Home | Humanities Center | Johns Hopkins University. Support the Humanities Center at JHU. Support the JHU Humanities Center. Humanities Center at Johns Hopkins under threat (and a petition) The department agreed to the dean’s request and was reviewed by both an internal and an external committee. The reviews, which have been made available online, were positive, praising the quality of the faculty, the unique interdisciplinary research opportunities, and the graduate placement record.
They also made several suggestions to the department, including an increase in undergraduate engagement and the replacement of the retiring faculty. In accordance with the recommendations, the department submitted a proposal for an undergraduate major. Following the reviews, Dean Wendland did not immediately authorize the faculty searches. Johns Hopkins threatens to close humanities center, sparking outcry. The possible closure of Johns Hopkins University’s 50-year-old interdisciplinary Humanities Center is facing sharp criticism from students and faculty members alike.
They say the center merits a place on campus and are citing concerns about faculty autonomy over the curriculum, the university’s explicit commitment to graduate study and the humanities, and donor influence in academic matters. Hopkins's reasons for considering closing the center aren't totally clear, but the dean in charge of the center's fate has cited its narrow focus (a characterization its proponents challenge), among other concerns.
In any case, it doesn't appear to be a budget issue. “We urge President [Ronald J.] Graduate student supporters of the center also have created a website with details and documents about the pending decision. Here’s a summary: the center, which operates like a department, sponsors two Ph.D. programs, in comparative literature and intellectual history. ‘Center’ vs. Threat to Close the Center. The end of the Humanities Center? – The Johns Hopkins News-Letter. University considers closing department Fifty years after its founding, the Humanities Center (HC) at Hopkins faces the threat of closure. A neutral committee of three professors and one dean has been charged with evaluating the future of the department. Students and faculty have expressed varying degrees of concern following the announcement of the review in June.
They have wondered about the future of the department’s unique interdisciplinary offerings, how the Center’s name will play into this decision and what impact the new Alexander Grass Humanities Institute (AGHI) will have. The Dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS) Beverly Wendland sent a memo to HC graduate students and faculty announcing the formation of the neutral committee, which will submit a set of recommendations to the administration by mid-December.
Wendland, following discussions with Provost Sunil Kumar and University President Ronald J. Three reviews in five years Confusion and frustration slider.