Associate Professor 

Cassandra’s primary research has centered on the politics of forced migration in East Africa. She has conducted field research in Kenya and Tanzania where she examined the political factors that forced refugees out of their countries of origin such as Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi and examined the political factors surrounding their stay in Kenya and Tanzania as both countries were undergoing economic, political, and social changes. This research resulted in her book, Forced Migration in East Africa: Democratization, Structural Adjustment, and Refugees (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2007). She co-edited two books that include Women’s Scholarly Publishing in Africa (Africa World Press, 2001) and Leisure in Urban Africa (Africa World Press, 2003). She has published journal articles that address Africa-US foreign policy, the role of the US African Diaspora in African affairs, internally displaced women in Uganda and Liberia. Her book chapters examine refugee women in Kenya, US foreign policy and human rights in Africa, the role of African Americans in African universities, and immigration and refugee policies toward African refugees and immigrants. Her forthcoming research will examine US immigration policies and their effects on Black refugees and immigrants during and after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.