This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the Society of Fellows, founded with generous grants from the Kenan and Mellon Foundations. The original vision for the SOF was remarkably forward-thinking: postdoctoral fellows would work closely with senior scholars from across the University, in order to develop as teachers and to engage together such “human problems” as environmental crisis and public health. For half a century, this expansive mission of fostering humanistic thinking across disciplines and schools, and beyond the campus gates into the world, has guided the Society of Fellows, and now the SOF/Heyman. Whether in the mid-1970s or the mid-2020s, we find ourselves confronting urgent questions of what a university is for and how longstanding traditions of human thought and expression can speak to the present. Our theme for this commemorative year, “SOF@50: Humanities in the World,” refers not only to the work of generations of Fellows since they left the Society, but also to this broader mission. We hope you’ll join us at events throughout the year, which will culminate in an April conference featuring past and present Fellows.

Jennifer Wenzel