Dr. Lloyd Munjanja received an Ebony Excellence Award

Date
05/01/19

Dr. Lloyd Munjanja received the Commitment to Students Award at the Ebony Excellence Awards Ceremony on April 29, 2019. Munjanja was nominated by graduate students Lauren Hagler and Safiyah Muhammad. The awards ceremony was held in the new Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center that opened this spring.

The Ebony Excellence Awards is an annual awards program under the Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center which provides an opportunity for students, student organizations, faculty, staff, and campus departments to be recognized for the outstanding work that they do on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. 

Lauren Hagler had this to say about Dr. Munjanja: “Since Dr. Munjanja joined the Department of Chemistry last year as the Assistant Director for Diversity and Program Climate, he has worked tirelessly to recruit students of color and build community within the graduate program. He has provided opportunities for black students to travel to national conferences to present their research, worked to grow and find funding for the student chapter of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), and support student issues such as mental health and program climate. He has been instrumental in promoting education of faculty, staff, and students on topics of sexual harassment and assault as well as inclusive excellence. Through the diversity committee, he has bridged the gap between students and faculty to better understand the particular challenges of minority students, many conversations of which have led to proposals for policy changes to the department head. He has already proven to be a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion and student connections in the chemistry department in his short time here and will continue to do great work as he progresses here.”

Dr. Lloyd MunjanjaLauren Hagler, Dr. Lloyd Munjanja & Safiyah Muhammad

Left photo: Dr. Lloyd Munjanja. Right photo, pictured from left: Lauren Hagler, Dr. Lloyd Munjanja, and Safiyah Muhammad.