Contact Information
Eileen Roraback Bio
Eileen M. Roraback, (Ph.D. American Studies, University of Iowa) Associate Director of the Public Humanities Collaborative, administers the day-to-day operation of the PHC and helps to plan its agenda and programs. Formerly the Director of the Michigan Academy of Science Arts & Letters, a regional research organization, Roraback has taught at Alma College, the University of Toledo, and Michigan State University.
With a twenty-five year history as an editor of academic, government and popular texts, Roraback served as the editor of the Michigan Academician, managing editor of Social Problems, and a contributing editor for the International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice. Her research and teaching interests include autobiography, public intellectuals, the involvement of writers and artists in 20th century social and political movements, folklore, and civic engagement and the humanities. She has a long-standing interest in anti-violence work, especially in the area of reducing the impact of violence on women and children.
Since joining the PHC in the fall of 2006, Roraback has focused on administering new initiatives at MSU to support faculty, staff and student involvement in outreach and engagement projects and scholarship and strengthening ties to the wider community through innovative web based and traditional communication strategies. She was involved in organizing a series of conversations in the spring of 2007, designed to expand dialogue and deepen reflection on campus regarding barriers and opportunities for cross-college and interdepartmental collaboration and university-community cooperation. She also participated in discussions over the summer with area community leaders and university members interested in improving communication and collaboration.
Roraback will continue in the PHC’s effort to support and strengthen community and campus cultural organizations; pursue research opportunities through the cultural creativity research group; participate in the deliberative democracy process through the Kettering/MSU Extension/Public Humanities capacity building project; publicize the many cultural opportunities and events occurring on a daily basis at MSU and in the wider community; and mentor graduate students affiliated with the PHC and its administrative offices.
