Hall Center to honor books written by humanities faculty members

LAWRENCE -- The Hall Center for the Humanities announces the first Celebration of Books in honor of University of Kansas humanities faculty. The free, public event will be from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6, in the Summerfield Room at the Adams Alumni Center, 1266 Oread Ave.

In the past year, 47 members of the humanities, social sciences and fine arts faculties published 50 books on topics from the history of Judaism to Latin American popular music. Many of these books will be on display during the reception that will begin the event. The celebration also will feature a short program, during which three faculty authors will read from their books and take audience questions.

The creation of an event to honor the work and dedication required to write a scholarly tome long has been a goal of the Hall Center. Victor Bailey, Hall Center director, said professors seldom get a moment to be congratulated for their work.

"It is time we extended recognition to the faculty's research achievements," said Bailey. "A published book can take anywhere from five to 10 years to complete and requires bags of energy, perseverance and creativity. We need to celebrate the achievement a published book or musical recording represents. This event is the Hall Center's modest response to this need."