Dear Colleagues,

It is my pleasure to welcome my friend and colleague Dr. Antoinette Burton as the Interim Director of the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities (IPRH) starting July 1, 2015. We all know Antoinette as a passionate and enduring advocate for the humanities on our campus. Many of us have also long admired her administrative skills, which we observed during her tenure as Chair of the History department, her work on countless university committees including her recent endeavors as Chair of the Humanities Working Group, and most recently her service as Interim Head of the Sociology department. A consummate scholar, teacher, and collaborator, Antoinette will be a superb leader for the IPRH during this time of transition. She has also agreed to assume the Principal Investigator role on the multiple Mellon grants currently run out of the IPRH. I have every confidence that Antoinette will lead the IPRH seamlessly into its next phase, and into a very bright future. On behalf of myself, and the IPRH staff, I offer my heartiest congratulations and again, a very emphatic Welcome!

Sincerely, and with best wishes,

Dianne

Dianne Harris

Director, Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities