Education & certification

Peyi Soyinka-Airewele earned her Bachelor of Science in International Relations with First Class Honours from the University of Ife, Nigeria, in 1986. She went on to receive a Master’s degree in the same field from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Nigeria, in 1988. In 1993, she pursued a doctorate in International Studies at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Career & Expertise

Soyinka-Airewele is currently a Professor of African and Comparative/International Politics at Ithaca College, New York and a visiting professor at Covenant University, Nigeria. She made history as the first black woman to be promoted to full professor at Ithaca College.

She serves on the Tompkins County Human Rights Commission and has led the African Women’s Initiative, the African Studies and Research Forum, and the Ithaca City Asylum. She was the first female president of the Association for Third World Studies and founded the Classrooms Beyond Borders programme and the Alliance for Community Transformation & Partnership of the Academy and Community.

Soyinka-Airewele participated in the Social Science Research Council’s Global Security and Cooperation Programme, the Oxford Roundtable, and the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship, supporting institutions in Nigeria and Kenya as a visiting professor.

She co-founded the Alliance for Community Transformation (ACT Africa) and directed the Partnership of the Academy and Community (PACT-OAU). She also served as Director of Research and President of the African Studies Forum and is currently co-chair of the US.-Africa Women’s Initiative.

Skills Utilisation

She can be contacted to speak on rights and protections accessible to vulnerable individuals and groups to ensure justice and equity for all.