The following message was sent to emeriti faculty and friends on January 11, 2021:
As the University begins Winter Quarter, a blend of in-person and remote teaching, learning, and research will continue. In their message about Winter Quarter preparations, President Zimmer and Provost Lee detailed initial vaccination efforts in accordance with guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for Phase 1a of vaccination and announced their plans to convene a group of University leaders to work with UChicago Medicine to establish vaccine allocation policies for University personnel who will be part of Phase 1b. For more information about campus, facilities resources, and the University response to COVID-19, please continue to consult UChicago Forward.
The start of the new quarter offers an opportunity to remind everyone of the changes to the academic calendar announced last fall by the provost. Winter Quarter begins today, January 11, and will end on March 20, with all College classes being held remotely this week. In- person instruction will begin on Tuesday, January 19, following Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 18.
The University’s 2021 Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemoration will take place on Tuesday, January 12, at 6 p.m. and will feature National Humanities Medal recipient and Pulitzer-Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson, the author of Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents and The Warmth of Other Suns, as keynote speaker at the virtual event streamed live on the University’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. In addition to the keynote address, the event will feature a conversation between Wilkerson and Assistant Provost Regina Dixon-Reeves and include remarks from President Robert J. Zimmer; Maurice Charles, dean of Rockefeller Chapel; and Dinah Clottey, a third-year undergraduate in the College. Event details, speaker biography, an archive of past keynote addresses, and information on how to tune in on the 12th are available at https://mlk.uchicago.edu/.
Benefits
Address Changes
If you have moved recently or believe you have not been receiving benefits related mailings, you can update your address through the UChicago Benefits Office by emailing retiree@uchicago.edu. You can also update your address yourself through Workday, the University’s human resources system, if you prefer; see the guide available on the emeriti website to walk you through the process.
University Library
Access during the Interim and Winter Quarter First Week
During the first week of Winter Quarter 2021 (January 11-15, 2021), before most in-person classes begin meeting, the Library is providing Paging & Pickup, Book Return, Scan & Deliver and other services on a reduced schedule. For more information about Library services, please consult the Library Status Dashboard.
Faculty Studies
Faculty Studies remain inaccessible at this time, but those with Regenstein studies can request items that Library staff can retrieve for pickup. The Library asks that study holders email studies@lib.uchicago.edu with a list of materials needed (including both Library materials and personal items). Library staff will retrieve the items and send a follow-up email with a link to reserve a time to pick up items from the Regenstein lobby when they are ready. For more information, please refer to the Library’s Faculty Studies page.
Select Accolades and Publications
2020 Norman Maclean Faculty Award
Robert T. Michael, the Founding Dean of the Harris School of Public Policy and the Eliakim Hastings Moore Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, has been named the Norman Maclean Faculty Award winner for 2020. Established in 1997, the award is given annually to recognize emeritus or senior faculty for extraordinary contributions to teaching and student life. You can watch the award ceremony that was held on November 6 and learn more about the 2020 Alumni Award Winners, as well as past award winners, on the UChicago Alumni & Friends site.
Emeriti Publications
Thomas C. Holt, James Westfall Thompson Professor Emeritus of American and African American History, has authored The Movement: The African American Struggle for Civil Rights which will be released by Oxford University Press this month. From the publisher: “In The Movement, Thomas C. Holt provides an informed and nuanced understanding of the origins, character, and objectives of the mid-twentieth-century freedom struggle, privileging the aspirations and initiatives of the ordinary, grassroots people who made it. Holt conveys a sense of these developments as a social movement, one that shaped its participants even as they shaped it. He emphasizes the conditions of possibility that enabled the heroic initiatives of the common folk over those of their more celebrated leaders. This groundbreaking book reinserts the critical concept of ‘movement’ back into our image and understanding of the civil rights movement.”
If you have news or information about publications or accolades, we would love to hear about them. Please contact us at emeritifaculty@uchicago.edu.
Events and Lectures
UChicago Beijing Center’s Tenth Anniversary
Throughout January, UChicago Global is celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the UChicago Center in Beijing with a series of virtual events, conversations, and lectures offered by UChicago Faculty showcasing their research and partnerships in China. The programing culminates on January 28 at 7:00 p.m. with “The Future of Higher Education: A Presidential Perspective,” a conversation with President Zimmer and Juan de Pablo, Vice President for National Laboratories, Science Strategy, Innovation, and Global Initiatives and Liew Family Professor in Molecular Engineering, focused on the opportunities and challenges facing higher education. A full program of events and detailed information about the speakers is available on the anniversary site.
Campus Museums
Although the Oriental Institute Museum and the Smart Museum are once again closed in light of the current stay-at-home advisory issued by the city of Chicago, there are opportunities to engage the collections, artists, and scholars. You can continue to visit Smart at Home for virtual visits and digital resources as well as explore the Oriental Institute Online or attend virtual events.
UChicago Presents
The 2020/21 season of UChicago Presents continues into Winter Quarter with a variety of online, digital events and performances. Tabea Debus (recorder) joins Alon Sariel (lute) with the first concert of 2021 on January 15 at 7:00 p.m.; purchase tickets and receive information to view the streaming performance at the event site.
We hope your year is off to a good start. Please continue to reach out to us with questions or thoughts at emeritifaculty@uchicago.edu and remember to check in at the Emeriti Faculty webpage also contains a variety of information, resources, and news and announcements.
Warmly,
Melina Hale, Phil Venticinque, and Cassandra Martynow
Melina Hale
Vice Provost
Phil Venticinque
Assistant Provost
Cassandra Martynow
Associate Director