Karen Moroski-Rigney recently was appointed Director of Strategic Planning, Assessment, and Accessibility in the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University. The three-year appointment is effective February 1, 2023, through January 31, 2026.
Dr. Moroski-Rigney had served as Associate Director of The Writing Center at Michigan State University since 2019. She is currently an Inclusive Pedagogy Fellow in the College. In addition, she served as the Chair of the College Undergraduate Committee for two years and was one of the inaugural College Accessibility Fellows.
“In recent days, the resilience and connectedness of the MSU community have reminded all of us just how important wholehearted, compassionate leadership is to the success of our shared goals,” Moroski-Rigney said. “The College is uniquely situated to develop strategic planning initiatives that engage our belief that every life, every voice, and every possible future matters. The creation of this new position underscores the College’s commitment to continuing to formalize this type of leadership in our College.”
In her new College of Arts & Letters role, Moroski-Rigney will work with the dean’s office administration, departments, programs, and center leaders to develop plans and goals and outline objectives related to a comprehensive College strategic plan. Her role sets the College’s perspectives on strategic planning and assessment apart, showcasing the College’s deep valuing of intersectionality and communities that have been underserved. This includes building a sustainable culture of assessment within the College while ensuring equal access to and navigation of teaching and learning resources.
“Assessment is a form of accountability,” Moroski-Rigney notes, “and serves as a form of transformative justice. We need to know that what we’re doing is working, and who it’s working for. And when something isn’t working, or only works for some, assessment is how we know where to make interventions and provide support.”
Moroski-Rigney also will facilitate workshops and one-to-one consultations on initiatives/program assessments with unit leaders, as well as identify process and measurement tools and develop expectations for strategic goals implementation. Given her role’s connection to disability justice and access work, she will lead the College’s work in fostering a more accessible culture for faculty, students, and staff.
“Assessment is a form of accountability and serves as a form of transformative justice. We need to know that what we’re doing is working, and who it’s working for. And when something isn’t’ working, or only works for some, assessment is how we know where to make interventions and provide support.”
Dr. Karen Moroski-Rigney
Moroski-Rigney has given workshops, trainings, and several conference keynote addresses across North America (U.S. and Canada) on disability and writing programming/writing centers, disability and classroom practices, and disability and administrative practices. During her time at MSU, she has received two College of Arts & Letters Engaged Pedagogy and Programming grants.
“During the College of Arts & Letters appreciative inquiry strategic planning process, Dr. Moroski-Rigney demonstrated a remarkable ability to put the values of openness, equity, and community into language and practice,” said Christopher P. Long, Dean of the College of Arts & Letters and the Honors College at Michigan State University. “Her sophisticated understanding of disabilities studies, her experience with program assessment, and her ability to listen attentively and with grace, positions her well to lead the implementation of our strategic plan. Her seriousness of purpose and sense of humor make working with Karen a real joy, and I am thrilled to announce her appointment as Director of Strategic Planning, Assessment, and Accessibility for the College.”
Prior to coming to Michigan State University, Moroski-Rigney was an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of English and Associate Director of The Writing Center at Penn State Learning (University Park Campus). She also served as the Secretary of the Mid-Atlantic Writing Center Association and was on the board of the International Writing Center Association. Currently, she is the Secretary for the Association of Writing Across the Curriculum.
“Dr. Moroski-Rigney demonstrated a remarkable ability to put the values of openness, equity, and community into language and practice. Her sophisticated understanding of disabilities studies, her experience with program assessment, and her ability to listen attentively and with grace, positions her well to lead the implementation of our strategic plan.”
Christopher P. Long, Dean of the College of Arts & Letters and the Honors College
“Linking together assessment, accessibility, and strategic planning emphasizes the inextricability of lived experience, accountability, and ethical planning in college administration – an emphasis that’s exhilarating and deeply moving,” Moroski-Rigney said. “It’s ‘humanities done differently,’ and lends itself toward the College goal of becoming an irresistible place to work and learn for those who share our values.”
Moroski-Rigney received her Ph.D. and M.A. in English/Critical Theory from Binghamton University in 2017 and 2015 respectively. She received a B.A. in English from Pennsylvania State University in 2011. Her recent scholarship can be found in College English, Praxis, Writing Center Journal, The Peer Review Journal, Pre/Text, and several edited collections.
“At the core of the arts and humanities, there is ‘the human.’ I hope together we can redefine and reimagine how our shared humanity is the heartbeat of university life,” Moroski-Rigney said. “There is a Horace Mann quote that I think about a lot, and it’s been coming to mind lately. ‘Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen but give us the determination to make the right things happen.’ Our College is a community that’s got the determination to make the right things happen, and I am honored to be part of that work.”
