The newest chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities has at least two things in common with his predecessor, Dr. Sheldon Hackney, Hon’93, former president of the University: a Penn connection and scholarship in the American South.
Dr. William R. Ferris, Gr’69, an anthropology professor at the University of Mississippi, earned his doctorate in folklore at Penn.
Prior to his Senate confirmation in November, the native Mississippian served as director of UM’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture, which he founded in 1979. Specializing in southern folklore and blues music, Ferris has written and edited numerous books, including The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.