BOONE, N.C. — The Appalachian State University College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) has appointed Dr. Maria Pramaggiore as the McFarlane Family Distinguished Professor of Interdisciplinary Education, effective July 1, 2026.
The McFarlane Family Distinguished Professorship was established for a tenured faculty member at the rank of full professor, with preference for those connected to App State's Watauga Residential College (WRC). The three‑year appointment supports WRC's interdisciplinary and experiential curriculum and includes teaching, recruitment, outreach, and program development that strengthen WRC’s mission.
Funding for the professorship was provided by Ron and Nancy McFarlane, with the State of North Carolina contributing a third in matching funds. The McFarlanes' children — Katie McFarlane '05 and Reynolds McFarlane '13 — are both App State graduates who were members of the WRC.
Pramaggiore currently serves as chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies and will continue in that role while holding the distinguished professorship. Since joining App State in 2022, she has worked closely with WRC faculty, staff, and students — serving a brief stint as a community resident — and has spearheaded key curricular initiatives, including the development of several new undergraduate minors.
"Dr. Pramaggiore brings a rare combination of scholarship and an unwavering commitment to transformative, hands-on teaching. From introducing pioneering interdisciplinary minors to embedding experiential learning into her coursework, she continually finds creative ways to inspire and support students. We are thrilled to celebrate her appointment and look forward to the lasting impact she will continue to make in WRC." — CAS Dean Dr. Mike Madritch
A scholar of film, media, and gender and sexuality studies, Pramaggiore taught for more than a decade at North Carolina State University (NCSU), where she directed the Film Studies program and served as Associate Head of the English Studies department. She received the Outstanding Junior Faculty Award and Outstanding Teacher Award in NCSU's College of Humanities and Social Sciences and was inducted into the NCSU Academy of Outstanding Teachers.
In 2013, she was appointed Head of Media Studies at Maynooth University in County Kildare, Ireland, later serving as Dean of Graduate Studies from 2017–20 before joining App State in 2022.
Pramaggiore earned a B.A. in Political Economy from Williams College, an M.Sc. in Economics from Lancaster University (UK), and a Ph.D. in Film and Women's Studies from Emory University. She is a graduate of the UNC BRIDGES program and is also an experienced yoga and meditation teacher.
Her publications include three monographs — Identifying Others and Performing Identities: Irish and African American Cinema (SUNY Press), Neil Jordan (University of Illinois Press), and Making Time in Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon: Art, History and Empire (Bloomsbury) — as well as a co‑authored textbook, Film: A Critical Introduction (Laurence King, 4th ed.), and two co‑edited essay collections. Her articles and chapters span Irish and American film, documentary, stardom studies, queer cinema, and animal studies. In 2018, she was selected for the Middlebury/NEH Fellowship in Sound and Image Studies Workshop and co‑founded the International Video Essay Research Network (iVERN).
She is currently completing two books under contract: The Equine Imaginary: The Horse in/as Cinema (Oxford University Press) and Waking the Hirschfeld: An Oral and Archival Study of a Dublin LGBTQ Centre (Liverpool University Press), co‑authored with Dr. Páraic Kerrigan of University College Dublin.
Pramaggiore follows Dr. Joseph Bathanti, the inaugural McFarlane Family Distinguished Professor of Interdisciplinary Education, who retired in December.
###
About the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies
The Department of Interdisciplinary Studies offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in four program areas: Appalachian studies; gender, women's, and sexuality studies; global studies; and interdisciplinary studies. The department is also home to Watauga Residential College, an interdisciplinary, alternative general education program. The department promotes creative and imaginative engagement through a cross-disciplinary investigation of complex systems and problems. Learn more about the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies
About the Watauga Residential College
The Watauga Residential College is a specialized academic program where classes are discussion-based seminars that allow students to pursue topics of interest to them within the context of the class. This program provides an unusual opportunity for students to become engaged in learning at a deep level through class discussions and research projects. Watauga classes are interdisciplinary, and this approach to learning requires students to integrate knowledge from a variety of disciplines to gain a complete perspective on a topic. Learn more about the Watauga Residential College
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college's values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State's general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more about CAS
By Lauren Gibbs
July 31, 2026
BOONE, N.C.
A person with short, dark hair and red glasses smiles while wearing a collared shirt, set against a black background.
Dr. Maria Pramaggiore has been appointed the McFarlane Family Distinguished Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies. (Photo by Appalachian State University Communications)