Lloyd S. Kramer: Chair of the Faculty, 2019-2020

Professor of History Lloyd Kramer was appointed interim chair of the faculty after Professor Leslie Parise resigned from the role in spring 2019. He served from May 8, 2019 through June 30, 2020.

Professor Kramer received his B.A. from Maryville College in Tennessee and his Ph.D. from Cornell University. He joined the UNC-Chapel Hill faculty in 1986. His teaching and research focus on European history, with particular interests in modern France, the influence of transnational cultural exchanges, and the history of nationalism. He served as chair of the History Department for two terms (2004-2013) and as both associate director and acting director of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities (IAH) in the 1990s.

He is currently the Director of Carolina Public Humanities, an outreach program in the College of Arts and Sciences that serves North Carolinians through humanities-centered events which connect faculty with communities and educators across the state.

Professor Kramer has served on Faculty Council and numerous standing committees of the General Faculty including the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee, the UNC System-Wide Faculty Assembly, the Honorary Degree and Special Awards Committee, the Committee on Fixed-Term Faculty, the Faculty Executive Committee, the Faculty Athletics Committee, and the Faculty Welfare Committee.

During his tenure as interim chair of the faculty, Professor Kramer’s goal was to be a strong advocate for the faculty’s central role in the public mission of UNC-Chapel Hill, which includes service to the state as well as service to UNC students and the global network of scholarship, teaching, and advanced research in all academic fields. He strove to explain why the faculty believe that diversity enhances the University’s educational goals, why the faculty view a liberal arts education as a foundation for imaginative professional leadership and good jobs, and why the faculty defend academic freedom and free speech as essential principles for academic communities and for vital democratic societies.

More specifically, Professor Kramer listened to faculty colleagues and administrators throughout the University as they all continued to learn from and respond to recent debates about historical memory, relations with the statewide University system, and changing financial/budgetary challenges. He supported the good work of talented colleagues who serve on faculty governance committees; and he sought to represent the faculty’s diverse interests, values, and concerns both within and beyond the University.

While serving as chair of the faculty, Professor Kramer began each Faculty Council meeting with thoughtful remarks that often provided a historical perspective on the moment at hand. They have been complied and can be accessed at this link.

In 2021, Lloyd Kramer was presented with the University’s Thomas Jefferson Award, which is the highest recognition that the faculty can award to a faculty member. In his typical fashion, he provided a brief history lesson upon accepting the award.