The Department of Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies is ecstatic to recognize the extraordinary teaching and research achievements of Dr. Linda Mizejewski, who retired in Spring 2026. Dr. Mizejewski joined Ohio State in 1991 as an Assistant Professor of English who immediately became affiliated with WGSS as a feminist film studies and popular culture theorist.
With a commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship, she has diversified WGSS curriculum across a variety of fields of inquiry. Specifically, her innovative pedagogies brought to our learning community the Feminist Perspectives on Addiction Studies Service-Learning, Gender at the Movies: Hollywood and Beyond, and the legendary Gender & Cinema: The British Horror Film in London Study Abroad program.
Her outstanding teaching has been recognized across Ohio State, previously winning the 2004 Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, the Harlan Hatcher Arts and Sciences Distinguished Faculty Award in 2010, as well as the Ronald and Deborah Ratner Distinguished Teaching Award in 2024.
Alongside her exceptional teaching record, Dr. Mizejewski is a nationally recognized, award-winning scholar. She has published 6 books, as well as 2 co-edited anthologies. In 2018, she was awarded the Susan Koppelman Award for her co-edited book Hysterical! Women in American Comedy. Additionally, in 2023 she was honored with the American Humor Association's Award for Most Influential Scholar.
Dr. Mizejewski's impact on the department cannot be overstated. She advised dozens of graduate students as an advisor and exam committee member. She also mentored various junior faculty members who fondly recall being cheered on by her optimism, humor, and unwavering commitment to help those in need.
Alongside her academic work, Dr. Mizejewski is an involved community member. She is a decades-long contributor and speaker for the Ohio Humanities Alliance. She also dedicates her spare time to serving on the board of the Collegiate Recovery Community, which supports students seeking recovery to engage, learn and thrive at Ohio State.
We are so grateful to know Dr. Linda Mizejewski and cannot wait to uplift the fabulous feminist organizing and work she pursues during her retirement!
Linda's book collection
"It’s so very hard to say goodbye...Her warmth, brilliance, joyous disposition, and commitment to student excellence are incomparable...Her long list of awards including the highest honors from the American Humor Association and her distinguished professor designation at OSU affirm what her students and colleagues know intimately, Professor M is simply one-of-one...While we will miss her sorely, we are tremendously grateful for her unwavering and effervescent commitment to our department and to feminist inquiry. Thanks Professor Linda Mizejewski!"
- Dr. Treva Lindsey