Our History

The West African Research Center (WARC) is an asset to West Africa and those who seek to find out more about it. Since its inception in 1992, WARC has grown both in terms of staff and influence as it continues to connect researchers in the USA with researchers in the region of West Africa interested in common issues.

In 1993, the center opened in Dakar under the direction of Dr. Eileen Julien and with the assistance of the Association de Recherche Ouest Africaine (AROA). She was succeeded by the following directors: Dr. Leigh Swigart (1995-1997), Dr. Robert Mortimer (Jan-Jul 1998), Fiona Mclaughin (Jan-Jul 1999) and Wendy Wilson-Fall (1999-2004). In 1997, WARC moved to its current location in Fann-Residence, a important area for cultural and political life in Dakar and the larger region

Since 2004, Dr. Ousmane Sene has been the Center’s director. In addition to leading the center, he is a Professor of African and African-American Literature at Cheikh Anta Diop University. He also coordinates various student exchange programs with U.S. institutions such as Mount Holyoke College, Wells College, Michigan State University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the Minnesota Studies for International Development (MSID) program. These and other student exchange programs are coordinated at WARC.

WARC has grown tremendously since it began as a loose association of U.S. and West African scholars in Dakar. In addition to promoting West African research and academic exchange, the Center also hosts conferences, symposia, public lectures and other events focused on economic and political issues affecting the region. Through collaboration and exchange, WARC has become a dynamic center of academic, political, social, religious and cultural life in West Africa.

About Us

The West African Research Center (WARC) is the overseas research center for the West African Research Association (WARA). It is located in Dakar, Senegal. WARC is a center for academic exchange between American and West African scholars that encourages research on the region of West Africa.

The idea for the overseas center came about in May 1992 and was implemented in the Fall of 1993. WARC has grown both in terms of staff and influence as it continues to connect researchers in the USA with researchers in the region of West Africa interested in common issues.

Since our inceptions, WARC has hosted and sponsored numerous symposiums, conferences and workshops.

Our Mission

The West African Research Center (WARC) is one of West Africa’s largest research centers and the overseas headquarters for the West African Research Association (WARA). WARC promotes academic and cultural exchange between American and West African researchers, students and artists and supports research on the region of West Africa. WARC specifically aims to:

  • Encourage collaborative research between American and West African researchers, universities, and relevant institutions through a program of research fellowships and the organization of colloquia, seminars, and workshops on topics of both general and scholarly interest.
  • Make available to West African and visiting researchers a research library, computer facilities, and a computer network capable of sustaining significant research efforts by providing up-to-date data and information on West Africa and the Diaspora.
  • Provide a forum in which both local and foreign researchers may conduct and share their work, and create a transnational community of scholars and researchers.
  • Promote interdisciplinary approaches and considerations of gender in the study of West Africa and the African Diaspora.
  • Disseminate knowledge through public lectures and other gatherings open to the larger public.
  • Gather, catalogue, and disseminate the results of research on West Africa.