Arts and Sciences adds 11 humanities faculty

Eleven new faculty members in the humanities will join the College of Arts and Sciences this fall, adding to the breadth and depth of course offerings and research opportunities available to students. "The college is proud of our long tradition of greatness in the humanities," said Gretchen Ritter, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "We remain committed to education and research that deepens our understanding of humanity and the creative arts in all of its richness and diversity. These wonderful new hires make me optimistic about our future." The new faculty members are: Riley Snorton, Africana studies/feminist, gender and sexuality studies; Chiara Formichi and Suyoung Son, Asian studies; Athena Kirk, classics; Diabate Naminata, comparative literature; Gregory Londe, English; Russell Rickford, Victor Seow, Paul Friedland and Lawrence Glickman, history; and Rachana Kamtekar, philosophy. "We're historians, but when thinking about new hires we always try to look into the future and ask where the profession will be in 10 or 20 years," said Barry Strauss, the Bryce and Edith M. Bowmar Professor in Humanistic Studies and chair of the Department of History. "Like many departments at Cornell, we've undergone a big wave of retirements and have been rebuilding now for more than a decade. The department's continued high ranking is a sign of our success, but there's always room to do even better." Strauss said the four new faculty members in history bring varied backgrounds and interests to Cornell.