Hyping theHumanities New director, faculty researchers propel Center for the Humanities to new heights Oklahoma State University’s Center for the Humanities got its first director in 2023 with the appointment of Dr. Jennifer Borland. Prior to being named director, Borland served as interim director for the center, was the founding director of the Digital Humanities Initiative and taught art history in the Department of Art, Graphic Design and Art History for 16 years. “I’mutterly thrilled to be the first director,” Borland said, who will also occasionally continue to teach art history courses. “This is the culmination of over seven years of work with an amazing group of collaborators. It is extremely rewarding to see the work over several years materialize into the establishment of the center, and I’m excited to move forward with all our plans.” The center, a College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) initiative that formally launched in 2022, aims to increase the visibility of humanities research on campus and foster production of new interdisciplinary projects. One such project Borland is looking forward to expanding is the Research Group Fellowship program launched earlier this year. STORY BELLA VU | PHOTOS JASON WALLACE “This flagship program provides support to facilitate collaborative interdisciplinary research in areas like medical humanities, environmental humanities and digital humanities,” Borland said. “Very few universities have this type of program to foster new research, and I can see OSU’s ambitious and unique model becoming one that is emulated by other institutions.” This year’s medical/health humanities research group includes Dr. Reanae McNeal from Interdisciplinary Programs, Marqua Harris from the College of Education and Human Sciences, and Vanessa Oliphant from Dr. Jennifer Borland is the first director of the Center for the Humanities after 16 years at Oklahoma State University. 6 CONNECT 2023
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAxMjk=