Joseph R. Urgo, professor and chair of the Department of English at the University of Mississippi, has been named the College's dean of the faculty.
The appointment was made by Hamilton President Joan Hinde Stewart and becomes effective on July 1. Urgo also becomes a professor in the college's English department.
"Joseph Urgo is a distinguished and prolific scholar and a creative and thoughtful administrator," said Stewart. "His belief in liberal arts education and his passion for teaching make him ideally suited to become Hamilton's next chief academic officer."
In his new position, Urgo will oversee the college's academic program and lead the 183-member Hamilton faculty. He will have particular oversight responsibility for the College Library; the Registrar's Office; the Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center; the Emerson Gallery; Hamilton's programs in Paris, Madrid, Beijing, Washington, D.C., and New York City; intercollegiate athletics; and several other academic support programs and centers.
A native of Hartford, Conn., Urgo received his bachelor's degree in 1978 from Haverford College with a major in political science. He holds a master's degree from Wesleyan University, as well as a 1982 master's degree and a 1985 Ph.D. from Brown University.
"I was attracted to Hamilton because of its liberal arts tradition, its reputation for teaching students to write well and its strong sense of community," said Urgo. "More importantly, Hamilton has one of the finest faculties in the country. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to work with such a talented and committed group of teacher-scholars."
At Mississippi, Urgo has been responsible for a department of 40 full-time faculty members, and has administrative oversight for the freshman composition program, the speech program, the writing center and the freshman seminar program. He has led several curricular revisions and served on university committees and task forces that addressed general education, racial reconciliation, faculty governance, internships, interdisciplinary programs and the establishment of residential colleges.
"Joe is a remarkable leader," said University of Mississippi Provost Carolyn Staton. "It is fair to say that from everybody's perspective, he was the most highly regarded leader of any committee or task force. He is efficient, balanced, fair to all interests, innovative and a tremendous consensus builder. The list of his major contributions to the university as a whole is gigantic. He will be sorely missed."
Glenn Hopkins, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Mississippi, concurred with Staton.
"In his six years on this campus Dr. Urgo has been, from the very beginning, a strong advocate for academic excellence," Hopkins said. "The Department of English has prospered under his leadership, and the many responsibilities he has taken on outside the department have enriched the university as a whole. He will be missed on this campus. I have no doubt of his success at Hamilton -- you have chosen wisely."
Prior to arriving at the University of Mississippi in 2000, Urgo was a member of the Bryant College faculty for 11 years. He served on committees focused on strategic planning, the assessment of educational outcomes, information technology, curricular restructuring, retention and diversity. Originally hired in 1989 as an assistant professor of English and humanities, he was promoted to associate professor in 1991, department chair in 1995 and professor in 1996.
Urgo also taught as an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in American Studies and assistant professor of English at Vanderbilt University from 1986 to 1989, as a visiting assistant professor of English at Syracuse University from 1985 to 1986, and as a teaching fellow while earning his Ph.D. at Brown University from 1983 to 1985.
He received the Bryant College Alumni Association's Distinguished Faculty Award in 2000. Four years later, a $100,000 endowment created the Lindsay McCauley Kirkley Women's Council Scholarship in his honor at The University of Mississippi.
Urgo's research interests have focused on the work of 20th-century American novelists and writers William Faulkner and Willa Cather. He has published four books, including Willa Cather and the Myth of American Migration, and edited or co-edited a half dozen volumes. He is the author or co-author of nearly 40 articles and chapters in publications ranging from Mississippi Quarterly, The Cambridge Companion to Willa Cather and The Faulkner Journal, to The Southern Literary Journal and American Literature.
A member of the editorial board of the Willa Cather Review since 2001 and the advisory board of The Faulkner Journal since 1999, Urgo has also contributed dozens of reviews, review essays and public papers, mostly about the writings of Cather and Faulkner. In 1994 he founded the FAULKNER listserv, now housed at the University of Mississippi.
Urgo is married to Lesley Dretar Urgo, a native of Akron, Ohio. They have one son, George, 19, a sophomore religious studies major at Haverford College. "We value local culture above all else," Urgo commented. "In Rhode Island we were beachcombers; in Mississippi we become blues aficionados. Now, we are eager to experience Hamilton's community in and around Clinton, New York." One constant in their lives has been to open their home as a gathering place for colleagues and students, and to work together on landscape projects and house improvements. "What we enjoy most," Urgo said, "is working to make the world around us a little better for having been there. Why else exist?"
Urgo's selection as Hamilton's chief academic officer concludes a nationwide search that began last fall. Hamilton Professor of Biology Patrick Reynolds chaired the search committee. Urgo succeeds David C. Paris, who served a five-year appointment as vice president of academic affairs and dean of the faculty, during which he guided the implementation of the new curriculum, oversaw a Mellon-funded initiative for post-tenure faculty development and evolved a new model for departmental planning.
Urgo will arrive at Hamilton in the midst of the college's campaign to raise $175 million for new and expanded facilities, especially for the social sciences and the arts, and to increase the College's $645 million endowment in order to provide expanded support for faculty development and student scholarships.
Hamilton is an academically rigorous yet supportive community whose members form deep and enduring friendships. The college expects each of its students to think, write and speak with clarity, understanding and precision, so that graduates possess the intellectual vitality and confidence to evaluate arguments and to defend their own positions. As a result, Hamilton alumni are prepared to make good choices and to accept the responsibilities for citizenship in a democratic world.
Originally founded in 1793 as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy, the college's beautiful 1,300-acre hilltop campus overlooks the New England-style village of Clinton, N.Y., in close proximity to the Adirondack Park. Its open curriculum gives students the freedom to tailor their own liberal arts education within a research- and writing-intensive framework. The highly selective college enrolls nearly 1,800 students.
For the Media:
To download the high-resolution image, right-click the link (PC users) or use Option+click (Mac users) and save the file to your computer.
The appointment was made by Hamilton President Joan Hinde Stewart and becomes effective on July 1. Urgo also becomes a professor in the college's English department.
"Joseph Urgo is a distinguished and prolific scholar and a creative and thoughtful administrator," said Stewart. "His belief in liberal arts education and his passion for teaching make him ideally suited to become Hamilton's next chief academic officer."
In his new position, Urgo will oversee the college's academic program and lead the 183-member Hamilton faculty. He will have particular oversight responsibility for the College Library; the Registrar's Office; the Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center; the Emerson Gallery; Hamilton's programs in Paris, Madrid, Beijing, Washington, D.C., and New York City; intercollegiate athletics; and several other academic support programs and centers.
A native of Hartford, Conn., Urgo received his bachelor's degree in 1978 from Haverford College with a major in political science. He holds a master's degree from Wesleyan University, as well as a 1982 master's degree and a 1985 Ph.D. from Brown University.
"I was attracted to Hamilton because of its liberal arts tradition, its reputation for teaching students to write well and its strong sense of community," said Urgo. "More importantly, Hamilton has one of the finest faculties in the country. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to work with such a talented and committed group of teacher-scholars."
At Mississippi, Urgo has been responsible for a department of 40 full-time faculty members, and has administrative oversight for the freshman composition program, the speech program, the writing center and the freshman seminar program. He has led several curricular revisions and served on university committees and task forces that addressed general education, racial reconciliation, faculty governance, internships, interdisciplinary programs and the establishment of residential colleges.
"Joe is a remarkable leader," said University of Mississippi Provost Carolyn Staton. "It is fair to say that from everybody's perspective, he was the most highly regarded leader of any committee or task force. He is efficient, balanced, fair to all interests, innovative and a tremendous consensus builder. The list of his major contributions to the university as a whole is gigantic. He will be sorely missed."
Glenn Hopkins, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Mississippi, concurred with Staton.
