Professor Julia Reinhard Lupton Brings Shakespeare, Hospitality and the Arts to Every Corner of UC Irvine

UC Irvine's Illuminations: The Chancellor's Arts & Culture Initiative has spent a decade bringing events to students and community members. The program is open to students of every major, and its first director was Julia Reinhard Lupton, a Distinguished Professor of English.

Lupton's name is attached to a long list of projects, courses and events at the university. Over more than 30 years at UCI, she has helped create humanities programming and co-directs the award-winning New Swan Shakespeare Center alongside Eli Simon. On March 6, 2024, she received the Daniel Aldrich Distinguished University Service Award, an honor comparable to a lifetime achievement prize.

The award was presented at the Distinguished Faculty Awards Ceremony at the Newkirk Alumni Center. The event recognized distinguished faculty for the 2023-2024 academic year, many of them tenured and honored nationally or internationally in their fields.

Lupton credits the collaborative nature of theater for much of her approach. "Theater is intrinsically collaborative … I just love learning from other people and making things happen with other people, because it takes the pressure off of you," she told New University. She described the university as "a collection, a universe of communities."

Her office on the fourth floor of the Humanities Gateway building is modest and orderly, with small stacks of papers and books across several desks. Neither the service award nor any other plaque is on display. Lupton, 60, also emphasizes learning across generations. "Younger people learn from older people, but older people also learn from younger people," she said.

A scholar of Shakespeare and Renaissance culture, Lupton sees the past as a way to understand the present. "I see Shakespeare as an invitation to learn about the past and the impact of the past on how we live now," she said. That outlook has shaped events ranging from panels such as In Defense of Women: An Illuminated Lecture to the past Virtuous Table food series and an innovative online Shakespeare course.

Simon, artistic director of the New Swan Shakespeare Festival and a chancellor's professor of acting, described her as a leading scholar who does not promote herself. "She's more interested in building bridges that make Shakespeare accessible and impactful for members of our campus and community," he said.

Her emphasis on hospitality was visible at the In Defense of Women lecture on Oct. 24, where Lupton baked apple spice, banana coffee cardamom and lemon almond rosemary cakes herself. She said hospitality is about making things special, and that while efficiency matters, she hopes it serves the goal of a more inclusive, beautiful, diverse and open university.

Lupton has written five books on Shakespeare, including essay collections, handbooks and analyses, as well as a book on Renaissance saints. She co-wrote a book with her husband, Kenneth Reinhard, and worked with her identical twin sister, Ellen Lupton, on two graphic design books. She is now writing a book on Shakespeare and virtue.

Looking ahead, Lupton hopes students will keep turning out for the New Swan Shakespeare Center and other arts events. "There's just a lot of art on campus: music and dance and drama," she said. "You can make it a date night. You don't have to go off campus. Go with friends. Support our own actors and dancers and musicians."