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Dean of the College of Sciences and Liberal Arts (CSLA) Dr. Babak Elahi has named Dr. Denise Stodola Interim Head of the Department of Liberal Arts, effective Aug. 1, 2023.

“Denise has had a great deal of University-level service experience,” Elahi said. “She’s able to work across different departments and functions, including the Academic Success Center, student affairs and staff. She’s also an excellent mentor.”

Stodola joined ɫ����Ƶ in 2003 as an Associate Professor of Liberal Arts. She has played a key role in developing and delivering Liberal Arts and general education curriculum, including teaching a range of communications, linguistics, and literature courses and the Senior Seminar course. In addition, Stodola has served as Honors Program Coordinator since 2016 and as Writing Center Coordinator from 2012 to 2019. She also participated on the Faculty Senate in various capacities, including as Moderator-Elect and Moderator in 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively.

“I am extremely flattered that the University has put its faith in me with this position, and I’m eager to work with the Liberal Arts faculty and our new CSLA Dean Babak Elahi to set some goals,” Stodola said. “We have extremely talented faculty in the department, and I’d like to work on applying their expertise and creativity as we look toward the future.”

Stodola earned her Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in English from the University of Texas at San Antonio and her Ph.D. in English from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Her research interests include rhetoric and composition, medieval literature, feminism and linguistics. Her work in medieval literature includes a recent essay on "Continuities from Ancient to Medieval Rhetoric" in a volume on the history of rhetoric. 

Much of Stodola's scholarship focuses on teaching and learning. Most recently, she has been exploring the impact of ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence on teaching composition. She is engaged in these discussions internally at ɫ����Ƶ and more broadly in higher education. Her critical observations on the use of ChatGPT in writing courses will be published on UM-Ann Arbor's Sweetland Writing Center blog this month.