New chair tapped for History Dept.

Professor Jonathan Steinberg has received the History Department's official nomination to become its new chairman, pending the ultimate approval of University President Judith Rodin. Department faculty members voted to nominate Steinberg, who will replace current chair Lynn Lees. Lees is stepping down after holding the position for two terms totaling five years. "It's appropriate that these offices rotate," Lees said. "It's time for me to go back in the classroom and go back into teaching and scholarship." Steinberg, who is currently the Walter Annenberg Professor of Modern European History at Penn, came to Penn in December of 1999. Before his arrival at Penn, Steinberg spent 30 years as a professor at Cambridge University in England. If Rodin approves the History Department's nomination, Steinberg will take over the position on July 1. Steinberg could not be reached for comment yesterday. However, Associate History Dean Walter Licht said that Rodin's approval is more of a formality than a roadblock. "It's a wonderful choice for the department," Licht said. "Jonathan is an extraordinary scholar. I think he will understand the system very quickly." "He will be a superb chair," Lees echoed. "He has a great deal of administrative experience. People have confidence in his judgement." Steinberg's nomination comes at a crucial moment for the History Department. Last year, the department lost Professor Drew Faust to head the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard. And Professor Marc Trachtenberg -- currently on leave at the University of California at Los Angeles -- is being recruited by both Harvard and UCLA for a political science position. The department has already begun recruiting and hiring new faculty members for the fall semester. Licht, who will make the official nomination to Rodin, said no timetable has been set for the appointment to be made. Steinberg is teaching two courses this semester, one on Italian history and one on European history from 1789 to 1890.