Maimouna Barro received her M.A. in African Studies in 1997 and her PhD in Education with a minor in Gender Relations in International Development (GRID) in 2005, both from the University of Illinois.

She is the Associate Director at the Center for African Studies and has been instrumental in expanding the Center’s academic programs.

Barro helped establish a joint degree with the School of Information Sciences as well as the graduate minor in African Studies.

She has received several awards, including the Chancellor’s Academic Professional Excellence Award in 2010.

Women featured in our weekly series are part of the 150 for 150 website Celebrating the Accomplishments of Women at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The website was created by the Gender Equity Council and the University Library to highlight women who have made significant achievements during their time at the University either as students, staff, faculty, or alumni.