SHERMAN, TEXAS —The Austin College faculty was recognized for teaching excellence this month in The Princeton Review college guide The Best 373 Colleges, which listed the educators 14th nationwide for academic excellence in its “Professors Get High Marks” category. New faces are among the faculty for the start of Fall Term 2010 at the College, and the new arrivals bring records of excellent preparation and experience to add to the campus teaching culture.
Six tenure-track faculty members join the College, as do seven visiting faculty who will fill one-year vacancies. Several individuals are new to the adjunct faculty.
One of Austin College’s own returns to the Austin Teacher Program.
After earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Austin College, Sandy Philipose, assistant professor of education, taught Spanish in high schools in Plano for several years before beginning doctoral study at Stanford University. She has been involved in several research projects there regarding teacher education and effectiveness. During completion of her Ph.D., she received the Stanford Teacher Education Program Award for graduate student excellence in teaching.
The Department of Classical and Modern Languages has two new additions in Jennifer Johnson, assistant professor of Chinese, and Ruth Cape, assistant professor of German.
Johnson earned her bachelor’s degree at Smith College and her master’s degree and Ph.D. at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). She attended Fudan University in Shanghia, China, as a visiting student through the U.S. Fulbright program in 2007-2008. Cape has taught at Austin College for several years as an adjunct and visiting faculty member and now joins the regular faculty. She previously had teaching assignments at Skidmore College in New York, the College of St. Benedict in Minnesota, Pepperdine University, the University of Arizona, and UCLA. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Munster (Germany) and master’s degree and Ph.D. at UCLA.
Ariel Rogers joins the Communication Studies Department as assistant professor. She earned her bachelor’s degree in film studies and philosophy at Columbia University and a Ph.D. in cinema and media studies at the University of Chicago.
She received an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies in 2003-2004 from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. She also served as an instructor in the Department of Media Studies and Film at The New School in New York.
New to the Austin College Department of Biology regular faculty is David Aiello, assistant professor. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Western Oregon University in biology and completed a Ph.D. in microbiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He continued post-doctoral study in biochemistry and molecular genetics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
His teaching experiences include Samford University in Alabama, Becker College and Framingham State College in Massachusetts, Mercer University in Georgia, and Linfield College in Oregon.
Aaron Block, who attended high school in Plano, Texas, joins the Computer Science faculty as assistant professor. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and a master’s degree and Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He has spent two years as a program manager for Microsoft and has had various research positions within the industry. He has taught both introduction to computer use and high level programming concepts, receiving praise for his teaching at the University of North Carolina.
Visiting Positions
Joining Austin College on temporary assignments are Elizabeth Banks, visiting assistant professor of communication studies, who earned her bachelor’s degree at McMurry University, a master’s degree at Bowling Green State University, and a master’s of fine arts at the University of Kansas; Amanda Huffer, visiting assistant professor of religious studies, who earned her bachelor’s degree at Indiana University and her master’s degree and Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. Michael Wallo serves as a visiting assistant professor of German. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Gettysburg College and a master’s degree and Ph.D. at Pennsylvania State University.
Two visiting assistant professors joining the history department are David Pennington, who earned a bachelor’s degree at Truman State University and master’s degree and Ph.D. at Washington University, St. Louis; and Scott Rohrer, who completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of South Florida.
Visiting assistant professors in the sciences are Jose Boquin, chemistry, and Jason Luscier, biology. Boquin earned his bachelor’s degree at the Maria College of the Americas and a Ph.D. at Baylor University. Luscier earned a bachelor’s degree at Colorado State University and a master’s degree and Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Adjunct Positions
Nikki Bitzer, who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, serves as an adjunct instructor in education, and Paulette Pitt serves as an adjunct assistant professor of psychology. Pitt earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Texas at Dallas, a master’s degree at the University of North Texas, and a Ph.D. at Texas Woman’s University.
Serving as adjunct faculty in Exercise and Sports Science are Austin Coachman, and Max Hawsey, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Austin College; Michelle Filander, who earned a bachelor’s degree at Ohio Wesleyan University and a master’s degree at West Virginia University; and Jacob Willrich, who earned a bachelor’s degree at Truman State University and a master’s degree at Northwest Missouri State University.
Austin College is a leading national independent liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the college is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges that Change Lives.