Jonathan Choti, Associate Professor of African Languages and Cultures in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, was elected President of the Kenya Scholars and Studies Association (KESSA), a professional organization that draws members from around the world and that promotes scholarly, scientific, and research work being done in and on Kenya.
Choti, who also is an alum of Michigan State University having earned his Ph.D. in Linguistics from MSU in 2015, is a founding member of KESSA and has attended all but one of KESSA’s annual conferences. He previously served as KESSA’s Vice President for one year and before that as its Organizing Secretary for three years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he organized KESSA’s monthly virtual meetings that attracted participants from around the world.
As President of KESSA, Dr. Choti will lead the association in strengthening scholarly collaboration, promoting Kenyan and African studies, and mentoring the next generation of researchers in the diaspora and beyond.
Reflecting on his new role, Choti expressed gratitude for the trust placed in him by colleagues and emphasized the importance of building bridges between scholars in Kenya, the United States, and around the world.
“KESSA has been an intellectual home for Kenyan scholars and friends of Kenya for nearly two decades. I am honored to lead the association at this exciting time, and I look forward to expanding its impact in scholarship, mentorship, and community engagement.”
Dr. Jonathan Choti
“KESSA has been an intellectual home for Kenyan scholars and friends of Kenya for nearly two decades,” he said. “I am honored to lead the association at this exciting time, and I look forward to expanding its impact in scholarship, mentorship, and community engagement.”
Choti’s election as President of KESSA underscores his unwavering commitment to scholarship, service, outreach, and leadership within the academic community, and it further strengthens MSU’s global reputation as a leader in global African studies.
This election also marks another milestone in Choti’s distinguished record of professional leadership, outreach, and service to the advancement of African studies and language education globally. In addition to his leadership at KESSA, Choti holds and has held numerous influential positions in national and international professional organizations. He currently serves as Director at the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations (NFMLTA) and sits on the Field Advisory Board of the National African Language Resource Center (NALRC) of Indiana University-Bloomington. He also is an active member of the Global Association for the Promotion of Swahili (CHAUKIDU-Chama cha Ukuzaji Kiswahili Duniani).
Previously, Choti served on the Executive Boards of both the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL) and the Association of Contemporary African Linguistics (ACAL). He also served as President and Vice-President of the African Language Teachers Association (ALTA), where he played a vital role in the promotion, teaching, and learning of African languages in the United States.
Michigan State University has consistently supported Choti’s global engagements in East Africa where he has established collaborations at many universities, including the University of Kabianga, Egerton University, Laikipia University, the University of Nairobi, United States International University-Africa (Kenya), Makerere University (Uganda), the University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam University College of Education, and Sokoine University of Agriculture (Tanzania). His international work has received support from both MSU internal and external grants.
At MSU, Choti teaches Swahili language and several courses focused on Africa, including Area Studies and Multicultural Civilization: Africa; Gender Diversity and Sexuality in Africa; Sustainable Community Development in Tanzania (summer education abroad program); Democratic Discourse and Critique: Gender Inequality and Democratic Debate in Africa; Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies; and Africa and the World: Society and Technology in Kenya.
Following the ratification of Choti’s nomination as President at KESSA’s 17th annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sept. 5-6, 2025, the election was held electronically Sept. 10-12, 2025. Following the vote, Choti’s two-year term as President began immediately on Sept. 12, 2025.
Former presidents of KESSA include Professor Kefa Otiso (Bowling Green State University), Professor Wycliffe Njororai (Stephen F. Austin State University), Professor Jerono Rotich (Indiana University-Bloomington), and Professor Esther Adhiambo Obonyo (Pennsylvania State University).
KESSA was founded in 2008 and held its inaugural meeting Aug. 1-2, 2008, at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. This professional organization was formed with three main goals in mind: (a) to build individual and institutional scholarly partnerships between Kenya and the outside world, (b) to build members’ intellectually and professionally through mentorship, promotion of their scholarship and publications, and by hosting scholarly conferences and other professional networking forums for them, and (c) to strengthen the role of the Kenyan diaspora and Kenyanist scholars in Kenya’s and the broader world’s socioeconomic development.
By Jonathan Choti and Kim Popiolek
