Correspondence regarding Nigerian student Mashood Olabisi Ajala, 1949-1951

The Harry S. B. Johnson papers, 1948-1975 and undated, contains professional correspondence and other documents recording Johnson's activities as the Dean of Men at Augustana College in the 1950s. Topics include students’ academic standing, campus housing accommodations, and disciplinary actions. The Harry S. B. Johnson papers are arranged in the following series: Series I. Correspondence as Dean of Men, 1949-1956 Series II. Miscellaneous, 1948-1975

Within the miscellaneous series is a folder of correspondence related to Mashood Olabisi Ajala, a Nigerian student who traveled to the United States in 1949 to study at Augustana. Ajala was the first Nigerian student to attend Augustana on a tuition scholarship, with the remainder of his fees being financed by a Nigerian barrister. When his benefactor passed away at the end of Ajala's first semester and the college was unable to cover the remainder of his fees for that year, Ajala was forced to drop out of school and move to Chicago, Illinois. At the advice of Johnson and others, Ajala sought admission to several "Negro" colleges, including Knoxville College and Fisk University in Tennessee, hoping that he might be able to obtain financial aid on the basis of his financial need and race, but he was unsuccessful.

During the summer of 1950, Ajala worked as an orderly at Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago and sent some of his earnings back to Augustana to settle his debt for the preceeding year. He attended George Williams College for a short time and attempted to gain admission to Loyola University, but ultimately became a student at De Paul University in Chicago in 1951.

Ajala's financial difficulties and poor academic performance left a dark mark on the burgeoning Nigerian exchange program. In a 30 November 1950 letter from Faculty Secretary Herbert L. Glynn to Guy L. Schuytama, George Williams College Registrar, Glynn remarks that Ajala's attendance "resulted in a deluge of correspondence from Nigerians who were anxious to receive full scholarships at Augustana" and that "Ajala's performance resulted in summarily dismissing any hope of attendance here by his fellow countrymen."

Ajala would go on to achieve great fame in Nigeria and Africa for his travels in the late 1950s, when he first completed a 30-day bicycle lecture tour from Chicago to Los Angeles, California, before ultimately visiting approximately 87 countries in six years, largely traveling by bike or scooter. His book about his travels, An African Abroad, was widely read in Africa and gave birth to the African idiom "Ajala the Traveler."