Plans are currently under way to find a physical space for the Humanities Center, according to Jonathan Crewe, Professor of English and Director of the Humanities Center.
One of the locations that are being considered to house the center -- which was created during the summer -- is Bartlett Hall, Crewe said.
The Humanities Center would function as a hub for students and faculty from a variety of disciplines to come together, Crewe said.
"We want it to be a be a place where anyone can have a physical space to interact," he added. "I am currently meeting with the student liaison to see what the students want from the Center."
One of the goals of the center would be to raise money to provide fellowships for faculty and visiting professors, according to Crewe. He said he sees the center having about six visiting professors at a given time.
The center will contain offices for visiting fellows and the staff, but will not have any departmental offices.
A major objective of the Center will be to co-sponsor activities on campus, perhaps with the Rockefeller Center, to make the center more interdisciplinary.
"We currently don't plan to offer any courses through the center," Crewe said. "But we are hoping that the center will act as a forum where new ideas about teaching will be brought up."
Gordon DeWitt, Director of Facilities Planning, said the College is exploring ways to renovate Bartlett Hall.
If an annex were to be constructed, it would be smaller or equal to the size of Bartlett Hall, DeWitt said.
Crewe indicated that the center would sponsor various conferences and symposia throughout the year. The Center currently plans to sponsor a conference next fall on Mexico City, Los Angeles and the borderlands.
The Center is currently financed by seed money provided by the College, and has a working budget to finance its operation.
