairman of the law firm Lewis & Munday P.C. in Detroit. His wife, Cheryl, is associate professor of psychology at the University of Detroit Mercy, director of the University of Detroit Mercy Psychology Clinic and maintains a private practice in Birmingham, Michigan.