Faculty and Staff Notes

Assistant Professor of Mathematics Rachel Diethorn was recently awarded a $200,000 National Science Foundation grant for her research project in commutative algebra entitled “Homological investigations of differential operators, almost complete intersections, and Gorenstein ideals.” This award includes funding to support several research assistantships for students over the next two years.

Allen Memorial Art Museum Ellen Johnson ’33 Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art Sam Adams was interviewed in the online magazine TheBody about their current AMAM exhibition, The Body, the Host: HIV/AIDS and Christianity.

Al Evangelista, assistant professor of dance and comparative American studies, is an artist in residence at Northwestern University’s slippage lab, where he created a new dance-theater performance. The work made its New York City debut at Movement Research at Judson Church. Evangelista was interviewed on the OhioDance podcast A State of Dance, on which he discussed dancing solidarity, queerness, and dance technology.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Anna Lordan led an August series of six virtual workshops on “Being Our Own Mentor in the Writing Process” for PhD students at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Associate Professor of Contemporary Music and Improvisation Dana Jessen released a new full-length album August 23 called Dark Currents (Cantaloupe Music) with her chamber ensemble Splinter Reeds.

Assistant Professor of Psychology Danielle Godon-Decoteau published an article in the Asian American Journal of Psychology titled “Internalized Racism and Asian American Mental Health.” In it, she considers how the dialectic of being othered in both devalued and idealized ways shapes internalized racism in Asian Americans and its impact on racism-related stress and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.

Jody Kerchner, a professor of music education at Oberlin since 1996, was elected to a two-year term as president-elect of the International Society for Music Education. The appointment was announced at the 36th world conference in Helsinki in July. Kerchner joined ISME in 1998 and has served on its board and executive team.

Professor of Philosophy Todd Ganson published the paper “Not All Sensory Systems Are Information Channels: Outliers from Plant Biology and Beyond.” It appears as a chapter in the book Philosophy of Plant Cognition, published by Routledge.

Professor of Flute Alexa Still performed Jacarandas, a recent work composed by her colleague Assistant Professor of Composition Michael Frazier, on the August 2 Gala concert of the National Flute Association's 52nd Annual Convention, in San Antonio.

Professor of Psychology and Environmental Studies Cindy Frantz was interviewed for a National Public Radio story about popular music and environmental activism that aired August 17. Frantz addressed the power of group settings such as rock concerts to encourage participation in championing environmental causes.