‘A Celebration of the Humanities’ features dedication of new Humanities Center; public symposium brings together distinguished faculty from Humanities Corridor

Monday, October 2, 2006, By News Staff

‘A Celebration of the Humanities’ features dedication of new Humanities Center; public symposium brings together distinguished faculty from Humanities CorridorOctober 02, 2006Sara Millersemortim@syr.edu

On Friday, Oct. 6, Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences will host “A Celebration of the Humanities,” in which SU’s former Tolley Administration Building will be re-dedicated as the site of the new Center for the Public and Collaborative Humanities, a renovated academic area that will become host to humanities classes, seminars and organizations.

“A Celebration of the Humanities” will begin with a public symposium, “Collaborative Adventures in the Humanities,” which brings together faculty from The Central New York Humanities Corridor, a collaborative inter-institutional engagement among SU, Cornell University and the University of Rochester focused on strengthening and enhancing scholarship in the humanities disciplines.

The symposium takes place at 2 p.m. in Room 107 of the Hall of Languages with distinguished faculty members Beverly Allen, William P. Tolley Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Humanities and professor of French, Italian and comparative literature at SU; Richard Feldman, interim dean of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering and professor of philosophy at the University of Rochester; Viranjini Munasinghe, associate professor of anthropology and Asian/American studies at Cornell University; and Andrew Waggoner, associate professor of composition and composer-in-residence at SU. Samuel Gorovitz, professor of philosophy and founding director of The Renee Crown University Honors Program at SU, will moderate the panel.

These panelists represent the five areas and three institutions that were brought together by a prestigious, three-year, $1-million Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant in December 2005. This unprecedented, large-scale initiative is designed to foster collaborative teaching and research in the areas of philosophy and linguistics, cultures and religions, visual arts and cultures, musicology/music history, and the interface of humanities with science/technology.

Following the symposium, a processional organized by Micere M. Githae Mugo, Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching ExcellenceChair in SU’s Department of African American Studies, will take participants and guests to the future site of the Center for the Public and Collaborative Humanities, where Cathryn R. Newton, dean of The College of Arts and Sciences, will preside over the dedication at 3 p.m.

When SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor came to Syracuse in 2004, one of her first acts was to make a gift of the historic Tolley Administration Building to The College of Arts and Sciences. At the dedication, Cantor will offer remarks on the University’s renewed commitment to humanistic study, public life and social change. Other speakers include Mary Karr, The Jesse Truesdell Peck Professor of Literature; Michael Thonis ’72, member of The College of Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors (BOV), chair of the BOV Humanities Committee and managing director and chief operating officer of Charlesbank Capital Partners LLC; and Kathryn Vomero, a senior English and Spanish major.

At the conclusion of the event, the Syracuse University Brass Ensemble, directed by James T. Spencer, will perform the world premiere of “Chaconne for Brass and Percussion” by Joseph Downing, associate professor of composition in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. This premier piece was co-commissioned by The College of Arts and Sciences and The Commission Project.