Global Arts + Humanities
DISCOVERY THEME
2019-24 STRATEGIC PLAN
Emergence Collaboration Transformation
Prepared by Wendy S. Hesford and Puja Batra-Wells Designed and edited by Breanne LeJeune
Emergence Collaboration Transformation
CONTENTS CONTEXT MISSION PLANNING TIMELINE
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GOALS ONE Global Arts + Humanities will build intellectual community across the university through cross-disciplinary research and creative practices that respond to critical societal challenges to drive social change
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TWO Global Arts + Humanities will deepen student engagement in the arts and humanities through cross-disciplinary research, experiential learning and professional development opportunities
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THREE Global Arts + Humanities will strengthen the university’s capacity for transformative, community-engaged partnerships through arts and humanities methods, orientations and interventions
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FOUR Global Arts + Humanities will increase Ohio State’s national recognition as a leading land-grant institution and its distinction for excellence in integrated arts and humanities through cross-disciplinary collaborations
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The Global Arts + Humanities supports integrated arts and humanities by fostering collaborations between different disciplinary domains, between the global and the local, between the academic and experiential, and between campus and community — opening up new understandings across difference.
Laura “LROD” Rodriquez (MFA candidate, Dance), who led the Día de los Muertos procession from the Gateway Film Center to Sullivant Hall, performs for a crowd near High Street. October 19, 2019.
CONTEXT Across the nation, universities are contemplating how to provide an education that is global and interdisciplinary — one that promotes community-engagement and advances democracy in an increasingly diverse and changing world. Higher education in the 21st century presents complex challenges and opportunities for transformation. Higher education for the 21st century requires a deep investment in core disciplinary competencies as well as an increased emphasis on cross-disciplinary collaborations. We face critical societal challenges of great consequence and complexity: from the global pandemic and socio-economic disparities to global warming and forced migration, to mass incarceration and poverty, to authoritarianism and the breakdown of democratic institutions. The arts and humanities have a vital role to play in confronting these challenges — building from strong foundations in disciplinary expertise, accentuating new understandings and imaginaries, and translating knowledge into solutions for social impact. Indeterminate in scope and scale, critical societal challenges not only require attention to global systems but to local cultures and histories, and they therefore compel a shift from crisis-based thinking to contextual thinking. The critical in “critical societal challenges” can mean urgent, pressing or necessary — but it also points to a methodological orientation. As the global pandemic illustrates, seemingly-emergent challenges are tied to the history of structural inequities. For instance, vaccine distribution has made the deep link between the history of racial disparities and access to health care all the more visible. Emergent challenges — multi-causal, multidimensional and resistant to singular solutions — push the boundaries of disciplinary understanding and call for cross-disciplinary collaborations and multifaceted solutions. The construct of solutions is but one framework for understanding the applicability and relevancy of the arts and humanities. Solutions to complex problems can only be transformative if they attend to a diversity of perspectives, practices and methods. This includes the recognition that methods themselves are informed by cultural histories and embodiments. In this sense, solutions are iterative and context driven. Artistic and critical humanistic modes of inquiry and discovery help us to better understand these histories and their present formations. They shape how we see the world around us, how we conceptualize and categorize knowledge, and how we live and adapt. They are central to demystifying the logics that underlie crisis and envisioning socially-just possibilities.
