Scholar Robert West adds to leadership in College of Arts and Sciences
Mississippi State University Professor Robert M. West has been named interim associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Arts and Sciences, bringing nearly three decades of teaching, scholarship and leadership experience to the role.
West will support the college’s academic programs, faculty initiatives and student success efforts while continuing to contribute to the university’s broader academic mission. A faculty member since 2002, he is a professor of English and previously served as head of the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures.
“Dr. West brings a deep understanding of the academic enterprise and a thoughtful, collaborative approach to leadership,” said Dean Rick Travis. “His experience across disciplines and his commitment to faculty and students will strengthen the College of Arts and Sciences in meaningful ways.”
“I appreciate Dean Travis’s confidence, and I’m truly fortunate to have the opportunity to work with the college’s extraordinary administrative team,” West said. “Mississippi State is a great university, and I see the College of Arts and Sciences as its heart and soul. I look forward to working on behalf of all the college’s academic programs, faculty, staff and students.”
Throughout his career at MSU, West has advanced academic excellence and institutional distinction. He led the university’s successful effort to establish a Phi Beta Kappa chapter in 2018, securing membership in the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. He has served as chapter president and remains active on its executive committee.
West also helped position MSU as a leader in language education by guiding efforts to bring the Global Seal of Biliteracy to campus last year. Through this initiative, MSU became the first university in Mississippi to sponsor the internationally recognized credential, which certifies proficiency in English and at least one additional language and enhances students’ academic and professional opportunities.
In addition to his administrative leadership, West has contributed to the university in several key roles, including serving as interim director of the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College from 2010 to 2011. He is a graduate of the SEC Academic Leadership Development Program and MSU’s Faculty Leadership Program.
A specialist in post-1900 American and British literature, West maintains an active record of scholarship and creative work. He is the author of the poetry collection “A Clear Eye,” released this spring, an 88-page volume featuring 59 poems that reflect his signature style of brevity and precision.
His broader body of work includes co-editing “Succinct: The Broadstone Anthology of Short Poems” (2013), editing both volumes of “The Complete Poems of A. R. Ammons” (2017) and co-editing “Robert Morgan: Essays on the Life and Work” (2022). He also is the author of the chapbook “Convalescent” (2011) and has produced numerous essays, reviews and scholarly contributions.
West serves as associate editor of Mississippi Quarterly: The Journal of Southern Cultures, and his writing has appeared in publications including Poetry, The Christian Science Monitor, Appalachian Journal, Southern Quarterly and Alabama Literary Review.
A North Carolina native, West earned his bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
For more information about MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, visit www.cas.msstate.edu.
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