Ph.D.
Cultural Anthropology – Duke University
About
Dean of Christ College—The Honors College at Valparaiso University, where she also serves as professor of humanities and east Asian studies.
An alumna of Valpo and Christ College, Dr. Prough is proud to serve as the seventh dean of Christ College. In her sixth year as dean (including three years as interim dean), she provides strategic leadership for the honors college, overseeing curriculum development, faculty supervision, student recruitment and advising, fundraising, and alumni relations. As a member of both the Provost’s Council and President’s Council, she plays a central role in university-wide strategic planning and serves as executive sponsor for initiatives focused on connecting students with meaningful experiences and uplifting the arts and humanities.
Dr. Prough’s teaching and research interests include the anthropology of media, anthropology of tourism, Japanese studies, gender studies, and globalization. At the heart of Prough’s research and teaching interests are issues of representation and the ways that cultural meanings are produced and managed, experienced and interpreted through mass culture. She is the author of two monographs published by University of Hawai’i Press: “Kyoto Revisited: Heritage Tourism in Contemporary Kyoto” (2022) and “Straight from the Heart: Gender, Intimacy, and the Cultural Production of Shōjo Manga” (2011). Her research has appeared in leading journals including the Journal of Japanese Studies, Japan Forum, and Journal of Asian Studies. She has presented her work at major academic conferences and given invited lectures at institutions including Boston University, Ohio State University, and Yale University.
Dr. Prough is an active member of professional organizations including the American Anthropological Association and Association for Asian Studies. She currently serves on the executive committee of the Midwest Japan Seminar and on the boards of Holden Village and Girls on the Run Indiana Crossroads.
