News & Stories
Spring 2023 Welcome Letter from Director of the Institute for Advanced Study
Bianet Castellanos, Director of the Institute for Advanced Study, identifies priorities and commitments for a new term: advocating for racial justice, strengthening community engagement, expanding international partnerships, and creating pathways for institutional transformation.
Announcing the Spring 2023 IAS Thursdays Series
Registration is now open for the Spring 2023 semester of IAS Thursday events! Join us for a full series of events designed to ignite, inspire, and educate. Featured conversations include former IAS director Jennifer Gunn and new director Bianet Castellanos on the future of interdisciplinary collaboration; a panel focused on issues of access and absence in the archives from an Indigenous Studies context; and an essential roundtable on developing inventive approaches to administrative equity at universities, as part of the larger work of getting universities into “right relationship” with BIPOC communities.
Open Opportunity: Undergraduate Research Assistant, TRUTH Project
The TRUTH Undergraduate RA will provide a supporting role to the Towards Recognition and University-Tribal Healing Project (TRUTH). The TRUTH Project is a grassroots collaboration between the 11 recognized Tribal Nations within the geographic boundaries of Minnesota, the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC), and the Office of American Indian and Tribal Nations Relations at the University of Minnesota. This position is funded through the Institute for Advanced Study.
Open Opportunity: Humanities Futures Workshop Graduate Mentors
The Mellon Environmental Stewardship, Place, and Community Initiative (MESPAC) is seeking nine graduate students to mentor undergraduate students at the Humanities Futures Workshop (April 13-15, 2023) and to participate in two planning meetings in advance of the Workshop.
Announcing the Fall 2022 IAS Thursdays Schedule
Registration is now open for the Fall 2022 semester of IAS Thursday events! Join us for a full season of eclectic, wide-ranging, discussions designed for scholars from all walks of life. Featured guests include Margaret Pearce, the cartographer behind the Land-Grab Universities project; Steven Thrasher on how social structures drive epidemics; Deva R. Woodly on the politics of care; and both Jennifer Gunn and Bianet Castellanos (incoming and outgoing IAS directors together) on the future of interdisciplinary collaboration.
The 2022–2023 Spotlight Series: Human in the Data
We are pleased to announce the 2022–23 Spotlight Series: Human in the Data. The University of Minnesota Spotlight Series is a collaborative partnership between the Institute for Advanced Study, Northrop, and University Honors Program to present events throughout the academic year around timely topics of interest.
Join Our Team: IAS Seeks Program Manager
The IAS seeks an imaginative collaborator with wide interests and experience in event production to join our team as Program Manager. Priority application review date: Wednesday, August 17, 2022.
Graduate Research Assistant Opening: Environmental Stewardship, Place, and Community Initiative
The humanities-led Environmental Stewardship, Place, and Community Initiative seeks a motivated, creative graduate research assistant interested in centering Indigenous epistemologies while driving institutional change here at the University and beyond to join our team.
Bianet Castellanos Appointed Director of Institute for Advanced Study
We are delighted to announce that Bianet Castellanos has been appointed the next director of the Institute for Advanced Study, effective September 26, 2022. She will provide academic and administrative leadership for the IAS as a systemwide center advancing multidisciplinary scholarship and teaching collaborations, aligned with key commitments of the systemwide strategic plan MPact 2025.
Thank you, Dr. Jennifer Gunn
Dr. Jennifer Gunn has served as the director of the Institute for Advanced Study since 2014. Later this year, she plans to return to her tenured faculty position as History of Medicine Endowed Professor in the Medical School’s Program in the History of Medicine. We are immensely grateful to all Jennifer has given to the IAS and its community over the last eight years, and hope you will join us in thanking her for her generosity and service.