As the History Department moves back into College Hall this summer, some new faces will arrive while some old favorites will depart.
The department has hired Kathy Peiss, formerly the history department chairwoman at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and two junior professors.
But while empty slots are being filled, others are also opening.
Assistant Professor Jeffrey Fear will leave to take a position at Harvard Business School this fall to teach a course called Business Government and International Economics.
Fear said he made the jump to Massachusetts because Harvard offered him the opportunity to place more emphasis on his research interests.
"I'm going to have much more time to do my own research and my own writing," Fear said. "I'm a historian who is very interested in how business is changing the world. We haven't integrated that sort of business into our history."
Fear said he would not rule out a return to Penn in the future, but for now his interests lie more within the field of business than in the field of history.
"So far, I've been teaching courses with a global perspective," Fear said. "That's kind of long term where I'll be headed. The stuff that I do is a real fit for what Harvard wants me to do."
But while members of the History Department are excited about their new hires, the incoming professors do not fall in the same departments as Fear.
Peiss, who focuses on women's and gender history, will teach Sexuality in Modern America, a seminar for majors, this fall. And the junior faculty members will teach in the field of American History.
Peiss said she decided to leave UMass after 14 years at the school partially because she had always wanted to teach at Penn.
"I was really excited about the changes that are taking place there," Peiss said. "I could see real opportunities to work with historians in women's and gender history. You need to recognize when it's time to leave."
History Department Chairwoman Lynn Lees said that Peiss is a good fit in an area that the department was looking to fill.
"She has written two quite extraordinary books that have really transformed the field of history," Lees said. "It is a field of research that excites us very much."
School of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston authorized a search for a senior position in women's history last fall. He said he believes Peiss will be a good fit within the department.
"This represents a major effort to build up our American History Department," Preston said.
Peiss fills a void in women's history that was created when Professor Drew Faust left last year to take a dean's position at Harvard.
Lees said that although she is pleased with the additions made to the department this year, she is disappointed with Fear's departure.
"[Fear] is a very large loss for the department," Lees said. "It has been a good year for recruiting, but less successful for retention."
And more departures may be looming. Professor Marc Trachtenberg, currently on leave at the University of California at Los Angeles, has received offers from both UCLA and Harvard. Trachtenberg has yet to decide whether he will accept either offer.
The department itself will undergo a facelift of sorts as well. Lees will step down as chairwoman of the department in June, and she will be replaced by Jonathan Steinberg.
