Noah Samara, Chairman of the Board of The Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa, conveyed his sympathy on behalf of his colleagues and everyone associated with the organization in response to the death of Professor Ali A. Mazrui, 81, who passed away on Sunday, October 12, in Binghamton, New York.

"Kenya has lost one of its native sons, Africa one of its most celebrated literary figures, the world one of its best intellectuals, and The Africa Society one of its greatest friends and treasures," stated Samara.

Mazrui served as a member of The Africa Society Board of Directors since its inception in 2002 and prior to that served on the Board of the National Summit on Africa.

Professor Ali A. Mazrui, renowned author and scholar, was born in Mombasa, Kenya in 1933. Mazrui was regarded as one of the preeminent voices for articulating the African perspective in the United States. Best known for the critically acclaimed 1986 television series The Africans: A Triple Heritage (BBC and PBS), he wrote more than twenty books on African politics, international political culture, political Islam and North-South relations. Professor Mazrui, who was noted as one of the world's top 100 public intellectuals by Foreign Policy magazine and the British Journal Prospect in 2005, lectured on five continents on a range of issues pertaining to Africa and the world at large.

Mazrui held a B.A. with Distinction from Manchester University in England, an M.A. from Columbia University and a doctorate from Oxford University. Prior to his death, Mazrui had been serving as the Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities and Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University, State University of New York. He was Professor-at-Large at University of Jos in Nigeria and Cornell University. Professor Mazrui had been on the faculties of Makerere University in Uganda and the University of Michigan. He had also been a Visiting Scholar at Stanford, Chicago, Colgate, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Oxford, Harvard, Bridgewater, Cairo, Leeds, Nairobi, Teheran, Denver, London, Ohio State, Baghdad, McGill, Sussex, and Pennsylvania Universities.

According to Bernadette Paolo, Africa Society President and CEO, "everyone knew of Professor Mazrui's genius and accomplishments, what everyone did not know was what it meant to have him as a Board Member. He never failed to be there when he was needed, whether to deliver a lecture, or to be a featured guest or to fight alongside of us. He was as loyal and kind as he was brilliant."

Professor Mazrui is survived by his wife, five sons and a daughter. A prayer service was held for him at the Islamic Center in Binghamton, New York, on Monday, October 13.