The Minor in African and African American Studies was approved by the Board of Trustees at its 2018 February meeting. While the program will be officially launched in the fall semester of 2018, students can begin enrolling in classes for the minor this spring. The Founding Director for the African and African American Studies minor is Joy R. Bostic. Dr. Bostic is an associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies where the new program will be housed. Professor Bostic would like to thank the students who have been a part of the #WeBelongHere movement, especially Andrea Doe and Arik Stewart whose efforts helped to mobilize students and sparked a renewed call to establish a stand-alone program in African and African American Studies; Marilyn Mobley, Vice President for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity who took up the students call and organized faculty discussions that contributed to the development of a formal proposal; Drs. Mobley and Cassi Pittman who served on the proposal subcommittee; the Department of Religious Studies for its enthusiastic support for establishing the program; and the Dean’s Office of the College, College and University committee and subcommittee members as well as departmental chairs and program directors who provided feedback and support during the proposal process.