Daemen Professor to Serve as Fulbright Scholar in Rwanda

By | April 19, 2020
Dr. Joseph Sankoh in a suit standing in front of the Fullbright House sign in India

Dr. Joseph Sankoh

Dr. Joseph Sankoh, associate professor of political science at Daemen College, has been selected for a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to Rwanda, making this the second time he has been chosen for this prestigious international program.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Sankoh will work at the Catholic University of Rwanda, where he will conduct research in comparative global genocide, including the Rwandan genocide, which killed as many as 800,000 people. He will also collaborate on curriculum creation for community-based sustainable development, teach, and supervise graduate student research. Sankoh’s Fulbright Scholar experience in Rwanda will take place based on international travel guidelines following the coronavirus pandemic.

“We congratulate Dr. Sankoh for being chosen for this distinguished program, which is a testament to his impressive scholarly achievements and his contributions to the international community,” said Dr. Michael Brogan, senior vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college.

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is an international educational program that is administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The program offers participants the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange idea, and contribute to finding solutions to international concerns in more than 125 countries worldwide.

Sankoh is past president of the Fulbright Association Western New York and Western Pennsylvania Chapter. He previously was a guest professor at O.P. Jindal Global University in India, where he initiated cross-cultural projects and taught a graduate course on global migration and refugees.

Sankoh’s research focuses on global genocide since World War II, immigrant and refugee studies, and global comparative political studies. His scholarly works have been published in Oxford University Forum on Public Policy, Third World Foundation Studies Monograph, the Journal of Intercultural Disciplines, and the National Association of African American, Hispanics and Asian Studies Monographs, among others.

Sankoh earned both a doctorate and a master’s degree in political science from the University at Buffalo, a master’s degree in international studies from Farleigh Dickinson University, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from SUNY Cortland. He holds a People to People Ambassadors certificate and an Oxford University Forum on Public Policy certificate.

He is a resident of Amherst.