We are delighted to announce that Elias Muhanna, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature and History, has assumed the role of director of the Center of Middle East Studies (CMES). He is a scholar of Classical Arabic Literature and medieval Islamic history, with a focus on the encyclopedic traditions of the Islamic world, the history of the Arabic language, and the cultural production of the Mamluk Empire. Muhanna is a frequent commentator on contemporary politics and culture in the Middle East, and his essays and criticism appear regularly in the mainstream press. He has written for The New Yorker, The London Review of Books, The New York Times, The Nation, and other periodicals. Welcome, Professor Muhanna!