Former Rackham Dean John D'Arms has been selected to lead one of the nation's most prestigious organizations for the humanities.
D'Arms, currently a history and classical studies professor, plans to leave the University in September to head the American Council of Learned Societies.
"Psychologically, it's hard for me to leave U of M," D'Arms said. "I'm devoted to this University and I love it here."
The ACLS is a non-profit organization that seeks to advance humanistic studies in the social sciences. The group acts as an umbrella organization for instructors and professional academics within the field.
"In selecting John D'Arms to serve as president of the ACLS, this prestigious organization taps the expertise of one of Michigan's most distinguished faculty members and respected leaders," University President Lee Bollinger said in a written statement. "I am delighted to join his colleagues in Ann Arbor and around the country in congratulating him on this high honor."
Sheldon Hackney, chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, called D'Arms a "wise figure to turn to for advice."
"His broad experience in the world of scholarship and teaching, and in the institutional settings that make scholarship and teaching possible, have prepared him well for the national leadership that we have come to expect from the president of the ACLS," Hackney said.
D'Arms said he already has a number of goals in mind for the 78-year-old organization.
He said he plans to focus on strengthening the relationship between the world of humanities and the public outside academia.
"People who support colleges and universities could understand the humanities better, and we need to make engagements with these patrons a higher priority," D'Arms said.
D'Arms said he also plans to focus on raising monetary funds to sponsor fellowships for professors in humanities.
The ACLS consists of 58 national learned societies in the humanities and arts and is headquartered in New York.
D'Arms has been a spokesperson for the humanities at a national level as a trustee of the National Humanities Center. In 1994, President Clinton appointed him to the National Council for Humanities. He has been with the University since 1965 and served as chair of the department of classical studies for nine years before being tapped as Rackham dean.