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Announcing New Marymount Institute Director, Elizabeth Drummond

Dear Colleagues,

The Marymount Institute for Faith, Culture, and the Arts was founded in 1991 to honor the legacy of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM) and the contributions of the Marymount educational tradition to the university. Through interdisciplinary, scholarly, and creative activity centered in the humanities, the Marymount Institute honors the RSHM legacy at Loyola Marymount University by supporting transformative work that explores the dynamics between faith and the arts through a culturally diverse lens, and strengthening the formation of women leaders throughout the institution. Therefore, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Elizabeth Drummond, associate professor of history, as the new director of the Marymount Institute for Faith, Culture, and the Arts, effective May 16, 2025.

As director of the Marymount Institute, Professor Drummond will report directly to the provost and will collaborate closely with Academic Affairs, Mission and Ministry, Student Affairs, and other key departments to drive the development and implementation of programs, projects, and initiatives that reflect and advance the institute's mission, history, and vision.

Professor Drummond earned her Ph.D. in history from Georgetown University. She joined LMU in 2006 as an assistant professor in the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts (BCLA). She has served in numerous leadership roles including chair of the Department of History (2017-2021), chair of the BCLA College Council (2018-2020), and president of the LMU Faculty Senate (2015-2017). Professor Drummond is also the director of the Single-Subject Teacher Preparation Program in History/Social Science and a BCLA Faculty Advising Specialist. This year, she was selected as a Faculty Fellow by the Office for Faculty Development (OFD), and has been working closely with Mission and Ministry, especially in the area of faculty formation.

Professor Drummond's research and scholarly work explores nationalist activism and experiences of national belonging in the German-Polish borderland of Poznania before the First World War. Her publications are focused on nationalist imaginings of national identity, the role of women in nationalist mobilization, the position of Poznanian Jews, Poznań/Posen as a transnational city, and migration. More recently, she has been working on a project about the Weimar-era German artist Max Thalmann, exploring the role of religion and spirituality in his work. Professor Drummond teaches broadly in modern European and world history, as well as courses in public history. She is also the co-founder of both the German Studies Collaboratory and the German Studies Association Teaching Network.

In 2022, Professor Drummond received the 2022 President's Fritz B. Burns Distinguished Teaching Award from LMU and a Teacher Eddy Award from the LAX Coastal Chamber of Commerce. She recently received a Humanities Initiative grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to create a Public Uses of the Past Summer Institute for high school students.

Professor Drummond succeeds Professor Jennifer Abe who currently serves as the interim director of the institute. I want to extend my sincere gratitude for Professor Abe’s leadership during the transition period and for her invaluable work and dedication. I also want to extend my appreciation to the Search Committee for their invaluable work and meticulous efforts in ensuring that the institute’s mission and vision remain at the forefront throughout the process. For more information, please read the external announcement on LMU Newsroom.

Please join me in welcoming Professor Drummond to her new role. I look forward to our partnership in promoting the institute's remarkable history and advancing its future endeavors.

Sincerely,
Tom

Thomas Poon, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President and Provost
Professor of Chemistry

Marymount Institute for Faith, Culture, and the Arts Search Committee

Chair

  • Jennifer Abe, Ph.D. Interim Director, Marymount Institute, Professor of Psychological Science

Committee Members

  • Lane Bove, Ed.D., Chair of the Marymount Institute Advisory Council, Marymount College Alumna
  • Sr. Mary Genino R.S.H.M., ex officio, Provincial Superior, RSHM
  • Layla Karst, Ph.D., Graduate Director and Associate Professor of Theological Studies, Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts
  • Terri Mangione, Ph.D., Dean of Students and Vice President of Student Affairs