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As a leading land-grant institution of the 21st century, The Ohio State University has a vital role to play in fostering cultural understanding and advancing democracy and social justice — especially at moments of great uncertainty. The university must continue to invest in research and creative practices that provide insight into the human dimensions of these critical societal challenges. Integrated arts and humanities methods and practices provide indispensable tools for understanding our place in the world — methods that forefront deep observation, listening and empathy, and skills to communicate diverse viewpoints and imaginative possibilities. These tools include creative action, contextualization, representation and synthesis — modes of inquiry that account for our relations, interdependencies and interconnections. Significantly, they cultivate the compassion that drives social change. Ohio State’s strategic plan, Time and Change, signals a commitment to cross-disciplinary research and creative expression as drivers of “significant advances for critical societal challenges.” Building on Ohio State’s strengths in discipline-specific fields and integrated disciplines, Global Arts + Humanities advances intellectual community and capacity across the university through cross-disciplinary collaborations. These collaborations help to shift institutional culture away from siloed thinking and toward reaffirming the translational aspects of creative and humanistic inquiry. More than ever, we see the urgent need for integrated arts and humanities research and creative practices to apply qualitative as well as quantitative methods to understand and respond to critical societal challenges. By breaking down barriers to meaningful collaboration, Global Arts + Humanities is uniquely positioned to become a national leader in demonstrating the transformative power of cross-disciplinary collaborations that amplify the arts and humanities as modes of inquiry and discovery. CAPTION Keynote speaker Becca Heller (left) and Associate Professor Hasan Kwame Jeffries (right, History) hold a discussion following Heller’s address, “Refugee Rights at a Crossroads.” October 17, 2019.
Wendy S. Hesford Faculty Director 2
“Critical societal challenges are portals to the past, present and future. Crossdisciplinary arts and humanities help us to understand these contexts, envision imaginative possibilities and translate knowledge into solutions for social impact.”
MISSION
Global Arts + Humanities is the gateway to the integrated arts and humanities at Ohio State. The mission of the Global Arts + Humanities is to invest in cross-disciplinary collaborations that amplify the transformative power of the arts and humanities to respond to critical societal challenges to drive social change.
STRATEGIC PLANNING 2015-2016
Established by the Office of Academic Affairs in 2015, the founding vision for the Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme was to integrate the arts and humanities in a shared focus on societal challenges and to support programming as well as faculty hires — with cost sharing from colleges that would support this purpose. Distinct from other Discovery Themes, the Global Arts + Humanities was defined not solely as a hiring initiative, but rather as one that would support cross-disciplinary programming and faculty research. $2.5 million in annual-rate funding and another $2.5 million in one-time cash supports these efforts. Guided by the innovative work of four faculty fellows, the Discovery Theme entered the first phase of the strategic-planning process. This phase included a call for cross-disciplinary proposals from faculty in the Division of the Arts and Humanities for two-year pilot projects that emphasized the human dimensions of pressing social concerns and challenges.
2017
Building on the 11 funded pilot projects (with expenditures of $1.1 million), Lead Dean Peter Hahn invited faculty to submit proposals that expanded the scope and scale. A faculty steering committee reviewed all proposals and recommended the Migration, Mobility and Immobility Project as the first area for investment. Faculty hiring was part of this investment. In consultation with leadership (a newly-formed advisory committee, new faculty director and lead dean), two additional scaledup proposals — Livable Futures and Public Narrative Collaborative — were identified as meriting investment.
2018
The Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme underwent an external review, which reaffirmed the need for greater faculty participation and transparency in the development of the initiative. Recommendations from the external reviewers, faculty working groups and division-wide faculty retreat (April 2018) aided in the refinement of the initiative’s mission, vision and core-goals. After extensive faculty consultations, the initiative’s leadership and advisory committee identified three additional
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areas for future investment: Community, Livability, and the Methods and Practices Amplifier. (The first focus area was renamed Im/Mobility to account for situations of immobility that people experience stemming from social, cultural, political, environmental and economic factors.) Several new grants programs, informed by these focus areas, were developed, including Arts Creation, Community Engagement, Discovery Field Schools, Mobile Methods, and Graduate Team Fellowships, among others. Focus areas and grants opportunities organized around critical societal challenges helped to facilitate collaborations and formation of cross-disciplinary research communities.
2019
The Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme participated in a strategic plan review spearheaded by the Office of Academic Affairs. The review process built awareness of the program across the university, communicated impact and future plans to key stakeholders, and solicited feedback that was incorporated into the strategic plan. Reviewers included administrators and faculty from across the university and yielded a rigorous audit of opportunities and barriers as part of a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis, including administrative structures that encumber collaboration across departments and performance metrics that do not sufficiently account for cross-disciplinary collaborations. The review also spotlighted the initiative’s efforts in building institutional capacity for faculty-led collaborative research through its robust grants and fellowships programs and praised its focus on the arts and humanities as modes of inquiry and discovery, and its development of mentoring protocols and qualitative performance and assessment metrics. In line with the University’s strategic directives, the review also noted the initiative’s commitment to ethical resource management and stewardship. For example, research allocations rely on criteria including mission alignment, project efficacy, embeddedness in institutional ecology, qualitative leadership and diversity.
Diversity, inclusion and equity are at the heart of every program and a driver of every decision. In response to this review, Global Arts + Humanities heightened the impact of its portfolio of grant programs by leveraging and amplifying programs run by existing university centers and entities (including the development of Center and Institute Grants) and cost sharing (with the Office of Research and Office of Diversity and Inclusion), while also seeding new and innovative cross-disciplinary research opportunities. Subsequent consultations with leadership and faculty about the 2019 strategic plan and accomplishments also pointed to the need for the
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development of additional resources to support existing interdisciplinary programs as well as individual faculty research within a multidisciplinary context.
2020
The Global Arts + Humanities launched its signature Society of Fellows Program, which brings faculty across the disciplines together to explore a common theme. In addition to increased support for individual faculty, the Society of Fellows supports undergraduate and graduate student research and creative productions. This diversification also included the development of Innovative Interventions rapid response grants to support faculty-led research and creative practices that facilitate arts and humanities critical engagement with the challenges that COVID-19 has made visible, including pandemic related disparities.
2020-21
Next, throughout the 2020-21 academic year, Global Arts + Humanities conducted an internal review process to refine its 2019 strategic plan based on an assessment of achievements, current programming, and investment priorities. This multi-year strategic planning and review process yielded four key strategic goals that guide the activity of the Global Arts + Humanities and its commitment to advancing diversity, inclusion and equity.
STRATEGIC GOALS Goal One Global Arts + Humanities will build intellectual community across the university through cross-disciplinary research and creative practices that respond to critical societal challenges to drive social change. Goal Two Global Arts + Humanities will deepen student engagement in the arts and humanities through cross-disciplinary research, experiential learning and professional development opportunities. Goal Three Global Arts + Humanities will strengthen the university’s capacity for transformative community-engaged partnerships through arts and humanities methods, orientations and interventions. Goal Four Global Arts + Humanities will increase Ohio State’s national recognition as a leading land-grant institution and distinction of excellence in integrated arts and humanities through crossdisciplinary collaborations. The remainder of this document reviews these four goals and the strategies that advance their development and implementation.
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Students perform for “How Movement Moves: Dancing Across Borders, from West Africa to the Americas.” This event showcased an innovative community collaboration between Dance Brazil (a faculty-led undergraduate dance tour to Brazil) and Suzan Bradford Kounta (artistic director of the Thiossane Institute and director of the Lincoln Theatre). October 19, 2019.
TIME
Pilot projects
Faculty-driven research
2015 2016 2016 2017 2018 2018 2018 2018
2018 Discovery Theme external program review 2018 Program manager hired 2018 Division-wide faculty retreat identifies areas of research inquiry 2018 Four faculty fellows appointed to develop initiatives 2019 Two project directors appointed to produce targeted institutional scans 2019 Program coordinator hired 2019 Strategic plan approved by OAA
Provost announces Discovery Theme in liberal arts OAA awards $1.1M non-recurring cash grant to ASC Division of the Arts and Humanities to invest in A+H Eleven two-year pilot projects funded in the division Migration, Mobility and Immobility Project selected for ongoing investment Faculty director appointed Strategic planning process begins Faculty advisory committee formed Two additional pilot projects, Livable Futures and Public Narrative Collaborative, chosen for investment
ELINE Broadening engagement
Building distinction + capacity
2019 Four new large grants competitions launched 2019 Discovery Field School Program launched 2019 Graduate Team Fellowships Program launched 2020 Faculty fellow in strategic development appointed 2020 Two faculty fellows (one in humanities and one in arts) appointed to develop Methods and Practices Amplifer
2018-20 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2021 2021 2021 2022 2023
Global migration and mobility cluster hire K-12 Teaching Institute launched Society of Fellows Program launched Society of Fellows research grants for students launched Development of Innovative Interventions Grants Program for COVID-19 Matching Grants on Racial Justice announced Development of cross-disciplinary assessment and impact tools Graduate Professional Development Program launched Strategic plan for 2019-2024 released Begin transition to an institute Establish Global Arts + Humanities Institute
MOVING SUBJECTS WEEK
Associate Professors Theodora Dragostinova (center left, History) and Michelle Wibbelsman (center right, SPPO) pose in the crowd at the opening reception of Moving Subjects Week, “ A Celebration of Indigenous People’s Day.” The reception included pieces from the national exhibit of Andean and Amazonian Cultural Artifacts (The Hidden Life of Things) and an exhibition of Potawatami basketry. October 14, 2019.
