In continuing with our celebration of women in the month of August 2014, our first honoree this week is Dr. Linda L. Semu, PhD. Linda L. Semu, PhD is an Associate Professor in Comparative International Sociology with research, publication and teaching focus on the intersection of gender, international development / globalization; race; global social, economic, political and cultural change; family, marriage and motherhood; land rights and food security; HIV/AIDS; immigration; urbanization and research methods. She believes in the power of education to empower and open one’s horizons beyond imagination. One of her favorite quotes is Isaac Newton’s: “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” There are numerous individuals along her life’s journey who have willingly and lovingly allowed God to use them as vessels to pour into her spiritual, intellectual and physical growth. She appreciates all the contributions that family, friends, colleagues, mentors, intercessors; even random strangers have contributed towards her growth. While the giants are too numerous to mention, the two that stand out are her grandmother and mother, both of whom already transitioned unto God’s glory. Her late grandmother, an orphan at a tender age, was raised by missionaries who enabled her to acquire a basic level of literacy that she used initially to attain employment as a local trainer on health education, thus setting a path that proved that when a girl- child is educated, the benefits transfer to her offspring and future generations. Not surprisingly, when Linda was in the third grade, her mother graduated from the University of Malawi, becoming one of the first female college graduates in Malawi. The momentous occasion was not lost on the then young Linda. From that point on, although she had no idea what it would take to reach the goal, whenever she was asked what she wanted to be in the future, she would always say: “to be a college graduate”. It was only when she was an undergraduate at the University of Malawi while enrolled in a research methods course that she finally got it: she could use knowledge generation through research and teaching as a tool for advocacy for social justice. She went on to win her first ever academic award: a National Bank Best Student Award for the Faculty of Social Science 1987 graduating class. She graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Social Science (Sociology & Public Administration), University of Malawi in 1987. Other wards in academic excellence have since followed: a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) fellowship enabled her to study for a Master of Arts degree in Sociology, with a concentration on “Gender Roles in International Development” at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 1991. Upon her return to Malawi, she became a full-time Lecturer and later Senior Lecturer in the Sociology Department at the University of Malawi where she taught various undergraduate courses. She also lectured in, and coordinated the Masters Degree in Sociology {Women in Development Program} from 1992-1997. She acquired a post-graduate diploma in Human Rights of Women (1993) that was crucial to her research and advocacy work as a women’s rights activist. She also joined the Southern Africa Households and Environmental Change research consortium based at the National University of Lesotho in 1993 through which she won a MacArthur Foundation Research Grant to conduct a study on “Gender Differences in Perceptions and Decision Making on Energy and Fuel Use in Malawi’s Households.” From 1997, she enrolled in the Sociology graduate program at Indiana University Bloomington where she won various awards including a Comparative International Studies Fellowship; an 8 year meritorious College of Arts and Sciences Graduate Tuition Scholarship, and was a nominee and finalist for the Sutherland Excellence in Teaching Award. She also won the Population Council Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowship that enabled her to travel to and conduct dissertation research in Malawi for two years. She obtained her Ph.D. in Sociology in 2005. Her dissertation: “The Interplay of State, Family Structure and Land: A Study on Women and Children’s Well-Being in Matrilineal Households in Southern Malawi” was nominated for numerous university-wide and national awards for best dissertation. Dr Semu joined the Sociology Department at McDaniel College in 2005 where she has continued to receive awards, including the Grant Fellows Program, Faculty Book Award, Teagle Diversity Scholars Program and, has been inducted into the Alpha Kappa Delta and Alpha Lambda Delta Academic Honor Societies. Her social justice and advocacy work continues: over the years, she has conducted training, research and consultancy work on Malawi for the World Bank, UNDP, UNICEF, Oxfam, GTZ and various government agencies and non-governmental organizations. She has presented her work at various national and international forums. Some of her work has been published in journals such as Progress in Development Studies, Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Oxford Bibliographies, and Africa Today. She has also contributed to several manuscripts, including two chapters in the edited book titled Strong Women, Dangerous Times: Gender and HIV/AIDS in Africa (2009). Her recent (2013) co- authored publication on “The Brain Drain of Health Care Professionals from Sub-Saharan Africa” was transformed into a policy brief for advocacy work and public dissemination by the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign’s Center for Global Studies through the “2013 Prisms of Globalization Lecture Series and Health Initiatives.” Although she has always been a role model by default, Linda has now, while continuing with her work, consciously taken on the role of mentoring others and giving back so that she too can become part of the chain of shoulders on which others can stand. In 2009, she joined forces with other Malawian women in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Together, they formed a non-profit organization called the Malawi Washington Foundation (MWF) (malawiwashingtonfoundation.org/) whose mission is: “to improve and strengthen the lives of vulnerable families and communities and help them to become successful contributors of society at large by providing services and supporting them while focusing on creating sustainable programs for the poor, especially women and youth.” She has served as Secretary of the MWF Board for the past 3 years.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 14:21:41 +0000
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