When Wilmetta Toliver-Diallo is not assisting students with applications for prestigious fellowships or creating postgraduate and pre-professional resources in her Cupples II office, she is delivering lectures in the Department of African and African American Studies (AFAS).

When she is not overseeing the student-led Black Anthology theater production, she is advising the African Students Association.

And when she is not guiding undergraduate researchers in the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program, she is co-hosting dinners for inhabitants of Park/Mudd Residential College on the South 40, where her spouse, El Hadji Samba Diallo, a senior lecturer in AFAS, fulfills the role of a faculty fellow.

“Advising students and managing the postgraduate program engages a very specific part of my brain. Yet, I’m also a creative individual, so collaborating with organizations, organizing events, and assisting at my children’s school — those are the enjoyable activities that enable the other responsibilities to thrive,” stated Toliver-Diallo, who holds the position of senior assistant dean of advising, is a lecturer in AFAS, in Arts & Sciences, and directs the Senegal Summer Program.

Hailing from Tupelo, Miss., Toliver-Diallo first visited the WashU campus after her mother took a position with what is now WashU Libraries. During her teenage years, Toliver-Diallo would attend Thurtene Carnival with friends and listen to speakers like poet and activist Maya Angelou at Assembly Series events.

She also engaged in minor research projects for AFAS and got acquainted with some of the faculty members. Those foundational experiences inspired her to pursue history as an undergraduate at Spelman College and later as a PhD candidate at Stanford University.

“Having the chance to engage in that type of research at a young age transformed my perspective on life,” she remarked.

After a period as a postdoctoral fellow at WashU and positions in New York City and Paris, she returned to the campus, dividing her time between AFAS and the dean’s office. Those roles provided her the opportunity to assist students in the way that she felt supported as an undergraduate.

“I loved college. I felt supported. I felt acknowledged. I experienced difficult conversations that challenged my identity and helped me discover who I wanted to be in the world. I believe it’s a truly magical time,” Toliver-Diallo stated. “I aimed to play a role in that for students, ensuring there’s someone they can turn to if they have inquiries about what’s next or wish to brainstorm opportunities and prospects.”

Maya Phelps, AB ’24, collaborated closely with Toliver-Diallo when she was an undergraduate, serving on the executive board of Black Anthology, studying abroad in Senegal, participating in the African Students Association Fashion Show, and conducting research as a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow.

“Dean Diallo is an enabler of the theories that you learn in Black studies. She is devoted to Black students and embodies Black studies as an administrator and faculty member,” said Phelps, who majored in AFAS and educational studies in Arts & Sciences. “She has been involved in numerous areas engaging Black students, fostering constructive Black community development, and safeguarding those spaces.

“After graduation, Dean Diallo penned me a letter saying, ‘I knew you would be a force in academia since our first meeting, and I hope you will continue utilizing your abilities and sharing them with others.’ That’s the type of uplifting, affirming, and motivating message she has offered me since I turned 18.”

Toliver-Diallo recently played a key role in staging the 33rd annual Black Anthology, WashU’s longest-running cultural production, as well as the African Students Association Fashion Show, an annual homage to African culture.

Currently, she is concentrating on the African Film Festival, which she established at WashU in the autumn of 2005. This year’s event will take place from March 28-30 in Brown Hall. Admission is free.

The inaugural edition of the festival included a traveling series from the African Film Festival in New York.

“I believed that the most effective way to discuss and contemplate Africa was through visual representation,” Toliver-Diallo stated. “No one knew what to anticipate, but that first weekend in St. Louis was crowded — we had no seating left. There was a need, interest, and eagerness from the region, beyond just the campus.”

Now in its 19th year, the festival showcases African creatives, provides a platform to discuss African topics, and underscores the continent’s diversity.

“I believe it significantly contributes to fostering mutual comprehension. Being able to introduce places outside of the U.S. and Europe to students at a younger age is crucial in altering our perceptions of individuals and cultures,” said Toliver-Diallo, who also coordinates visits for filmmakers to St. Louis Public Schools after the festival.

By name and by story

Clara McLeod, earth and planetary sciences librarian for WashU Libraries, expressed pride in Toliver-Diallo’s development as an advocate and mentor. She and her late husband, James McLeod, vice chancellor for students and dean of Arts & Sciences, encountered Toliver-Diallo during her youthful years. Dean McLeod had motivated faculty and staff members at the university to know every student “by name and by story” — a commitment Toliver-Diallo fulfills daily.

“It’s commendable to have someone at a university who not only brings their skills but also helps others to develop their talents,” Clara McLeod remarked. “She has consistently been effective when faced with challenges, and you can observe that in her professional advancement as a dean here at the university. The initiatives she has perpetually advocated and the programs she has initiated as an innovator demonstrate her dedication to students and their progress. In that sense, she somewhat reminds me of my husband.”

Toliver-Diallo channels that same enthusiasm into her work within the St. Louis community. She manages youth programs concentrating on leadership growth, college readiness, and Black history and culture as co-chair of the Educational Development Committee for the Saint Louis Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., a historically Black sorority. Additionally, she participates on the boards of the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition and Cinema St. Louis.

“My mother has always been, and remains, quite active in her community. My grandparents were the same,” Toliver-Diallo noted. “You strive to enhance the world a bit more than you discovered it. Occasionally, it’s a simple act that can truly result in significant change.”

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