Taft Professors
The Taft Professorship program is designed to reward our most outstanding faculty with a title, platform, and dedicated research line to conduct and share their work broadly.
Taft Distinguished Professorships are open to tenured mid-career and senior scholars; in addition to the title, awardees are provided dedicated research funds for five years. The Taft Professorship of Public Humanities and Taft Professorship of Social Justice are open to advanced junior, mid-career, and senior scholars; in addition to the title, awardees are provided three course releases and dedicated funds for research, professional development, and creative projects over a three-year period.
Current Taft Professors
Erynn Masi de Casanova
Taft Distinguished Professor, 2026–31
Sharrell D. Luckett
Taft Distinguished Professor, 2023–28
Muhammad Faruque
Taft Distinguished Professor, 2026–31
Heidi Maibom
Taft Distinguished Professor, 2025-30
Chandra Frank
Taft Professor of Public Humanities, 2024–27
Shailaja D. Paik
Taft Distinguished Professor, 2023–28
Magda Peligrad
Taft Distinguished Professor
Anne Delano Steinert
Taft Professor of Social Justice, 2025–26
About the Professorships
Distinguished
The Taft Distinguished Professorship is one of the highest honors available to faculty at the University of Cincinnati. Designed to reward our most outstanding faculty with a title and dedicated research line, affording monies to conduct and share research, this professorship is awarded based on scholarly distinction. Faculty with a strong reputation for outstanding scholarly and/or creative work, particularly in the recent past expected to continue in the future, will be most competitive. This honor is open to all Taft-eligible tenured faculty at the associate or professor level. The award provides a title for a five-year period and $5,000 annually in research funds, for a total of $25,000 over the five-year period of the professorship. Taft Distinguished Professors are expected to deliver an inaugural lecture/presentation to the UC community, serve on Taft review committees, and participate in Center activities.
Public Humanities
The Taft Professorship of Public Humanities is a three-year professorship that recognizes outstanding UC faculty with exemplary records of socially- and/or community-engaged humanistic inquiry who have demonstrated experience in public-facing, humanistic scholarship and are prepared to speak in accessible ways to a variety of audiences, both within and outside academia. Taft eligible faculty at all ranks are encouraged to apply, including advanced assistant, associate, and full professors. In addition to the title, the award provides $4,000 in funding each year to the recipient, to support their research, creative projects, and professional development, as well as $5,000 per year to their home unit to support one course release. The Taft Professor of Public Humanities is expected to provide an annual lecture/event to the UC community, serve on the Taft Director’s advising committee, and participate in Center activities.
Social Justice
The Taft Professorship of Social Justice is a three-year professorship that recognizes outstanding UC faculty with exemplary records of socially- and/or community-engaged social scientific inquiry who have demonstrated experience in public-facing, social justice scholarship and are prepared to speak in accessible ways to a variety of audiences, both within and outside academia. Taft eligible faculty at all ranks are encouraged to apply, including advanced assistant, associate, and full professors. In addition to the title, the award provides $4,000 in funding each year to the recipient, to support their research, creative projects, and professional development, as well as $5,000 per year to their home unit to support one course release. The Taft Professor of Social Justice is expected to provide an annual lecture/event to the UC community, serve on the Taft Director’s advising committee, and participate in Center activities.
Past Professors
Prior to 2023, Taft Distinguished Professorships permenant titles held until retirement or departure from the institution. Thematic Taft Professorships were introduced in 2021. Below are the past recipients for each professorship.
Past Distinguished Professors
Jintai Ding, Mathematics
Patricia Hill Collins, Sociology
Stan Corkin, English
David Minda, Mathematics
Barbara Ramusack, History
Robert Richardson, Philosophy
Armando Romero, Romance Languages and Literatures
Vernon L. Scarborough, Anthropology
Past Professor of Public Humanities
Holly McGee, Africana Studies
Past Professor of Social Justice
Tia Sherèe Gaynor, Political Science
Stephanie Sadre-Orafai, Anthropology