“We are the oldest of the area studies at MSU,” Metzler said. “It’s important to recognize that (this anniversary is) not just important to us as a center, it’s important to the university. Africa has had a special relationship with MSU.”

The center was the first step in the evolution from a land-grant university to a “world-grant university,” Metzler said.

For MSU Provost Kim Wilcox, the celebration was a chance to recognize the sustainability of the center in its efforts on campus and in Africa.

“It’s a tribute to the faculty and students over the years that have maintained not just an interest in Africa, but an active partnership with Africa,” Wilcox said. “This is about we at Michigan State and many, many people in Africa working together toward our goals over a long period of time.”

During the past 50 years, the African Studies Center has grown to be one of the largest and most influential programs in the country, said James Pritchett, director of the African Studies Center.

“We have taught more students — students who have in turn produced more Ph.D. dissertations on Africa — than any other program in the country,” Pritchett said. “It is a good time when you mark an anniversary to look back and see what you’ve done and also to look forward.”

The anniversary also is a time to remind the MSU community about the African Studies Center and its accomplishments, Pritchett said.

“I would suspect that of the 30-plus thousand students we have walking around on this campus, not all of them are fully aware that they are walking past probably one of the best programs in the country,” Pritchett said.

When dealing with Africa, the center does not view the issues solely in terms of the continent, but rather through a global lens, he said.

“The African Studies Center has never seen Africa in isolation from world problems,” Pritchett said. “All of the problems that face the planet today are pretty much global problems.”

These problems are represented by the Pamodzi exhibition, which will be on display in the lobby of the International Center for the next few months, Pritchett said.

The exhibit originally was intended to coincide with a U2 concert that was scheduled for June 30 at Spartan Stadium, in correspondence with U2 lead singer Bono and his charitable efforts in Africa, Metzler said.

However, after Bono’s back surgery in May, the band rescheduled the concert. Metzler saw the anniversary as the perfect situation to premiere the event.

African American and African studies senior Lorenzo Herron worked with the student group Spartans Against Diseases to work for malaria relief in Malawi. He said he felt honored to be part of the efforts that were put on display in the exhibit.

“It’s a great entitlement for me because Michigan State is one of the premiere universities for African studies in the United States,” Herron said. “To have this opportunity to go to this university and study among the best and brightest scholars that the university has to offer … is very humbling to me.”