News Briefs

Search for New Professors Underway

According to Acting Dean of the College Robert Geitz, the College Faculty Committee announced the designation of four new faculty positions. The Departments of Biology, Creative Writing, Spanish, and Geology will each have one FTE, or full-time equivalent position, added to their departments.

This decision was a combination of the Board of Trustees delegating funds for the positions, the EPPC compiling a report that prioritized different departments needs according to submitted proposals and the CFC making a final decision.

"It's filling a long-standing need in curriculum," Romance department chair and professor of French Nelson de Jesus said, adding, "This position will help us create other curricular relationships that go beyond our department. [It] will help us speak to the interest in Latin America and help create the curricular relationships that go beyond our department. This is a position we really needed."

Professor Yolanda Cruz, the biology department chair, said, "It's a very big deal. By hiring this person we would be able to fill a particular gap in the curriculum, and at the same time offer several courses that will be taught in small classes for new students and freshmen." The creative writing department has over 50 majors and only two FTEs currently. "In order to get our courses taught we have been relying on temporary additions to staff and adjunct positions just to get the bare minimum of courses taught. Our need was enormous," said department chair and professor Martha Collins.

Professor of geology and department chair Bruce Simonson was not available for comment.

-Alyson Dame

Hogan Spends Year Off Here

Professor of history Heather Hogan will take a year-long break from teaching to "try and reconceptualize the way I teach Russian history," she said.

Hogan will take a leave of absence this spring and a sabbatical during the fall semester of next year.

Hogan describes herself as a Russian historian. "My work has been in the late 19th and early 20th century, and since the break-up of the Soviet Union. There is a renewed interest in central Asian history - huge chunk of land - I'm interested in studying both caucuses, central Asia and Siberia, to really get a good view," Hogan said.

"I plan to hole up in my study, reading, thinking and writing new lectures," Hogan said, adding, "I hope the product of this will be a reconceptualized new freshman colliquium."

-Alyson Dame