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Kate Liszka, professor of history and the Benson and Pamela Harer Fellow in Egyptology at CSUSB, was named the recipient of Cal State San Bernardino’s 2025-26 Outstanding Scholarship, Research and Creative Activities Award in a surprise announcement on April 24. The honor recognizes her impressive academic research and creative activities that have resulted in extensive publications, presentations and significant research grants secured throughout her years as a faculty member at the university.
To make the announcement, Rafik Mohamed, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, joined approximately 25 colleagues – including fellow faculty, staff and administrators – in surprising Liszka during her “Identity in the Ancient World” class in the Social and Behavioral Sciences building, room 210.
“Dr. Kate Liszka is this year’s recipient of the Outstanding Scholarship, Research and Creative Activities Award,” he eagerly announced, adding that it is one of CSUSB’s most prestigious awards.
Mohamed went on to explain that it is a university tradition to present these outstanding faculty awards through a surprise declaration, where the campus community come right into and interrupt a classroom, lab or lecture hall to make the announcement in front of the faculty member’s students so they can see their professor being honored.
The award comes with a $2,000 Faculty Professional Development Grant and recognition at the awardee’s spring college commencement ceremony.
Mohamed noted that he and Liszka both joined the university in 2015 before highlighting her extensive accomplishments.
“Because of the work that you do, you have brought great attention to our campus in and around spaces related to Egyptology,” said Mohamed. “What is equally important is the work that you’ve done with our students and the exposure that you have been able to offer them, not just to different places and different ideas, but the research process.”
Continuing the praise, Christina Hassija, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, underscored the significance of Liszka’s contributions.
“What’s most impressive about your work – apart from the scholarly achievements – is the dedication that you put in to incorporating students into those research opportunities,” said Hassija. “You have made a tremendous impact on the campus.”
Taking the moment in, Liszka expressed her gratitude for the recognition.
“Honestly, I’m totally shocked and surprised,” she said. “Thank you so much for this recognition. It is an absolute joy to work at CSUSB, especially with so many of our amazing students.”
Liszka earned her B.A. in near eastern languages and civilizations from Pennsylvania State University. She spent her junior year abroad at American University in Cairo, Egypt. Her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in near eastern languages and civilizations are both from the University of Pennsylvania.
She joined CSUSB in September 2015 as an assistant professor. She became an associate professor in 2019 and a full professor in 2023.
The award committee wrote: “Her sustained record of innovative scholarship, impactful research and creative excellence has distinguished her as one of the university’s most accomplished faculty members.” They also emphasized “her remarkable commitment to integrating students into her scholarly endeavors and engaging communities from the local to the global scale — efforts that have broadened the reach and amplified the impact of CSUSB’s academic mission.”
In 2018, she was recognized as the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences’ Outstanding Junior Faculty Award recipient.
The 2025-26 committee is headed up by co-chairs Jennifer Alford (Department of Geography) and Stacey Fraser (Department of Music). Other members include Sara Callori (representing the College of Natural Sciences), Yawen Li (representing the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences), and Ying Cheng (representing the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration).
Liszka’s groundbreaking research on the Ancient Nubians, the Medjay and ancient constructions of ethnicity has reshaped scholarly understandings within Egyptology and established new methodological and interpretive benchmarks for the discipline. The committee highlighted her over 26 publications in leading journals. “Her scholarship continues to guide international conversations on identity, cross-cultural interaction, and sociopolitical dynamics in the Nile Valley,” they wrote.
As the director and principal investigator of the Wadi el-Hudi Archaeological Expedition, she leads one of the most dynamic and forward-looking archaeological projects currently active in Egypt. Since 2014, she and her team have documented more than 62 archaeological sites — including amethyst and gold mines, fortified settlements, and inscriptions spanning multiple historical periods — fundamentally advancing scholarly knowledge of ancient Egyptian resource extraction, labor systems and desert mobility networks.
Her leadership has resulted in more than $230,000 in donations to CSUSB and nearly $200,000 in external grant funding, including the prestigious 2025 Shelby White and Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications Grant ($60,000) to support “A Survey of Wadi el-Hudi, Volume 1.” These achievements not only propel global archaeological scholarship but also elevate CSUSB’s reputation as a center of internationally recognized research excellence.
Equally impressive is Liszka’s profound dedication to student mentorship and experiential learning. CSUSB students contribute to every stage of the Wadi el-Hudi project — from archaeological survey and excavation to epigraphic analysis, digital reconstruction and publication — gaining unparalleled training in the interdisciplinary and technologically advanced methods that define contemporary archaeological practice.
Her innovative integration of 3D digital mapping, high-performance computing and immersive virtual reconstruction demonstrates visionary leadership in research and pedagogy alike. Through these commitments, she enriches the university’s educational mission and prepares the next generation of archaeologists, historians and cultural heritage professionals.
Beyond academia, her expertise and public scholarship have reached global audiences. She has served as an Egyptological consultant for Disney and the History Channel, contributed to “The Great Courses’ The Real Ancient Egypt,” earned a 2023 Telly Award for her historical media work, and established ongoing collaborations with Great Courses Journeys as an expert guide for educational travel.
Her RAFFMA lecture, “Tomb Robbery in Ancient Egypt,” has garnered more than 25,000 YouTube views, and her international reputation continues to grow through keynote lectures delivered in cities such as Cairo, Toronto and Warsaw.