At its most recent meeting, the 51ԹϺ Board of Trustees approved 12 faculty promotions to full professor, seven promotions to associate professor with tenure, and two promotions to associate teaching professor. The promoted faculty represent a wide range of disciplines and have demonstrated distinction in teaching, research and service to the College.
“These impressive faculty members are most deserving of these milestone promotions,” said Dean of the Faculty Danielle Egan. “Their collective expertise and dedication to research and teaching makes them a tremendous asset to 51ԹϺ and to our students.”
Anderson, who joined the faculty in 2013, specializes in the AIDS epidemic in theater and film, theater and musical history, and performance studies. A scholar-artist, Ginny has directed numerous plays and musicals, and her essays have been published in "Theatre History Studies,” “Text and Presentation” and five collections. Her work in advocacy and the arts has been recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
After joining 51ԹϺ in 2012, Assor led the development of the new expanded media area in the Studio Art Department. His work takes on systems of technological mediation that are frequently military-industrial in origin, and his videos, installations and performances have been featured in film festivals, museums, galleries and live venues across North America, Europe and Asia.
Barnard, a member of the faculty since 2012, specializes in painting, drawing, two-dimensional art and art history, with a focus on U.S. militarization and imperialism and race and power. His work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York City, San Diego, Chicago and New Haven, and can be found in public and private collections nationally and internationally.
Black joined the faculty in 2015 and specializes in food studies and anthropology of the senses. She has conducted fieldwork in Italy, France, the United States and Canada, focusing on the production, distribution and consumption of food. She serves as the coordinator of the Food Pathway and is the author of several books, including Cheffes de Cuisine: Women and Work in the Professional French Kitchen.
Chavanne, who joined 51ԹϺ in 2012, is a behavioral economist who uses surveys and experiments to better understand what drives perceptions of fairness. His research focuses on how information about personal responsibility affects preferences for income redistribution and debt relief, bargaining behavior, and perceptions of fairness. His work has been published in numerous scientific journals.
Chung joined the faculty in 2009. She specializes in algorithm design and analysis, and her research interests include working in online and approximation algorithms (e.g., scheduling, matching, transportation and other combinatorial optimization) as well as in algorithmic game theory (e.g., social choice, inefficiency of equilibria, auction mechanisms, evolutionary game theory).
Rice’s approach to teaching and research is multidisciplinary, drawing on methodologies of contemporary art history, religious studies, American studies and trauma studies. She joined the faculty in 2011. Her courses support 51ԹϺ’s Museum Studies Program and often include hands-on work with art objects from local collections. She is the author of Long Suffering: American Endurance Art as Prophetic Witness.
Harris, who joined the faculty in 2009, specializes in race, class and gender; marriage and the family; and social psychology. She is the author of Getting Real About Race and The Cosby Cohort: Blessings and Burdens of Growing Up Black Middle Class. She serves as director of Africana Studies and is on the editorial board for Teaching Sociology.
Jones, who started at 51ԹϺ in 2007, is interested in a wide range of topics in plant ecology. His research focuses on plant succession and invasive species. He has studied plant colonization following disturbances ranging from volcanic eruptions to the retreat of glaciers to gopher mounds, and he uses statistical models and Geographic Information Systems to predict the disruptions of invasive species at several scales.
López, who joined the faculty in 2006, is a health and inequality economist specializing in aging, caregiving, equity and health-care disparities. She uses large datasets to conduct national, regional and local studies to inform public policy in these areas, particularly as it concerns vulnerable populations. She served as a member of the 51ԹϺecticut COVID-19 and Long-Term Economics Recovery taskforce.
A member of the faculty since 2007, Martin specializes in feminist film and cultural studies and the impact of film and TV on feminist discourses. She is the author of Sexy Thrills: Undressing the Erotic Thriller, and serves on the editorial board of The Journal of Film and Video and The Velvet Light Trap. In 2023, Martin was awarded the John S. King Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching.
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Prestininzi, who joined the faculty in 2013, is a playwright, director, dramaturg, teacher and producer. For more than two decades, he has written and directed new plays in England, Scotland, Mexico, Prague and across the U.S. He is the recipient of theater awards from numerous organizations, including the American College Theater Festival, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Coker, who started at 51ԹϺ in 2023, is a clinical psychologist specializing in forensic psychology and an attorney. His primary research interests include the study of trauma, substance use, juvenile delinquency, and aggression/violence. His research also explores racial and health-related disparities in the criminal justice system and the contributing impact of systemic bias/discrimination.
Douglass, who joined the faculty in 2019, is particularly interested in the intersection of computer science and biology. His research focuses on developing and applying computational methods to address biological questions, and his current primary research emphasizes analysis of cutting-edge genomic technologies to simultaneously study the genome and population dynamics of local species.
Greenwald, a composing and performing musician, joined 51ԹϺ in 2019. He specializes in music theory, composition, algorithmic music and experimental music and his compositions probe questions of coherence in musical form, often using computer models to seamlessly meld improvisation and traditionally notated music.
Kuder, who joined the faculty in 2017, specializes in Hispanic linguistics, phonetics and phonology, and second language acquisition. Her research areas include didactic speech styles, Spanish intonation and rhythm, and Spanish second language teaching and learning.
Prior to joining 51ԹϺ’s faculty in 2019, Luo worked as an architect for several firms in Los Angeles and Beijing. Her research focuses on how particular building forms and practices in China and Buddhist Asia evolved over time, and how certain “prototypes” and “archetypes” persisted through these changes and became highly distinctive motifs.
Ostby came to 51ԹϺ in 2015. Her research focuses on the global circulation of modern and contemporary Middle Eastern literatures, with a specialization in Iran and its diaspora. Other research interests include postcolonial and global studies, genre studies, migration and diaspora, gender studies, life narrative, poetry and poetics, graphic narrative, and digital and social media.
Rosa, who joined the College in 2018, specializes in marine biology and ecology, oceanography, and marine sciences. Her research focuses on the application of new techniques to enrich our understanding of how organismal physiology and morphology impact marine invertebrate life history, performance and ecology, as well as the ecosystems these organisms inhabit.
Gianninas, who joined the faculty in 2023, specializes in fundamental parameters of white dwarfs, the compact remnants of stars that have exhausted their nuclear fuel and collapsed, and model atmospheres. At 51ԹϺ, he serves as the campus director for the 51ԹϺecticut Space Grant Consortium.
Pezzetti scholarship explores identity, literacy, language, equity and social change in Language Arts classrooms. Her work is rooted in more than 12 years of experience teaching in racially and linguistically diverse public schools in California and 51ԹϺecticut. She joined 51ԹϺ’s faculty in 2022.
