University News
´ºÓêÖ±²¥ Illinois University English professor Amy Patrick Mossman was awarded a Modern Language Association (MLA) Pathways Step Grant.
WIU Professor Earns MLA Grant
June 12, 2025
MACOMB, IL - - ´ºÓêÖ±²¥ Illinois University English professor Amy Patrick Mossman was awarded a Modern Language Association (MLA) Pathways Step Grant for her project "Serving Our Students, Serving the Region: Cultivating Career Pathways While Building Transfer and Internship Partnerships for English Majors and Minors."
The grant provides up to $10,000 to support faculty members with the development of new structures, programs and resources that bolster the recruitment, retention and career readiness of undergraduate students, especially students of color, first-generation college students and Pell Grant recipients.
"Our English major and array of minors offer students opportunities to develop and apply writing, problem-solving and other soft skills that employers seek," Mossman said. "The grant will also support paid, project-based internships through a partnership with the Small Business Development Center."
This project invests in fostering successful, career-ready English majors and minors while supporting workforce development in the region. Initiatives include raising career literacy among WIU English undergraduates and enhancing recruitment by promoting our students' successes and highlighting the many career paths that training in English studies can lead to.
The Pathways Step Grants are funded by a generous grant from the Mellon Foundation.
"Students who are drawn to the humanities often don't come into them with a clear sense of the skills, values and perspectives they will develop in their courses and majors," Paula M. Krebs, the executive director of the MLA, said. "We are so glad that, with the support of the Mellon Foundation, Pathways can continue to bolster faculty members who are working to name, measure and document the value of study in our fields and are increasing opportunities for their students every day, across the country."
For more information on the WIU English program, visit .
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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