Treena Basu joins the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science as assistant professor. Basu has a Ph.D. in applied and computational mathematics from the University of South Carolina. Most recently, she was a visiting assistant professor at Ithaca College where she taught statistics and calculus courses. Her research interests include numerical analysis, scientific computing, mathematical biology, and financial mathematics.
Sarah Boyle will continue her work in the Department of Biology in a tenure-track position as assistant professor. Boyle has a Ph.D. in biology from Arizona State University. For the last four years, she has been a visiting assistant professor at Rhodes teaching animal behavior, plants and people, and geographic information systems courses. Her current research is centered in ecology, conservation biology, and animal behavior.
Brandy Brown joins the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures as instructor of French. Brown expects to receive a Ph.D. in French and Francophone studies from The Pennsylvania State University in the spring. Her dissertation title is “The King’s Other Court: Epic Transformation of Arthurian Space in Old French Chansnons de Geste.” Brown’s research interests include medieval and early modern French literature, medieval and modern Arthuriana, and genre and print culture studies.
Chien-Kai Chen joins the Department of International Studies as assistant professor with a specialty in Asian politics. Chen has a Ph.D. in political science from Boston University. Most recently, he taught undergraduate courses for Boston University’s Department of Political Science and Department of International Relations.
Courtney Collins joins the Department of Economics as assistant professor. A Rhodes alumna, Collins has a Ph.D. in economics from Texas A&M University. Most recently, she was an assistant professor at Mercer University where she taught courses in macro and microeconomics and introductory econometrics. Her research interests include economics of education and public economics. In 2012, Collins received the Mercer University Stetson School of Business and Economics Distinguished Faculty Award.
Jonathan Cook joins the Department of Psychology as assistant professor. Cook is expected to receive a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Missouri in the spring. His research currently focuses on mental health service delivery in clinical settings and on media portrayals of mental illness. Cook most recently worked at the Coalition Against Rape and Domestic Violence in Fulton, MO.
Sujan Dan joins the Department of Business as assistant professor. Dan has a Ph.D. in marketing from Texas A&M University. Most recently, he was an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Tennessee where he taught courses in global marketing strategy and product and service management. Dan’s research interests include innovation and new products, strategic alliances and technology markets.
Mary Doherty joins the Department of Biology as assistant professor in environmental biology with a specialty in microbial ecology. Doherty has a Ph.D. in organismic and evolutionary biology from the University of Massachusetts. Most recently, she held a post-doctoral position at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences where she was a lecturer in zooplankton ecology and aquatic microbial ecology.
Erin Dolgoy joins the Department of Political Science as the Thomas W. Smith Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow. Dolgoy has a Ph.D. in political science from Michigan State University. Dolgoy′s research interests include political theory, science and technology studies, and American politics.
Andrew Gardner joins the Department of Biology as a postdoctoral fellow. Gardner has a Ph.D. in botany from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests include the evolution of Oxalis, focusing on breeding system transitions, biome and biogeographic shifts, and bulb morphology.
Julia Hanebrink joins the Department of Anthropology and Sociology as assistant professor. Hanebrink expects to receive a Ph.D. in anthropology with a concentration in disasters, displacement and human rights from the University of Tennessee this year. Her dissertation title is “Which Doctors are Witchdoctors? An Analysis of Medical Syncretism in Uganda.” Hanebrink also is co-director of the National Institutes of Health, Minority Health International Research Training Program at Christian Brothers University where she has been an adjunct faculty member.
Peter Hossler joins the Urban Studies Program as assistant professor. Hossler has a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Georgia. Most recently, he was a research associate in urban political economy in the School of Geographical & Earth Sciences at the University of Glasgow. His research interests include urban political economy, the politics of health care, and geographies of justice.
Renée Johnson joins the Department of Political Science as assistant professor in political economy. Johnson has a Ph.D. in political economy/public policy, American government, and methodology from SUNY at Stony Brook. Most recently, she was assistant professor of political science at Kent State University where she taught graduate and undergraduate courses in public policy and political economy. Her research focuses on three areas of study—the formation and adoption of public policy in the fifty states, the study of bureaucracy, and environmental attitudes.
Erin Kaplan joins the Department of Economics as assistant professor. Kaplan has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Most recently, she was visiting lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests include applied microeconomics, labor economics, development, and health economics.
Geoffrey Maddox joins the Department of Psychology as assistant professor. Maddox expects to receive a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology (aging and development) this year from Washington University in St. Louis. His dissertation is titled “The Efficiency of Retrieval Practice as a Function of Spacing and Intrinsic Value.” Maddox’s areas of interest include aging and cognition, human learning and memory, and metamemory.
Ryan Mattson joins the Department of Economics as assistant professor. Mattson has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Kansas. His research interests include macroeconometrics, monetary economics, economic aggregates, and Latin America. Most recently, he was a research associate at the Center for Financial Stability in New York, NY.
Leah McGray joins the Department of Music as assistant professor. McGray expects to receive a Ph.D. in conducting from Northwestern University this year. As a doctorial conducting assistant, she conducted the university’s various ensembles and bands as well as taught private conducting lessons. In 2012, McGray received the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctorial Fellowship. She is co-founder and conductor of Windago, a Toronto-based wind and choral ensemble.
Catherine Welsh joins the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science as assistant professor in bioinformatics. Welsh expects to receive a Ph.D. in computer science from University of North Carolina this fall. Her current research has focused on computational genetics, and her dissertation topic is “The Design and Development of a Genetic Reference Population.” Most recently, Welsh taught introductory level computer science course and assisted in a graduate level data mining course for the University of North Carolina.
Elizabeth Young joins the Department of Physics as assistant professor. Young expects to receive a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University this year. Her research combines the theory, design, and manufacture of optical devices necessary for detecting exoplanets. Young received a graduate fellowship in aerospace engineering from the National Science Foundation.
Andrey Zagorchev joins the Department of Business as assistant professor. Zagorchev has a Ph.D. in finance from Lehigh University. His research interests include corporate finance, corporate governance, international finance, and financial markets. Most recently, he taught principles of managerial finance, financial management, and principles of investing, and personal financial planning courses at Concord University.