Last Spring — with little fuss or fanfare — the nascent Center for the Humanities came quietly into the world. Since then, thanks to the labor of others, the transition to academic life — a ruff & tumble world of existing budgets, emerging policies, and deferred decisions — has been relatively painless. As Interim Director, my task since last October has been to take stock of sundry budget and endowment accounts and to plot a path through an imposing paper trail. That paper trail — a surprisingly good read — told a telling tale about institutional tenacity, vision, and success. Like a sprawling tapestry, it showed how different departments criss-crossed budgets, shared costs and benefits, how they worked together to defy disciplinary boundaries – both intellectual and institutional. The principal pattern was cooperation.
By design, the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere aims to assist faculty in achieving excellence in research and teaching, and to take the humanities to wider audiences. Leaving issues of curriculum to Departments, Centers, and other university units, the Center for the Humanities aims to facilitate research, teaching, and public outreach through collaboration, specifically by means of sponsored Lecturers, Symposia, Conferences, and not least, by extending scholarly initiatives through grants and endowments. Sharing a common vision, faculty assist each other through disciplinary and cross-disciplinary work. Our goal is to achieve academic excellence and gain wider recognition through sponsored events.
We are excited about future developments. In mid-April, following earlier traditions, a Call for Proposals was sent out, and shortly thereafter, the present website went live. During the next academic year, faculty, students, alumni, and the broader public will benefit from a number of innovative Symposia stretching across the full range of the humanities. It is an exciting time.
While much remains to be done, we are confident that the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere will achieve its early promise. I welcome your comments, participation, and support.
Bob Hatch
Interim Director
Center for the Humanities
University of Florida
25 April 2006