CLS Fellows

Center for Louisiana Studies Fellows are recognized scholars of Louisiana Studies who serve five-year terms working in close affiliation with the Center. During their five-year tenure, fellows deliver one invited lecture on their scholarship at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. They also serve in an advisory capacity with respect to the Center's operations and strategic direction, and as ambassadors for the Center's work. Every five years, current fellows serve as the programming committee for a Louisiana Studies conference held in Lafayette, La., and exploring an emerging topic in the field.  

In Spring 2020, CLS Director Dr. Joshua Caffery announced the appointment of 5 new fellows, who will serve until Spring 2025: 

 
Photo by Lynne Musemeche

Dr. Phebe Hayes

Following a long and successful career as a professor of Communicative Disorders and as Dean of the College of General Studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Dr. Hayes has emerged an important voice in Louisiana Studies and in the Acadiana community as the Founder and President of the Iberia African American Historical Society (IAAHS). Learn more about Dr. Hayes and her work here. 

Dr. Andy Horowitz

Andy Horowitz is Assistant Professor of History at Tulane University, where he is affiliated with the programs in Environmental Studies and City, Culture, and Community, and author of the book, Katrina: A History, 1915-2015, published by Harvard University Press. Learn more about Andy and his work here. 

Dr. Nathan Rabalais

After serving five years as Assistant Professor at William & Mary in Virginia, Nathan arrives in August 2020 as the French Louisiana specialist in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. His research focuses primarily on the folklore, literature, and popular culture of francophone North America, particularly Louisiana and Acadian communities of maritime Canada. Learn more about Dr. Rabalais and his work here. 

Dr. Jeffery Darensbourg

Writer, public speaker, researcher, zinemaker, and provacateur Jeffery U. Darensbourg, Ph.D., is member of the Atakapa-Ishak Nation of Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas. He is the founder and Editor-Who's-not-a-Chief of Bulbancha Is Still a Place: Indigenous Culture from New Orleans. Learn more about Dr. Darensbourg and his work here. 

Dr. Clint Bruce

Dr. Bruce holds the Canada Research Chair in Acadian and Transnational Studies (CRÉAcT) at Université Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia, where he teaches in the Department of Social Sciences. He also oversees the Observatoire Nord/Sud, a center for the study of the Acadian diaspora, and serves as co-editor of the journal Port Acadie : revue interdisciplinaire en études acadiennes. Learn more about Dr. Bruce and his work here. 

The new 2020-2025 class of Fellows joins the following CLS fellows, who will serve until 2022:  

• Dr. Mark DeWitt, Dr. Tommy Comeaux Endowed Chair in Traditional Music, School of Music and Performing Arts, UL Lafayette
  
  
   
• Dr. Liz Skilton, J.J. Burdin M.D. and Helen B. Burdin/BORSF Endowed Professor in Louisiana Studies, Dept. of History, Geography, and Philosophy, UL Lafayette
  
  

RECENT FELLOWS

Outgoing class of 2015-2020 CLS Fellows:

• Dr. Shane Bernard, McIlhenny Company & Avery Island, Inc. Archives
• Dr. C. Ray Brassieur, Dept. of Anthropology and Sociology, UL Lafayette
• Dr. Pearson Cross, Dept. of Political Science, UL Lafayette
• Dr. JoAnne DeRouen, Dept. of Anthropology and Sociology, UL Lafayette
• Dr. Mark Rees, Dept. of Anthropology and Sociology, UL Lafayette

Lifetime CLS Fellows

• Dr. Mathé Allain
• Dr. Barry Ancelet
• Dr. Vaughan Baker
• Dr. David Barry
• Dr. Carl Brasseaux
• Dr. Marcia Gauet

If you would like to contact any of the Lifetime CLS Fellows, email us at cls@louisiana.edu.