KU welcomes new faculty members to Lawrence, Edwards campuses


LAWRENCE – A large contingent of new University of Kansas faculty members took part in faculty orientation Aug. 15, which gave them insight into the university as they geared up for the start of the academic year. The pool of 132 new faculty members for Lawrence and Edwards campuses features scholars across many ranks and disciplines who have hit the ground running in the fall semester.  

“With the start of any new year, there are always new talents, possibilities and opportunities represented in all the new people joining our community,” said Chris Brown, vice provost for faculty affairs. “Dozens of new faculty colleagues are here, including 53 tenured and tenure-track faculty, 44 multi-term teaching faculty and 16 research faculty.

“Please take advantage of any opportunity you have to welcome our newcomers.”

The event featured a welcome from Chancellor Douglas Girod, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Barbara A. Bichelmeyer and Brown. It also presented new faculty with learning opportunities about the university’s vast resources and an introduction to this year’s KU Common Book, “Disability Visibility” by Alice Wong. 

The new faculty:

Assistant Curator

  • Sydney Pursel, Spencer Museum of Art

Assistant Librarian

  • Samantha Bishop Simmons, KU Libraries
  • Gwen Geiger Wolfe, KU Libraries
  • Jaime Groetsema-Saifi, KU Libraries
  • Heather Mac Bean, KU Libraries
  • Cecilia Zhang, KU Libraries

Assistant Professor

  • Ben Allen, psychology
  • Kristy Allen, applied behavioral science
  • Hala Altamimi, public affairs & administration
  • Arian Ashourvan, psychology
  • Lena Batt, educational leadership & policy studies
  • Emily Casey, history of art
  • Mohammad Dastmalchi, architecture
  • Rachel Farber, chemistry
  • Liz Felix, sociology
  • Sayvon Foster, health, sport & exercise sciences
  • Darci Fulcher, theatre & dance
  • Anurag Garg, business
  • Rashawn Griffin, visual art
  • Todd Hall, business
  • Kurt Hong, architecture
  • Maria Hugh, special education
  • Sean Kamperman, English
  • Joonmo Kang, social welfare
  • Hyunjoon Kim, pharmaceutical chemistry
  • Min-Young Kim, curriculum & teaching
  • Herminia Machry, architecture
  • Sajeev Nair, business
  • Robin Orozco, molecular biosciences
  • Dmitry Ovchinnikov, physics & astronomy
  • Bomin Paek, health, sport & exercise sciences
  • Steven Prohira, physics & astronomy
  • Sumaiya Shomaji, electrical engineering & computer science
  • Summer Sun, social welfare
  • Jeanne Vaccaro, women, gender & sexuality studies; museum studies
  • Ninel Valderrama, Spanish & Portuguese
  • Sofia Vera, political science
  • Judy Watts, journalism
  • Abraham Weil, women, gender & sexuality studies
  • Claire Willey, social welfare

Assistant Professor & Assistant Research Professor

  • Jennifer Bumble, special education; Life Span Institute
  • Jaclyn Dudek, curriculum & teaching; Achievement & Assessment Institute
  • Alana Schnitz, special education; Life Span Institute

Assistant Professor of the Practice

  • Jordan Atkinson, professional studies
  • Brina Blinzler, aerospace engineering
  • Raffaele Cipriano, music
  • Michelle Riley, professional studies
  • Alex Treaster, journalism & mass communications

Assistant Research Professor

  • Mark Buckman, Life Span Institute
  • Daria Gerasimova, Life Span Institute
  • Nicolette Grasley-Boy, Life Span Institute
  • Romana Jarosova, chemistry
  • Elizabeth Koziol, Kansas Biological Survey
  • Jade Lee, Achievement & Assessment Institute
  • Jennifer Lohoefener, Institute for Information Sciences
  • Jonathan Miller, Higuchi Biosciences Center
  • Suzanne Myers, Center for Research on Learning
  • Jonathan Owen, Institute for Information Sciences
  • Jesse Pace, Center on Developmental Disabilities
  • Adam Petz, Institute for Information Sciences
  • Robin Shafer, Life Span Institute: Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training
  • Anna Wallisch, Life Span Institute
  • Jocelyn Washburn, Center for Research on Learning

