10/1/02, Avalon Professor in the Humanities

Avalon Professor in the Humanities: Michael Eric Dyson

The School of Arts and Sciences has announced that Dr. Michael Eric Dyson has been named the Avalon Professor in the Humanities. Dr. Dyson comes to the religious studies department from DePaul University, where he was the Ida B. Wells-Barnett University Professor. In addition, he has taught at Chicago Theological Seminary, the University of North Carolina, and Columbia and Brown universities. In his research, which focuses on race, religion, popular culture and contemporary crises facing the African-American community, he sometimes employs a new genre of scholarship, which he terms ‘bio-criticism,' the fusion of social and cultural criticism and biographical analysis. He earned a Ph.D. in religion at Princeton University and is also an ordained Baptist minister.

A widely published author and frequent media commentator, he has written six highly acclaimed books including the recent bestseller Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur, as well as examinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. He writes a monthly column for Savoy magazine, and is a contributing editor at Christian Century and is a contributor for Vibe magazine. He has received awards from the National Association of Black Journalists and the NAACP.

The Avalon Professorship was created in 1966 by the Avalon Foundation, now the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. "It is an honor to acknowledge the foundation's generosity with this exceptional appointment," said SAS Dean Sam Preston.

See Penn's online directory to contact
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson.

Almanac, Vol. 49, No. 6, October 1, 2002

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS:

Tuesday,
October 1, 2002
Volume 49 Number 6
www.upenn.edu/almanac/

A new Center for Africana Studies looks to the past, and the future.

Dr. Daniel Janzen, a pioneer in tropical biology, has been awarded the Einstein World Award for Science.

An endowed chair for Dr. Virginia Reef in Veterinary Medicine and for Dr. Michael Eric Dyson in SAS.

The first University Council meeting of the academic year will be held tomorrow and three year-end committee reports are scheduled for discussion.

Penn tops the list for Service Learning in the latest U.S. News rankings.

Speaking Out on a problematic parking predicament plaguing permit holders, and on the steady stream of Facilities postcards.

The University Medal for Distinguished Achievement is conferred at the SEAS Sesquicentennial Convocation

A new Involuntary Leave of Absence policy concerning students is now in effect.

The Government Affairs Update addresses the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace; the FY 03 Commonwealth Appropriation and the local student-orientated initiatives.

Of Record: Design Guidelines and Review of Campus Projects.

Now is the time to register a PennKey and password in the new authentication system; those who register before midnight on October 9 could win a prize.