Dear Colleagues,

I share with you sad news from Anika Wilson, Chair of the Department of Africology.

Dr. Ahmed Mbalia, Senior Lecturer Emeritus in the Department of Africology, passed away on July 3rd. Dr. Mbalia began at UWM in 1988 and taught until his retirement in 2011. He spent his retirement with his family including his wife and colleague Dr. Doreatha Mbalia, also an emeritus member of the Department of Africology.

His colleagues remember Dr. Mbalia as truly “a man of the people,” in the most positive and endearing sense, who was a towering and powerful force behind Africology’s progress and success over the span of his 20 plus years’ tenure in the department. His students remember him fondly and many have gone on in Milwaukee and elsewhere to start organizations that help people of African descent.  Some of these individuals are part of Running Rebels, Campaign Against Violence, Urban Underground, and more.  In addition, he had served as a member of the board of directors for several Hispanic and African organizations/institutions throughout the city, including the Aurora Weier Community Center. Moreover, he was co-founder of “Africans on the Move,” a community organization that has existed in Milwaukee since 1988.

Information about services will be forthcoming. Our condolences to Dr. Mbalia’s family and to the many others whose lives he touched.

Take care,

Johannes

Johannes Britz
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs