Centre welcomes new faculty

RELEASED: September 6, 2007

DANVILLE, KY—Centre College announces 10 new full-time faculty members for the 2007-08 academic year.

"We're very pleased to welcome our new faculty members to the Centre community," says Stephanie Fabritius, vice president for academic affairs, dean of the College and professor of biology. "They bring with them diverse experiences, backgrounds and ideas which will enrich the curriculum and the College."

Andrea Abrams is Centre's first Consortium for Faculty Diversity at Liberal Arts Colleges Postdoctoral Fellow. She has a B.A. in sociology and anthropology from Agnes Scott College. She earned an M.A. in anthropology, a graduate certificate in women's studies and a Ph.D. in anthropology from Emory University. Before coming to Centre, Abrams taught at the University of Southern Mississippi, Emory University, Agnes Scott College and Spelman College. Her research focuses on racial and gender issues in the South.

Rafael Adrian is visiting assistant professor of chemistry. He earned a B.S. in chemistry from the Universidad Simon Bolivar in Caracas, Venezuela. He later earned his Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Before coming to Centre, Adrian held postdoctoral positions at The University of Texas at San Antonio and at The University of Houston. He also taught as a teaching assistant at the Universidad Simon Bolivar and at Baylor University. His research interests include the synthesis of metal compounds with potential application as anticancer agents and artificial photosynthesis.

Allison Connolly is assistant professor of French. She graduated summa cum laude from Hollins University with a B.A. in French and Spanish. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in French and Francophone literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before coming to Centre, Connolly was a teaching fellow and course coordinator at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and she taught English at L'Universite de Montpellier III.

Jeffrey Heath is visiting assistant professor of mathematics. Heath graduated from Georgetown College with a B.S. in mathematics. He earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in applied mathematics and scientific computation from the University of Maryland, where he served as a teaching fellow in the mathematics department.

Laura Hunt is visiting assistant professor of Spanish. She graduated from Furman University in 2002 with a B.A. in Spanish and is a Ph.D. candidate in Hispanic studies at the University of Kentucky. Her research interests include twentieth-century and contemporary Spanish-American literature, Amazonian literatures, ecocriticism and geography.

Hannington Ochwada is visiting assistant professor of history. Ochwada has a B.Ed. in education, history, philosophy and religious studies from Kenyatta University in Nairobi. He also received an M.A. in history from Kenyatta University and a Ph.D. in history from Indiana University. Before coming to Centre, Ochwada taught at Kenyatta University, University of Florida, Indiana University and Marquette University. His research interests include gender and poverty studies in Africa, academic freedom, African intellectuals and women and conflict in Africa.

John Perry is visiting assistant professor of economics. He graduated from Centre in 2000 with a degree in economics. He worked as an actuary with Milliman USA, returning to full-time studies at the University of Kentucky where he earned a Ph.D. in economics in 2007. For the last four years, he has been a staff economist for the Legislative Research Commission of the Kentucky General Assembly, performing non-partisan research and policy analysis for policy makers and staff. Perry's main academic areas of research and interest are health and labor economics. He's written and published on topics ranging from expanded legalized gambling to college admissions. His current research focuses on healthcare labor markets.

Nuria Sabate-Llobera is visiting assistant professor of Spanish. She has a B.A. in Spanish philology and romance languages from the Universitat de Lleida in Spain. She also received an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Latin American Literature from the University of Kentucky. Sabaté's interests include 20th century Latin American literature with a focus on the Caribbean area and transatlantic studies.

Rosa Slegers is assistant professor of philosophy. She has a B.A. in philosophy and in classics from Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen in the Netherlands. She received an M.A. in philosophy and an M.A. in literary theory from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Fordham University. Before coming to Centre, Slegers taught philosophical ethics and philosophy of human nature at Fordham University.

Daniel Stein is visiting guest artist in dramatic arts. Stein has studied jazz under Barbara Pierce, classical ballet under Suzanne Oussov, movement for actors under Etienne Decroux and attended a professional actors training program at Carnegie Mellon University. In 1979, Stein founded Ecole Daniel Stein in Paris, where he taught performance art until 1993. Before coming to Centre, Stein taught at Sarah Lawrence College, National Theatre School of Amsterdam and Dell'Arte International. He has instructed and performed at The Juilliard School, Yale University, The Museum of Modern Art, Purdue University and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. 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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