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This is your central location for IU School of Liberal Arts news. Check back regularly for the latest stories highlighting the research and academic accomplishments in and around our liberal arts community.

 

Associate Professor of Sociology Carly Schall has been appointed as the new director of the General Studies Program in the IU School of Liberal Arts in Indianapolis. The General Studies Program provides students the opportunity for a uniquely designed multidisciplinary course of study and is ideal for returning and nontraditional students seeking a college degree.

In making the announcement, School of Liberal Arts Dean Tamela Eitle said, “Professor Carly Schall’s experience in curriculum development, involvement with the First-Year Experience at IU Indianapolis, and overall commitment to student success will enable her to maintain the existing high standard of education within the program while also envisioning the program’s future.

Graduate students with the IU School of Liberal Arts Sports Capital Journalism Program, along with students in The Media School at IU Bloomington got the call for some of the most coveted press box opportunities in college football.

Three sports journalism graduate students, Cort Street, Chris Schumerth and Jeffery Green Jr., helped cover this year’s College Football Playoff games. Street and Schumerth started off early coverage at the Big 10 Championship in Indianapolis and then continued on to South Bend and then the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Now they are preparing for the National Championship game in Atlanta.

IU School of Liberal Arts geography professor, Jeffrey Wilson joined a group of Indiana University researchers in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington and the School of Liberal Arts at Indiana University Indianapolis to study the potential benefits of a European-style certification for local foods, known as a “Geographical Indication” (GI), to boost the Hoosier state’s rural economies.

The study asserts that GI designation could help Indiana’s small agricultural communities thrive by linking the quality of local foods to their place of origin-akin to protected names like Champagne in France, or Parmigiano-Reggiano in Italy.

IU School of Liberal Arts professor of history and the director of the IU Indianapolis Arts and Humanities Institute Dr. Jason Kelly has joined a group of Indiana University Indianapolis researchers to tackle one of Earth’s biggest challenges — food security and climate responsiveness — with one of its smallest assets: insects. Supported by a three-year, $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Global Centers program, they will develop sustainable and scalable solutions aimed at shifting traditional agriculture toward a bio-based model using insects.

IU School of Liberal Arts alumna Alice Wong (English and Sociology, BA ’97) is among the 2024 MacArthur Fellows announced this week. Wong is a writer, editor, and disability justice activist who enriches the political and cultural visibility of people with disabilities, celebrating the positive power of humanity.

The prestigious MacArthur Fellowship “Genius Grants” recognizes individuals across disciplines who “demonstrate the ability to impact society in significant and beneficial ways through their pioneering work or the rigor of their contributions.” Each of the approximately two-dozen fellows receive no-strings-attached grants of $800,000, which the MacArthur Foundation describes as an “investment in a person's originality, insight, and potential."

Deeply rooted in disability justice, Wong uses her capacity for compelling storytelling across multiple media platforms. She publishes personal stories that expose ableist attitudes, policies, and practices across a society that pushes disabled people to the margins. She also shares her own experiences navigating the world as a disabled person with a progressive neuromuscular disease.

Wong is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project (2014) and a columnist for Teen Vogue. Wong served on the National Council on Disability (2013–2015), and her essays have appeared in The New York Times, KQED, and YES! Magazine, among other publications.

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