IAH Salons gather faculty and community for intellectual conversation

October 15, 2007

Chapel Hill, N.C. — UNC scholars and members of the community explored the political, social and economic legacy of the Baby Boomer Generation in October during one of three IAH Salons held this fall.

The salons are a new program of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities designed to connect UNC faculty with the broader community for intellectual exchange.

"Each evening is a journey with the destination unknown," says Cyndy O'Hara, who hosted the first Salon with spouse John O'Hara, IAH board chairman and UNC-Chapel Hill alumnus. 

The Salons celebrate a core mission of the IAH — to promote conversation between diverse constituencies. Each salon is hosted by a community member, who invites friends or colleagues to attend. The IAH invites interested faculty and guests talk over dinner.

It is the newest of IAH's public programs, designed to showcase the work of Fellows and connect them with others within and outside the university who can support and engage in their work. The salons are a continuation of the Community Dinners Initiative IAH developed in 2004.

Tyler Curtain, associate professor of English and comparative literature, said that the commitment of the O'Haras and other community members at the dinner to UNC and the IAH was moving.

"Time and again the people came back around to saying we need to reach out to not just the generations immediately following us but at the very youngest levels and reaffirm that there are values, like education and civic participation, that need to be reaffirmed for each generation," Curtain says.

The salon helped Curtain connect with faculty in other disciplines whom he wouldn't otherwise meet. "It was nice to step outside of obligations for departments and students and classes and connect with people that I wouldn't otherwise see," he said. "I got a sense of the rich number of projects that are being pursued in different departments across the university. But mainly I got a sense of the dedication of faculty to their research and to the life of the university."

The Institute for the Arts and Humanities (IAH), part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's College of Arts and Sciences, offers programs and activities that support UNC faculty at every stage of their careers. The IAH funds individual and collaborative research, showcases faculty work, develops faculty leaders and teachers, and facilitates the formation of collaborative, interdisciplinary communities that promote intellectual exchange. For more information, visit www.iah.unc.edu.