As we begin the quarter with students and faculty returning carefully and with measured steps, there is a sense of resilience and renewal on campus. This issue of Dialogo offers a look back over the unprecedented period we've been through, as well as a view to what lies ahead.
When the University of Chicago moved quickly to remote teaching, learning, and research and then undertook a gradual and phased return to campus that remains ongoing, the Division responded nimbly to support our students, faculty, and staff. Among the Spring Quarter initiatives, the Division’s Social Sciences Research Center convened biweekly research roundtables for faculty to discuss research questions emerging because of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Summer Issue highlights further ways in which faculty and students successfully adapted to the distanced nature of the Summer Quarter. As you’ll read, the Division’s Summer Institute in Social Research Methods, which moved entirely online, brought 7 courses and a 5-week methodological workshop series to 125 pre-college, undergraduate, and graduate students, including students from the Leadership Alliance, the Mellon Mays program, and the Laboratory Schools pre-college program.
In addition to catching up on news and accomplishments, we introduce the 11 faculty who have recently joined the Division. These scholars, from disciplines across the social sciences, embody a range of research interests and methodological approaches. We also remember two faculty, Michael Silverstein and Richard Taub, whose distinguished careers and many contributions illustrate the very best of social science research and teaching.
I invite you to contribute to our Fall Snapshots series, in which students, faculty, alumni, and staff share brief written reflections about adapting and responding in light of the continuing public health crisis. The Spring contributions from faculty, students, and staff are available here.
Please keep up-to-date on our latest news, research findings, and other accomplishments by following us on Twitter and Facebook.
With best wishes,
Amanda Woodward
Dean, Division of the Social Sciences
William S. Gray Distinguished Service Professor of Psychology
