Bose Maposa to Receive Outstanding Administrator Award

Bose Maposa, Assistant Director for Graduate Programs in the Center for International Studies (CIS), was named Outstanding Administrator for the 2020-2021 academic year by the Outstanding Administrator Awards Committee of the Administrative Senate. A two-time OHIO alum (African Studies ‘09 and Public Administration ‘10) who also studied in Botswana and Cuba, Maposa joined CIS in 2010 as the Assistant Director for the African Studies Program and was promoted to her current position in 2018.

Maposa is the operational manager for CIS’s six graduate programs, collaborating with the CIS director, academic-program directors, and CIS staff and faculty to plan and execute academic and co-curricular programming aligned with the strategic goals of the Center. She works with affiliated faculty and staff across multiple colleges across the university as well as with visiting scholars and alumni. Maposa’s many additional contributions to CIS include leading the Center’s digital transition and providing student support during the current COVID-19 pandemic, administering the STARTALK grant from the National Security Agency (NSA), and organizing the “UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) & Higher Education” conference. She also serves as the communications lead for CIS and the administrative lead for the university’s Global COIL (Collaborative International Online Learning) Initiative.

Maposa is one of the founding members of the African Studies Alumni & Friends Network, now Pan African Alumni Network, and since 2012, she has served as a member of the Sports Africa Board. She maintains a close working relationship with the African Student Union (ASU), which recognized her contributions to supporting their mission by honoring Maposa with the Africanist Staff Member of the Year award in 2018 and 2020.

Maposa was nominated for the Outstanding Administrator Award by Dr. Catherine “Cat” Cutcher, CIS Assistant Director for Undergraduate Programs, and Dr. Patrick Barr-Melej, the Center’s Interim Executive Director.

“Everyone who has worked with Bose knows how deserving she is to be awarded this honor,” Barr-Melej said. “Her contributions to the Center and to OHIO are simply exceptional. We also know that she is a powerful force for good.”

"I am proud to nominate my colleague and friend Bose Maposa for the Outstanding Administrator Award. I admire her so much! Bose is a true Wonder Woman and a powerhouse. She is super smart, technologically savvy, abundantly creative, hardworking, efficient, and kind" added Cutcher.

Each year the Administrative Senate honors three administrators for their significant contributions to Ohio University with the Outstanding Administrator Award. Maposa and two other OHIO administrators will be honored at the annual Administrative Service Awards Ceremony on May 27, from 3:30-4:30PM.