The European Studies program welcomes Rob McFarland in his new role as Heather Belnap concludes her tenure.
The David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies recently announced that Professor Rob McFarland (European Reception of America) will serve as the faculty coordinator for the European Studies program. Professor Heather Belnap (Franco-American Transatlanticism) previously held this role but stepped down at the conclusion of her term on April 19, 2023.
The European Studies program, which includes a major and minor, seeks to expand students’ knowledge of Europe’s people and cultures. McFarland has worked with the European Studies program for around 15 years, serving on the executive committee for the program and participating as a panelist for the Café Europa lecture series. Additionally, McFarland has directed six German-language study abroad programs to Vienna and Berlin. He hopes to enrich the European studies major by teaching students to think deeply about the humanities and analyze data in the social sciences.
He expressed the importance of the program on an academic and spiritual level, saying, “I believe really strongly that, as we’re told in the Doctrine and Covenants, knowing something about other peoples and languages and cultures is an assignment. It’s the part of the work that we’re given by our heavenly parents here on earth.”
For more details about the transition, click here.