Doug Risner, PhD, MFA, a professor of dance, co-director of the MA in theatre and dance and director of Graduate Studies with CFPCA's Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, has been selected as a Board of Governors Distinguished Faculty Fellow. The distinguished Faculty Fellowships have been established to recognize and provide support for members of the faculty whose achievements and current activities in scholarship, research, and/or artistic performance and creativity continue to hold national distinction.

"This notable award is well deserved. Dr. Risner has dedicated his career to education in dance including social and gender studies in the field. He is known nationally as a leader in the field," said John Wolf, professor and chair of the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance.

Dr. Risner conducts research curriculum theory and policy, social foundations of dance pedagogy, on the sociology of dance training and education, gender in dance, and online learning and web-based curriculum design. His publications include Stigma & Perseverance in the Lives of Boys Who Dance (2009); Hybrid Lives of Teaching Artists in Dance and Theatre Arts: A Critical Reader (2014) with Dr. Mary Anderson; Gender, Sexuality and Identity: Critical Issues in Dance Education (2015), and Dance & Gender: A Collection of Empirical Research (2016).

Amongst his accomplishments, Dr. Risner is the editor-in-chief emeritus of Journal of Dance Education and associate editor of the international journal Research in Dance Education. Dr. Risner has choreographed more than 50 works, funded in part by the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, Iowa Arts Council, North Carolina Department of Education and the George T. and Jutta F. Anderson Foundation.

The Seven States Choreography Competition, American College Dance Festival, and his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), have honored his choreographic work. Dr. Risner is a recipient of numerous awards and citations including the President's Excellence in Teaching Award (WSU), the Outstanding Dance Education Researcher Award from the National Dance Education Organization, and the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award (UNCG).

The "Doug Risner Prize for Emerging Dance Researchers" was established in 2016 by the Journal of Dance Education to honor Dr. Risner's commitment to excellence in research and research education.

To learn more about Dr. Doug Risner, visit theatreanddance.wayne.edu/profile

The College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts at Wayne State University serves 2,500 students majoring in 17 undergraduate and 10 graduate programs through the James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History, the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, the Department of Music and the Department of Communication. Visit cfpca.wayne.edu more information.

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Contact: Da'Stanza Murphy, CFPCA Information Officer

az2370@wayne.edu, 313-577-5448