About the Institute
A group of faculty members proposed the idea of a liberal arts institute as an innovative way to provide intellectual as well as physical space for scholarly development. Their goal was to create an imaginatively designed and managed institute, outside the curriculum but creatively linked to it, to give faculty, students and outside experts a place to collaborate on research projects of broad scope. They also envisioned a rich series of public events related to these projects to enhance the intellectual life of the college.
History of the Kahn Institute
A generous bequest from Louise Wolff Kahn ’31 substantially augmented the Louise W. and Edmund J. Kahn Fund for Faculty Excellence, making it possible to establish the Kahn Liberal Arts Institute in 1998. The institute opened in September 2000 on the third floor of Neilson Library and is now located at 21 Henshaw Avenue.
Staff
About the Director
Frazer Ward, teaches courses on the history and theory of modern and contemporary art and architecture. He is the author of No Innocent Bystanders: Performance Art and Audience (2012), and his work appears widely in books, journals and catalogs. His current research interests, alongside his longstanding interest in performance art, include the implications of new imaging technologies, the effects of globalization on the practices and histories of art, and the role of art in contemporary public spheres.
Communications & Project Administrator
Lauren Anderson
413-585-4021
Administrative Coordinator
Christine Reynolds
413-585-3721
Chris Aiken
Associate Professor of Dance
Payal Banerjee
Associate Professor of Sociology
Christophe Golé
Professor of Mathematical Sciences; Faculty Director of the Clark Science Center
Susan Fliss
Dean of Libraries, ex-officio
Jean Ferguson
Director of Learning, Research and Technology
Jessica Nicoll
Director & Chief Curator of the Smith Museum of Art, ex-officio
Nina Pelaez
Associate Director of Learning and Interpretation, Smith College Museum of Art
Christine Reynolds
Administrative Coordinator, Kahn Institute
Frazer Ward
Interim Director of the Kahn Liberal Arts Institute, Professor and Chair of Department of Art
Sujane Wu
Professor of East Asian Languages (on sabbatical 2022-2023)