Skip to Content
My MSU

World Languages and International Studies



Bayọ Ọmọlọla, Ph.D.

Instructor of Yoruba, World Languages and International Studies

Office: Holmes Hall 311
Bayo.Omolola@morgan.edu

Education:

Ph.D. in African Languages; University of South Africa, South Africa

M.A. in Yoruba Literature at the University of Ilọrin

M.A. in Communication Arts at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria

B.A. Honors in Yoruba at Ọbafẹmi Awolọwọ University

Doctoral courses in English Rhetoric and Composition; the University of Texas in El Paso

Dr. Ọmọlọla’s academic background is interdisciplinary in nature; it encompasses African literature, African films, African culture, Yoruba studies, rhetoric and composition, language arts, and communication.A language and communication lecturer with international exposure and language study abroad program directing experience, Ọmọlọla was director of the Fulbright-Hays Intensive Advanced Yoruba Group Project Abroad from 2017 to 2022. The study-abroad program gave many American college
students a rare opportunity to learn Yoruba language and culture at the University of Ibadan and to visit
some historical and cultural sites in different Yoruba cities and towns.

Teaching Experience
Ọmọlọla has taught one or more of the following courses in different higher institutions in the United States: Yoruba, Communication, English, Humanities, and Introduction to Black Communities. They institutions include Morgan State University, University of Baltimore County, Howard University, Coppin State University, Baltimore City Community College, Community College of Baltimore County, Harford Community College, and Sojourner Douglass College. Prior to coming to the US, he had taught in Nigeria and The Gambia schools.

Research Interests:

Ọmọlọla’s interests include Yoruba studies, African culture, African literature, political communication, African news media, Nollywood films, African heroes, African diaspora/Black communities, and gender issues. His research includes “Oríkì Àwọn Eléjìgbò” (1985), “Ààrẹ Ọ̀nà-Kakaǹfò: Akọni Ogun-Ilẹ̀ Yorùbá” (1987), “Content and Stylistics Analysis of the Speeches of Olusegun Obasanjo -1978-1979” (1993); and “The Study of Oral Tradition in Yoruba Movies” (2014).

International Experience and Publications:

Ọmọlọla has language and management consulting experience. He has served as an African culture consultant with Disney World when the company was getting ready to make a film with a setting in Lagos, Yoruba culture consultant with William Shakespeare Theater when the organization was preparing its crew at Howard University for a performance of Wole Soyinka’s King’s Horseman. In addition, he was a language design consultant at the University of Florida and Yoruba curriculum design consultant at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) and at Howard Community College. He wrote Yoruba reading materials and instructor’s manuals for Beginner’s Yoruba, Intermediate Yoruba, and Advanced Yoruba for UMES. He was also a consultant to the National Foreign Language Center of the University of Maryland.
Ọmọlọla, former president of the American Association of Teachers of Yoruba, has attended and made presentations at different conferences, and his writings have been published in Kome: Journal of International Communication, Southern African Journal for Folklore Studies, International Playback Theater Network Journal, Daily Observer, Nigeria Herald, The World, Word, and Nigerian Tribune, just to mention a few. He has contributed some chapters to some academic books such as Culture and Customs of the Yoruba, Literary Crossroad: An International Exploration of Women, Gender, and Otherhood, and Encyclopedia of Yoruba. His latest book chapter contribution on Playback Theater is forthcoming. He has reviewed many academic articles, book chapters, and books. In addition, he has served as the editor of The Well Woman and been a member of the review board of The Journal of International Women.
Awards and International Recognition:
An unrelenting promoter of African culture and indigenous knowledge, Ọmọlọla has received different awards such as Men of Excellence at Baltimore City Community College, Lawrence Morgan International Poetry Award, Yoruba Community Founding Fathers’ Award in The Gambia, and National Association of the Yoruba Descendants in North America’s Recognition Award.

Courses Taught:

Dr. Bayọ Ọmọlọla designs and teaches all levels of  Yoruba language courses:

YORU 101: Elementary Yoruba I