John Keene Appointed Board of Governors Professor of English
The Rutgers Board of Governors named John Keene, an award-winning prolific writer, translator, and artist in a variety of genres and formats – including nonfiction, poetry, fiction, essays, and critical work – a Board of Governors Professor of English.
He is recognized as among the most respected literary figures in the nation, recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and winning several fellowships and honors including the John D. and Catherine T. Mac Arthur Foundation “Genius” Fellowship, the National Book Award for Poetry, a Lannan Literary Award in Fiction and a Windham-Campbell Prize in Fiction.
Keene chaired the Department of Africana Studies in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers-Newark from 2015-2016 through the 2023-2024 academic year, and served as Rutgers-Newark’s interim director of the MFA in Creative Writing Program during Spring 2025.
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