Faculty Kudos, Fall 2022

Economics Associate Professor Warren Anderson spoke to Wallethub.com in their Ask the Expert series to discuss, “Why do car insurance rates (and even providers) vary so much from state to state?” Anderson answered questions related to risk factors, inexpensive car insurance and more.

Everyone’s favorite spider expert, UM-Dearborn Associate Biology Professor Anne Danielson-Francois, was featured again in USA Today, talking about why you may be seeing more spiders in your home lately, why you shouldn’t freak out about it, and why you really shouldn’t squish them. Read the article.

Assistant Professor of Arabic Language and Literature Wessam Elmeligi recently published a chapter on the graphic novels of Egyptian-Filipino-American novelist and artist Malaka Gharib. It was published in the book “Muslim Women's Writing from across South and Southeast Asia,” a new anthology exploring the ways women writers from the region navigate cultural, political and controversial boundaries. Elmeligi was also recently a featured speaker at the Global Internship Summit in Cairo, Egypt, where he gave a talk about opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to study at American universities.

Congrats to English Professor J. Caitlin Finlayson for being this year’s recipient of the Jackie Lawson Memorial Faculty Governance Award. The honor recognizes distinction in “building a positive relationship between the Ann Arbor campus and one or both regional campuses.” You can read more about Finlayson’s work in this article from The Record. 

Spanish Professor and Director of International Studies and Global Cultures Jorge Gonzalez del Pozo recently edited a special volume of the “Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies.” The anthology featuring scholars from across the world focuses on the representation of the countryside in 20th- and 21st-century Spanish film.

What's the value of public opinion polling? And, at election time, what do we need to know about polling? Communication Professor Tim Kiska is giving a virtual free-to-attend presentation “A Primer on Polling” at 7 p.m. Oct. 26. The event is through The League of Women Voters of Grosse Pointe. ABC News Director of Polling Gary Langer will also present. The Grosse Pointe News shares more details.

Political Science Professor Mitchel Sollenberger was featured on Michigan Radio’s “Stateside” last week, talking about executive privilege and the current classified records case involving former President Donald Trump. His segment begins around the 31:00 mark.

Interim Director of the Center for Arab American Studies Pauline Homsi Vinson co-edited the book "Sajjilu Arab American: A Reader in SWANA Studies" (Syracuse University Press, 2022). The 552-page book is the first comprehensive and multidisciplinary reader in Arab American Studies. This collection includes foundational scholarship for the growing fields of critical Muslim studies and critical South West Asian/North African (SWANA) Studies in the Americas. Additional co-editors were Marquette University Professor Louise Cainkar and Georgia State University Associate Professor Amira Jarmakani.