Five faculty join humanities center executive committee

The Center for the Humanities welcomes five new members to its executive committee for the 2024–25 academic year, among them several former Faculty Fellows. 

Joining the executive committee are: 

  • Elizabeth Hunter, assistant professor of drama (through 2027)
  • Caroline Kita, ​associate professor of German and comparative literature and performing arts (affiliate) (through 2026)
  • Thembelani Mbatha, assistant professor of African and African American studies (through 2027)
  • Patricia Olynk, the Florence and Frank Bush Professor in Art, Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts (through 2027)
  • Hayrettin Yücesoy, associate professor of Arabic and Islamic studies, history (affiliate), and global studies (through 2026).
New executive committee members (left to right): Elizabeth Hunter, Caroline Kita, Patricia Olynyk, Thembelani Mbatha and Hayrettin Yücesoy.

The new members replace outgoing committee members Uluğ Kuzuoğlu, assistant professor of history; Heather Berg, former assistant professor of women, gender and sexuality studies; Patrick Burke, professor of music; Jonathan Fenderson, associate professor of African and African American studies; and Ila Sheren, associate professor of art history and archaeology.

Continuing on the committee are Diana Montaño, associate professor of history; Casey O’Callaghan, professor of philosophy; and Jessica Rosenfeld, associate professor of English (through 2025); and Marlon Bailey, professor of African and African American studies and of women, gender and sexuality studies (through 2026).

The Center for the Humanities Executive Committee is comprised of nine tenure-track and tenured faculty members from across the humanities, who serve in an advisory capacity to the center’s director.