College of Arts & Sciences Welcomes New Faculty Cohort

The College of Arts & Sciences is proud to welcome 14 new tenure track and 13 lecturer faculty this Fall semester. This year’s cohort represents 14 different departments, including Political Science (2), Communication Studies (4), Religious Studies (3), Environmental Studies & Sciences (1), Philosophy (4), Biology (3), English (3), Music (1), History (1), Women & Gender Studies (1), International Studies (1), Mathematics (1), Psychology (1), and Theatre & Dance (1). In addition to its size, this year’s cohort includes a diverse array of expertise and identities and is likely the most diverse cohort integrated into the College. From Dean Caño,

The incoming class of faculty are a stellar cohort, hailing from many different parts of the world and representing a diverse array of disciplinary knowledge, skills, and life experiences. Despite their differences, they all have one thing in common: an excitement to learn from and contribute to the Gonzaga community. I can’t wait for everyone to meet their new colleagues over the course of the year.

Tenure-Track Faculty

Jenaro Alberto Abraham

Department: Political Science

Expertise: Latin American and Caribbean Politics

Fun Fact: I like playing soccer and listening to salsa.

Charles Athanasopoulos

Department: Communication Studies

Expertise: Communication Studies; the Black Radical Tradition; Cultural Studies; Visual Rhetoric

Fun Fact: This is my first time living on the west coast (originally from Queens, NY).

Richard “Chip” Callahan

Department: Religious Studies

Expertise: Religion in American culture; Religion and labor history; Method and theory in the study of religion

Fun Fact: I’ve always been an ocean-lover, living on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, but I am now in love with Spokane and I love the mountains, the lakes, and kayaking on the Spokane River. I’m a fan of bluegrass music, and lately, I can’t hear enough of Billy Strings’s music.

Nigel D’Souza

Department: Environmental Studies & Sciences and Biology

Expertise: Microbial Ecology

Fun Fact: I stress out microbes for a living. I have lived in 7 states across the US in the last 15 years.

Jeremiah Favara

Department: Communication Studies

Expertise: Gender and feminism, sexuality and queer theory, intersectionality, and militarization and media

Fun Fact: I’ve lived in 7 states and 5 countries.

Kendall Fisher

Department: Philosophy

Expertise: Medieval Philosophy

Fun Fact: I love sewing, especially from vintage patterns!

Jens Hegg

Department: Biology

Expertise: Aquatic Ecology

Fun Fact: I enjoy performing Americana, blues, and folk on guitar. Catch me at the Palouse Music Festival at the end of July in my hometown of Palouse, WA.

Sarah James

Department: Political Science

Expertise: American politics and social policy

Fun Fact: Before going to graduate school, I was a high school principal.

Miranda McLeod

Department: English

Expertise: Creative Writing, Composition, English Literature

Fun Fact: I’m a new gardener and would love to get to know people who have experience growing in the area. Please invite me to a seed swap!

Sarah Porter

Department: Religious Studies

Expertise: Byzantine Studies

Fun Fact: I lost my 7th-grade spelling bee on “springbok.”

Darian Spearman

Department: Philosophy

Expertise: Africana Philosophy

Fun Fact: I’ve lived in many places around the country, but I am happy to be returning home!

Meg Stohlmann

Department: Music

Expertise: Choral music and education

Fun Fact: I jumped out of a plane 5 times (when I was in the Air Force in another life) and earned my jump wings :).

Corinne Sugino

Department: Communication Studies

Expertise: Communication Studies, Asian American rhetoric, cultural studies, post-racialism

Fun Fact: I enjoy hiking and am excited to explore the surrounding area/nearby national parks!

Joseph Vignone

Department: History

Expertise: Medieval Islamic science, religion, and literature

Fun Fact: I’m developing a course on historical video games as a form of public history, and am looking for collaborators!

Lecturers

Josh Anthony

Department: English

Expertise: Creative Writing

Fun Fact: I recently got into disc golf.

Kevin Brown

Department: Religious Studies

Expertise: Systematic Theology (ecclesiology, ecumenism, Christology, liberation theologies, hermeneutics, spirituality, pneumatology, fundamental theology, Second Vatican Council)

Fun Fact: I am a life-long, die-hard Dodgers fan. My dad’s family happened to move from New Jersey to California the same year the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to LA, so the roots of the fandom go back several generations.

Krista Kubiak Crotty

Department: Psychology

Fun Fact: I love the mountains, hope to see you on the slopes this winter!

Avery Dame-Griff

Department: Women’s & Gender Studies

Expertise: How the Internet transformed transgender political organizing from the 1980s to the contemporary moment.

Fun Fact: I’m distantly related to Milton S. Hershey, the founder of Hershey’s Chocolate.

Albana Dwonch

Department: International Studies

Expertise: International Studies. Modern Middle East, Networked Social Movements

Fun Fact: I am an avid reader of literary fiction, and in my free time, I translate novels from English into my native language. It is like linguistic therapy for me and it keeps me connected to my language and my culture, Albanian.

Blake Edwards

Department: Theatre & Dance

Expertise: Theatre arts

Fun Fact: A long time ago in LA, I was in a play with Meryl Streep’s son. She came to see the show. Afterward, she congratulated me and said I was a very good actor. I told her that she was also proficient.