JSU professor named among top ‘African-centered Scholars of the Decade’

Bennett Odunsi

(JACKSON, Miss.) – Jackson State University professor Bennett Odunsi has recently become one of 10 recipients of the 2012 Topp’s African-centered Scholars of the Decade Award.

The awards are given to researchers who have built, nurtured and inspired communities of scholars to seriously investigate African issues. The award is named after the Egyptologist, Pan-Africanist and Mau Mau activist Mwalimu Baba Joseph “Topp” Wallace. The 2012 awards were given out at the 30th Annual Conference of the Association of Third World Studies convened at Berry College in Rome, Georgia.

Odunsi is an associate professor of public policy and administration. His research interests are in human resources, public policy and criminal justice. He has presented papers in Asia, Europe, Africa and several other major national conferences in the U.S.  He has published in the Journal of Third World Studies, Journal of Asia and African Studies and Journal of Global Awareness.  Other scholarly endeavors included publication in conference compendiums, several book chapters and a book. His current work is on comparative administrative law systems.