In October 2019, the Migration, Mobility and Immobility project organized Moving Subjects Week — a series of events that began with a celebration of Indigenous People’s Day and included music and dance performances, talks, book readings and a student forum. The week culminated with a Día de los Muertos procession and community gathering. The keynote address, “Refugee Rights at a Crossroads,” was given by Becca Heller — founder and co-director of the International Refugee Assistance Project and MacArthur Genius Award Recipient. The photographs spotlighted in this strategic plan have been curated from this week of events, which is an exemplar of Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme-funded projects.
GOAL
ONE
Global Arts + Humanities will build intellectual community across the university through crossdisciplinary research and creative practices that respond to critical societal challenges to drive social change
Traditional disciplinary structures and performance review processes often do not provide an adequate infrastructure to support crossdisciplinary inquiry and creation that cut across and connect previouslyseparated disciplinary domains. Global Arts + Humanities provides leadership and leverages existing strengths in order to build institutional capacity for cross-disciplinary collaborations — establishing a gateway to the integrated arts and humanities at Ohio State.
1:1 | Cross-Disciplinary Interventions
Cross-disciplinary interventions provide opportunities for arts and humanities researchers and practitioners to bring the insights and methods of their fields to facilitate engagement with and new solutions to critical societal challenges. To strengthen research networks across the university — and between the university and the community — Global Arts + Humanities has identified areas that typify 21st-century local and global challenges and opportunities. These are not content areas but heuristics for seeding crossdisciplinary collaborations. These areas include the multifaceted aspects of migration, movement and immobility that stem from cultural, socio-political and economic factors. The initiative also amplifies methodological exchanges that showcase the integration of arts and humanities modes of inquiry and discovery, including community-engaged research and creative practices. Additional areas of interest include climate justice, land and food sovereignty and social rights in health and cultural systems.
1:2 | Cross-Disciplinary Communities
Cross-disciplinary communities provide meaningful structural and material support for engaged and inclusive research. The Society of Fellows Program brings Ohio State faculty from across the disciplines together to share research around an annual theme that is transnational and trans-historical in scope. This signature program supports individual faculty researchers and practitioners and facilitates the multidisciplinary exchange of ideas and methods on a shared topic. The Society of Fellows inaugural 2020-21 theme was Human Rights Pasts and Futures. Extinction | Imagination is the theme for the 2021-22 cohort. In addition to participating in a biweekly seminar, fellows organize a culminating year-end event to showcase their work. The Postdoctoral Research Program builds on the success of Global Arts + Humanities’ 2016 collaboration with the American Council of Learned Societies’ Postdoctoral Partnership Grant. The Post-MFA Research in Creative Arts Program represents a collaboration with the Office of Research. Both programs enhance the university’s capacity
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for cross-disciplinary collaborations across academic units. To ensure clarity of expectations and transparency for postdoctoral and post-MFA researchers and their mentors and to strengthen career development outcomes, Global Arts + Humanities has developed a mentoring program.
