Faculty

Thomas ‘Tom’ Mapp, visionary arts educator and administrator at UChicago, 1936‒2024

Thomas 'Tom' Mapp, a transformative leader in arts education and administration at the University of Chicago, passed away on Nov. 11, 2024. He was 88.

Mapp worked at UChicago for 26 years, beginning in 1975. He served as the second director of Midway Studios, part of the Committee on Art and Design within the Department of Art History, which also oversaw the Master’s in Fine Arts program. Over his tenure, he helped reshape the program to focus on intellectual rigor and artistic innovation. By 1996, Mapp had overseen its evolution into the Committee on the Visual Arts, independent from Art History with its own faculty chair and budget, laying the groundwork for what is now the Department of Visual Arts.

Humanities Day, in brief

James F. Osborne, associate professor in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, spoke on the love affair between archaeologists and pottery. (Photography by Joe Sterbenc)

The UChicago Division of the Humanities showcased the depth and impact of arts and humanities research during our annual signature event, Humanities Day, on Oct. 26, 2024.

'UChicago Magazine' highlighted faculty presentations, including Derek Kennet’s exploration of ancient shipwrecks and early globalization, Jason Salavon’s insights on AI’s influence on creativity, and Eric Slauter’s talk, which focused on the Humanities Core, and how faculty, including himself, have introduced students to primary texts and to the task of confronting them collaboratively as an academic community.

Five UChicago Humanities Faculty Members Receive Named, Distinguished Service Professorships

Five University of Chicago Humanities faculty members have received distinguished service professorships or named professorships.

Profs. Josephine McDonagh, Sianne Ngai and Jacqueline Najuma Stewart have received distinguished service professorships.

Profs. Hans Thomalla and Ming Xiang have received named professorships.

Theaster Gates's House Museum Gone Wild

UChicago scholar and artist Theaster Gates

Theaster Gates’s latest exhibition, When Clouds Roll Away: Reflection and Restoration from the Johnson Archive, would give all but the most radical archivist a heart attack.

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