Emory Report
January 20, 2009
Volume 61, Number 16


Call for nominations: 2010 Distinguished Faculty Lecturer

The Faculty Council is soliciting nominations for the Distinguished Faculty Lecturer for 2010. This lectureship recognizes the achievements of distinguished Emory faculty members. The faculty member selected will be invited to present a lecture that has broad appeal and that displays exemplary scholarly work, usually during Founders Week.

Nominations are invited from members of all units and departments of the university community. They will be reviewed by a committee of past recipients, who will recommend a nominee to President Jim Wagner for formal invitation.

Send letters of nomination, including a statement of the nominee’s accomplishments and ability to convey her/his work to an audience from many different disciplines, and the nominee’s curriculum vitae to
Faculty Council Chair-
Elect Kenneth Carter, kenneth.carter@emory.edu.

Nominations will be accepted through March 1.

 

    

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January 20, 2009
Founders Week considers history

By carol clark

The 2009 Founders Week, set for Feb. 1–9, looks back at the history of Emory, and looks forward at what changes may be in store for the world with the Obama presidency and shifting societal attitudes about everything from the role of women to conservation and race. Concerts, art exhibitions, dramatic performances and lectures from distinguished faculty are among the highlights of the annual mid-winter event.

“Founders Week celebrates the founding of the University, the role of the University in promoting inquiry and intellectual life, and the wide range of the arts and sciences,” says Sally Wolff-King, assistant vice president of the University.

A Jane Austen Book and Film Festival will screen popular Hollywood adaptations of “Pride and Prejudice” and “Emma,” along with the biographical “Becoming Jane.” Faculty members Judith Miller and Michele Schreiber will offer their perspectives on how money, marriage and love appear in Austen’s novels and their contemporary film adaptations. First editions of Austen’s major works, from Emory’s Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, will be on view in Woodruff Library throughout the week.

Visiting lecturers include Paul J. Quirk from the University of British Columbia, speaking on the topic “‘Change We Can Believe In’ Meets Reality: The Obama Presidency and the Limits of American Politics.” Conductor and violinist Victor Yampolsky, from Northwestern University, will compare Russian music and English drama in his talk, “Shostakovich and Shakespearean Protagonists.”

Steve Sanderson, former dean of Emory College and president of the Wildlife Conservation Society, will speak on “Conservation, Climate Change and the Human Prospect.” Taking the discussion beyond the Earth, the Emory planetarium plans to host a viewing of our nearest celestial neighbor, the moon, and the planet Saturn.

This year the Emory Distinguished Faculty Lecture will feature the law school’s Abdullahi An-Na’im addressing the topic of “American Muslims: Challenges and Prospects.”

Other Emory faculty members speaking during Founders Week include Susan Ashmore of Oxford College. Her talk is titled “Thoughts on White Supremacy: Atticus Haygood, White Southern Moderates and the New South.” Vice President Gary Hauk will speak on “The History of History at Emory,” and moderate a panel discussion on experiencing race, called “The Cost of Hope: No Small Change.”

A staged reading of a student work in progress called “Bones,” featuring college mascot Lord Dooley, will further explore the state of race on campus, from skin to skeleton.

Staged readings from the Brave New Works Play Festival will include “The Day of Murders in the History of Hamlet” by Bernard-Marie Koltès and “Silverhill” by Thomas Gibbons. A gallery opening of Darwin-inspired works by Eve Andrée Laramée and performances by the St. Olaf Choir, the Atlanta Bach Ensemble, cellist Karen Freer and the Thamyris New Music Ensemble are among other highlights.

If the schedule gets too overwhelming, you may need to restore your balance. Enjoy traditional Chinese snacks and a demonstration of an ancient art by Tai Chi grand master Tingsen Xu, who will also deliver a lecture: “How Tai Chi Chuan Helps Relieve Stress.”

For a schedule of events, visit www.emory.edu/founders/.