Interesting synchronicity of items in my box today ... start with this bit from Boston University's Daily Free Press:

After almost two years at the helm of the smallest college at Boston University, Bruce Redford will step down as director of the University Professors Program in June 2007, university officials confirmed last December.

College of Arts and Sciences Dean Jeffrey Henderson said Redford, who joined the BU faculty in January 1998, will continue to work with both UNI and CAS after he leaves his post.

"Effective leadership of the University Professors requires not only administrative skill, but a rare combination of scholarly stature, intellectual breadth and commitment to a highly personalized curriculum," Henderson said in an email. "He will be a hard act to follow."

Redford, who became director in January 2005, said he plans to work on a book and collaborate on a related exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles. The exhibition will focus on the Society of Dilettanti, a group of 18th-century British connoisseurs and collectors who "played a major role in the rediscovery of classical antiquity," he said.

... on the Society of the Dilettanti, see the Wikipedia article for a basic intro; I've often wondered how many items in museums and private collections now came as a result of their efforts (their society also has an unfortunate abbreviation, no?).

After thinking about this, wrap your head around the Sideshow Pietro post below ...