As we reported in the October issue of Focus, this year's Inaugural Lecture series will feature the largest group of faculty since its inception more than two decades ago. With fourteen faculty from ten different departments, the series will showcase faculty whose contributions to scholarship span the intellectual breadth of the arts and humanities at Ohio State. The number of faculty participating is only one aspect of the story surrounding this year's series. In many ways, the series is entering a new phase in its development as one of the most engaging intellectual experiences on campus. It was initially begun as a way of honoring faculty who attained the rank of full professor in the College of the Humanities. Participation quickly became not only an honor but also a rite of passage for newly promoted faculty who anxiously anticipated their opportunity to demonstrate their intellectual prowess in front of their peers. As a humanities tradition, the scholarly lecture became firmly established as the format for these faculty presentations. Over the years, colleagues, students, family, and friends attended these lectures in large numbers to learn more about the newly promoted professor's particular field of research and the scholarly contribution that he or she has made or plans to make to it. In addition to the lectures, those in attendance always placed a high premium on the lively dialogue between the speaker and the audience following the lecture-conversations that often continued well into the evening.

As the series expanded last year to include faculty from the arts, the need for formats other than the podium lecture quickly became clear. Arts faculty members were invited to suggest formats that would be the most conducive for showcasing their distinctive contribution to their disciplines. Steve Glaser from the School of Music led the way and invited us on stage in Weigel auditorium where he regaled us with short yet brilliant piano performances to demonstrate some of the complexities of musical interpretation. Later in the year, Russ Mickelson, also from the School of Music, treated us to several memorable performances by a student ensemble as he explained and demonstrated the intricacies of the band conductor's art.

Even as the series is enlivened with different formats and expanded subject matter, its most significant element-the celebration of faculty accomplishments-will remain constant. While the number of presentations this year can be attributed in part to the merger of arts and humanities, it also reflects the fact that our faculty are currently some of the most accomplished in the country. Their being promoted to the rank of full professor is a clear recognition of their productivity as scholars/teachers at Ohio State and their standing among their peers nationally. In recent years, faculty productivity has been aided by changes at the university that have increased opportunities for them to devote more time to research and creative activities. Many have benefited from variable teaching load policies as well as the university's revised Faculty Professional Leave program which have provided research-active faculty more time to devote to their scholarship. In addition, an increasing number of arts and humanities faculty are successfully competing for national grants and fellowships that have enabled them to secure much needed release-time and support for research. The quality of their work will be on full display this coming year as these faculty members take the spotlight and make their inaugural presentations as full professors. We invite you to join us.