Prof. Jean Herskovits

Prof. Jean Herskovits is a research professor of history at the State University of New York at Purchase. She specialises in African history and politics and has also taught at Brown University, Swarthmore College, City College of the City University of New York and Columbia University. She holds a D. Phil. in African history from Oxford University.

Recognized for her decades of experience in Nigeria, she has written extensively and consulted for foundations, corporations and the World Bank on Nigerian and African matters and testified at U.S. Senate and Congressional committee hearings on Nigeria and U.S. Africa policy. From 1993-98 she worked with the late Amb. J.N. Garba on a project focused on security issues in Southern and West Africa. She has held various positions in Nigeria, including director of United Bank for Africa (1998-2005), where she also chaired the Board of Trustees of the UBA Foundation. She had previously served as head of the Nigeria reinvestment project of Citizens Energy Corporation and from 2001-2008 was a member of Conoco Phillips’ Nigeria advisory council.