Ali Mazrui, the Albert Schweitzer professor in the humanities and director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University, gave a public lecture on Tuesday on “diversity in Africa.”

Mazrui is BU’s most prestigious faculty member — he has taught on five different continents, written more than 30 books and published a video series on African history that aired on both the BBC and PBS. He also holds appointments at Cornell University, the University of Jos in Nigeria and at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya, where he is the school’s chancellor. The American magazine Foreign Policy and the British magazine Prospect in 2005 nominated Mazrui as one of the top 100 public intellectuals alive in the world.

Mazrui gave a lecture at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the Anderson Center’s Reception Room on topics that included diversity, politics, language, religion and empowerment of women in Africa.

Katharine Krebs, vice provost for international affairs, said that Mazrui’s lecturing style prompted inclusive dialogue.

“His enthusiasm for open discussion invited participation from everyone who attended the lecture so that there was a sharing of perspectives by people with vastly different experiences,” Krebs said.

Krebs said she helped to organize Tuesday’s lecture along with Mazrui’s teaching assistant, Anukware Adzima.

“Binghamton is honored for diversity,” Adzima said. “Mazrui tries to break down barriers in his work as a scholar.”

Mazrui welcomed eight visiting students from the University of the Free State (UFS) in South Africa during his beginning remarks.

“The purpose of their visit was to study diversity and race relations in the U.S. with the idea that if we examine such questions from the perspective of people in different societies, we will find better solutions to the pressing social issues of our times,” Krebs said.

Krebs said the South African students reported that they enjoyed their 10-day stay at BU.

“[The South African students] especially enjoyed their interactions with Binghamton students including student volunteers from human development, resident advisers and members of the African Student Association,” Krebs said. “They were impressed by the friendliness of people they met and interested in the ways we handle various issues such as our efforts to be a green campus.”

In 2010, UFS Vice Chancellor Jonathan Jansen from South Africa visited Binghamton and asked if BU would take in a group of freshmen students to teach them about American schools and the culture. During their visit, they stayed with host families in the area.

BU’s partnership with the UFS has now entered a new phase.

“We will begin discussion with UFS, various kinds of collaborations among faculty, staff and students. It is likely that we will organize a student trip to South Africa for next summer,” Krebs said.