Assistant Specialist

  • Anne Kretsinger-Harries, assistant specialist, communication studies
  • Jenna Link, assistant specialist, theatre & dance

Assistant Teaching Professor

  • Thom Allen, architecture
  • Felipe Anaya, chemical & petroleum engineering
  • Alejandro Aptilon, architecture
  • Francesca Beretta, French, Francophone & Italian studies
  • Jessy Changstrom, physics and astronomy
  • Tori Hudgins, mathematics
  • Qinjian Jin, geography & atmospheric science
  • Abbey Ockinga, architecture
  • Dean Richards, curriculum & teaching
  • Kent Smith, design
  • John Trefry, architecture
  • Amy Van de Riet, architecture

Assistant Teaching Professor & Assistant Research Professor

  • In-Gu Kang, education psychology; Achievement & Assessment Institute

Associate Professor

  • Kelly Graf, anthropology
  • Stella Markou, music
  • Zach Mohr, public affairs & administration
  • Justin Roberts, history
  • Arvind Tripathi, business
  • Rebecca Whelan, chemistry

Associate Professor & Associate Scientist

  • Misty Heggeness, public affairs & administration; Institute for Policy & Social Research

Associate Professor of the Practice

  • Gulli Björnsson, music
  • Christina Boyd, social welfare
  • Millicent Coil, mechanical engineering
  • CharCarol Fisher, music
  • Geoff Landman, music
  • Bamdad Pourladian, mechanical engineering
  • Emily Rossin, music
  • McKenna Stenson, music
  • Renee White, social welfare

Associate Research Professor

  • William Duncan, Institute for Policy & Social Research
  • Angela Karrasch, Achievement & Assessment Institute
  • Emily Shea Tanis, Life Span Institute

Associate Teaching Professor

  • Steve Politzer-Ahles, linguistics

Clinical Assistant Professor

  • Susan King, pharmacy practice

Harper Professor

  • Deb Dey, Harper Professor, area director, business

Lance Williams Residency in the Arts and Sciences & Lecturer

  • Mara Adamitz Scrupe, visual arts

Lecturer

  • Chris Carter, curriculum & teaching
  • Andrew Cousino, electrical engineering & computer science
  • Luxi Chai, business
  • Mark Jaskowski, English
  • Colleen Morrissey, English
  • Hannah Scupham, English
  • Katelyn Shirley, English

Lecturer/Academic Program Associate

  • Glenn Jewell, law
  • Stephanie Kajpust, mathematics
  • Ana Marques, Spanish & Portuguese
  • Adam Sokoloff, law
  • Stephanie Walker, mathematics

Multi-Term Lecturer

  • Samantha Yates, design

Multi-Term Lecturer/Academic Program Associate

  • Ashley Brittingham, theatre & dance
  • Ryan McCall, theatre & dance
  • Sheila Murphy, English
  • Kelly Sharron, sociology
  • Ann Sitzman, theatre & dance
  • Maya Tillman, theatre & dance

Professor

  • Brian Anderson, business
  • Frank Goebel, anthropology
  • Jamila Jefferson-Jones, law
  • Jay Kalbas, geology; Kansas Geological Survey
  • Raúl Rojas, speech-language-hearing: sciences & disorders
  • Nancy Snow, philosophy

Professor of the Practice

  • Taofeeq Ashiru, professional studies
  • Steven Boylan, business
  • James McNaughton, electrical engineering & computer science
  • Amos Olagunju, professional studies

Visiting Assistant Professor

  • Zakhar Ishov, Slavic, German & Eurasian studies
  • Olga Kyrylova, film & media studies
  • Jieun Lee, linguistics.

Fri, 09/09/2022

author

Evan Riggs

Media Contacts

Evan Riggs

Office of the Provost

785-864-1085