LSU professors chosen as Guggenheim Fellows
The Guggenheim Foundation handed fellowships to Jeremiah Ariaz and Maurice Carlos Ruffin—money, time, and a title that never expires.
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has awarded fellowships to two LSU professors: Jeremiah Ariaz, a professor of art and photography, and Maurice Carlos Ruffin, an associate professor of English.
Why it matters: Established in 1925, the Guggenheim is among the most prestigious honors in American arts and letters. Grants typically range from $40,000 to $55,000, giving recipients something very valuable: time and freedom to pursue ambitious work.
The projects:
- Ariaz will use the fellowship for The Fourth Estate in the Heart of America, a photographic and editorial project documenting newspaper offices. It is part tribute to local journalism’s civic role and part lament for its decline.
- Ruffin will work on his forthcoming novel, Liar’s Bouquet, a contemporary satire set in New Orleans. It follows a family of activists who discover they may have been fighting on the wrong side of a hidden conflict all along.
Quick history: Guggenheim fellowships have gone to 13 LSU faculty members, beginning with Lewis Simpson in 1954. This is the first time two LSU professors have won in the same year.
The bottom line: Guggenheim Fellows often go on to win Pulitzers, Nobels and other major honors. LSU now has two more of them—a welcome distinction for a university trying to rise into the nation’s top 50 research institutions.
