Ann Folino White, associate professor of theatre studies at Michigan State University, has received the 2024 Betty Jean Jones Award from the American Theatre and Drama Society. The organization presents the award annually to an individual who has made exceptional teaching and mentoring contributions to their students, colleagues, and broader academic and theatre communities.
As a teacher, Dr. Folino White is interested in stage directing, performance theory, and American theatrical and popular performance from the late nineteenth- to early twentieth-centuries. Throughout her tenure with Michigan State University, she has been an advocate for students and advancing accessibility on campus. She formerly chaired the President’s Advisory Committee on Disabilities, where she worked with students to ensure campus facilities were accessible for all students, including a revamping of the football stadium’s student section.
In her research, Dr. Folino White focuses on American drama, protest, and performances. She has published extensively in her field, including her award-winning book, Plowed Under: Food Policy Protests and Performance in New Deal America (Indiana University Press, 2014).
Dr. Folino White is an alumna of Michigan State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in theatre. She holds a master’s degree in theatre and Ph.D. in interdisciplinary theatre and drama from Northwestern University in Illinois.