"In his six years on this campus Dr. Urgo has been, from the very beginning, a strong advocate for academic excellence," Hopkins said. "The Department of English has prospered under his leadership, and the many responsibilities he has taken on outside the department have enriched the university as a whole. He will be missed on this campus. I have no doubt of his success at Hamilton -- you have chosen wisely."
Prior to arriving at the University of Mississippi in 2000, Urgo was a member of the Bryant College faculty for 11 years. He served on committees focused on strategic planning, the assessment of educational outcomes, information technology, curricular restructuring, retention and diversity. Originally hired in 1989 as an assistant professor of English and humanities, he was promoted to associate professor in 1991, department chair in 1995 and professor in 1996.
Urgo also taught as an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in American Studies and assistant professor of English at Vanderbilt University from 1986 to 1989, as a visiting assistant professor of English at Syracuse University from 1985 to 1986, and as a teaching fellow while earning his Ph.D. at Brown University from 1983 to 1985.
He received the Bryant College Alumni Association's Distinguished Faculty Award in 2000. Four years later, a $100,000 endowment created the Lindsay McCauley Kirkley Women's Council Scholarship in his honor at The University of Mississippi.
Urgo's research interests have focused on the work of 20th-century American novelists and writers William Faulkner and Willa Cather. He has published four books, including Willa Cather and the Myth of American Migration, and edited or co-edited a half dozen volumes. He is the author or co-author of nearly 40 articles and chapters in publications ranging from Mississippi Quarterly, The Cambridge Companion to Willa Cather and The Faulkner Journal, to The Southern Literary Journal and American Literature.
A member of the editorial board of the Willa Cather Review since 2001 and the advisory board of The Faulkner Journal since 1999, Urgo has also contributed dozens of reviews, review essays and public papers, mostly about the writings of Cather and Faulkner. In 1994 he founded the FAULKNER listserv, now housed at the University of Mississippi.
Urgo is married to Lesley Dretar Urgo, a native of Akron, Ohio. They have one son, George, 19, a sophomore religious studies major at Haverford College. "We value local culture above all else," Urgo commented. "In Rhode Island we were beachcombers; in Mississippi we become blues aficionados. Now, we are eager to experience Hamilton's community in and around Clinton, New York." One constant in their lives has been to open their home as a gathering place for colleagues and students, and to work together on landscape projects and house improvements. "What we enjoy most," Urgo said, "is working to make the world around us a little better for having been there. Why else exist?"
Urgo's selection as Hamilton's chief academic officer concludes a nationwide search that began last fall. Hamilton Professor of Biology Patrick Reynolds chaired the search committee. Urgo succeeds David C. Paris, who served a five-year appointment as vice president of academic affairs and dean of the faculty, during which he guided the implementation of the new curriculum, oversaw a Mellon-funded initiative for post-tenure faculty development and evolved a new model for departmental planning.
Urgo will arrive at Hamilton in the midst of the college's campaign to raise $175 million for new and expanded facilities, especially for the social sciences and the arts, and to increase the College's $645 million endowment in order to provide expanded support for faculty development and student scholarships.
Hamilton is an academically rigorous yet supportive community whose members form deep and enduring friendships. The college expects each of its students to think, write and speak with clarity, understanding and precision, so that graduates possess the intellectual vitality and confidence to evaluate arguments and to defend their own positions. As a result, Hamilton alumni are prepared to make good choices and to accept the responsibilities for citizenship in a democratic world.
Originally founded in 1793 as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy, the college's beautiful 1,300-acre hilltop campus overlooks the New England-style village of Clinton, N.Y., in close proximity to the Adirondack Park. Its open curriculum gives students the freedom to tailor their own liberal arts education within a research- and writing-intensive framework. The highly selective college enrolls nearly 1,800 students.
For the Media:
To download the high-resolution image, right-click the link (PC users) or use Option+click (Mac users) and save the file to your computer.
