The Digital Humanities Initiative began in the fall of 2015 as informal association of faculty, staff and students from across campus, with the goal of promoting collaboration on projects that combine the use of technology with materials and methodologies from the Humanities, Fine Arts and Social Sciences. From 2015 to 2018, the Digital Humanities Initiative was led by founder and interim chair Dr. Clayton McCarl, associate professor of Spanish, with input from an advisory committee comprised of faculty from Brooks College of Health; the Coggin College of Business; the College of Arts and Sciences; the College of Computing, Engineering and Construction; and the College of Education and Human Services. Faculty and staff from the Center for Instruction and Research Technology (CIRT), the Office of Faculty Enhancement (OFE), Information Technology Services (ITS), the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP), the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) and the Thomas G. Carpenter Library also played a critical role in supporting the Initiative. Several undergraduate and graduate students also served on the Advisory Committee. During these years, the Digital Humanities Initiative created and supported a portfolio of over 20 active projects involving faculty, staff, students (undergraduate and graduate). In the spring of 2018, the Initiative applied successfully to establish itself as a formal institute. Dr. McCarl led the newly founded Digital Humanities Institute from 2018 to 2019. Dr. Laura Heffernan, associate professor of English, served as director from fall 2019 to summer of 2021. In the fall of 2021, Dr. Anne Pfister, associate professor of Anthropology, became the third director of the DHI. Dr. James Beasley, associate professor of English, will serve as the fourth director of DHI from fall 2023 to summer of 2025.
