MSU’s Robinson transitions to leadership role at Institute for Humanities

STARKVILLE, Miss.—�̾��Ƶ’s Morgan Robinson, an associate professor in the Department of History, is the new leader of the College of Arts and Science’s Institute for the Humanities and begins her duties this fall.

Morgan Robinson portrait — Morgan Robinson (Submitted photo)

“I am grateful to Dr. Julia Osman, the immediate past director, for building up a lively and sustainable institute over the course of the last six years. We have all enjoyed the fruits of having a vibrant and engaged center for the humanities on campus, and that is the legacy that I hope to continue: to keep highlighting the important work being done by humanities practitioners here at Mississippi State, and the fruitful—and sometimes surprising—connections that can be made across departments and colleges, and between the university and its surrounding community,” said Robinson, an �̾��Ƶfaculty member since 2018.

Osman, who served as director for seven years, said Robinson is a “natural choice” to lead the institute.

“She is a gifted and well-respected humanities scholar who will undoubtedly advance the scholarly aims of the Institute for the Humanities research support programs,” Osman said. “She also is engaged in our community and wider university happenings and will bring a fresh take on the ‘conversations with a humanist’ element of the institute. She is eager and open to engaging with the underserved members of our community and amplifying their voices.”

Robinson holds a bachelor's degree from Yale University and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Princeton University.

This semester, she has been an International Fellow at the Cultural Studies Institute Essen, in Essen, Germany, completing research toward her second book with a focus on the notions of research and the researcher in 19th and 20th century East Africa.

In 2021, she received a Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers in Berlin, Germany, and in 2019 was the recipient of MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences Strategic Research Initiative Seed Funding. She received a Bernadotte E. Schmitt Grant for Research in European, African or Asian History from the American Historical Association also in 2019.

Part of MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, the Institute for the Humanities promotes research, scholarship and creative performances in the humanistic disciplines and raises their visibility, both within �̾��Ƶand the wider community.

For more information about MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences and Institute for Humanities, visit and .

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