Satang Nabaneh, an award-winning African legal scholar, elected African Union human rights expert and human rights practitioner, was appointed to a newly established professorship in justice and human rights at the University of Dayton.
Nabaneh, who has appointments at the UD Human Rights Center and School of Law, will serve as the first Judge John Meagher Endowed Assistant Professor in Transitional Justice and Human Rights. The professorship, housed within the Human Rights Center with a tenured faculty position within the UD Department of Political Science, was effective Aug. 16.
Established with a $1.72 million gift by UD alumnus John “Jack” Meagher (pronounced MAH-er), a Vietnam veteran and retired Montgomery County Common Pleas Court judge, the position will focus on improving judicial and nonjudicial processes that help societies heal and rebuild after violence and conflict.
In her new role, Nabaneh will lead public conversations on human rights and justice, build partnerships with experts and community leaders, and publish research on how societies build peace after conflict. She will develop and teach specialized courses in transitional justice and international human rights, mentor students in advocacy, research and fieldwork, particularly in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. In addition, she will seek grant funding to support scholarship and community-engaged initiatives.
“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.”
Nabaneh joined the UD Human Rights Center in August 2021 as its director of programs. In 2024, she was appointed as an assistant professor of practice within the center.
In addition to her University roles, Nabaneh 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 the special rapporteur on violence against children. Across her research, teaching and international engagements, she collaborates with United Nations treaty monitoring bodies, regional mechanisms and civil society organizations to advance justice and protection standards.
Her research broadly examines the intersection of law, politics and legal mobilization, focusing on political reform, reparations and gendered harm in transitional contexts from a comparative global perspective, with a particular focus on Africa. Across her publications, teaching and field engagement, she works to bridge academic analysis with policy design — regularly advising governments, drafting legislation and human rights guidelines, collaborating with judicial institutions, civil society and international organizations.
“This work directly supports the goal of helping societies confront past violence to build more democratic and peaceful futures,” Nabaneh said. “I have also cultivated an international research footprint as a global fellow at the University of Bergen’s LawTransform, where I have contributed to strategic grant-seeking efforts, including projects supported by the Research Council of Norway. I look forward to expanding these transatlantic partnerships and strategic grant-seeking collaborations to advance comparative transitional justice research across both emerging democracies and settled democracies in the Global North.”
At UD, Nabaneh has mentored graduate and undergraduate students, and developed and implemented high-impact experiential learning opportunities.
“The UD Department of Political Science is excited to welcome Dr. Nabaneh to the department,” said Nancy Martorano Miller, professor and political science department chair. “Her expertise will add new course offerings for students interested in human rights and politics outside of the United States.”
Nabaneh holds a doctorate in law from the University of Washington in Seattle, and doctorate and master of law degrees from the University of Pretoria in South Africa.
Prior to UD, she served as a postdoctoral fellow and academic coordinator of the master’s and doctorate degrees in sexual and reproductive rights in Africa program at the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria.
Nabaneh is the co-editor of The Gambia in Transition: Towards a New Constitutional Order, which examines human rights, constitutional reform and democratic governance following decades of authoritarian rule. Her other peer-reviewed, edited book publications include Female Genital Mutilation: Politics of Criminalization and Harmful Practices and Human Rights: An International Perspective.
Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals that include the Denver Journal of International Law, African Human Rights Law Journal, African Human Rights Yearbook, Journal of Human Rights, Journal of African Policy Studies and Health and Human Rights Journal. Her analysis and commentary on global human rights, justice and constitutional democracy have appeared in leading international news outlets, including The New York Times, Reuters and Time.
Her honors include the Women Have Wings Award, the Justitia Awards for Women in Law and recognition by The Africa Report as one of “10 African Scholars to Watch” and New African magazine’s “100 Most Influential Young Africans.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Satang Nabaneh as the Meagher Endowed Professor,” said Natalie Florea Hudson, professor and UD Human Rights Center executive director. “Her decades of groundbreaking work in human rights and transitional justice, her global reputation — especially her unwavering advocacy for the rights of women and girls — and her courageous leadership inspire us all.
“Dr. Nabaneh brings an extraordinary vision for advancing transitional justice through innovative teaching, research and partnership. Her deep commitment to student learning, both in and out of the classroom, and her proven ability to mentor students and create high-impact experiential opportunities will profoundly enrich our students and our community.”
Hudson chaired the interdisciplinary search committee, which also included Joel Pruce, associate professor and Human Rights Center director of applied research and learning; Kelly Johnson, associate professor and the Fr. William J. Ferree Chair of Social Justice; Kirsten Mendoza, associate professor and associate director of human rights studies; and Erin O'Mara Kunz, professor of psychology.