Dear Colleagues,
I’m delighted to share the news that four faculty members have been appointed as new holders of endowed chair positions in the College of Fine Arts. Please join me in extending warmest congratulations to these four faculty members from the Department of Art and Art History and the Butler School of Music:
- Art History Professor Julia Guernsey has been appointed to the Susan Menefee Ragan Regents Professorship in Fine Arts. She joined the faculty in 2001, and her research interests include an expertise in Pre-Columbian art with a focus on the Middle and Late Preclassic periods in ancient Mesoamerica (1000 BCE to 300 CE).
- Art History Professor Nassos Papalexandrou has been appointed to the David Bruton, Jr. Centennial Professorship in Art History. He joined the faculty in 2002, and his research focuses on early Greek art (8th-7th c BCE) in the broader ancient Mediterranean context.
- Music Theory Professor Eric Drott has been appointed to the Virginia L. Murchison Regents Professorship in Fine Arts. He joined the Butler School of Music faculty in 2004, and his research spans several subjects: contemporary music cultures, streaming music platforms, music and protest, genre theory, digital music and the political economy of music.
- Musicology Professor Luisa Nardini has been appointed to the Marlene and Morton Meyerson Professorship in Music. Musicology Professor Luisa She joined the faculty in the Butler School of Music in 2006, and her research focuses on medieval music with a specialization on the liturgical chants from southern Italy, on women and global studies as well as on digital humanities.
Endowed chair positions honor some of the college’s most exceptional full professors and support high-level, distinguished academic and research activity for the holder. Faculty members who hold chair positions must sustain a high level of creative or scholarly accomplishment over many years, bringing national and international attention to the university and to their own profile. Chair holders must teach at an exemplary level of effectiveness, provide service to the department, college and university and be a leader in their field by building significant programs, mentoring junior faculty and providing strategic leadership to their department and college.
Each of these faculty members have impressive careers with robust scholarship. I encourage you to read the larger announcement on our website to learn more about their respective research portfolios and teaching approaches.
Sincerely,
