About the College

Meet our new faculty for 2009-10
	Department of Biology Nadia Ayoub, Assistant Professor of Biology Professor Ayoub earned her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She joins us from the University of California, Riverside, where she was the NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow. Using spiders as her model system, Professor Ayoub integrates natural history, molecular evolution, and genomics to study the evolution and diversification of phenotypes.
	Department of English Jasmin Darznik, Assistant Professor of English Professor Darznik received her PhD in English Literature from Princeton University in 2007, and is currently a Steinbeck Fellow in Creative Writing. Her research interests are ethnic American autobiography and fiction, Iranian and Arab-American literature and postcolonial literatures in English. She is also the author of a forthcoming memoir. She will teach both contemporary American literature and fiction writing.
	Department of Physics and Engineering Jon Erickson, Assistant Professor of Engineering Professor Erickson earned his PhD in Bioengineering from the California Institute of Technology. He joins us most recently from Vanderbilt University where he is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, and where he also serves as an instructor of Physics. He will teach a variety of engineering courses, including electrical. His own research focuses on the connectivity of organic, cultured neurons and computers.
	Department of Romance Languages Monica Gonzalez, Assistant Professor of Spanish Professor Gonzalez earned her PhD at the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Gonzalez is a native of Chile, and her research focuses on the early literature of globalization in the Americas, with a special focus on 19th and 20th century wars between the United States and Latin American nations. She will teach Spanish language and Latin American literature and culture.
	Department of Psychology Dan Johnson, Assistant Professor of Psychology Professor Johnson earned his PhD in Social and Personality Psychology from the University of Oklahoma in January 2009. His research interests are in the area of personality and focused on the intersection of emotion and cognition. He will teach a variety of courses on cognition, emotion, and methods in the Psychology Department.
	Department of Music Shane Lynch, Director of Choral Activities Shane earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of Washington in 2008, and has led choral programs, prior to earning his terminal degree, at a number of large and small colleges. He will direct both the University Chorus and Chamber Singers, and will teach applied voice as well as other courses in the Music Department.
	Department of Philosophy Angela Smith, Associate Professor of Philosophy Professor Smith earned her PhD in Philosophy from Harvard University. She most recently was the Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Fellow in Society and the Professions at W&L for the fall term of 2008. She comes to us from the University of Washington, where she is currently an Associate Professor of Philosophy. Her scholarship focuses on the area of ethics.
	Department of Computer Science Joshua Stough, Assistant Professor of Computer Science Professor Stough earned his PhD in Computer Science at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 2008. He comes to us most recently from Claremont McKenna College where he taught introductory and advanced programming. His research focuses on computational pattern recognition in medical imaging.
	Department of East Asian Languages Yanhong Zhu, Assistant Professor of Chinese Professor Zhu is a PhD candidate at the University of Southern California who will earn her Ph.D. in May 2009. She has served as an adjunct professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles, where she taught “Classical Chinese Literature in Translation.” She will teach Chinese language and modern Chinese literature and culture.

Meet our new faculty for 2008-09

Department of Romance Languages

Matthew Bailey, Professor of Spanish

Professor Bailey received his PhD in Spanish from Tulane University. His teaching interests are literature and culture of medieval Spain, Epic narrative, Orality and literacy in medieval thought and expression. He joins us from the University of Texas.

Department of Philosophy

Nathaniel Goldberg, Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Professor Goldberg received his PhD in Philosophy from Georgetown University. His areas of specialization include epistemology, Philosophy of Language, and Modern Philosophy. He joins us from Ohio University.

Department of Romance Languages

Leslie Gordon, Assistant Professor of Spanish

Professor Gordon received her PhD from Georgetown University where she received her M.S. in Spanish Linguistics. Her research interest is second language phonological acquisitions and perception.

Department of History

Sarah Horowitz, Assistant Professor of History

Professor Horowitz received her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley where she received her M.A. in History. Her teaching interests are modern European history and European cultural history.

Department of Biology

Robert Humston, Assistant Professor of Biology

Professor Humston received his PhD in Marine Biology and Fisheries from the University of Miami. His primary research interest is in fisheries ecology and management. He joins us from VMI.

Department of History

Christian Jennings, Assistant Professor of History

Professor Jennings received his PhD in History from the University of Texas at Austin. His current research is on the history of marine science on the East African coast and in the western Indian Ocean. He joins us from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Department of English

Curtis Jirsa, Assistant Professor of English

Professor Jirsa received his PhD in Medieval Studies at Cornell University. His area of specialty is in Middle English literature with additional concentrations in Old French and Old English Literature. He joins us from Hamilton College.

Department of Art

Andrea Lepage, Assistant Professor of Art

Professor Lepage received her PhD in History of Art and Architecture from Brown University. She joins us from Clark University.

Department of Journalism

Toni Locy, Professor of Legal Reporting

Toni Locy joins W&L as the first Donald W. Reynolds Professor of Legal Reporting from a distinguished career in journalism, covering legal affairs, criminal justice, and the Supreme Court. She has worked for USA Today, the Associated Press, The Washington Post,, The Boston Globe and U.S. News & World Report. She has a master's degree in the studies of law from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. In July 2008, she was awarded the John Aubuchon Freedom of the Press Award by the National Press Club for defying a federal district judge's order to reveal the names of confidential sources in connection with her investigation of the anthrax attacks in 2001.

