Announcing the Emory Initiative for Arts and Humanistic Inquiry

Dear Colleagues,  

I am excited to announce a new initiative to advance Emory’s longstanding leadership in the liberal arts while furthering our mission to create, preserve, teach and apply knowledge in the service of humanity.  

Launching in Fall 2023, the Emory Initiative for Arts & Humanistic Inquiry will support the recruitment of up to 30 outstanding scholars over the next three years who are advancing our understanding of humanity and exploring critical questions facing individuals and society in our times.   

Hired through five Emory schools—Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Oxford College, Candler School of Theology, Emory Law, and Goizueta Business School—with partial funding from the Office of the Provost, these new faculty will help each school bolster signature strengths and build capacity in areas of strategic priority. 

In addition, we are investing in expanded programming through the Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry to serve faculty across the university—supporting research and teaching in the liberal arts and catalyzing new collaborations among scholars in the creative arts, interdisciplinary humanities and social sciences. 

At Emory, we believe these areas of inquiry and expression are integral to the future of our institution, our students and all of society. Indeed, in an era when some are disinvesting in the humanities, Emory has decided to double down—because we think humanistic inquiry is particularly essential at this critical juncture in our shared history. At a time of rapid technological, societal and environmental change, scholars and artists who can shine a light on the human experience will help us face challenges and find new ways to grow and flourish. 

With this investment in Arts & Humanistic Inquiry—along with complementary initiatives exploring the impacts of AI on humanity, climate research, racial justice and equity and arts and social justice—we underscore Emory’s commitment to the arts and humanities as fundamental to our values and to the liberal arts education Emory provides its students. 

I would like to thank Deans Jan Love, Gareth James, Mary Anne Bobinski and Interim Deans Carla Freeman and Kenneth Carter for their enthusiastic support and leadership in shaping the vision for this initiative. I’m also grateful to the faculty from each participating school who have agreed to serve on the Faculty Advisory Committee, which will be convened by Senior Vice Provost Lanny Liebeskind.  

Please look for an article in today’s Emory Report and visit our webpage to learn more about the Initiative for Arts & Humanistic Inquiry initiative. As we look to the official start of recruiting in fall 2023, I encourage you to join your colleagues in conversation about how we as One Emory can continue to advance our shared goals of faculty eminence and innovation through scholarship and creative expression—harnessing imagination and discovery to address 21st-century challenges and positively influence the human condition in the decades ahead. 

Ravi V. Bellamkonda
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs