There is an extensive documentary reflection in the United States, as yet only partially known, of American diplomatic, military, commercial, explorative, missionary, philanthropic, educational, scientific and other activities in, and contacts with, Africa over the past three and a half centuries. This vast accumulation, distributed throughout the country, has considerable research potential not only for historians of Africa and of American relations with Africa, but also for Africanists working in various social scientific disciplines.

In order to bring to light and to acquaint interested American and foreign scholars with the entire broad range of Africa-related archival and manuscript materials extant in this country, the African Studies Association sought foundation support for a comprehensive descriptive guide to these materials. The Ford Foundation has awarded a grant of $54,000 to the Association for the production of the guide over a three-year period.

The Archives-Libraries Committee of the Association, under the chairmanship of Dr. William A. Hance, has arranged with the Archivist of the United States for the National Archives and Records Service to assume joint responsibility with ASA for the conduct of the guide project. Morris Rieger, a senior member of the NARS staff, and as ASA Fellow, will serve as project director. The project, which began on February 1, 1964, has been placed under the immediate jurisdiction of the National Historical Publications Commission, a body, linked to NARS, of which the Archivist is Chairman. This link will give the project the valuable advantage of NHPC's close ties with archival and manuscript depositories throughout the country.

During the spring of 1962, the Africa Liaison Committee of the American Council on Education authorized me to secure information on the status of African studies and training in Germany. Toward this end, I visited on two occasions in the late summer and early fall of 1962 a number of German organizations, institutes, and universities. My work in Germany was facilitated by the cooperation of the German Foreign Office, which arranged for my itinerary while in the Bonn area, and by the encouragement of President Heinrich Luebke of the German Federal Republic. In this brief report, I list and describe the work of the most important agencies and organizations which were engaged in 1962 in research on Africa, particularly south of the Sahara, and in the training of Africans. Special consideration will be given to some of the developments and problems in the universities.

In preparation for the enclosed report, each Fellow of the African Studies Association was sent a copy of the guidelines with a request for his or her suggestions. Over 50 individual replies representing major fields of the social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences were received, along with a number of responses from librarians, and from Africanists in small and/or isolated colleges.

A special appeal was also made to all major Programs of African Studies to discuss the issues raised by the report and was followed with a draft report covering all the major points raised in the outline. This draft report was discussed in detail with the faculty and a selected group of advanced graduate students in the Program of African Studies at Northwestern University and subsequently formed the basis for a meeting in Evanston of directors of major Programs of African Studies. Directors or their representatives from nine of these centers - - UCLA, Wisconsin, Chicago, Indiana, Michigan State University, Boston University, Howard, Syracuse, and the University of Florida -- attended the meeting, which proved to be extremely helpful. Previousy, the draft report was also discussed with representatives from Berkeley and from the Connecticut Valley.

The report reflects what proved to be a very wide measure of consensus about the present status and the particular needs of African Studies. It is sincerely hoped that the International Education Act will enable gains to date to be consolidated and progress to be made in the ways identified in the report.

Interest in African studies has long been an established tradition of Duquesne University and its founders, the Fathers of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost, who began missionary work in Africa in the year 1778. By this tradition, books on Africa have been treasured ever since the University Library came into existence.

In November 1956, with the inauguration of the new Institute of African Affairs at Duquesne, special efforts were made to develop the collection to include large quantities of government documents, serial publications and books, and to enlist the active interest and assistance of Holy Ghost Fathers in obtaining and preserving material on Africa. The initial steps taken were all well received. Invaluable source materials poured in from the continent of Africa and from all over the world. This greatly strengthened the original collection.

The Third Conference on African History and Archaeology, sponsored by the School of Oriental and African Studies of London University on July 3-7, 1961, followed in the series of four-yearly meetings begun in 1953 and continued in 1957. It was already abundantly clear in 1957 that African history had come into its own as a recognized field of study. The Journal of African History, now in its second year and preparing to expand from two to three annual issues, was an outcome of the second conference. It marked the coming-of-age.

It is a high honor to be with the distinguished Africanists who form the African Studies Association.

Five years ago, you had the vision to recognize that what most people then thought was esoteric learning about a dark continent was, in fact, the essential understanding which would permit the people of America to live fruitfully with one of the most dynamic movements in world history.

This unique position in the intellectual world gives you not only an unusual opportunity to influence the events of your time, but a heavy responsibility to make certain that the fruit of your labors is of the very highest quality. Though I am but a neophyte in the field, I know many of you well enough to appreciate your recognition of and devotion to this awesome trust.