University history professor Grafton to refocus goals of humanities council

Walking into history professor Anthony Grafton's Dickinson Hall office can be a surreal experience. With books piled high on tables, one can hardly see Grafton feverishly working at the back.

The eclectic collection of books creates a pervasive sense of knowledge. While some professors narrowly limit themselves to research on an issue in their specific field of study, others, like Grafton, branch out and become "renaissance" professors.

In more ways than one, Grafton is this "renaissance" man. And after 27 years at the University, he is also now the chair of the Council of the Humanities.

The humanities council is a group of faculty and administrators that oversees the broad range of humanistic programs offered at the University ranging from the humanities sequence to the program in creative writing.

After graduating from the University of Chicago, Grafton went on to University College London as a Fulbright Scholar.

Formally trained in Renaissance history, he has concentrated on the ways scholars have approached the study of history in the past. His other interests include the science and magic of the Renaissance and the history of books, publishing and reading.

He recently published a book called "The History of the Footnote," largely about the history of historical writing.

Also, he has become an expert on several aspects of Princeton's history and specifically the history of the precept system.

Even by his own peers, Grafton is considered "a genius among geniuses," and because of multifaceted talents, was offered the humanities chair, succeeding longtime chair Alexander Nehamas GS '71.

"It was a seamless transition. Professor Grafton was always deeply involved in the humanities," said Carol Rigolot, executive director of the humanities council. "Work has carried on with a great spirit of continuity."

As the chair, Grafton hopes to continue many of the council's achievements under previous chairs like Nehamas and to guide the humanities programs during the expansion of the undergraduate student body.

When the sixth new residential college opens, the new dean of admission will look for students who are interested primarily in the creative arts as part of the expansion of the student body, Grafton said.

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With more students, Grafton will look for more professors to teach the burgeoning humanities program.

"What I love about these programs is that they're boutique programs and rest on really passionate students and faculty," he said. "We would never want to change their character. The difficult thing is preserving what we have now and maybe making something of similar quality available to more students."

To accommodate more students, the council is developing the University's first humanities center. With the completion of East Pyne Hall and the "mirror house" of the Joseph Henry House to be finished next fall, the complex — to be named for benefactor Gerhard Andlinger '52 — will provide a home to the now diffuse humanities disciplines.

With the complex's completion Grafton also hopes to bring the geographical center of campus life back up-campus, counteracting the southward trend prompted by the opening of the Frist Campus Center and the closing of East Pyne.

In recent years, the humanities programs have also expanded their resources through renovations to 185 Nassau St. and the construction of the Berlind Theatre next to McCarter Theatre — expected to be completed by the fall of 2003.

Despite all of the administrative duties Grafton has undertaken, he still loves to interact with students closely.

"Working with someone from a different generation is one of the great things about Princeton," Grafton said. "It's actually my favorite thing here — how closely we work with seniors and graduate students and we stay close to them over the years after they leave."