As a tribute to Jan’s remarkable scholarship and mentoring, we invite you to contribute to the Jan Vansina Fund. The fund was established in 1994 upon Jan’s retirement and has already supported a significant number of UW graduate students in African History, many from Africa.
The UW African History program is committed to Jan’s career-long mission of promoting research by African and African-descended scholars. As such, new gifts to the fund will target continuing collaborations with African scholars and linkages between US African studies programs and Africanist scholarship elsewhere in the world. Among the aims of the fund: fellowship and research support for African graduate students at UW; support for visiting African scholars to utilize UW library collections and engage in research collaborations; bolstering partnerships with African universities and institutes, including publishing projects, small seminars, and conferences. Ultimately, our goal is to continue the rich legacy of engagement with Africa that Jan developed over his many years of distinguished scholarly service. You can make your gift directly online at the following here.
If you are interested in making an estate gift in Jan’s honor, please contact Katie Rather at the University of Wisconsin Foundation: 608-308-5342 or katie.rather@supportuw.org.