Biography
Prof. Dr. Bagayoko is a fellow of the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP) and of the American Physical Society (APS).He earned the BS degree in Physics and Chemistry from the EcoleNormaleSupérieure (ENSup) of Bamako, Mali, the MS in Physics from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and the Ph.D. in condensed matter theory from Louisiana State University (LSU), under the supervision of the late Boyd Professor Joseph Callaway. Dr. Bagayoko’sUS Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (US-PAESMEM) (1996), Benjamin Banneker Legacy Award (2007), and Lifetime Mentor Award of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) partly attest to his contributions to broadening the participation of minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). With over 200 publications, over 140 of which are in theoretical physics and 65 in teaching, mentoring, and learning (TML), Dr. Bagayoko demonstrated the scholarly productivity that behooves an Honors College Dean. His superior grantsmanshipis buttressed by over 88 sponsored projects whose total funding is over $62 Million, from 1985 to 2018. Dr. Bagayoko has served as consultant for national and international organizations that include the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Defense, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the TOKTEN Project, and tens of universities, in and outside the US. His more than 550 local, state, national, and international presentations partly attest to his national stature as a scholar, teacher, and mentor. His successful six-year chairmanship of the Department of Physics (2009-2012) andthat of Mathematics and Physics (2012-15) and four-year deanship of the Dolores Margaret Richard Spikes Honors College partly underscore his administrative prowess, besides the flawless management of over 80 sponsored projects;his execution of the total budget of $62 Million for these projects did not lead to a single audit finding. During his short tenure as the Director of the Office of Grants, Sponsored Programs, and Faculty Development (1987-1988), Dr. Bagayoko uplifted SUBR from being among the least funded universities in the competition for the Board of Regents Support Fund (BORSF) to the top two, in gross funding, and to the No. 1 position in funding level normalized with respect to the size of the faculty. Bagayoko was the principal author of the proposal and strategic plan, which passed rigorous reviews by out-of-state experts for the Board of Regents, for the establishment of the Ph.D. degree program in Science and Mathematics Education at SUBR. The more than 300 former undergraduate mentees of Dr. Bagayoko, through the Timbuktu Academy and LS-LAMP, include 22, 13, and 7 Ph.D. degree holders in Physics, Chemistry, and Engineering and 14 Student Grand Marshals