A chair's farewell and welcome to the new chair!

As of May 31, I will be stepping down as chair of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (CMLLC), and Vanessa DeGifis, associate professor of Near East Studies, will be our incoming interim chair, starting June 1.

We have had many exciting developments in the department since I started in fall 2014: we launched a new and innovative Global Studies program, now the largest major in the department thanks to the work of director Laura Kline; we have had annual Graduate Student Orientations, annual Career Days, and the wonderful annual Winter Ball; Dr. Leonidas Pittos launched the CMLLC Colloquium Series; and Associate Chair Elena Past and I worked hard on these efforts as well as refurnishing the Romanian and French Rooms, the former largely thanks to the generosity of CMLLC faculty and friends who raised $7000 to make it happen!

We have faced many challenges and keep moving onwards and upwards, creating new and exciting learning opportunities for students, including internships, service-learning, and new study abroad programs. We leave the department in the able hands of Professor DeGifis, and look forward to new collaborations, innovations, and opportunities.

A final note to our readers: in order to continue to provide exciting venues to complement a world-class education, we are asking people to make a gift to the department or to one of our many programs to support scholarships, speaker events, and more. We send our greatest thanks and appreciation to those of you who have donated in the past, and sincerely thank you for your support.

Anne Duggan