Ƭapp announces awarding of tenure and promotion of faculty
Ƭapp has announced the awarding of tenure and promotion of faculty members. Their well-deserved recognition comes in relation of their outstanding teaching, scholarship and service to the University, to their learned societies and to the community at large, said Lynn Babington, Ph.D., RN, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.
“These colleagues exemplify the quality of our entire faculty and serve as inspirations to us all. I am sure that their students are especially appreciative,” noted Dr. Babington.
The following faculty were promoted to associate professor:
Anna-Maria Aksan, Economics Department :
is a development economist studying demography and health in developing countries with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Aksan’s current work focuses on distinguishing between the roles of disease-caused morbidity and mortality on population growth, human capital accumulation and lifelong health, and the consequences these hold for economic development. Related research interests include health care access in low-income countries, in part as it is affected by intellectual property rights. Her recent research also looks at local food access issues in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Carol Ann Davis, English Department and MFA in Creative Writing :
was recently named a finalist for the 2015 National Magazine Award (NMA) in the Essays and Criticism category for “The One I Get and Other Artifacts,” a deeply intimate, community-minded meditation on the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. She is co-founder of the Newtown Poetry Project, a Fairfield-University sponsored poetry program that brings Newtown 2 nd through 6th graders and their parents together for a free six-week poetry workshop each spring and publishes an annual collection of poems. Davis is the author of Psalm and Atlas Hour , both from Tupelo Press. The recipient of a National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Poetry and the W. K. Rose Fellowship for the Creative Arts from Vassar College, her recent work has appeared in Agni, American Poetry Review, Volt , and on the ArtBeat website for PBS’ Newshour . She also served as editor of Crazyhorse from 2001-2012.
Stephanie Burrell Storms, Curriculum and Instruction in the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions :
is an assistant professor of multicultural education and director of secondary education in the Department of Educational Studies and Teacher Preparation. She holds an Ed.D. in social justice education from the University of Massachusetts, an M.Ed. in Community Counseling and a B.A. in psychology from Kent State University. Dr. Storms participates in the Read Aloud program and serves as a board member for The Mercy Learning Center in Bridgeport, Conn. Dr. Burrell Storms’ current research and scholarly interests include social justice education, teacher action research, and assessment & evaluation.
Lei Xie (Tommy Shea), English Department and Digital Journalism :
expertise includes digital and photojournalism. He is an expert in digital humanities and is leading the effort on campus. Dr. Xie is the faculty advisor for the award winning, student newspaper, The Mirror , moving it to the digital age. Dr. Xie was a juror for the new Fulbright/National Geographic Award.
The following faculty were promoted to professor:
Shahrokh (Shah) Etemad, Chair, Mechanical Engineering :
has extensive teaching, research and industrial experience in the fields of energy, turbomachinery and thermo-fluid areas. He designed and set up the materials characterization lab in the School of Engineering to prepare students for the aerospace, biomedical and materials fields. Dr. Etemad is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, holding 33 United States and Foreign Patents, and has published many significant technical articles in scientific journals.
Sara Brill, Philosophy Department, Classical Studies and the Humanities Institute :
received her Ph.D. in 2004 from the Pennsylvania State University, having written on the role of medicine in Plato’s Republic, with specializations in ancient philosophy and ethics. Since then, she has published articles on several Platonic dialogues, the Hippocratic corpus and Greek tragedy, and recently completed a book on Plato’s psychology. She teaches classes on Plato, Aristotle, Tragedy, Women in Classical Literature, and Ancient Medicine and Philosophy.
Sally O’Driscoll, English Department :
teaching and scholarship focuses on 18th-century European women writers and sexuality and gender studie,s with a unique area of study in Victorian pamphlets. She has a long-standing affiliation with Women and Gender Studies. She is currently involved in developing 21st-century faculty in the digital humanities. Dr. O’Driscoll has been the recipient of numerous grants and honors supporting her scholarship.
Mary Ann Carolan, Modern Language and Literature, director of Italian Studies :
is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Yale University Graduate School. She received her Ph.D. in Italian language and literature with a dissertation entitled “Power and Language in Alessandro Manzoni’s I promessi sposi.” She directs the Italian Studies program and teaches courses on all aspects of Italian culture. Dr. Carolan has taught in the Honors Program, the Ignatian Residential College Program, the Catholic Studies program, and in the graduate program in American Studies. A well-published author, Dr. Carolan’s book, The Transatlantic Gaze: Italian Cinema, American Film (State University Press of New York, 2014), documents the sustained and profound artistic impact of Italian cinema upon filmmakers in the United States from the postwar period to the new millennium. Her most recent book, Orienting Italy: China through the Lens of Italian Filmmakers , examines the ways in which Italian directors have employed documentary, historical fiction, and fictional narratives to represent China and its people both at home and abroad in Italy.
Lynne Porter, director of the Theater Program in Visual and Performing Arts :
is a well-respected professional scenic designer. She has designed extensively for the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, where she was recently appointed an Affiliated Artist of the Ensemble, and has also designed for the Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival, the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre in North Carolina, and the Arden Theatre in Philadelphia, the Horizon Theatre in Atlanta, the Penobscot Theatre in Maine, and the Maine Shakespeare Festival, among others. She is also the founding artistic director of Shakespeare Ventures, a professional classical summer theatre. Her current research involves developing methods for teaching creativity in the design process. She has recently published Unmasking Theatre Design: A Designer’s Guide to Finding Inspiration and Cultivating Creativity , a book that deals with the subject.
