Summary:
- Political activist Martin K.N. Kollie claimed that Dr. Layli Marpayan is not the chair of Africana Studies at Wellesley College.
- Kollie made this assertion after he claimed to have reviewed Dr. Marpayan’s CV following her appointment as President of the University of Liberia.
- We have verified this claim to be correct but also found that she served in the position until 2023
On January 5, political activist Martin K.N. Kollie took to Facebook, claiming that Kellie Carter Jackson is the Chair of Africana Studies at Wellesley College and not Dr. Layli Marpayan, the newly appointed President of the University of Liberia.
Kollie made this assertion after he claimed to have reviewed Dr. Marpayan’s CV, which he said incorrectly listed her as the Chair of Africana Studies at Wellesley College.
The Claim
Kollie’s exact Facebook post reads: “The newly appointed President of U.L., Dr. Layli Marpayan, said in her CV she’s the Chair of Africana Studies at Wellesley College from 2019 to Present. This is NOT true. The chair is Kellie Carter Jackson. We’ll provide evidence.”
Rating Justifications
To verify whether Kellie Carter Jackson is currently the Chair of Africana Studies at Wellesley College and not Dr. Layli Marpayan, we also reviewed the official website of the Wellesley College website. According to the site, Kellie Carter Jackson is listed as the current Chair of Africana Studies, not Dr. Layli Marpayan — which supports Kollie’s claim.
However, it is important to note that while Dr. Marpayan is not the current chair, she did serve as the chairperson of Africana Studies at Wellesley College during the fall semester of 2019.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the fall semester is typically the period from late August or early September to December. During this time in 2019, Dr. Marpayan served as the department chair, a position she held until 2023.
Her position was also confirmed to Local Voices Liberia via email by Debbie Kudish, the Academic Administrator of the Africana Studies Department.
Further research on the college’s official website also reveals that Dr. Marpayan is the Executive Director of the Wellesley Centers for Women and a Professor of Africana Studies before her current appointment as President of the University of Liberia.
Conclusion
Based on our findings, we conclude that Martin Kollie’s claim that Dr. Layli Marpayan is not the current Chair of Africana Studies at Wellesley College is correct. However, Dr. Marpayan holds several roles at Wellesley College, including chair of Africana Studies from 2019 to 2023. She is also the Executive Director of the Wellesley Centers for Women and served as Professor of Africana Studies before her current appointment as President of the University of Liberia.
