FIU graduate is first Beng person to receive Ph.D. in U.S.

Bertin Kouadio is used to being first.

 A member of the minority Beng people in Côte d’Ivoire, he was the first among the Beng people to move to the United States. And on Tuesday, Dec. 15, when he walks across the stage at FIU’s U.S. Century Bank Arena, he will be the first Beng person to obtain a Ph.D. in the United States.

Bertin Kouadio

 “We are a small community and I am proud to attain the highest level of education, and eventually become the voice of my people,” said Kouadio, who is already an assistant professor and chairman of the international studies department at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. “This is an accomplishment that my family and the entire community also take pride in and I hope to apply my years of research and study to solving some of the most pressing problems in my country in general, and our region in particular.”

 The eldest of six children, Kouadio was born in Kossangbé (District of Mbahiakro) to a humble peasant farming family.

 Because of the structure of the schooling system in Côte d’Ivoire, each stage of his education took him to a different part of the country, where he learned new languages and about different cultures. Today he is fluent in seven languages, including his native Beng and French, as well as English and several African languages. He is also proficient in German.

 Internal conflict in Côte d’Ivoire interrupted his legal studies in the early 1990s, with the advent of multiparty democracy which swept the whole of Africa.  The country had been under the one-party system from 1960-1990. Through a friendship he had forged over the years with anthropologist Alma Gottlieb (whom Kouadio calls “my American mom”), a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who has studied the Beng people, Kouadio came to the United States in 1994 to study at the University of Illinois.

 There, he had to start from the beginning because the education system was different from that of the United States.  Kouadio spent a year studying English and eventually obtained his bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in African studies, both from the University of Illinois. After meeting FIU International Relations Professor John Clark at a conference in Nashville, Tenn. Kouadio decided to pursue his Ph.D. in international relations at FIU.

 An economic crisis in Côte d’Ivoire in the 1980s, followed by a failed political reform in the 1990s, led to years of political and social conflict, resulting in a military takeover in 1999, and a civil war in September 2002. Kouadio’s dissertation focuses on the September 2002 civil war whose effects are still being felt today. When Kouadio travels back to Côte d’Ivoire, he does not go to his home region because it is still under rebel control and it would be unsafe for him to do so. He is also very cautious while in the country as a political scientist doing work on that very crisis.

 Kouadio said he hopes his research will help Ivorian and other African leaders understand the root of internal conflicts and use that in creating better futures for their countries.

 “The crisis is very personal to me as it has had a tremendous impact on our region and people,” Kouadio said. “I want to make sure people, especially our leaders, understand the causes of the war and to understand the long-term implications. Countries who haven’t gone through this kind of war can also take advantage of this knowledge.  This has important policy implications.”

 Clark, Kouadio’s mentor at FIU, said Kouadio’s research has a unique insider’s perspective.

 “Few researchers could or would travel to the country in the midst of war, or have access to those in a position to understand its outbreak,” Clark said. 

 Clark also praised Kouadio’s perseverance and his devotion to teaching.  While at FIU, Kouadio was twice nominated for an Excellence in Teaching Award, winning one in Spring 2005. At the University of Illinois, students ranked him as an “excellent instructor” on several occasions and in 1998 he won the Language Teacher of the Year Award.

 “His love of teaching has been a source of energy and renewal for him,” Clark said. “His quiet confidence and determination have carried him through to success.”

 On his mother’s side, Kouadio is descended from the traditional leaders of his region, who make decisions for the area and settle disputes. Under normal circumstances Kouadio would become a leader at some point of his adult life, in line after one of his uncles.

 Although Kouadio does not formally have those responsibilities, many back home look to him for leadership and guidance, something he takes seriously. With a cousin who is a police commissioner, Kouadio has been discussing ways to help their home region through partnerships with foreign non-governmental organizations.

 When Kouadio describes his home it is with fondness. Family and community play an important role in his community. Like in many African societies, the group has primacy over the individual. The adults take responsibility for the upbringing of all the children, so it is not unusual for one person to correct or reprimand another’s child, if necessary. Once a year, around Easter, those who moved to the city return home to celebrate Pakinou, or “reunion”.

 “The family connection is strong, and sharing is most important, especially in times of happiness, grief, sorrow, and resource scarcity,” Kouadio said. “Our region has many needs and we are trying to make sure we provide for ourselves until the government is able to do so, especially after seven years of civil war”

-FIU-

Media Contact: Madeline Baró, 305-348-2234

About FIU:
Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. More than 100,000 FIU alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University”. In August 2009, FIU welcomed the inaugural class of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu.