students—by developing engaging and challenging curricula and incorporating her extensive research into the classroom experience. She was a co-founder of the Middle East Partnership Initiative program at MSU, a six-week international cultural exchange that brings students from the Middle East and North Africa to the U.S. She also spent ten months teaching at the American University in Cairo, Egypt as a Fulbright Lecturer. Susan Kollin.
Congratulations to Susan Kollin, our new Distinguished Professor Susan Kollin, professor in the Department of English, has been appointed as the newest Letters and Science Distinguished Professor. The appointment was made in recognition of Kollin’s contributions to the college, to MSU and to the scholarly community at large, said Dean Paula Lutz. The appointment is for three years. Kollin will give a public lecture during the 2012 spring semester. Kollin has taught in the Department of English at MSU since 1995. She is an accomplished scholar who has established herself as a leading national and international theorist and critic in the areas of the literature and film of the American West, environmental criticism and feminist theory. Kollin has an exceptional record of publication, including her first book Nature’s State, and an edited collection of essays, Postwestern Cultures: Literature, Theory and Space, that has challenged the very definition of the American West. Kollin also excels in the classroom—including instruction to international
In 2009, Kollin received the Betty Coffey Award in recognition of her work on issues and problems faced by MSU’s female undergraduate students. She is currently on sabbatical for the 2011-2012 academic year working on a new book.
New Speakers Series In the spring of 2011, the college initiated the Letters and Science Distinguished Speakers Series to help departments bring distinguished scholars to campus to give a public talk and to meet with faculty and students. The goals of this program are to enrich the intellectual life of our campus, and to enhance the research connections of both faculty and students. The first speaker to visit campus was award-winning Native filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, whose talk was sponsored by the Department of Native American Studies. To date, there are six speakers scheduled for the fall semester and three speakers scheduled for the spring semester. To learn more about the series, and to see a list of scheduled speakers for the 2011-2012 academic year, please visit www.montana.edu/lettersandscience/ speakers.html.
Got Vim? Prove it. The Montana State University Alumni Association Membership Match Program provides a unique opportunity for you to demonstrate your loyalty to MSU AND support the College of Letters and Science. Now through the end of 2011, when you join the MSU Alumni Association as an annual member or life member, or you upgrade your existing annual membership to a life membership, the MSU Alumni Foundation will provide $50 to $100 in unrestricted funds to the College of Letters and Science.
“ We’ve got the
vim win
We’re here to
. ” .
~ MSU Fight Song
If you’ve been thinking about joining the MSU Alumni Association, upgrading your membership or donating to MSU, this is a great opportunity. Go to advancemsu.org and click on “join,” or fill out and return the envelope inserted in this issue of Confluence today. www.montana.edu/lettersandscience
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