NWANDO ACHEBE, FNAL, FRHistS, University Distinguished Professor, Jack and Margaret Sweet Endowed Professor of History, and Associate Dean for Access, Faculty Development, and Strategic Implementation, is an accomplished equity-minded and transformative academic leader. She is a multi-award-winning scholar-advocate, historian, and teacher at Michigan State University.
A 2022–23 ACE Fellow and a 2022 HERS Leadership Fellow, Dr. Achebe is co-director of the Christie and Chinua Achebe Foundation, co-CEO of Achebe Masterworks, LLC, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of West African History. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, and President of the African Studies Association.
Achebe is the author of six books, and recipient of prestigious grants from Rockefeller Foundation, Wenner-Gren, Woodrow Wilson, Fulbright-Hays, Ford Foundation, World Health Organization, and National Endowment for the Humanities.
She has served as expert consultant for The History Channel’s “Roots,” miniseries; and has been featured in documentaries and news programing on three different continents including History Channel’s “Roots: A History Revealed,” and “Roots: A New Vision;” South Africa Broadcasting Corporation’s “MorningLive,” Nigerian Television Authority’s “15 Minutes Studio,” and BBC’s “Chinua Achebe: A Hero Returns,”Witness: Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and The History Hour.
In recognition of her global scholarly leadership and contributions to African historical knowledge, Dr. Achebe was honored in May 2026 in South Africa with the name Mmasechaba (‘Mother of Nations’), bestowed upon her by Queen Vuyelwa Tsotetsiof the Batlokoa ba Mokgalong. During the ceremony, she was ceremonially draped in the community’s traditional blanket and presented with its traditional hat—an honor marking respect, kinship, and recognition within the royal community.