KINGSTON, R.I. – July 1, 2026 – Erik Loomis, professor of history at the University of Rhode Island, has been appointed the new director for the University’s Center of the Humanities. Loomis’ tenure as director began on July 1. 

Established in 1994, the Center for the Humanities—part of the URI College of Arts and Sciences—has fostered intellectual exchange, inquiry, analysis, and support of the humanities in research, teaching, and learning. Programming includes a yearly speaker series, lunchtime “brown bag” presentations of faculty research, a spring humanities festival, grants to fund research, public humanities projects, and visiting scholars, amongst other initiatives. 

Humanities bring together common human experiences across different societies, focusing on shared elements like gender roles, work concepts, faith, language, and storytelling traditions. With a deeper understanding of these aforementioned topics, the URI humanities community will be one step closer to bringing together a fractured world. 

“In a time when artificial intelligence is prompting society to rethink the value of creativity, critical thinking, communication, and human understanding, the humanities have never been more relevant. The College of Arts and Sciences is committed to advancing scholarship in these fields and to positioning URI as a leader in the conversations that will shape our future,” URI College of Arts and Sciences Interim Dean Brenton DeBoef said. “We are excited to support Erik Loomis as he builds on the Center for the Humanities’ strong foundation and expands its impact on our campus and in our community.” 

Loomis arrived at URI in 2011 as a historian specializing in the United States’ environmental and labor movements. His work has appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, and The New Republic. He is the author of four books, including the widely acclaimed, “A History of America in 10 Strikes,” published in 2018. 

Loomis seeks for the Center to be an advocate for the humanities on campus, as disciplines such as English, history, philosophy, and languages contend against the unprecedented growth of artificial intelligence and the devaluing of the humanities over the past 20 years. Traditional job-focused education may become less relevant, and Loomis intends to focus on how humanities disciplines help students develop complex thinking skills that translate to an employment market where workers will change careers repeatedly over their lifetimes. 

“I want students to be prepared for a world where re-evaluating and re-engaging what it means to be human becomes increasingly important,” Loomis said. 

The Center has planned for the 2026-27 academic year a speaker series on the American Revolution and its impact on not only the United States, but the Americas more broadly. The series will include four talks on the American Revolution in the fall and the spring will bring three speakers to URI to discuss Latin America and the Caribbean. 

This release was written by Paige Monopoli, communications coordinator for the University of Rhode Island College of Arts and Sciences.