Among scholars of African politics, Edmond Keller stands out as a key voice in the last three decades of the field. The study of Horn of Africa politics, democratization and human rights, along with crucial, intellectual and political trends such as Afro-Marxism, citizenship, federalism and religious identities have all been the subject of his scholarly work. From early teaching positions at Indiana University and UC Santa Barbara, through his long and distinguished tenure at UCLA, Professor Keller has mentored generations of scholars, and has been a leader in recruiting African and African American students into the study of Africa. Two roundtables will analyze the intellectual contributions of Keller’s work, his roles as scholar, mentor, administrator and policy analyst, and his leadership in African Studies more generally. Keller’s career at UCLA includes a decade as Director of the African Studies Center, five years as founding director of the Globalization Research Center–Africa, and two terms as Chairman of the Department of Political Science. He is also a co-founder of the Uongozi (Leadership) Institute, East Africa – a next generation leadership program inaugurated by the University of Dar es Salaam in collaboration with the University of Nairobi, Makerere University, and UCLA’s African Studies Center. A recipient of the ASA’s Distinguished Africanist award, a past President of the ASA, the former editor of several prominent African Studies journals, and grounded in the discipline of Political Science, Edmond Keller is one of the country’s leading scholars of Africa.