The possible closure of Johns Hopkins University’s 50-year-old interdisciplinary Humanities Center is facing sharp criticism from students and faculty members alike. They say the center merits a place on campus and are citing concerns about faculty autonomy over the curriculum, the university’s explicit commitment to graduate study and the humanities, and donor influence in academic matters.
Hopkins’s reasons for considering closing the center aren’t totally clear, but the dean in charge of the center’s fate has cited its narrow focus (a characterization its proponents challenge), among other concerns. In any case, it doesn’t appear to be a budget issue.
