Donna J. Maier
Professor Emeritus
Donna J. Maier
Professor Emeritus
Ph.D., Northwestern University, 1975
Dr. Maier taught the Liberal Arts Core class on Africa; upper level courses on African History, Culture and Politics; and seminars on topics such as the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade; Genocide; and Apartheid in South Africa. Dr. Maier retired at the end of Fall 2020.
Dr. Maier was Graduate Coordinator for the History Department. She has studied and researched pre-colonial African economic history; the Asante; the Maasai; and the Rwandan Genocide. She has edited The Journal of African Economic History, authored a book and many scholarly articles on African history, and published two textbooks on world history. She is a recipient of the Iowa Regent's Award for Faculty Excellence.
Dr. Maier has lived and worked extensively throughout Africa. Most recently she lived and researched for several years in Arusha Tanzania and Kigali Rwanda, serving as a research associate with the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Rwanda Genocide. Since then Dr. Maier has dedicated much time and energy to working against genocide denial and documenting crimes against humanity.