Mark Wagner Named LSU Senior Scholar Rainmaker
3/8/2023
Dr. Mark Wagner, 2022 Senior Scholar Rainmaker
Photo Credit: LSU
BATON ROUGE—Mark Wagner, professor of Arabic in the LSU Department of World Languages, Literatures & Cultures in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences, has been named as a 2022 Rainmaker by the LSU Office of Research & Economic Development (ORED). ORED, in partnership with Campus Federal Credit Union, selects six faculty
members who balance their teaching and research responsibilities while extending the
impact of their work to the world beyond academia.
Wagner received the Rainmaker Award for Senior Scholar in the Arts, Humanities, Social
& Behavioral Sciences category for his sustained program of exceptional research,
creative activities, and scholarship. Rainmakers include faculty who are at the early,
middle and senior stages of their careers and have established track records in securing
external research funding and publishing in high-impact journals.
"Dr. Wagner is a prolific scholar with a continuous record of exceptional research,"
said Troy Blanchard, dean of the College of Humanities & Social Sciences. "His commitment
to research is inspiring, and he is deserving of such an award to recognize his outstanding
accomplishments."
Wagner’s research focuses on classical Arabic literature, Arabic vernacular literature,
Islamic law, and Muslim-Jewish relations. He was recently awarded a fellowship at
the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences
(NIAS), where he is undertaking a research project titled, “The Rothschilds of Arabia
and Africa: The Rise and Fall of a Jewish Mercantile Empire Under the British Raj.”
He is writing a history of the Messa family of Aden and its network of satellite communities.
Wagner is also the recipient of prestigious awards and honors that include the David
J. Kriskovich Distinguished Professorship (2011-2013), the SIAS Summer Institute fellowship,
Institut d’études avancées de Paris fellowship, National Foundation for Jewish Culture
dissertation fellowship, and the IAYS research grant.
He received his PhD from New York University.
About the LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences
The LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences positions students, faculty, and staff
to be visionary leaders in their respective fields, a tradition of excellence that
began with the college’s inception in 1908. For more news and information about the
LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences, visit hss.lsu.edu.
Additional Links
Campus Federal Credit Union : www.campusfederal.org
Contact Sarah Gaar Keller
LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences