Discovery & Engagement Discovery & Engagement

LIBERAL ARTS MAGAZINE Spring 2004
24
FACULTYnotes
JANET AFARY
Janet Afary, associate professor of history
and women’s studies, has been awarded
a one-year fellowship from
the National Endowment
for the Humanities. The
$40,000 stipend will allow
Afary to work on her next
monograph, From Mullah to
Goya: The Art and Politics of
Mullah Nasreddin, 1906–1917. She is
one of three Indiana recipients, among
118 from across the country.
MARTIN BECK MATUSTÍK
Martin Beck
Matustík, professor
of philosophy and
director of the
English and
Philosophy PhD
Program, recently
organized and
hosted two major events. In September,
the conference of the North American
Sartre Society took place with two special
presentations. The conference highlighted
the new life and importance of
WEI HONG
As co-director of the newly established
Purdue University China Center, Wei
Hong, associate professor of Chinese in
the Department of Foreign Languages and
Literatures, has been actively engaged in
facilitating academic exchanges between
Purdue and Chinese universities as well
as outreach with Indiana industries with
business in China. The
center has held cultural
orientations for
students from China
and is actively advising
three Asian student
organizations on
campus.
the interdisciplinary programs at
Purdue, and it was featured in the
Chronicle of Higher Education and the
Indianapolis Star, as well as local TV
news. In February, the graduate student
conference on “Faith, Theory, and
Identity-Making” took place. With 60
panelists from 20 universities (including
nine graduate students and three professors
from Purdue), this conference
explored the Continental philosophy
of religion.
R. DOUGLAS HURT
On January 20, R. Douglas Hurt, professor
and head of the Department of
History, delivered
the 2004
Richard A.
Hadley APSAC
Professional
Development
Presentation.
Hurt’s treatment
of the topic, “Midwestern
Distinctiveness,” was witty, literate, and
urbane, and the audience received the
talk warmly. The Administrative and
Professional Staff Advisory Committee’s
mission is “to build a formal link between
A/P staff and the central administration.”
Hurt commented that he was delighted
to be asked to participate.
HOWARD SYPHER
In late September, Howard Sypher,
professor and head of the Department
of Communication, joined three other
Purdue faculty members and two General
Electric executives for an Innovations
Summit, kicking off the fall 2003 season
of GE’s College
Innovation Tour.
Panelists discussed
the important role
of innovation on
Purdue’s campus
and beyond.