Welcome Reception celebrates Fellows and fellowship at Hyde
September 6, 2022 | Kristen Chavez
During the first week of classes, the Institute for the Arts and Humanities opened Hyde Hall to past and current Fellows, program participants, and friends for an afternoon of fellowship and food. In addition to celebrating the return of the reception and the start of the new academic year, we also recognized 20 years of Hyde Hall as the home of the IAH.
Partway through the event, director Patricia Parker spoke to the notable anniversary in her remarks. “Hyde Hall and what it has come to represent was borne out of the vision of the Institute’s first director, Ruel Tyson, Jr. to create a central place to enhance intellectual and scholarly activity by the faculty,” Parker said. “That vision was vigorously taken up by faculty, staff, board members, and administrators.”
In grounding her own work as director, Parker read the founding documents of the Institute. In reading them, she noted that the calls for faculty support were urgent and resonates today:
“The arts and humanities are critical to educating the citizenry and sustaining our democracy. And Carolina is a vital place for this work to be carried forward.”
In addition to the many faculty and campus leaders, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz joined the event. As an alumnus of the Tyson Academic Leadership Program and the Chair’s Leadership Program, Guskiewicz briefly spoke about his own experiences with the Institute to the gathered guests. He recalled thinking of the IAH and Hyde Hall as a sanctuary for faculty: a place where faculty could come together, connect, and produce great work.
After these brief remarks, guests returned to enjoying the festivities, including Carolina blue-themed drinks and desserts. In marking the 20th year of the building, the decorations included centerpieces noting the milestone with an illustration of a winking owl, as designed by UNC-Chapel Hill graduate Dana Rodriguez.
Enjoy photos from the Welcome Reception below. (Photos by Donn Young)
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