Eleven scholars named Franco Faculty Fellows for 2026-2027

Author: Jacob Schepers

Eleven diverse faculty or staff in headshots, smiling or neutral, alongside a blue geometric logo for the Franco Institute's new cohort of Faculty Fellows for the 2026-2027 year.
Top row from left: Emiliano Aguilar, Ijeoma Kola, Liam Kruger, Johannes Junge Ruhland, Emily Wang, and Xueying Wang. Bottom row from left: Cyraina Johnson-Roullier, Emmanuel Katongole, Johnny Zhang, Johannes Göransson, and Martina Lopez

The Franco Institute is pleased to announce that eleven scholars from the College of Arts & Letters have received faculty fellowships for the 2026-2027 academic year.

The new cohort follows a successful first year of the Franco Humanities Fellows program. This year's cohort includes faculty who received awards through two new programs: the Franco Public Fellowship and the Franco Mid-Career Fellowship.

Franco Humanities Fellows

Six smiling individuals stand before colorful stained-glass windows and dark wooden paneling.
From left: Liam Kruger, Emily Wang, Emiliano Aguilar, Johannes Junge Ruhland, Xueying Wang, Ijeoma Kola

Humanities Fellowships support full-time research in the humanities by individual faculty in Arts & Letters.

Emiliano Aguilar (History)

Ijeoma Kola (History)

Liam Kruger (English)

Johannes Junge Ruhland (Romance Languages and Literatures)

Emily Wang (German, Slavic, and Eurasian Studies)

Xueying Wang (Theology)

Franco Public Fellows

Three smiling Notre Dame faculty stand before stained glass windows.
From left: Johnny Zhang, Cyraina Johson-Roullier, and Emmanuel Katangole

Public Fellowships support publicly engaged scholarship by individual faculty working in any discipline in Arts & Letters.

Cyraina Johnson-Roullier (English)

Emmanuel Katongole (Theology)

Johnny Zhang (Psychology)

Franco Mid-Career Fellows

Bald man with beard in dark suit and woman with gray curly hair in black top smile before colorful stained glass.
Johannes Göransson (left) and Martina Lopez

Mid-Career Fellowships support associate and full professors in any discipline in Arts & Letters aiming to develop new skills for a future research project.

Johannes Göransson (English)

Martina Lopez (Art, Art History, & Design)