Tenure, promotions announced

DANVILLE, KY—At the spring meeting of the Centre College board of trustees, John C. Ward, vice president of academic affairs, reported that tenure has been granted to Helen Emmitt, associate professor of English; Stephanie Fabritius, professor of biology; Lori Hartmann-Mahmud, assistant professor of international studies; David Hall, assistant professor of religion and philosophy; and Judith Jia, assistant professor of art. The tenure will take effect in fall of 2007.

"This is a great class of newly tenured faculty: fine teacher scholars who are and will continue to be leaders on campus," commented Ward.

Ward also announced eight promotions: associate professors William Crummett (physics), Phillip Lockett (physics), Anne Lubbers (biology), Daniel Manheim (English), James Morrison (classics) and William "Beau" Weston (sociology) to full professor; and assistant professors Judith Jia (art) and Philip White (English) to associate professor. The promotions will take effect in fall of 2006.

"The accomplishments of these newly promoted professors are too numerous to mention here," said Ward. "All have proven that they belong to the distinguished tradition of Centre's great professors—in their scholarship and research and their strong teaching."

Emmitt joined Centre as associate professor of English in 2002. Prior to that she was professor of English at Virginia Military Institute and visiting assistant professor of English at Centre from 1995 to 1998.  She earned a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley and did her undergraduate work at Bryn Mawr College. In 2001 she was published in "Rhyming Hope and History: Medbh McGuckian's Recent Poetry." "Forgotten Memories and Unheard Rhythms: H.D.'s Poetics as a Response to Male Modernism," her most recent publication, appeared in a special issue of Paideuma.

Fabritius, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College, is a native of California with degrees in biology from Pepperdine University (B.S.) and Purdue University (Ph.D.). She has been a professor and administrator at Southwestern University for 17 years, where, in addition to teaching and serving as associate provost, she was director of the Paideia Program, a relatively new undertaking designed to help students make intentional connections between their in-class and out-of-class experiences. As a teacher, Fabritius' courses include biological diversity and interactions, ecology, animal behavior, evolution, natural history of the vertebrates, animal behavior seminar and introduction to research. She held the Lillian Nelson Pratt Chair in the Sciences from 2000 to 2004 and in 1997 received the Exemplary Teaching Award from the Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church.

Hartmann-Mahmud joined the Centre College faculty in 1999 as visiting assistant professor of government. She was awarded the "Rookie of the Year" teaching award in 2000, and a Kirk Teaching Award in 2003. During CentreTerm 2004 she took a group of students to Cameroon to study politics and civil society in that central African country. Hartmann-Mahmud’s scholarly interests have focused on African politics, Latin American politics, women and development in West Africa and democratic transitions in Africa. Hartmann-Mahmud holds a B.A. from Denison University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Denver. She was an Ambassadorial Graduate Rotary Scholar at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Senegal, West Africa, and a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger, West Africa. She had prior teaching experience as an adjunct professor and guest lecturer at Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colo., and the University of Denver.

Hall joined the Centre faculty in 2002 as assistant professor of religion, and in 2005 received the Kirk Award for excellence in teaching. Prior to coming to Centre College, he taught for two years as visiting assistant professor of religious studies at DePaul University in Chicago. Dr. Hall's primary research interest is 19th and 20th century European thought. He is co-editor of and contributor to a recent volume of essays entitled Paul Ricoeur and Contemporary Moral Thought. His approach is broadly interdisciplinary, addressing currents within philosophy, literary theory, psychology, and sociology, and their impact on contemporary theology and ethics. One of his particular interests concerns the manner in which religious texts and discourse function poetically and rhetorically. Dr. Hall received a B.A. in rhetoric from California State University in Sacramento. He attended graduate school at the University of Chicago, where he received an M.Div. and a PH.D.

