“We are likely to endorse additional educational efforts to inform students about the hazards of dangerous drinking, improved intervention and counseling services, and better communication of critical policies,” Badaracco wrote in an e-mail.

The Badaracco Committee is composed of 12 members besides Badaracco, including three undergraduates.

Professor of History and of African and African American Studies Emmanuel K. Akyeampong and Thomas Professor of History and of African and African American Studies Evelyn B. Higginbotham told the Faculty Council on Wednesday about the new African Studies concentration, which Akyeampong said was approved last month by the Educational Policy Committee—a body that advises Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby.

Akyeampong said the new concentration will open this fall to students in the Class of 2006 and younger.

The concentration will replace the current certificate in African studies, and will emphasize the study of African languages, interdisciplinary work and study abroad.

African studies will exist alongside the existing concentration in Afro-American studies.

“We anticipate that this partnership will start to encourage synergy between the two fields,” Akyeampong said.

—Staff writer Jeffrey C. Aguero can be reached at aguero@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Joshua D. Gottlieb can be reached at jdgottl@fas.harvard.edu.