Gambian human rights scholar takes up inaugural US professorship
Award-winning Gambian legal scholar and African Union human rights expert Dr Satang Nabaneh has been appointed inaugural holder of a new endowed professorship in transitional justice and human rights at the University of Dayton.
Helping societies confront past violence and build more democratic and peaceful futures has been a thread running through Dr Satang Nabaneh’s work across Africa and internationally. Now the Gambian legal scholar and African Union human rights expert will bring that experience to a new tenured academic position in the United States.
Nabaneh has been appointed the first Judge John Meagher Endowed Assistant Professor in Transitional Justice and Human Rights at the University of Dayton, where she has worked within the Human Rights Center since 2021.
“I am deeply honored to steward Judge Meagher’s inspiring legacy of justice, peacebuilding and community service,” Nabaneh said.
“As the Human Rights Center continues to deepen its leadership in transitional justice, I see significant opportunities to expand research clusters and practitioner networks, creating new initiatives that prioritize student learning, development and engagement while elevating both academic scholarship and real-world policy impact.”
The professorship, which took effect on 16 August, is housed within the University of Dayton’s Human Rights Center and carries a tenured faculty position within its Department of Political Science.
It was established through a US$1.72 million gift from university alumnus John “Jack” Meagher, a Vietnam veteran and retired Montgomery County Common Pleas Court judge. The position focuses on improving judicial and non-judicial processes that help societies heal and rebuild following violence and conflict.
Nabaneh brings to the role experience extending well beyond academia. She is an elected member of the African Union’s African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, where she serves as special rapporteur on violence against children, and collaborates with United Nations treaty-monitoring bodies, regional human rights mechanisms and civil society organisations.
Her research sits at the intersection of law, politics and legal mobilisation, exploring issues including political reform, reparations and gendered harm in transitional contexts, with a particular focus on Africa.
“This work directly supports the goal of helping societies confront past violence to build more democratic and peaceful futures,” Nabaneh said.
Her academic journey has itself stretched from The Gambia across Africa and into the United States. Nabaneh earned her undergraduate law degree at the University of The Gambia before undertaking postgraduate studies in South Africa and the US.
Before moving to Dayton, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights and academic coordinator of its master’s and doctoral programmes in sexual and reproductive rights in Africa. She holds an LLD and LLM from the University of Pretoria, as well as a PhD in law from the University of Washington in Seattle.
That Gambian background also connects directly to her scholarship. Nabaneh co-edited The Gambia in Transition: Towards a New Constitutional Order, examining human rights, constitutional reform and democratic governance following decades of authoritarian rule. Her other edited works have explored female genital mutilation, harmful practices and human rights.
Her work has earned international recognition, including the Women Have Wings Award and Justitia Awards for Women in Law, while The Africa Report named her among “10 African Scholars to Watch” and New African included her among its “100 Most Influential Young Africans”.
At the University of Dayton, Nabaneh will develop and teach specialist courses in transitional justice and international human rights, mentor students in advocacy, research and fieldwork, and build partnerships with experts and community leaders.
Human Rights Center executive director Professor Natalie Florea Hudson said Nabaneh brought “an extraordinary vision for advancing transitional justice through innovative teaching, research and partnership”, alongside a global reputation and longstanding advocacy for women and girls.
For Nabaneh, the appointment also presents an opportunity to expand transatlantic research and practitioner networks, connecting experiences across emerging and established democracies while pursuing the goal at the heart of her work: helping societies confront difficult pasts to build “more democratic and peaceful futures”.
