Southern Illinois University Carbondale professor whose research contributed to national and international environmental assessments died following a shooting Saturday in Jackson County. Kofi Akamani, 48, was taken to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, where he was pronounced dead from injuries suffered in the shooting.
According to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded around 5 p.m. Saturday, September 19, to a report of a shooting in progress near a residence off Lake Road between Murphysboro and Carbondale.
Betty Akamani, 35, was arrested following the initial investigation. The sheriff’s office said she faces various charges but did not specify them. Authorities have not released additional information about what led to the shooting or the relationship between the two.
Kofi Akamani had been a professor of forest recreation and conservation social science at SIU since 2011 and became a full professor in 2024. He also served as director of the agricultural sciences doctoral program and director of graduate studies in forestry. His research focused on natural resource management and how rural communities respond to environmental and economic changes. Akamani contributed to the Fifth National Climate Assessment and served as a lead author on international environmental assessments involving biodiversity, water, food, health and the environment.
In June, Akamani was elected secretary general of the International Union of Biological Sciences for a three-year term. He also served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Sustainable Forestry.
Born and raised in Ghana, Akamani earned his bachelor’s degree there in 2003 before receiving a master’s degree from the University of Oslo in Norway in 2006 and a doctorate from the University of Idaho in 2011.
His honors included SIU’s College of Agricultural Sciences Early Career Faculty Excellence Award in 2016 and the University of Idaho College of Natural Resources’ International Alumni Achievement Award in 2023.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office says the investigation remains in its early stages.