Vassar Toasts the Scholarly and Creative Achievements of Faculty

As the teaching portion of Vassar’s Spring Semester drew to a close on May 1, members of the faculty gathered in Thompson Library to celebrate another aspect of their work—the scholarly journals, books, and other presentations they have authored over the past several years.

As slides describing the work of 53 faculty members scrolled on a large screen, Dean of Faculty William Hoynes led a champagne toast to those assembled in the Class of 1951 Reading Room. “Our faculty are a remarkable group of scholars and artists, writers and performers, scientists and humanists,” Hoynes said. “So many of you are engaged in wonderfully innovative scholarly and creative work, but outside of your specific networks, many on campus are not aware of all of this great work.”

The range of faculty projects were impressive. Among those in attendance were Associate Professor and Chair of Music Justin Patch and Professor of Anthropology Thomas Porcello, who co-authored a textbook titled Re-Making Sound: An Experiential Approach to Sound Studies, which examines six different types of sound and provides exercises to explore each one.

Another example was Professor of History Nancy Bisaha, who recently published a book titled From Christians to Europeans: Pope Pius II and the Concept of the Modern Western Identity. Bisaha said Pope Pius II, who led the Catholic Church from 1458 to 1464, was one of the first to frame the countries of Europe as a distinct part of the world.

President Elizabeth H. Bradley told those assembled that one of her favorite parts of her job has been reading the books and articles members of the faculty have published. “It’s important to have the time and space to use our intellect, and I get a liberal arts degree every year reading your work,” she said.—Larry Hertz