The Talle Faculty Research Awards provide newly tenured faculty in the College of Liberal Arts support to launch innovative projects designed to pursue new discoveries that will shape their fields of study and inform our understanding of the critical challenges facing society. One of the four goals of the CLA Roadmap is a relentless pursuit of research and creative excellence. The Talle Faculty Research Fund, created thanks to a generous gift from alumnus Ken Talle (BA, History, ’66), represents a critical investment in the future of CLA. With this fund the College is able to recognize and invest in the next generation of faculty who are poised to lead CLA as it pursues greater heights of excellence and who are engaging in new lines of research and creative activity that will shape their fields and the intersection of fields.