A First in Arts & Sciences
A&S Distinguished Professor Is Also First Woman to Chair History Department
Francie Chassen-López is the first - the first woman to chair the
University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Department of
History, the first non-western historian to hold the chair position and
the first woman from the Humanities to be named a College of Arts and
Sciences Distinguished Professor.
Chassen-López, who joined the UK faculty in 1988, is a full
professor in the History Department and is affiliate faculty in the
Gender and Women's Studies Program. She is a past director of the UK
Latin American Studies Program and her research focuses on, gender and
the construction of the nation-state in nineteenth-century Mexico. She
is particularly interested in the roles of Mexican women in times of
war.
As the 2008-2009 College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished
Professor, Chassen-López received funding and a semester leave in order
to conduct research in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico and advance on her
present project. She is currently writing the biography of Juana
Catarina Romero (1837-1915) who was a major powerbroker in the city of
Tehuantepec in southern Mexico. From an illiterate cigarette vendor,
Romero became a Liberal spy, wealthy entrepreneur, “modernizing”
political boss, and philanthropist. The study of her career illuminates
the multiple ways in which women participated in the construction of
the nation and a capitalist economy in Mexico.
Chassen-López will also present the 2008-2009 A&S Distinguished
Professor Lecture on "Exploring Nation, Gender, and Modernity: The
Remarkable Life of Juana Catarina Romero in Nineteenth Century Mexico,"
Tuesday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the William T.
Young Library. The Distinguished Professor Lecture is the keynote of
the 2009 A&S Geek Week celebration.
As the chair of the Department of History, Chassen-López balances
teaching and research with a hefty load of administrative duties. The
department -- which includes 30 faculty members, 20 teaching assistants
and several part-time instructors -- offers classes not just to history
majors but also to undergraduates from every college seeking general
education credits.
With undergraduate students coming from varied academic backgrounds,
as well as a dynamic graduate program offering Master's and Doctoral
degrees in history, interdisciplinary cooperation is a major initiative
in the department under Chassen-López, who encourages students and
faculty members to collaborate across fields of study. In spring 2008,
Chassen-López guided the creation of four thematic fields in the
history graduate program: Women's and Gender History; Culture, Ideas
and Society; the Making and Unmaking of Empires; and Religions and
History.
Chassen-López is also committed to the development of the history
faculty. As the only female full professor in the department, she says
she is eager to facilitate the promotion of both female and male
colleagues to the full professor level. She also is working to expand
non-western and minority areas of study within the department.
As a trailblazer in her field and at the University of Kentucky,
Francie Chassen-López is also first in the minds of her colleagues.
“Francie Chassen-López is a superb teacher, researcher, historian
and community volunteer. Her contributions to the College of Arts &
Sciences, UK and the community have been many and are greatly
appreciated,” said Phil Harling, interim dean of the College of Arts
& Sciences. “Among her many accomplishments, Francie is an
internationally renowned historian of Latin America and co-founder of
the Kentucky Coalition on Comprehensive Immigration Reform. She is a
great asset to the college and deserving of all accolades.”
