Three separate but related issues made an unforgettable impression on me during 1982-1985, the three years that I chaired the African Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Today, they seem daunting and no less diminished: 1) the perennial threats of severe cuts in federal Title VI funding for international language and area studies, 2) the apparent demoralization of area studies graduates owing to a gloomy job market picture, and, despite these blows, 3) the continuing, demonstrated importance of African Area Studies to our campuses and society at large.