Around the College
This article was originally published in the October 1999 issue of CLASnotes.
Department News
English
- Chris Snodgrass was invited to write the special 100-year retrospective on scholarship about Aubrey Beardsley, a major late-Victorian artist whose Centennial year was 1998. This long essay, which was also responsible for assessing the position of Beardsley in current Victorian studies as well as reviewing all recent scholarship on Beardsley, appeared as the lead article in English Literature in Transition, 1880-1920.
History
- Geoffrey Giles was a Fellow this summer in the US Holocaust Memorial Museum's first Research Workshop for Scholars. The eight participants spent two weeks at the museum's Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies in Washington, DC, discussing papers and carrying out further research in the Center's archives and library, as well as in the National Archives. The theme of this first workshop was "SS Racial Policies in Occupied Europe."
Philosophy
- Greg Ray presented a paper entitled "Is There a Problem about Vagueness?" (coauthored with Kirk Ludwig) at the annual meeting of the Society for Exact Philosophy, Lethbridge, Canada, in May. Ray will host the next meeting of this international organization here at UF.
- Kirk Ludwig presented his paper "Logical Form" at the annual meeting of the Society for Exact Philosophy. Dr. Ludwig presented the coauthored paper "Is There a Problem about Vagueness?" at the Pacific Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, held in Berkeley, California, in April.
- John Biro, president of the Hume Society, presented the paper "Hume on Memory" at the Society's annual meetings in Ireland in July. In August he gave a series of lectures on fallacies at the University of Turku, Finland. He is coediting a volume of essays on Spinoza to be published this year by Oxford University Press.
Psychology
- Robin Lea West, Director of the Center for Gerontological Studies, gave an invited address at the American Psychological Association (APA) meeting in Boston in August, 1999. Her lecture was entitled "Controlling Your Memory: Lessons from Aging Research." West is a member of the Executive Committee of APA's Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging), and is serving as chair of the Division 20 awards program.
Romance Languages and Literatures
- Bernadette Cailler was invited to present a paper at an international conference on "Caribbean Writing in French: Place and Displacement" at University College, Dublin, Ireland (Sept. 2-4). Her paper was titled "De 'Gabelles' aux 'Grands Chaos': une étude de la désode des sans-abri."
Women's Studies Hosts Art Exhibit
"DUAFE: A Sister in Primary Colors" by Patricia Hilliard-Nunn (Women's Studies) is currently showing at the Center for Women's Studies and Gender Research. Hilliard-Nunn's multimedia artwork incorporates jewelry, cowry shells, paint, fabric and wood to convey the many facets of womanhood. DUAFE will be on display until December 20, 1999.
The duafe (hair comb) pictured left is a symbol used in Asante printed textiles that represents goodness, feminine qualities, love and care.
History Lecture Series Created in Memory of Gus Burns
In order to recognize the outstanding contributions of "a master teacher and scholar," friends and colleagues of history professor Gus Burns, who died April 30, 1999, have established an annual history lecture series in his name. "It is our hope that the Gus Burns Memorial Lecture Fund will attract outstanding scholars to the University of Florida," says Florida Studies Director Julian Pleasants, a long-time colleague of Burns. Each invited scholar will give one public address and will also meet with graduate and undergraduate classes. Tax deductible donations to the fund (#007613) can be made through the University of Florida Foundation.
omen's Studies Opening Reception
(Left) Vasudha Narayanan, interim director of the Center for Women's Studies and Gender Research, addressed the assembly; (Right) Kendal Broad(Sociology), Danaya Wright(Law), Maureen Turim(English), Kim Emery(English) and Tace Hedrick(English) at the reception.
On-line Journal for Undergraduate Research Posts First Issue
Edited by CLAS physicist Henri VanRinsvelt, the new online Journal for Undergraduate Research (JUR) will highlight the impressive work of UF's first class of 250 University Scholars. Each month, JUR will include a handful of undergraduate research papers as well as feature articles on published Scholars. The issues will also include up to 15 research updates from Scholars at work around UF. Kim Pace (Dean's Office) will maintain the electronic publication, and John Elderkin (CLAS Publications, see below) will contribute features. The Provost and Dean Harrison encourage all CLAS faculty, staff and students to check out JUR's inaugural issue this week at <web.clas.ufl.edu/CLAS/jur/>
African Studies Opening Reception: Scholars Introduced, Artists-in-Residence Perform
Michael Chege (left), director of African Studies, made the opening remarks. Artist-in-residence Mamadou Dahoué from the Ivory Coast (right) danced for the crowd accompanied by UF musicians and his fellow artist-in-residence, drummer Tra-Bi Lizie.
Alumni Association Honors Zoology Professor
Zoologist Lou Guillette has been selected as the eleventh Distinguished Alumni Professor.
Guillette, whose research on endocrine-disrupting contaminants and their effect on wildlife reproduction has received international attention, was named Blue Key Distinguished Professor in 1997 and UF Teacher/Scholar of the Year in 1997-98.
Distinguished Alumni Professors serve a two-year term and are asked to work with the Alumni Affairs office in the recruitment of National Merit Scholars. In return, the Alumni Association awards recipients a $10,000 stipend (over the two-year term); additional support is provided by the office of Academic Affairs.
Nominations are made by former students, administrators and members of the faculty. The selection committee includes current faculty, alumni and community representatives.
Successful candidates like Guillette have been on the UF faculty for more than ten years; have gained a reputation among students and alumni for being superior, highly influential teachers; and have conducted "truly beneficial" work and service that has brought significant distinction to the University.
Former CLAS recipients include Mike Gannon (History), Alex Smith (Astronomy), David Chalmers (History), Karelisa Hartigan (Classics), Bruce Edwards (Mathematis), and Carolyn Tucker (Psychology).
Dean's Office News
John Elderkin recently joined the CLAS Publications staff in 2008 Turlington. An alumnus of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Elderkin has worked as a freelance writer and public school teacher. He spent the last two years on a Fulbright teaching exchange in London. John's responsibilities will include writing for University Scholars-related publications and writing about and promoting Liberal Arts and Sciences research. "I hope to be in close touch with all College chairs and directors in order to facilitate greater exposure for CLAS research and teaching."
