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The University of Chicago calls to mind neo-Gothic buildings, aisles of browsable library stacks, the broad expanse of the Midway, the view from the Point. This is a special place with exceptional resources and an architecture and landscape befitting a world-class institution—and it continues to grow. As I write this letter, the glass panels are being installed on the dome of the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, the ground plan for the Reva and David Logan Center for Creative and Performing Arts is taking shape, and the new Hospital Pavilion is nearing completion.

What we most value, however, are not places and buildings but people and ideas. As Dean of the Division of the Humanities, my highest priority thus continues to be the identification, recruitment, and retention of talented faculty and graduate students. The physical environment is but empty space unless it provides the setting for scholars at every level of their careers to thrive and to do their very best work.

In this issue of Tableau you will meet some of these people, beginning with the scholars who make ideas come alive in the classroom and at our annual Humanities Day, this year held on October 23. You will read fascinating interviews with film expert Tom Gunning and literary scholar Maud Ellmann. You will take pride, as I do, in the impressive list of faculty accomplishments included in this issue.

I have worked with dedicated department chairs and faculty members these past three years to recruit a cadre of promising young scholars to the Division. A new feature, “Young Faculty Focus,” introduces four remarkable assistant professors in our Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. You will also find a list of our exciting new hires and their research interests, including two of the Division’s four Neubauer Family Assistant Professors.

In spite of today’s challenging job market, the graduates of our excellent MA, MFA, and PhD programs continue to secure superb placements both in and beyond the academy. Two of our alumni collaborated recently on a critically acclaimed exhibition of Matisse’s works at the Art Institute of Chicago and Museum of Modern Art.

This fall, the Humanities Division again welcomes a brilliant group of graduate students to our community. As always, I have no doubt that many will launch promising scholarly careers even before they complete their graduate work. The student poets featured here exemplify the caliber of talent we draw to Chicago.

Whether you enjoy this issue of Tableau in print or online, I urge you to write to me to share your thoughts. As always, I am grateful for your interest and support.

Sincerely yours,

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Martha T. Roth

Dean of the Division of the Humanities

A live, online look at construction on the Mansueto Library and the Logan Center for Creative and Performing Arts is available via construction webcams.