Department of Anthropology

Harvey Markowitz, Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Professor Markowitz received his PhD in the History of Christianity from the University of Chicago. He has been at Washington and Lee since 2003 in the Department of Religion with adjunct teaching in the Sociology-Anthropology, Environmental Studies, and History Departments.

Department of Physics & Engineering

Dan Mazilu, Assistant Professor of Physics

Professor Mazilu received his PhD in Physics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). His research interests include AR coatings by ISAM deposition, wear and friction studies of ceramics, and friction-generated micro-scale plasma. He joins us from Virginia Tech.

Department of Journalism and Mass Communication

Indira Somani, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication

Professor Somani earned her PhD from the college of Journalism, University of Maryland, College Park. She has extensive experience in broadcast journalism as a producer. Her research interests include the impact of satellite TV and instantaneous communication on diaspora communities.

Department of Philosophy

Florentien Verhage, Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Professor Verhage is a PhD candidate in Philosophy at McGill University. Her areas of specialization are Phenomenology, 20th century continental Philosophy, and phenomenology & cognitive science.

Department of Biology

Fiona Watson, Assistant Professor of Biology

Professor Watson earned her PhD in Neurobiology at Harvard University. Her research will focus on understanding the mechanisms underlying the wiring of the CNS. She joins us from Davidson College.

Our new faculty in 2007-2008

Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures

Chia-ju Chang, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures

Professor Chang received her PhD from Rutgers University. Her research interests include Transnational Chinese Film, Twentieth-century Chinese literature and culture, feminist and eco-criticism.

Department of Theatre

Shawn Paul Evans, Assistant Professor of Theater.

Professor Evans received his MFA in Scenic Design from the University of Virginia, and has worked for several years on the UVA faculty. He previously worked at W&L as Technical Director and Lecturer in the Theatre Department.

Department of Mathematics

Carrie Finch, Assistant Professor of Mathematics

Professor Finch received her PhD in Mathematics from the University of South Carolina. Her research has focused on Number Theory and Commutative Algebra.

Department of Religion

Patrick Hatcher, Assistant Professor of Religion

Professor Hatcher will receive his PhD from the University of Chicago Divinity School. His specialization is in Islam with special interest in the spread of Islam in Central Asia.

Department of German and Russian

Debra Prager, Assistant Professor of German

Professor Prager received her PhD in Germanic languages and literatures from Harvard. She has been teaching as an adjunct Professor at W&L for two years.

Department of Classics

Scott Johnson, Assistant Professor of Classics

Professor Johnson received his DPhil and MPhil from Oxford University. His research focus is on Later Greek literature. He joins us from Harvard, where he has been a post-doctoral Fellow.

Department of Computer Science

Sara Sprenkle, Assistant Professor of Computer Science

Professor Sprenkle will receive her PhD from the University of Delaware. Her research interests include the automated testing of web applications.

Our new faculty in 2006-2007

Department of Sociology

Jonathan Eastwood, Assistant Professor of Sociology

Professor Eastwood received his PhD in History and Sociology from Boston University. His areas of interest include comparative and historical sociology, political sociology, the sociology of culture, and sociological theory.

Department of Chemistry

Fred La Riviere, Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Professor LaRiviere received his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado. His interests include the underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for cellular processes, especially those processes involving RNA molecules.

Department of Romance Languages

Monica Botta, Assistant Professor of Romance Languages

Professor Botta will be receiving her PhD in May 2006 in Spanish from the University of Connecticut, where she also received her MA in Spanish Literature. Her fields of interest are all levels of Spanish language, 20^th Century Latin American Theater, and Spanish Drama.

Department of History

Mark Carey, Assistant Professor of History

Professor Carey received his PhD in Latin American History from the University of California, Davis. His fields of specialization include Latin American History, Environmental History, and the Andean Region.

Department of Geology

Jeffry Rahl, Assistant Professor of Geology

Professor Rahl received his PhD in Geology from Yale University. His areas of expertise are in tectonics, thermochronology, and structural geology.

Department of Psychology

Megan Fulcher, Assistant Professor of Psychology

Professor Fulcher received her PhD in Developmental Psychology from University of Virginia. Her research interests include children's socio-emotional development, children's gender-role development, and children in non-traditional families.

Department of History

Molly Michelmore, Assistant Professor of History

Professor Michelmore will receive her PhD in 20^th Century American Political History from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her research focuses on welfare policy and politics.

Department of Mathematics

Jacob Siehler, Assistant Professor of Mathematics

Professor Siehler received his PhD and MS in Mathematics from Virginia Tech. His research interests include braided categories, low-dimensional topology, and algebraic topology.

Department of Art

Dinah Ryan, Gallery Director and Visual Resource Curator

Professor Ryan received her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Virginia. She has substantial experience in curation, art criticism, and arts management.

Department of Art

Christa Bowden, Assistant Professor of Art

Professor Bowden received her MFA in Photography from the University of Georgia. She will teach traditional darkroom photography, and her own work explores the boundaries between traditional and digital techniques.