Provost Has Liberal Arts Background Ithaca’s new provost is an expert on Restoration and 18th-century British literature with more than 20 years of teaching and administrative experience. James S. Malek, who came to us from a post as dean of the Schmidt College of Arts and Letters and professor of English at Florida Atlantic University, began his new duties here in early August. Malek succeeds Thomas C. Longin, who served as Ithaca College provost from 1985 to 1996. Mary Lee Seibert had served as acting provost since 1996. Prior to his 1995 appointment at FAU, Malek served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of English at the University of Nebraska at Omaha; dean of the College of Liberal Arts and professor of English at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; chair and professor of English at DePaul University; and chair and professor of English at Michigan’s Wayne State University. He began his academic career at the University of Idaho, where he taught English and held administrative posts. Malek holds Ph.D. and A.M. degrees from the University of Chicago and a B.A. from Earlham College. He is the author of The Arts Compared: An Aspect of Eighteenth-Century British Aesthetics and has written numerous articles and reviews in varied publications. Malek has held, among other honors, Woodrow Wilson, Ford Foundation, and National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships. "Dr. Malek comes with an impressive background in teaching and academic administration and with a history of bringing people together to move the institution forward," says President Peggy R. Williams. Indeed, Malek shares the president’s passion for community service. "I emphasize creating interactive links between a college and the broader community it serves," says Malek, who has sat on numerous university and state councils and task forces. At Nebraska he encouraged partnerships among the university’s black studies department, the Urban League, and other community organizations and expanded women’s studies, Native American studies, and other multidisciplinary programs. At Nevada he supported land acquisition for archeological sites, while at FAU he led development of new programs that include a multi- disciplinary Judaic studies department, an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in comparative studies, and ventures with an area film commission and corporations to provide new internship opportunities for students.