Capitol News

Kristin Arola has been appointed as the director of American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS) at Michigan State University. She had been serving as interim director since fall 2022. Arola also holds the position of Karen L. Gillmor Endowed Professor in Professional and Public Writing and is a professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures.

Arola is a first-generation descendant of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians in Michigan's western Upper Peninsula. "Together, I believe we can make MSU a premiere institution that supports American Indian and Indigenous students, staff, faculty and Tribal Nations," Arola stated. "AIIS will continue to offer a high-quality minor and graduate certificate to support faculty engaging in teaching and research in Indigenous studies and to build toward greater collaborations and visibility across campus."

She is an active member of Educating Anishnaabe: Giving, Learning, and Empowering, an Indigenous faculty-staff association at MSU. Arola was a co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation grant focused on enabling rural and Indigenous communities to achieve energy sovereignty. She currently serves as co-principal investigator on the Anishinaabemowin portion of the Less Commonly Taught Languages grant funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Arola completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree in English. She earned her master's and doctorate degrees in rhetoric and technical communication from Michigan Technological University. Before joining MSU, she worked at Washington State University where she directed the Digital Technology and Culture undergraduate program.

Kevin Leonard, director of the Native American Institute at MSU, expressed his support for Arola's appointment: "I have had the pleasure of knowing and working closely with Dr. Arola on multiple programs and projects over the past seven years, and I look forward to our continued collaboration," he said. "She is the perfect choice to lead the American Indian and Indigenous Studies program into the future."

As a trained rhetorician specializing in writing studies, Arola examines how alternative writing processes can broaden inclusivity for marginalized voices in digital spaces. Her work explores Tribal communities' decision-making practices through Indigenous methodologies as productive disruptions to rhetorical theories.