Faculty Friday Spotlight: March 2024
Faculty Promotions Announced
Congratulations to the four faculty members who were approved for promotion to the rank of professor by Agnes Scott College’s Board of Trustees during their winter meetings in February. The promotions are effective July 1, 2024.
- Yael Manes – professor of history
- Patricia Schneider – professor of economics
- Qiao Solomon – professor of music
- Nicole Stamant – professor of English
Collegiate Chorale Captures the Moment at the Carter Center
Under the direction of director Rebecca Duren, Agnes Scott’s Collegiate Chorale has performed at the Carter Center in Atlanta twice in the last three months. The chorale was recently invited to an interfaith service at the Carter Center for the “A Service of Prayer for Our Nation” event, which joined together faith leaders from around the city. The group reprised their performance of “America,” which they also performed at the memorial service for former First Lady Rosalynn Carter in November.
Mize, Taylor Honored with Outstanding Alum Awards by Alma Maters
Mary Chase Mize, assistant professor of clinical mental health counseling, was recently honored by her alma mater, Mississippi State, as an outstanding young alumna. Mize was listed among the 2024 recipients of The Reveille 25 awards program. The program annually honors 25 high-achieving young alums each year who are “answering the call” of the university’s mission for excellence and inspiring others through the positive impact they are making in their communities and professions.
Courtney Faye Taylor ‘15 has also been recognized as the 2024 Outstanding Young Alumna at Agnes Scott!
Seminars & Publications
Bradley’s Essay Published by Urban Institute
Linda Lentz Hubert Assistant Professor of Public Health Erin Bradley was published in the latest volume of the Urban Institute’s Do No Harm Guide. Bradley’s essay, “Modernizing Data Collection to Improve Rigor in Research Involving Human Participants,” argued for improved inclusivity in data collection.
Blaich Selected to Speak at Seminar at Holocaust Museum in D.C.
Kristian Blaich, an assistant professor of history, was selected as a member of the Jack and Anita Hess Faculty Seminar at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., from January 8-12, 2024. The seminar focused on exploring the Holocaust through the Jewish experiences of dispossession and looting during World War II, as well as the processes of restitution, reparations and rebuilding of private lives in the postwar period. The participants examined the representation of the concept of “home” through stolen property, sites of memory, places to return to and conceptual spaces to be reconstructed anew by diaspora communities.
Poems & Presentations
Adeline A. Loridans Professor of French and Chair Julia Caroline Knowlton gave a reading and led a poetry workshop on Saint Simons Island, Ga., on February 3. She traveled there upon invitation from the Saint Simons Literary Guild. The literary journal ONE ART published her poem “Glassblowing Class” on January 13, 2024. Knowlton gave a poetry reading at The Book Bird in Avondale Estates on February 29 as a featured poet for their poetry reading series.
Associate professor of economics Ruth Uwaifo Oyelere presented two papers at the Allied Social Science Associations (ASSA) annual meeting, which took place in early January in San Antonio, Texas. The first paper she presented recently co-authored published research on housing vulnerability in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. The second presentation was part of the National Economic Association (NEA) sessions and focused on early results from ongoing research on land inequality and poverty in Nigeria.
The Ellen Douglass Leyburn Professor of English, Waqas Khwaja, has published seven pieces over the last few months, including five poems. He also wrote a bio-critical review of Pakistani writer Zulfikar Ghose’s work in an upcoming edition of the Aleph Review.
His five poems are titled:
- “if i were any good”
- “Tryst”
- “Ledger of severance and loss”
- New deaths new lives”
- “Vigil”
Quick Bits
- Director and Associate Professor of Clinical and Mental Health Counseling Jennifer Fulling-Smith was recently honored with the Qualitative Article of the Year Award for 2023 for the Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling for this co-authored article.
- Vocalist and artist affiliate Dawn-Marie James recently performed a faculty recital of Art Songs from Argentina, Columbia, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, accompanied by pianist and instructor Wooyoung Kwon. View the stream.
- Harry L., Corinne Bryant, and Cottie Beverly Slade Professor of Humanities and Professor of Music Tracey Laird was interviewed about her recent book Dolly Parton: 100 Remarkable Moments in an Extraordinary Life on Atlanta community radio station WRFG. The interview aired as part of the “Americana Pie” show on Tuesday, January 16, hosted by Jules. The interview is archived on WRFG’s website.
- In addition to her award-winning, Mize also recently authored three articles:
- “Suicide Risk Factors among Older Adults: Implications for Counselors as Medicare Providers,” Journal of Counseling and Development.
- “Social Connections and Suicide Desire among Community-Dwelling Older Adults,” Innovation in Aging
- “‘We all have a stake in this’: A phenomenological inquiry into integrating suicide intervention in home-delivered meal contexts.” Aging & Mental Health
- Instructor of English Emily Lake Hansen ’08 has new poems coming out this spring in SWWIM, Collateral, and The South Carolina Review. Her second poetry manuscript, “American Millennial,” was recently shortlisted for the 2024 C&R Press Poetry Award.
- Assistant professor of clinical mental health counseling Amber Norman was invited to be a panelist for Sex in the Dark at Georgia Tech University