Beatrice Mkenda is a Swahili professor of instruction in the department of French and Italian at the University of Iowa. Beatrice joined the Swahili program in fall 2014, where she teaches courses in Swahili language and culture.

Beatrice received a Bachelor of Art from the University of Dar es salaam, Tanzania in 2006. She then received her Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in African Languages and Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2015.

Beatrice is a recipient of Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow awards in 2018 and 2020. Beatrice worked collaboratively with the University of Dar es salaam Tanzania to provide workshops and develop curriculum in second language teaching and learning. Beatrice is also a recipient of Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching award.

Beatrice’s research interests span in both foreign language pedagogy and cultural studies. Most of her work has been on material development in less commonly taught languages, culture, literature in foreign language classrooms, intercultural connections in foreign language learning, and foreign language teaching standards. She has published book chapters, book reviews, and serve at Swahili Journal editorial board. She is also an active member of African Languages Teachers Association as well as Global Association for the Promotion of Swahili, where she served as a secretary.