The University of Virginia’s Democracy Initiative has announced the selection of Laurent Dubois as its co-director for academic affairs. Pending final approval from the University’s Board of Visitors, Dubois will partner with Melody C. Barnes, the initiative’s co-director for policy and public affairs, in providing leadership to shape the project’s development and direction.
Dubois comes to UVA from Duke University, where he served as professor of history and romance studies as well as the founder and faculty director of the Forum for Scholars & Publics, a program created to promote public scholarship and to enhance the exchange of knowledge between scholars, subject-matter experts and the communities to which they belong.
As co-director for academic affairs, Dubois will spearhead the Democracy Initiative’s research and pedagogical missions by building a community of faculty, graduate and undergraduate scholars who will work to study and advance the prospects of democracy around the world. Dubois will also help facilitate the hiring of new faculty whose research connects to questions relevant to the Initiative, and he will lead the development of new educational and research programs that advance its mission.