Team Details

Professor DeBrenna LaFa Agbényiga, Ph.D., MBA, MSW, serves as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the International University of Grand-Bassam (IUGB), an institution of excellence delivering American-style education in francophone West Africa. With nearly 30 years in higher education administration across diverse institutions including R1 research universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, HBCUs, and religious-affiliated colleges, she has advanced diversity, equity, inclusion, student success, accreditation, global education, and strategic planning.

Professor Agbényiga oversees IUGB’s academic enterprise, including schools, faculty development, recruitment, enrollment, retention, student life, and research, while navigating institutional culture within Côte d’Ivoire’s context to drive economic impact. Previously, she held provost roles at Stonehill College and Bowie State University; Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), where she pioneered the first Graduate Student Success Center, implemented Salesforce CRM to enhance graduate recruitment, advising, and experience; associate dean positions at Michigan State University (MSU); and leadership in equity and inclusion initiatives. At UTSA, she drove new graduate programs, supported doctoral expansion toward R1 status, served on key committees, and collaborated with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB).

Professor Agbényiga brings extensive experience with U.S. regional accreditors including the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), and Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). She has also managed discipline-specific accreditation processes for the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).

Her scholarship examines organizational culture, international development, entrepreneurship, community sustainability, women’s and children’s rights, gender-based violence, cross-cultural learning, refugee and immigrant resettlement, and social integration. Notable publications include “Expanding our community: independent and interdependent factors impacting refugee successful community resettlement” (Advances in Social Work, 2012), “Linguistic isolation, social capital, and immigrant belonging” (Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 2012), and “Utilizing social work skills to enhance entrepreneurship training for women: A Ghanaian perspective” (Journal of Community Practice, 2008). She has co-edited books like Children’s Rights in Ghana: Reality or Rhetoric? (Lexington Books, 2011) and contributed chapters to Springer volumes on vulnerable children.  Most recently, she has a forthcoming article examining Ethics and Leadership in a West Africa Higher Education Context.  Currently, she is leading the Giving Voice to Values for Students French project. The project includes translating the program from English to French and designing ethical dilemma case studies in the francophone context.

Professor Agbényiga has led study abroad programs in Ghana and Jamaica and has spent years working across Western, Eastern, and Southern Africa as a researcher and consultant to ministries, NGOs, and universities. Her work has also included projects and collaborations in Ghana, Togo, South Africa, Tanzania, Namibia, Nigeria, Jamaica, and Côte d’Ivoire reflecting a sustained commitment to Africa and diaspora partnerships. These experiences strengthen her broader focus on international education, cross-cultural learning, and community-engaged scholarship.

Professor Agbényiga contributes philanthropically as Board Member of the Opoku Ware School (Ghana) Endowment Fund, Advisory Board Chair for Curriculum Modernization and International Experience Design for the African Diaspora Nation, and past member of National Coalition of 100 Black Women chapters. Current roles include Appointed Chair and Member of the Advisory Council for Foreign Africa, Member of the Board of Directors for the African Council on Foreign Relations (ACFR), Founding Ambassador for the Global Funding Team of the 250X2040 Initiative, and Reviewer for the Ghana Journal of Higher Education Management. She has also served on various committees for the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), advancing global social work education and curricula.

She holds a Ph.D. and MSW in Social Work (Urban Studies), plus an MBA in Integrative Strategic Management, all from Michigan State University, and a B.A. in Criminal Justice with a Sociology minor from the University of South Carolina. 

Professor Agbényiga is married to Mr. Agbeko Kokou Agbényiga, a long-time educator and advocate for students.  They have two daughters, Gabrielle Mama Aku Sika Agbényiga, an alumna of St. Catherine University and is a recent graduate with her Master of Development Practice with a focus on International Development from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.  Their daughter, Emmanuella Nana Yaa Konadu Brefo is in her second year at St. Catherine University studying International Studies and Women and International Development.