Faculty and Staff Notes

Congratulations to Oberlin Theater faculty on their outstanding work in the Cleveland theater scene! 

• Ohio premiere of At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen by Terry Guest, directed by Preston Crowder ’16. Performing January 26-February 18, Dobama Theatre.
• The Breakfast at the Bookstore by Lisa Langford, directed by Nina Domingue with scenic design by Laura Carlson-Tarantowski. Performing January 26-February 18, Karamu House.
• World premiere of Alter by Tania Benites, directed by Kari Barclay. Performing February 10-24 with previews February 8-9, Cleveland Public Theatre.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Shuming Chen has recently published two new articles along with Oberlin student coauthors. "Ni-Catalyzed 1,1- and 1,3-Aminoboration of Unactivated Alkenes" has appeared in the Journal of the American Chemical Society with coauthors including Gabriel Negrao de Morais ’25 and collaborators at Indiana University. "C5 methylation confers accessibility, stability and selectivity to picrotoxinin" was published in Nature Communications with coauthors including Anna Crowell ’23 and collaborators from Scripps Research and Corteva Agriscience.

Assistant Professor of East Asian Religions Andrew Macomber gave a talk as part of the Khyentse Foundation Buddhist Studies Lecture Series at Northwestern University on January 19. His presentation was titled “Evil Dead in the Aristocratic Mansion: Buddhist Experiments with Ritual Healing in Heian Japan.”

Visiting Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature Anna Levett has translated an excerpt of Habib’s long poem Your Voice Saw/Your Voice Lives/We Go On in Qui Parle. Originally published in French in 2019, the poem is an ode to the Palestinian writer Mahmoud Darwish.

Professor of Economics Ron Cheung was invited back to the Alex Trebek studio to compete in the Jeopardy! Season 39 Champions Wildcard. In this two-week tournament, Cheung and 26 other former champs compete for a spot in the Tournament of Champions. Cheung won his quarterfinal match, which aired Monday, January 22.

Assistant Dean and Director of International Student and Scholar Services Josh Whitson was granted a Fulbright International Education Administrators Award to travel to Taiwan and participate in a two-week group seminar with representatives from universities, private sector agencies and organizations, and selected government agencies in March.

Professor of Politics Stephen Crowley’s article “In Russia, Clear Signs of War Fatigue” appeared in The Nation.

Associate Professor of Comparative Literature and Italian Stiliana Milkova coedited the volume Natalia Ginzburg’s Global Legacies, which will be published this spring by Palgrave. Milkova coauthored the volume’s introduction, authored a book chapter, and translated from Italian another chapter. This is the first major scholarly book in English on Ginzburg in more than 20 years.

Associate Professor of Anthropology Amy Margaris and second-year student Isabel Handa published the joint essay “When the Ancestors Call to You” on the American Alliance of Museums’ Center for the Future of Museums blog. The essay reflects on their recent experience repatriating the skull of a Native Hawaiian kupuna (ancestor) that had been in Oberlin’s possession for a century and a half. Their piece addresses historical trauma associated with historic teaching collections, welcoming both Indigenous and Western forms of knowledge in the academy, and advice to other Indigenous individuals and collections stewards for successful collaboration.

Professor of Psychology Nancy Darling was interviewed about parenting and parenting style on NPR’s Connection podcast with Marty Moss-Coane. She discussed best parenting practices in developmental, cultural, and historical contexts.