Study in a second discipline

Careers in academia are, in some ways, like those of any other profession: once you have secured a position, you set about to address professional obligations, establish personal goals and pursue opportunities for advancement. Most of all of these would occur within the framework of the position for which you were intially hired.

An important difference in the professoriat, and one emphasized by a program at UGA, is the opportunity to study outside of your chosen discipline. The 2013-2014 Study in a Second Discipline Fellows were just announced and they are all from the Franklin College:

"Some of the most notable research and scholarship occurs at the interface of fields, and the Study in the Second Discipline program is one of the many ways that the university encourages interdisciplinary research," said Provost Jere Morehead. "I commend the recipients of this fellowship for undertaking projects that will advance their fields and have the potential to foster long-term collaborations on campus."

The 2013-2014 Fellows are:

• Benjamin Ehlers, associate professor of history, who will study in the geography department to gain proficiency in data mapping and further his research into patterns of religious violence in the Spanish Mediterranean;
• Chad Howe, associate professor of Romance languages, who will study in the department of statistics with the goal of applying advanced quantitative techniques to the study of language variation;
• Amy Ross, associate professor of geography, who will study in the departments of philosophy and military science to advance her research on civilian casualties and lay the foundation for a new course on "The Geographies of Conflict." 
• Janice Simon, Meigs Professor of Art History, who will study Native American culture in the anthropology department to broaden the scope of her research on landscape images as well as her courses on American art;
• Robert Varley, professor of mathematics, who will study in the physics department to enhance collaborative research on particle physics and quantum field theory; and
• Andrew Zawacki, associate professor of English, who will study photography in the Lamar Dodd School of Art and incorporate the technical and theoretical knowledge he gains into an upcoming book of poetry.

Congratulations to these faculty members, and thanks to their colleagues in every department for supporting their return to the classoom in a different guise. We look forward to the fruits of their study in a second discipline and salute the dedication to innovative scholarship.