Dr. Gizachew Tiruneh, an Associate Professor in the UCA Department of Political Science, was recognized for his 2015 book, The Rise and Fall of the Solomonic Dynasty of Ethiopia: Is the Kebra Negast a Time-Bound Document? At a special ceremony held in Washington DC on March 3, 2018, Dr. Tiruneh was made an Officer of the Order of the Star of Honor of Ethiopia, which is one of the oldest orders of chivalry of the 3000-year old Solomonic Dynasty. Dr. Tiruneh was formally invested with the Order by His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie, the President of the Crown Council. Prince Ermias is a grandson of the former Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, who was deposed in a military coup in 1974. According to Prince Ermias, “the great contributions made to Ethiopia and Africa by devoted individuals at the University of Central Arkansas has been remarkable, and the award to Dr. Tiruneh starts to recognize the debt which Ethiopia happily owes to its expatriates, and also to those non-Ethiopians in American academia who have helped preserve our culture and civilization.”
