Nwando Achebe

Scholar-Administrator

Academic Leader

Endowed Professor
Feminist Scholar
Award-winning Historian

Authentic, Collaborative,
Equity Leader,
Transformative Change Maker


Recent News

African Studies Association

May 17, 2024

Elected as Vice President of the African Studies Association, Dr. Nwando Achebe will join the Board of Directors in December 2024.

Nigerian Academy of Letters

August 1, 2024

Inducted into the Nigerian Academy of Letters, Dr. Nwando Achebe joins the prestigious national academy as a member who advances scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Nigeria.

Woman Leader in Education

August 10, 2024

Awarded a Top 50 Woman Leader in Education by Women We Admire for the second consecutive year. This award highlights the accomplishments of women who are at the helm of diverse educational institutions across the nation.

Distinguished Africanist

March 14, 2023

Recipient of the NYASA Distinguished Africanist Award by the New York African Studies Association. The award recognized Dr. Achebe’s “prolific and innovative scholarship in the field of Africana Studies” and her “intellectual leadership as the founding editor of the Journal of West African History.”


Recent Publication

Book Cover for Female Monarchs and Merchant Queens

Female Monarchs and Merchant Queens in Africa

Drawing from distinctly African source materials and methods, Achebe’s groundbreaking historical account examines the shared power, influence, and authority that uniquely African, female-gendered entities—people, diviners, and deities—exert across Africa’s interconnected physical and spiritual worlds.

Praise for Female Monarchs

A brilliant, thoroughly engaging and accessible book, “Female Monarchs and Merchant Queens in Africa” is a fascinating and quick read that shows the many, many ways that women across the African continent have always led and continue to lead. It lays permanently to rest the notion of African women as passive or powerless and shows that women play key roles in every sector of society.

The Washington Post

Mandates a rethinking of African historiography.

Obioma Nnaemeka, Chancellor Professor, Indiana University

An invaluable guide to the roles played by African women in politics, economics, and religion, past and present.

Jonathan T. Reynolds, Regents Professor, Northern Kentucky University

A seminal work of meticulous scholarship, “Female Monarchs and Merchant Queens in Africa” is a unique and extraordinary study that is especially well organized and presented.

Midwest Book Review

Honors for Female Monarchs