Award Announcement

We are proud to announce that UMD’s own Dr. Krista Sue-Lo Twu (Associate Professor, English, Linguistics & Writing Studies), has been selected as the 2026 recipient of The Medieval Academy of America’s CARA award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. The recipient of this international teaching award is determined by members of the Medieval Academy of America and is bestowed upon a recipient for their “outstanding pedagogical achievement” in the field of Medieval Studies.

Dr. Twu was recently awarded a competitive, system-wide Imagine Chair Fund for Arts, Humanities and Design. Their Book of The North project “bring(s) medieval book arts to life through immersive programming exploring the relationship between the cultures of Minnesota and the ecology of the region.” Dr. Twu’s college teaching record has incorporated medieval texts into class curricula, and their paleography skills have provided instruction for high school classes and community members on topics such as geometry techniques for laying out book pages, as well as making inks and dyes out of local materials. Some learning outcomes even require field work. This past semester, students and community partners harvested flax in preparation for paper making.

Congratulations to Dr. Twu, for this prestigious international recognition.