RELEASED: April 22, 2004

DANVILLE, KY—During the spring meeting of the Centre College board of trustees, several faculty members were granted tenure and/or promotions.

Laurence Bitensky, assistant professor of music; Matthew Hallock, assistant professor of dramatic arts; and Alex McAllister, assistant professor of mathematics, received tenure.

McAllister was also promoted from assistant professor to associate professor, and Jennifer McMahon (philosophy) was promoted from assistant professor to associate professor.

Promoted to the rank of professor from associate professor were Christine Barton (biology), Patricia Finch (Spanish), William Johnston (mathematics) and Phyllis Passariello (anthropology).

Bitensky came to Centre College in 1998. He is a composer and pianist, specializing in teaching composition, music theory, musicianship, world music and piano. He received a bachelor of music in piano performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, a master of music in composition from Ithaca College and a doctor of musical arts in composition from Cornell University. His compositions have been performed throughout the United States and abroad.

Hallock joined the Centre faculty in 1997. He is involved in the College's three major productions each year, serving as scenic, costume and lighting designer as well as teaching the technology and design portion of the dramatic arts curriculum. Hallock holds a bachelor of science in theater arts from the State University of New York at New Paltz and received his master of fine arts degree in scenic design and technology from Western Illinois University.

McAllister, who has taught at Centre since 1999, came to Centre from teaching positions at Dartmouth College and the University of Notre Dame. McAllister's scholarly interests include mathematical logic and computability theory with a focus on exploring the essential limitations of mathematical reasoning and idealized computers. His articles have been published in the Archive for Mathematical Logic and the Journal of Symbolic Logic. McAllister is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and earned a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Notre Dame.

McMahon has taught philosophy at Centre since 1997. She has expertise in existentialism, 19th- and 20th-century continental philosophy, philosophy and literature, Asian philosophy, aesthetics and biomedical ethics. McMahon earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Skidmore College. She holds master's and doctoral degrees in philosophy from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She has published a variety of scholarly articles in books and journals, given numerous conference presentations and received several awards for excellence in teaching.

Barton teaches biology and has served as the chair of the division of science and mathematics. Barton's research interests have focused on behavioral and ecological interactions in aquatic systems. Barton, who came to Centre in 1981, earned a bachelor of arts degree in zoology from the University of Vermont and a master of science degree and a doctorate in fisheries biology from Oregon State University.

Finch has taught courses in all levels and areas of language, civilization, and literature at Centre for 14 years. She recently published an edition of La Celestina, a XVth century classic work, in the Juan de la Cuesta European Masterpieces series.  She has also co-authored "Don Quijote" en el arte y pensamiento de Occidente with John Jay Allen for Catedra Press, Madrid, due out in 2004. Professor Finch has served as Chair of Spanish for seven years, represented Centre College in the Preparing Future Faculty graduate seminar at the University of Kentucky for five years.  She has published and presented papers on magic and witchcraft in Spanish medieval and Golden Age literature, La Celestina, and Don Quijote, in the United States as well as in Spain.

Johnston, who serves as associate dean at Centre, joined the mathematics faculty at Centre in 1988. His articles on mathematics have appeared in such journals as the American Journal of Mathematics, and he is the author of a textbook on introductory statistics. Johnston has chaired the mathematics program and has created several new mathematics courses on mathematical modeling, game theory, decision-making and applied mathematics. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wake Forest and holds a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Virginia.

Passariello has taught at Centre since 1988. She involves her students in fieldwork and collaborative research in a variety of areas including cross-cultural examination of pilgrimage, tourism and sustainable development. Passariello has led study-trips all over the world, from Spain and Morocco to the South Seas. She has served as director of Centre's program in Quito, Ecuador, and will direct Centre's program in the Yucatan, Mexico, next fall. She graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Barnard College at Columbia University. She received her master's and doctoral degrees in cultural anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to joining the Centre faculty, she taught at several branches of the University of Maine and at Bowdoin College and worked in museums in Maine, Connecticut and California.

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