ASU officials are beginning the process of creating a new research center that will mesh together several departments.
The Institute for Humanities Research will link professors and graduate students in departments ranging from English to religious and women's studies, said Deborah Losse, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences divisional dean of humanities.
"There are lots of humanities professors throughout campus," Losse said. "They will all be able to collaborate and make [research] proposals through the [Institute for Humanities Research]."
But the Interdisciplinary Humanities Program, an academic program that offers classes and a degree for undergraduate and graduate students, will be "phased out" this year, Losse said.
The department has stopped accepting new students, Losse said. Professors from the department will move to English and other departments, which will offer the humanities-based coursework instead. Many humanities courses with the HUM prefix already are cross-listed with prefixes from other departments.
The new research center will not offer coursework for students, Losse said. Its purpose will be to encourage faculty research in the humanities, she said.
Linell Cady, a religious studies professor and the director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at ASU, said she is part of a committee that is searching for a new director to lead the research center in July.
Cady, whose research focuses on the role of religion in American society, said she wants to encourage discussion about the relationship between religion and scientific advancements such as stem cell research and cloning.
"By bringing science and the humanities together, these conversations are incredibly important in bringing together the implications of science and technology on society," Cady said.
Russian senior Matt Mangum said he thought professors in the humanities should focus more on research because they could benefit from added prestige that the sciences are already enjoying.
"[ASU President Michael] Crow has focused on biomedical research," Mangum said. "There's more humanities topics that could be researched."
Faculty in the new Institute for Humanities Research have until Nov. 10 to apply for internal funding through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the office of the vice president of research and economic affairs, Losse said.
Research money will be distributed in the form of a "competitive seed grant" to faculty and could range in amount from $2,000 to $5,000, depending on the quality of the projects proposed, Losse said.
Faculty members are then encouraged to use that money as a beginning and continue to get funding from national and international groups.
"It's going to raise the number of submissions we will [send] to external funding agencies," Losse said.
Reach the reporter at nicole.saidi@asu.edu.
