Michael Zimmerman, a longtime professor at Tulane University, is the new director of the University of Colorado at Boulder's Center for Humanities and the Arts.
Zimmerman also was named the Eaton Chair of Humanities, and will teach in the philosophy department. His research interests include 19th and 20th century German philosophy, environmental philosophy and Buddhism. He replaces Professor Jeffrey Cox, who directed the center since 1998.
"I am taking over a center that is in great shape," Zimmerman said. "In addition to carrying on what has already been achieved, I hope to partner with those who want to extend Center for Humanities and the Arts programming into new areas."
The center was launched in 1997 as an interdisciplinary program focusing on the study of humanities and artistic creation with the goal of raising the profile of arts and humanities on the CU-Boulder campus.
A specialist in environmental philosophy, Zimmerman would like to further develop the connection between social sciences and the humanities and environmental studies on the CU-Boulder campus.
"When it comes to issues such as global warming, science alone can't address the problem, you have to bring views from many different disciplines to the table," Zimmerman said.
Each year the center selects a theme around which it organizes a yearlong list of activities, including a faculty and graduate student seminar, lecture series and a spring colloquium. The theme for the 2006-07 school year is "Reaping Profits, Reckoning Loss."
Before coming to CU-Boulder, Zimmerman had been a faculty member at Tulane University since 1975, where he held the positions of professor and chair of the philosophy department, co-director of the environmental studies program, director of Asian studies and director of the honors program.
He received numerous awards at Tulane University including the Interdisciplinary Teacher of the Year Award, Sheldon Hackney Award for Excellence in Teaching, Tulane Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award and the Honors Professor of the Year Award.
He is the author or editor of five books and dozens of articles.
For more information about the Center for Humanities and the Arts visit the Web site at www.colorado.edu/ArtsSciences/CHA/index.html.