Even during telephone interviews, the energy is palpable. "Pardon the cliché," says Zachery Williams, "but for the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity, the sky's the limit." Elisa White echoes his sentiments. "It's electrifying to be a part of this team and wonderful to be at CSCRE, where we can do work that isn't being done at older institutions that already have a [fixed] way of doing things."

CSCRE director Larry Shinagawa with new professor Elisa White and dean of DIIS Tanya Saunders

The two are new professors hired by CSCRE director Larry Shinagawa. Williams, a Ph.D. candidate at Bowling Green State University, is completing his dissertation, "In Search of the Talented Tenth: Howard University Public Intellectuals and the Dilemma of Race and Gender in Academia, 1926- 1970." A historian of African American experience, he is exploring the role of Howard University in developing intellectual leadership in 20th-century black America. "Because of segregation," he says, "Howard intellectuals connected to the community beyond the walls of the educational institution. They demonstrated that people can contribute to unity but be different at the same time, that they can come together to coalesce on projects." Williams is interested in working with the student-run African-Latino Society, as well as with Ithaca's Southside Community Center in that predominantly African American neighborhood.

White's unusual combination of research interests promises to fire the imagination of students as well. She has a Ph.D. in African American studies from the University of California, Berkeley, as well as degrees in media studies and theater. Asked how she put these all together in the classroom, White replies, "To understand the cultural dimensions of globalism in today's societies, one has to look at various media to understand, for example, how Africans adjust to life in Dublin and use technology to keep in touch with their homelands. And in the arts and theater, one sees expressions of how new communities develop away from home." White's comments reflect her dissertation, "Making Space in a Time Warp: African Diaspora Culture and Identity in Retro-Global Dublin." She says, "I noticed the comparative dimensions between 19th-century and 20th-century African American and Irish American communities, in different global sites, and I began wondering what it meant to be Irish and what it meant to be a person of color in Ireland."

Shinagawa is enthusiastic about the professors and the new directions the curriculum may take. "Having Elisa and Zach here has already had an impact on the center," he says. "They can develop and teach comparative courses, which will be a great evolution. We already have approval to develop four ethnic-specific minors -- Latino studies, Native American studies, Asian American studies, and New World African studies. Now, realizing Elisa's and Zach's strengths, CSCRE can work for the approval of an American multicultural studies major. And as the center develops, we'd like to cross-list our courses with the history department and work out arrangements with other departments across the campus. Obviously, we all have something to gain."

Asked about other plans for his new faculty, Shinagawa adds that he hopes both will contribute to the journal Ethnic Studies, newly housed at Ithaca College, as well as serve on its editorial board. The publication, says Shinagawa, will give CSCRE a national presence and help to spread the word about the exciting work he envisions the center launching.

Clearly, the new faculty additions to the IC family will contribute to the College both on and off campus. As Provost Peter Bardaglio observes, "These two young scholars help bring to life the Institutional Plan's commitment to interdisciplinary and intercultural studies. There's no doubt that, along with Larry, they'll be key players in our efforts to turn up the intellectual heat at IC."