1:3 | Cross-Disciplinary Capacity Building
Cross-disciplinary capacity-building strengthens and leverages existing resources, entities and expertise to expand the university’s capacity for cross-disciplinary research that foregrounds the transformative role of the arts and humanities. These capacitybuilding investments include Centers and Institutes Grants competitions, among others. Global Arts + Humanities is growing a strong track record of collaborations with other Discovery Themes, including a forthcoming initiative with the Sustainability Institute aimed at building research communities around topics at the forefront of sustainability and resilience. An environmental justice film series and ideation workshop also are under development. As part of the Interdisciplinary Research Leads coalition, Global Arts + Humanities is involved in the development of promotion and tenure guidance language for cross-disciplinary research as well as strategies to support faculty collaboration and network building.
1:4 | Cross-Disciplinary Grants and Programming
Cross-disciplinary grants and programming sustain existing and seed new research and creative initiatives that advance the transformative impact of arts and humanities collaborations. Arts Creation Grants are dedicated to funding for the arts to seed new, impactful, arts-led research and creative productions informed by cross-disciplinary methods and practices. Centers and Institutes Grants include three categories of funding: Centers Grants (for individual centers); Collaborative Centers Grants (to support cross-disciplinary collaboration between two or more centers or for institutes that house multiple centers or programs); and Summer Institute Grants (for cross-disciplinary research and teaching). Race and social justice special initiatives allocate funds for research, creative practices and community engagedpartnerships focused on advancing diversity, equity and inclusion. To date, Global Arts + Humanities has run three special-initiative grants competitions: one in race, ethnicity and social justice; one in Indigenous arts and humanities; and one in racial justice and community engagement. As part of its rapid-response grants program (see below), the initiative has also collaborated with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to
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supplement investment in its Matching Funds for Racial Justice Seed Grants competition. Innovative Interventions are time-sensitive, rapidresponse research grants designed to enable scholars and practitioners to bring the insights and methods of the arts and humanities to respond to urgent challenges. Innovative Intervention competitions thus far include COVID-19 Arts and Humanities Grants, and Matching Funds for Racial Justice Seed Grants. COVID-19 Arts and Humanities Grants — launched in the summer of 2020 — support projects that exemplify the importance of understanding health messaging and the impact of the pandemic on vulnerable, socially-marginalized and disenfranchised communities. Cross-Disciplinary Digital Dialogues is a virtual series that brings together artists, scholars and activists working in a range of disciplines aligned with the annual theme of the Society of Fellows Program. Topics in the inaugural series included critical human rights, disability, incarceration, Indigeneity, environmental justice, cultural heritage and colonialism, and migrant and refugee rights. Mobile Methods Conversations foster dialogue on artistic and humanistic methods and practices and conversation about their adaptability to varying contexts. Small grants include co-sponsorships and group travel grants that support interdisciplinary groups to attend conferences, visit universities or centers, or attend events or performances.
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GOAL
TWO
Global Arts + Humanities will deepen student engagement in the arts and humanities through crossdisciplinary research, experiential learning and professional development opportunities
Global Arts + Humanities advances cross-disciplinary modes of inquiry and discovery that prepare students with the critical and creative skills and intercultural competencies to address 21st-century challenges and become ethically-engaged global citizens. Essential to this preparation is a strong background in a discipline, strong comparative skills and the ability to synthesize expertise from various disciplines. To be productive and principled global citizens, students must also refine applied skills in collaboration and team building, creativity, problem-solving and communication across cultures.
