Parker Reappointed IAH Director, Olson to Serve as Interim
March 4, 2025 | Kristen Chavez
Patricia Parker (FFP ’02, ALP ’11) has been reappointed as the Ruel W. Tyson Jr. Distinguished Professor of Humanities to be the Director of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities. After a research leave that starts in July, Parker will continue her leadership role as IAH Director for two years with the option for renewal.
While Parker is on leave, Professor Elizabeth Olson (FFP ’17, ’24; ALP ’19) of the Department of Geography and Environment and of Global Studies will serve as interim director of the IAH from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026.
“Serving as IAH Director for the past four years has been one of the most fulfilling roles of my career,” said Parker. “It has been invigorating to come to Hyde Hall each day and work with faculty and staff colleagues, bringing to life the many facets of the Institute’s impact on this campus and beyond.
“I’m looking forward to continuing that great work upon my return. In the meantime, I know the Institute is in great hands with Betsy as Interim Director.”
Parker has served as director of the IAH since 2021. In this position, she has broadened the Institute’s impact through strategic initiatives focused on fostering belonging, advocating for the arts and humanities with campus and community partners, and strengthening the international profile of the Institute and its faculty constituents. Under her leadership, the Institute launched the Summer International Collaborative Research Grant, which supports faculty building research partnerships abroad.
Parker has been a member of the Carolina faculty since 1998, and first joined the Institute as a Burress Fellow in 2002. In addition to the Faculty Fellowship Program, she was a Kauffman Fellow for Social Entrepreneurship in 2007 and later joined the Tyson Academic Leadership Program in 2011. She participated in the Chairs Leadership Program when she was first named chair of the communication department in 2015. In 2023, Pat received the Thomas Jefferson Award, one of Carolina’s highest faculty honors.
Parker also serves on the board of the international Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes and successfully led an IAH grant proposal for the CHCI Global Justice and Humanities Practices Initiative.
Olson served as chair of the Department of Geography from 2018-2023. She has participated in the IAH’s Faculty Fellowship Program, Tyson Academic Leadership Program and the Chairs Leadership Program. In 2020, she received the George Johnson Prize for Distinguished Achievement for an IAH Fellow. Betsy is also the inaugural recipient of the William & Sara McCoy Performing Arts Leadership Award, which is presented to a Carolina employee who embodies the values of artistic excellence, educational innovation and community engagement.
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