We're happy to announce that Lauren Burrell Cox has become Obermann's new Assistant Director! She'll be working with our director, Teresa Mangum, to design, plan, promote and conduct programs and to oversee communications for the Center.

Lauren most recently served as Program Coordinator for the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere (CHPS) at the University of Florida, where she received her PhD in English, with a concentration in film and media studies. Her hybrid dissertation project, "Reactivating the Film Archive," focuses on archival and documentary films and film history. In addition to her work with CHPS, she is a researcher for Film Posse Production Company, where she's currently doing archival research for a PBS project on Zora Neale Hurston. Previously, she worked as the Public Relations Coordinator for the Andrew W. Mellon Intersections program at CHPS. 

Lauren is an avid podcaster, having developed, produced, and/or hosted four podcasts, including, most recently, The Hipp Six and Under Review: Rethinking Humanities Graduate Education. For each episode of Under Review, she and co-creator June Ke interview guests about how to rethink humanities graduate education to be more inclusive, student-centered, and adapted for the realities of the job market and diverse post-doctoral pathways. 

Lauren brings extensive experience in collaborative, public-facing work that marries humanistic knowledge with social impact, and is well-versed in public programming, grant writing, community engagement, strategic communications, and the digital humanities.

Send her a welcome note at lauren-cox@uiowa.edu.