2:1 | Undergraduate Experiential Learning
Undergraduate experiential learning demonstrates the transformative value of immersive and translational arts and humanities. Discovery Field Schools are faculty-led, cross-disciplinary, experiential-learning programs offered as one-credit undergraduate courses that take students to domestic destinations to learn about the transformational role of the humanities and the arts to respond to critical societal challenges. By immersing students in learning environments, field schools aim to close the gap between knowing and doing. To date, Global Arts + Humanities has sponsored seven field schools, including Defining the Color Line Field School and Livable Futures Louisiana Field School. The Discovery Summer Abroad Program brings a crossdisciplinary approach to experiential learning that builds intercultural awareness, hones critical thinking and nurtures students as ethically-engaged global citizens. Our flagship program, “Activism in Multi-Ethnic London: Refugees in Crisis,” was developed to explore human rights in the context of global migration. This program is a collaboration with the Office of International Affairs, Kings College and the London School of Economics. Global Arts + Humanities also co-sponsored the Dance Brazil Education Abroad Program. Dance Brazil introduces Ohio State dancers to Brazilian art and culture and provides the unique opportunity to study and perform with Brazilian dance masters, learn firsthand about Afro-Brazilian culture and engage in cultural exchanges with Brazilian dancers.
2:2 | Undergraduate Research Grants and Mentoring Undergraduate research grants and mentoring are provided by the Society of Fellows program. Students are mentored through multidisciplinary approaches to the study of an annual theme and produce research and/or creative projects guided by these engagements. Research grants in the amount of $2,000 are awarded.
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2:3 | Graduate Research Grants and Mentoring
Graduate Research Grants and Mentoring provides support for excellence in cross-disciplinary graduate research and creative practices in the arts and humanities. Graduate Team Fellowships are financial awards (three semesters of tuition, fees and stipend support) that recognize the cross-disciplinary accomplishments and potential of graduate students in the arts and humanities interested in discovering new connections between their areas of study and other fields. The program gives graduate students an essential toolkit of skills as they prepare to enter an evolving job market – one that is highly dependent on networks, technology and a collaborative ethos. To date, the Graduate Team Fellowship program has supported 31 interdisciplinary scholars who explored topics such as climate crisis, environmental degradation, medical addiction, and cultural representations of underrepresented communities. Society of Fellows Graduate Research Grants support graduate students (PhD and MFA) in the arts and humanities to advance their research and/or creative practice fostering cross-disciplinary inquiry in alignment with the Society of Fellows and its annual theme. Research grants in the amount of $2,500 are awarded.
2:4 | Student Career Development and Diversity The Graduate Professional Development Program supports the professional development of graduate students (PhD and MFA) by embedding them in university initiatives involved in cross-disciplinary research and creative work to facilitate career development. The program includes a robust mentoring framework that helps students hone their professional and praxis-based skills. 25% GAA positions are available for one-to-three semesters. Start-up funds for the development of the Center for the Humanities in Practice — housed in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Institute — were invested to provide graduate students with opportunities for non-academic career paths in the humanities. Global Arts + Humanities has also invested in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Barnett Center for Integrated Arts and Enterprise to enhance its student internship program.
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Attendees of the Community Celebration of the Dead reception view the pop-up exhibit “Latinx Comics Past, Present and Future” on display in the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library Reading Room. The exhibit was curated by Pamela Espinosa de los Monteros. October 19, 2019.
GOAL
THREE Global Arts + Humanities will strengthen the university’s capacity for transformative, communityengaged partnerships through arts and humanities methods, orientations and interventions
Community-engaged work is often an ill fit with university administrative structures, the rhythms of an academic calendar and the traditional definitions of faculty research, productivity and efficacy. Global Arts + Humanities puts forth a vision for public-facing, community-engaged partnerships that amplify the transformative power of the integrated arts and humanities in developing meaningful, sustainable relationships that advance diversity, inclusion and equity.
3:1 | Community-Engagement Grants
Community-engagement grants support new projects that build upon extant Ohio State community-focused engagements. These projects include high-impact research and curricular opportunities, undergraduate student service-learning, graduate student pedagogy, and experiential learning.
3:2 | Best Practices for Community-Engagement
Global Arts + Humanities is committed to community-engaged partnerships sustained by an adherence to best practices that respect community partners, prioritize their needs, resist exploitation and foster reciprocity — this includes exiting community-engaged partnerships responsibly and ethically. To foster best practices, we are developing tools for assessing the impact of community-engaged partnerships and advancing the scholarship of engagement by mentoring emerging researchers and practitioners through workshops as their community-based pedagogy and research develop.
