Art history arrival latest of The U of M's 25 Chairs of Excellence
By: Megan Harris
Issue date: 1/28/09 Section: News
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"Hopefully, I'll get it together soon," she said, laughing.
A tenured professor at New Hampshire's Saint Anselm College, she has been in Memphis for less than two weeks but said she's enjoyed being in the South.
She's taught in Austria, London and South Carolina, studied in New York and Massachusetts and gone to France, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan to pursue both personal and professional endeavors in art history.
As the Dorothy K. Hohenberg Chair of Excellence, she hopes to use her time teaching art history at The University of Memphis to learn more about the culture, talk with students about their interests and meet a variety of people. Unlike most chair holders, Hoffman will be at The U of M only one semester.
"I'm just trying to get organized at the moment," she said. "It's been a daunting task."
In addition to her other duties, Hoffman is responsible for teaching a single class, modern American photography 1900-1970.
"I really think the concept is a great one - bringing different scholars in and out of The University," she said. "It's nice to have new blood in such a structured situation."
The U of M boasts 25 endowed chair of excellence positions across campus, and six Centers of Excellence.
The chairs are chosen for proving to be outstanding members of academia in their chosen disciplines or fields. They work in multiple facets to develop and implement academic policy and curriculum.
Pam Jenkins, director of academic affairs finance and planning, is involved with the programs on a fiscal level. The unique aspect of the chair of excellence positions, she said, is the freedom of each department to fill the assignment.
"These are faculty that are outstanding in their field or have done lots of research," Jenkins said. "They bring with them a level of prestige we strive for and sometimes just by being here, they end up recruiting students we may not have gotten otherwise. They're the cream of the crop."