CONWAY, Ark. (February 18, 2016) – Hendrix College politics professor Dr. Jay Barth has been named Director of the
Hendrix Odyssey Program, and anthropology professor Dr. Anne Goldberg will serve as the Assistant Director of the college’s nationally recognized engaged learning initiative.
Launched in 2005, the Hendrix Odyssey Program requires students to complete at least three hands-on learning experiences chosen from
six different project categories. Students and faculty may also apply for funding, on a competitive grants basis, to support engaged learning projects from internships to undergraduate research. In the decade since Odyssey’s founding, Hendrix has
awarded more than $3 million for student and faculty Odyssey projects.
"Being part of the development and maintenance of the Odyssey program has been one of the true highlights of my life as a Hendrix professor,” Barth said. “Across the last dozen years, I myself have had my own professional life enriched by the program and have witnessed innumerable students and colleagues
benefit from Odyssey academically and in terms of personal and vocational development. In the years ahead, I look forward to working with others to keep the program on the cutting edge of engaged learning programs in higher education.”
Barth, a 1987 Hendrix graduate, joined the Department of Politics and International Relations at Hendrix in 1994. He is the M.E. and Ima Graves Peace Professor of Politics and Bill and Connie Odyssey Professor and Director of Civic Engagement Projects at Hendrix. His
academic work includes research on the politics of the South, state government and politics, LGBT politics, political communication (particularly radio advertising), and the achievement gap in Arkansas. He is the co-author (with the late Diane D. Blair) of the second edition of Arkansas Politics and Government: Do the People Rule?
Goldberg joined the Hendrix faculty in 2005 with the first class of students for whom Odyssey was a graduation requirement.
“I shared their enthusiasm for exploring what experiential learning could mean,” said Goldberg. “The Odyssey program offers many opportunities for students and faculty, and I have worked for the last decade to experiment with, refine, and develop those
opportunities.”
Goldberg has served on the Committee on Engaged Learning, which oversees Odyssey project grants, and has sponsored more than 100 student-proposed Odyssey projects and supported numerous internship activities, multiple courses with Undergraduate Research coding
for Odyssey, and summer semester students. Through Odyssey, she and Hendrix photographer professor Maxine Payne have traveled with students to work with rural women in Costa Rica, the U.S.-Mexico border region, Tanzania, and Vietnam.
Goldberg previously held the Cynthia Cook Sandefur Odyssey Professorship, which allowed her to take students abroad, invite scholars to campus, send students to professional conferences, and guide student research in the local community.
“I am thrilled to have the chance to work more directly with the Odyssey program and with a great team,” she said. “My research on education along the United States-Mexico border has always been collaborative with school administration, teachers, parents, and
students. Prior to my arrival at Hendrix, I worked across Arizona and New Mexico with city and town councils, Native American tribes, non-profits, and other stakeholders to initiate a feasibility study for a new National Heritage Area. Communication with a variety of interest groups and asking for their
partnership has been part of my work for two decades, and I hope to bring my interest in community engagement to Odyssey, both on and off-campus.”
“When it was introduced a decade ago, the Hendrix Odyssey Program quickly became a model for engaged learning in higher education,” said Hendrix President Bill Tsutsui. “Under the leadership of Jay and Anne, I am confident the Odyssey Program will continue to inspire Hendrix
students and prepare them for their lives and careers after college.”
About Hendrix College
Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1876 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884, Hendrix is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That
Will Change the Way You Think about Collegesand is nationally recognized in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings for academic quality, community, innovation, and value. For more information, visit
www.hendrix.edu.