3:3 | Difficult Subjects: K-12 Teaching Institute
The Difficult Subjects: K-12 Teaching Institute brings together elementary, middle- and high-school teachers from Central Ohio for a year-long exploration of multidisciplinary approaches to teaching a difficult subject in America’s past and present. “Difficult subjects” are those that center on the experiences of historically-marginalized groups in America — experiences that have had a profound effect on the lives of marginalized people, not only over the course of individual lifetimes, but across multiple generations. Ohio State faculty-led content workshops complement and supplement State of Ohio standards. The topic for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 institutes is American slavery.
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GOAL
FOUR
Global Arts + Humanities will increase Ohio State’s national recognition as a leading land-grant institution and its distinction for excellence in integrated arts and humanities through crossdisciplinary collaborations
Global Arts + Humanities has taken a leadership role in increasing Ohio State’s capacity to facilitate the integration of arts and humanities in cross-disciplinary collaborations, to support public-facing outcomes in these areas, and to create educational opportunities that demonstrate the value of the arts and humanities to the region and nation.
4:1 | Leverage Existing Faculty Leadership
Leverage existing faculty leadership by mobilizing faculty expertise, leadership and mentoring to raise the profile and prestige of crossdisciplinary arts and humanities collaborations at Ohio State. Arts and humanities faculty have methodological and subject-matter expertise that enables understandings of the human dimensions of critical societal challenges. Faculty-led research and creative practices have and will continue to play a central role in identifying areas of high-impact investment and quality academic and community programming.
4:2 | Build Faculty Distinction
Build faculty distinction through tenure-track cluster hiring. In 201718, Global Arts + Humanities launched a cluster hire in the area of global migration and mobility. Seven new faculty were hired under the initiative. Faculty joined the Departments of Dance; History; Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures; Sociology (Newark campus); and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. These new colleagues also advance the university’s commitment to diversity. Building on the success of this cluster hiring program, Global Arts + Humanities plans to develop a postdoctoral program linked to the university’s racial justice hiring initiative.
4:3 | Establish Cross-Disciplinary Metrics
Establish cross-disciplinary metrics through the development of qualitative and quantitative tools that connect the outcomes of funded projects with faculty performance reviews, while enabling researchers to better articulate project goals and progress. These rubrics make the case for innovative approaches that are not often recognized by conventional academic or disciplinary metrics.
4:4 | Transition From Discovery Theme to Institute
Transitioning from a Discovery Theme to an institute will formalize the university’s commitment to the integrated arts and humanities, thereby nourishing an institutional ecology of collaboration and incentivizing porosity across disciplines. The Global Arts + Humanities Institute will serve as an integral facilitative resource and bridge for cross-disciplinary work across campuses, colleges, departments, centers and institutes. As a university-level institute
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based administratively within the Office of Research, the Global Arts + Humanities Institute will align with the Office of Research’s critical work on tracking Ohio State’s cross-disciplinary research metrics at a national scale and support the university in its pursuit of research excellence and creative expression, innovative approaches to teaching, and community engagement. The Global Arts + Humanities Institute will be an exemplar of best practices for cross-disciplinary collaborations at Ohio State. By building institutional capacity for cross-disciplinary research and creative practices, immersive and experiential-learning opportunities for students, extensively-integrated mentoring programs and reciprocal community-engaged partnerships, the Global Arts + Humanities Institute will break down barriers to meaningful cross-disciplinary collaborations and increase Ohio State’s national recognition as a leading land-grant institution and distinction for excellence in integrated arts and humanities. CAPTION Laura “‘LROD” Rodriguez (MFA candidate, Dance) and the Día de los Muertos procession hold a pose while waiting to cross a busy side street on their way from the Gateway Film Center to Sullivant Hall. October 19, 2019.
“Global Arts + Humanities seeds crossdisciplinary modes of inquiry and discovery that provide students with the intercultural competencies and skills to respond to 21st-century challenges and become ethicallyengaged global citizens.” PETER L. HAHN LEAD DEAN, 2017-21
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