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.”
