This fall, the College of Arts and Sciences inaugurates the Full Professor Lecture Series to honor faculty recently promoted to the rank of Professor. The series has been designed to give these colleagues an opportunity to share with the university community a single piece of research or overview of research trajectory meant to capture the spark of intellectual excitement that has resulted in their achieving full professor rank. The series is modeled after one initiated by the Humanities Center, and we are grateful to the Center's example in contributing to a stimulating intellectual environment at the University.

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Anne Clark, Professor of Religion, will be the first to give a lecture in this series. This event is all the more noteworthy as it marks the promotion of the first woman to the rank of Professor in the Religion Department.

Anne Clark has been a member of the Department of Religion since 1988. Her field is medieval Christianity with a special interest in women's religious lives. She has published two books about Elisabeth of Schönau, and articles and essays about Hildegard of Bingen, Gertrude of Helfta, the cult of the Virgin Mary, and women's monastic life.

Professor Clark's inaugural lecture, "Thinking about Thinking in Medieval Christianity," was held on Monday, October 15, 2007 in Waterman's Memorial Lounge at 3:30 p.m. This lecture offered some reflections about how both medieval and modern conceptions of memory allow insight into the creation and transmission of religious beliefs.

Professor Christopher Landry will also be honored for his promotion to the rank of Professor. A member of the Chemistry Department at UVM since 1996, Prof. Landry has been a President of the UVM chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and was a Visiting Professor at Harvard University last semester. His lecture, "Silica: In the Environment, in the Lab, and in You," will explore this ubiquitous material and why, depending on its form, it can be harmful or harmless to your health. The lecture is scheduled for Thursday, November 8, at 3:30 p.m., also in Memorial Lounge.

Two additional faculty members were promoted to Full Professor this spring: Stephanie Seguino (Economics) and Tom Simone (English). Due to other commitments, they will present their lectures in fall 08.