Humanities Fellows and Distinguished Professor Program

Each year, select faculty members from the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences are appointed as Humanities Fellows. The team of Fellows develops programming for students and other faculty to explore, discover, and promote the importance of the humanities to the University and to society.

Dean Katherine Aiken announced the selection of Traci Craig, associate professor psychology and communication studies, John Mihelich, associate professor of sociology and anthropology, and Sean Quinlan, associate professor of history, as the “Excellence in Teaching the Humanities” fellows for 2009-2011.

She said that these three faculty members were chosen for the awards based on four criteria: demonstrating excellence in teaching; commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration; potential for, or proof of, creativity in course and program development; and proven ability to work energetically and collaboratively to achieve program goals.

The work of the fellows will be to create programs around the general theme of "community studies" in an effort to bring the humanities disciplines to the forefront of the University of Idaho and its research initiatives. In addition, they are charged with organizing the Lester and Agnes Schuldt Faculty Seminar which will be held this summer. The event is a seminar for faculty funded through the generosity of the late Agnes Schuldt.

The Humanities Fellows and Distinguished Professor Program was established in 1997 with a National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) Challenge Grant to enhance the humanities at the University of Idaho.

Past programs have focused on diversity, the power of play, tools/technology and sense of place:

• The 2006-2007 Humanities Fellows – Candida Gillis (English) and Debbie Storrs (Sociology) led an exploration of the nature, history, and uses of play to shape, transform, celebrate, delight or diminish individuals, institutions, and societies, and to enrich our personal, social and professional lives. Read more about the Power of Play project.
• Gary Williams (English), who was appointed the college’s first Distinguished Humanities Professor in 2007, focused his curriculum and outreach on the relationship between science and the humanities. Read more about Williams' work on science and the humanities.
• The 2002-2003 Humanities Fellows – Mary DuPree (Music), Rodney Frey (American Indian Studies and Anthropology), and Kenton Bird (Journalism and Mass Media) led a seminar that explored how the landscape of the Pacific Northwest influences and, in turn, is influenced by memory, imagination and creativity. Read more about the Sense of Place seminar.