College of Charleston Welcomes 60 New Faculty Members

What do a specialist in observational astronomy, an expert in childhood obesity and an authority on Hellenistic poetry have in common? Good question. They’re each new members of the faculty at the College of Charleston and part of a diverse cohort of 60 teacher-scholars who have arrived this fall from far and wide.

Every year, the College hires new professors to ensure that its students are taught and mentored by the best educators and scholars from their respective fields.

According to Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Brian McGee, “Some of the best and brightest people in the world are members of the College of Charleston faculty. This year, each of our six academic schools has added an impressive number of talented new faculty. We welcome them to our vibrant intellectual community. I know our students will be excited to learn from them.”

These new faculty members have come to Charleston from a variety of academic institutions, including Ohio State University, Rutgers University, Miami University, the University of British Columbia and Beijing Institute of Technology, among many others.

Collectively, this new cadre of scholars – many of them alumni of the College – represents a broad array of research and teaching specialties that range from machine learning and data mining to biomedical ethics to consumer behavior to public alternative schooling to vocal training and more.

Here’s a quick look at some of these new professors and their areas of specialty:

Wei-ti Chen will be teaching in the Department of History. As a social and cultural historian of modern Japan, her research focuses on empire, medicine, migration and transnational history.

Stephen Hanna was formerly a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet as well as a successful Broadway actor. He has joined the Department of Theatre and Dance as a specialist in jazz dance.

Christina Garcia will join the Department of Hispanic Studies. Her specialties include considering the physical body and its environment as imagined in literary and visual works from the Hispanophone Caribbean.

Brook Irving has joined the Department of Communication. Her research focuses on techniques and theories of persuasion and argumentation.

Gemunu Ekanayake, a new professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has particular interests in methods of measuring fundamental stellar parameters and multi-wavelength studies of Galactic stellar populations.

John Sieverdes is one of five new faculty members joining the Department of Health and Human Performance. Two of his specialties include physical activity epidemiology and behavioral intervention by way of mobile health apps.

Below is the full list of new faculty members at the College for the 2018-19 academic year (arranged alphabetically):

Kristen Alexander, Department of Theatre and Dance
Susan Ansari, Department of Accounting and Business Law
Jennifer Barhorst, Department of Management and Marketing
Paige Bressler, Department of Accounting and Business Law
Chris Burgess, Arts Management Program
Ezra Cappell, Jewish Studies Program
Wei-ti Chen, Department of History
Saundra DeAthos-Meers, Department of Music
Shannon Eaves, Department of History
Gemunu Ekanayaka, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Christina Garcia, Department of Hispanic Studies
Kris Ghosh, Department of Computer Science
Ayman Hajja, Department of Computer Science
Liana Hakobyan, Department of Hispanic Studies
Stephen Hanna, Department of Theatre and Dance
Richard Himes, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Courtney Hunt, Addlestone Library
Brook Irving, Department of Communication
Anthony James, Department of Teacher Education
Michael Janech, Department of Biology
Adam Jordan, Department of Teacher Education
Margaret Keneman, Department of French, Francophone and Italian Studies
Sarah Kollner, Department of German and Russian Studies
Amanda Kraft, Addlestone Library
Heidi Krajewski, Department of History
Mukesh Kumar, Department of Mathematics
Becky Kyryliuk, Department of Health and Human Performance
Garson Leder, Department of Philosophy
Carol Leopold, Department of Teacher Education
Blake Lineberger, Department of Health and Human Performance
Jack Lu, Department of Supply Chain Management
Rebecca McLure, Addlestone Library
William McCorkle, Department of Teacher Education
Brianna McGinnis, Department of Political Science
Kathleen McInvale, Department of Health and Human Performance
Julia McReynolds-Pérez, Department of Anthropology and Sociology
David Morris, Department of Anthropology and Sociology
Aaron Palmore, Department of Classics
Jonathan Payne, Department of Health and Human Performance
Jessica Price, International Studies Program
Karrie Saboe, Department of Accounting and Business Law
Gretchen Scronce, Addlestone Library
Esta Shah, Department of Management and Marketing
Wendy Sheppard, Department of Mathematics
John Sieverdes, Department of Health and Human Performance
Shyam Krishnan Sriram, Department of Political Science
Ian Sullivan, Department of Philosophy
Lauren Specker Sullivan, Department of Philosophy
Katie Swart, Department of Teacher Education
Rebecca Thayer, Addlestone Library
Theodore Them, Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences
James Uchneat, Department of Management and Marketing
Ana Uribe, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Shirley Walrond, Department of Teacher Education
Noa Weinberg, Jewish Studies Program
Krista Williams, Department of French, Francophone and Italian Studies
Leah Worthington, Addlestone Library
Kebin Xu, Department of Computer Science
Yin Xu, Department of Accounting and Business Law
Lisa Young, Department of English