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Liberal Arts Welcomes 2 New Faculty Members By LISA ROBINSON
One of the most important early efforts of The Campaign for Juilliard came to fruition in December 2000, when Juilliard was awarded a $500,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities—the first award Juilliard had ever received from the prestigious organization—to establish an endowment to fund two new, full-time faculty positions in the Liberal Arts Department. The lengthy process of applications (Juilliard's first request in 1999 was declined), meeting the 3:1 matching requirement, patiently waiting to receive installments, and conducting two searches has at last been happily concluded with the appointments of Dr. Gonzalo Sánchez and Dr. Renée Baron.
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| Renée Baron and her husband, Paul Donatich, at their wedding in Chappaqua in July 2003. With them are her stepsons Peter (on the left) and Michael. |
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Strengthening Juilliard's humanities program has been one the leading priorities of President Joseph W. Polisi's administration, and the addition of two full-time Liberal Arts faculty members represents a milestone in that effort. Juilliard is especially fortunate to have attracted two exceptionally engaging and well qualified scholars whose areas of specialization complement those of their new colleagues so well.Dr. Sánchez holds a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University, where he also completed his undergraduate degree in philosophy and history. His research focuses on modern European history and the visual arts. The author of numerous articles and papers, Dr. Sánchez has published two books: Organizing Independence: The Artists' Federation of the Paris Commune and its Legacy, 1871-1889 (The University of Nebraska Press, 1997) and Pity in Fin-de-Siècle French Culture: Liberté, Egalité, Pitié (Praeger, 2004). Before coming to Juilliard, he taught at Columbia University, Touro College, CUNY's York College, and Boston University. Dr. Sánchez is fluent in Spanish and French.Dr. Baron, a specialist in African-American and Caribbean literature, received a Ph.D. in American studies from George Washington University and an M.A. in Afro-American studies from Yale University. She completed her B.A. at Amherst College, and also studied as an exchange student at L'Institut d'Etudes Européenes in Paris. Her extensive teaching experience includes seven years as an instructor at Howard University and seven years as an assistant professor of English at Hofstra University. She has presented papers at conferences in the U.S., Paris, Belize, and the French West Indies, and authored several articles and reviews. She is currently writing a book on the relationship between African-Americans and Caribbean immigrants during the Harlem Renaissance.As the first of the two appointments, Dr. Sánchez has taught in Juilliard's Liberal Arts Department since the fall of 2001, when he was hired on a part-time basis. He became a full-time faculty member in 2003-04, when funds from the endowment were sufficient to support the position. Dr. Baron joined Juilliard's Liberal Arts Department as a full-time faculty member this fall.Asked about how courses in Juilliard's core humanities program compare with those in other institutions where they've taught, both Dr. Baron and Dr. Sánchez agreed that Juilliard's curriculum is unusually wide-ranging. As Dr. Sánchez notes, "Juilliard's curriculum tends to be more broad—not chronologically, but culturally and thematically. The fact that three of the four required seminars involve a lot of Asian thought creates a more global inclusiveness. The Art and Aesthetics course is far different from anything I've taught, as it speaks to Juilliard students as performing artists, but each instructor has the flexibility to address his or her own aesthetic preferences and viewpoints."
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| Gonzalo Sánchez |
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While his scholarly work is informed by a lifelong interest in the visual arts, Dr. Sánchez is also an avid classical music fan who particularly enjoys the late 19th century and early 20th century as a "time of such rich innovation." He notes further that one of the things he most appreciates about teaching at Juilliard is the opportunity to "switch roles from teacher to student, moving from the front of the classroom to the back of the audience and learning as I watch my students do what they do best."With her expertise in literary traditions that have not previously been fully incorporated into Juilliard's curriculum, Dr. Baron also brings a fresh perspective to the School's Liberal Arts Department. Although her mother is from Trinidad and her father was raised in that country, Dr. Baron indicates that her interest in Caribbean literature and Caribbean-American identity stems as much from a natural extension of African-American studies as from an "autobiographical impulse." In addition to her passion for literature, Dr. Baron has a keen appreciation for the performing arts, fostered in part by several years of piano lessons, ballet and tap dance study, and experience singing with the Amherst College Choir. Although she has only been at Juilliard a few weeks, Dr. Baron says that she has already been deeply impressed by her students' discipline, but observes that their commitment to performance studies means that "I have to work extra hard to keep them interested so they don't think they should be practicing instead!"The appointments of Dr. Baron and Dr. Sánchez represent one of the highlights of the June Noble Larkin Program for the Humanities, a multifaceted initiative devoted to strengthening Juilliard's humanities program. Originally known as the Program for Educational Development, the program was renamed in recognition of trustee June Noble Larkin's extraordinary generosity in funding the entire $10 million initiative through two grants from the Edward John Noble Foundation. The matching requirements for the National Endowment for the Humanities' challenge grant were fulfilled through a portion of one of those two grants, and as a result of these special circumstances, the original goal for this component of The Campaign for Juilliard was actually surpassed by $500,000! Juilliard remains deeply grateful to both organizations for the opportunities made possible by their generous assistance.Lisa Robinson is senior writer for special projects and proposals.
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