Jia has taught at Centre since 1998. As the head of the ceramics studio, Jia teaches all levels of ceramics as well as introductory drawing classes. Her experience teaching both drawing and ceramics extends back to graduate school at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth where she was awarded instructor-of-record positions in both areas. Jia’s artwork is created from fine porcelain and stoneware. Her forms are delicate slab constructions that are often closed and seem full of air. A variety of subtly colored glazes and stains envelop the forms. Her work has been chosen for exhibition and won awards in several national competitions including Prevailing Winds, Current Trends in Contemporary American Ceramics, at Young and Constantin Gallery in Wilmington, Vt., and the Wichita National All Media Craft Exhibit at the Wichita Center for the Arts. A piece was recently shown at the Gaolin International Biennial Ceramic Exhibition at the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute in China. She regularly exhibits her work at the Ann Tower Gallery in Lexington, Ky. and the Kentucky Museum of Art + Design in Louisville. In 2004 Jia was awarded an Al Smith Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council, which she used to fund travels in China.

Crummett came to the College in 1987, after teaching at the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology. He is co-author, with Art Western of Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, of the textbook University Physics: Models and Applications. Crummett and Western also collaborated to develop the Sonic Ranger, a piece of equipment that greatly aids student physics laboratories by providing a way to link an ultrasonic ranger with the graphing capabilities of a computer.  Crummett graduated summa cum laude from West Virginia Institute of Technology with a B.S. in physics and received his Ph.D. from West Virginia University.

Lockett has taught full-time at Centre since 1990. In 2005 he received the Kirk Award for teaching excellence. Dr. Lockett performs research in the field of astrophysics. He theoretically models astrophysical masers, intense beams of radio waves that are the radio frequency analog of lasers. He has presented the results of his research at meetings of the American Astronomical Society and the Kentucky Association of Physics Teachers. Lockett received his B.A. in physics from Centre College, an M.S.E. degree in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Kentucky. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Lubbers, who was named for a two-year term as a Centre Scholar in 2004, has taught at Centre since 1993. A plant ecologist, she has special expertise on factors affecting seed production. Her work has been published in professional journals including the American Journal of Botany and Ecology. Lubbers, who often provides her Centre students opportunities for collaborative research, is a member of the Botanical Society of America, the Kentucky Native Plant Society, the Ecological Society of America, and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society. She holds a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and a Ph.D. from Duke University.

Manheim, who has taught at Centre since 1991, has a scholarly background in American literature, and he has taught Centre courses on major American writers, African-American literature, American autobiography, and the modern short story. He has pursued research on American historian and philosopher Henry Adams, poet Emily Dickinson, architect Ralph Adams Cram, and novelists Herman Melville and Edith Wharton. His articles have appeared in such publications as the New England Quarterly, Biography, and ESQ. Manheim holds an A.B. from Amherst College and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia.

Morrison, Cantrell Associate Professor of Classics, has taught at Centre since 1993. His research interests include Homer and ancient epic, Thucydides, Greek literature and philosophy, Late Republican and Augustan literature, and Caribbean Literature, especially the works of Derek Walcott. He is the author of two books on Homer: Homeric Misdirection: False Predictions in the Iliad and A Companion to Homer’s Odyssey. A third book, Reading Thucydides, will appear later this year. He has received an NEH Research Fellowship for 2006-7 to support the writing of a book entitled Shipwrecks and the Re-invention of Self in Homer, Shakespeare, Defoe, and the Modern World. Morrison holds a B.A. in philosophy and history from Oberlin College, an M.A. in classics from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. in classical studies from the University of Michigan.

Weston, who joined the faculty at Centre College in 1990, was named N.E.H. Associate Professor of Sociology in 2005. In 2004 he won the Kirk Award for Excellence in Teaching. Weston earned a B.A. with high honors from Swarthmore College and subsequently completed an M.A.R. from Yale Divinity School and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at Yale University. Weston has a special interest in the sociology of religion, especially in the Presbyterian Church. He is the author of Presbyterian Pluralism: Competition in a Protestant House, Leading from the Center: Strengthening the Pillars of the Church, and editor of Called to Teach: The Presbyterian Mission in Higher Education. Weston, who is completing a history of Centre College, writes the blog, The Gruntled Center: Faith and Family for Centrists.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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