Author and academic Layli Maparyan, Ph.D., was recently appointed president of the University of Liberia. Before her appointment, she served as the Katherine Stone Kaufmann Executive Director of the Wellesley Centers for Women for over a decade. In February, she will begin her post at the University of Liberia.
Maparyan is a graduate of Spelman University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1986. She continued her education at Penn State University, where she received her master’s in psychology, and at Temple University, where she was awarded a Ph.D. in psychology.
In 2010, under the Fulbright Scholarship, Maparyan traveled to Liberia for three months while working as an associate professor of psychology and African American studies at the University of Georgia. After her time there, she transitioned to Wellesley College, where she became a professor and chair of Africana studies in 2012.
As the executive director of the Wellesley Centers for Women, Maparyan was able to establish and solidify the institute’s prosperous future by securing millions of dollars in funding and acquiring and training some of the best and brightest research minds and project directors, uplifting its mission. She also implemented an international scholars-in-residence program.
During her time at Wellesley College, she became a beloved professor of African studies and developed partnerships between Wellesley College and various African countries, among them, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda.
Maparyan also spearheaded two international conferences with women- and gender-
focused research.
Her reputation precedes her, not only as an academic but also as a philanthropist. Maparyan is a member of the board of directors for the Global Fund for Women, chair of the board of directors for the Sustainable Market Women’s Fund, and chair of the Local Spiritual Assembly for the Baha’i Faith in Framingham.
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