{"id":176640,"date":"2021-09-01T07:25:47","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T11:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=176640"},"modified":"2022-12-02T15:52:21","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T20:52:21","slug":"new-faculty-bring-antiracism-and-the-environment-to-the-forefront","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2021\/09\/new-faculty-bring-antiracism-and-the-environment-to-the-forefront\/","title":{"rendered":"New Faculty Bring Antiracism and the Environment to the Forefront"},"content":{"rendered":"

New faculty\u00a0join\u00a0the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) this fall as part of\u00a0two\u00a0groups launched by Dean\u00a0Juli\u00a0Wade to increase interdisciplinary scholarship in\u00a0human-environment interactions\u00a0and diversity, equity, and inclusion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the past year,\u00a0faculty\u00a0within the College collaborated to\u00a0propose\u00a0topic areas for the cluster hires, and two\u00a0were selected\u00a0in\u00a0environment and\u00a0human\u00a0interactions,\u00a0and\u00a0antiracism.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor CLAS, cluster hires have allowed us to provide tangible support for our ethical and intellectual commitments,\u201d says Katharine Capshaw, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and\u00a0Inclusion in the College, and professor of English.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The new faculty members\u00a0will contribute\u00a0to existing research strengths in the College surrounding racial inequity and environmental issues.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Bringing new, diverse faculty to the College benefits all UConn students, who now have access to these world experts as teachers in the classroom,\u201d says Wade. \u201cWe can also look forward to exciting, innovative research that will advance knowledge and policy on pressing issues, including racial equity and environmental preservation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The two cluster areas are as follows:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Environment and Human Interactions<\/strong> cluster will bring in total seven tenure-track faculty to UConn, five of which join the College this fall in the Departments of Anthropology, Chemistry, Political Science, Public Policy, and Sociology. The faculty will study how human activities are impacting a range of Earth systems, and how changes to the Earth itself are impacting society. They will actively engage with policymakers to implement solutions. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Nina
Nina Brooks, assistant professor of public policy. Courtesy photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nina Brooks<\/span><\/b>\u00a0joins the College as\u00a0assistant professor in public policy with a focus on the intersection of environment, health, and international development policy. Brooks\u202fcompleted her Ph.D.\u202fin\u202fthe Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at Stanford University.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brooks employs a range of disciplinary approaches,\u00a0including economics, demography, data science, geography, and epidemiology. Her current research includes developing strategies to increase adoption of energy efficiency upgrades in the brick industry in Bangladesh, examining how food security affects fertility in sub-Saharan Africa, and exploring the impacts of abortion policies on women\u2019s health and economic outcomes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the classroom, she works to ensure students are comfortable understanding and tackling real-world problems.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Eleanor Shoreman-Ouimet<\/span><\/b>,\u00a0assistant professor of Anthropology, joins the Environment and Human Interactions cluster with a focus on environmental anthropology. With a Ph.D. from Boston University, Shoreman-Ouimet has shaped and defined the field of environmental anthropology.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Eleanor
Eleanor Shoreman-Ouimet, assistant professor of anthropology. Courtesy photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recently, she has collaborated with\u00a0the\u00a0UConn\u00a0School\u00a0of\u00a0Engineering,\u00a0the Department of\u00a0Geoscience, and Extension faculty to examine how ethnographic research on cultural values and belief systems can assist efforts to increase community resilience, address environmental injustices and inform engineering and policy decisions\u00a0to prevent loss of life from\u00a0climate change and other human\/environmental disasters.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shoreman-Ouimet\u2019s research also examines community-based conservation efforts.\u00a0 She is currently working with colleagues in Anthropology,\u00a0exploring grassroots efforts in a rural Colombian community to achieve environmental and economic sustainability and is the\u00a0principal\u00a0investigator on a project exploring racial microaggressions at UConn.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Alexander
Alexander Aksenov, assistant professor of chemistry. Courtesy photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alexander\u00a0Aksenov<\/span><\/b>\u00a0is an incoming assistant professor in\u00a0the Department of\u00a0Chemistry,\u00a0using\u00a0mass spectrometry to explore the complexity of\u00a0biological molecules and how different molecules play into health and disease.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Aksenov\u00a0earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Florida\u00a0and completed postdoctoral training in mass spectrometry at Carnegie Mellon University. After a year as a\u00a0senior\u00a0research\u00a0scientist in the United Kingdom, he joined the University of California Davis Mechanical and Aerospace Department Bioinstrumentation and BioMEMS laboratory.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since 2016 he\u00a0has\u00a0worked as a\u00a0project\u00a0scientist\u00a0at the University of California, San Diego.\u00a0As\u00a0an educator,\u00a0Aksenov\u00a0believes in providing students with thought-provoking questions;\u00a0giving them\u00a0interactive, hands-on\u00a0experiments;\u00a0and\u00a0directing\u00a0them toward the resources to discover their own answers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Talbot
Talbot Andrews, assistant professor of political science. Courtesy photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Talbot Andrews<\/span><\/b>\u00a0joins the College as\u00a0assistant professor of political science, specializing in environmental policy and climate change attitudes. With a Ph.D. in political science from Stony Brook University in New York, Andrews integrates meteorological and public opinion data to study responses to climate change in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Prior to joining UConn, Andrews worked as a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University, where she used\u00a0survey and experimental methods to examine how impatience and other time\u00a0issues affect policy preferences. She is also part of an interdisciplinary team studying the determinants of climate change literacy across Africa.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At UConn, Andrews will be teaching courses on environmental policy, public opinion, and quantitative analysis.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Carla
Carla Dhillon, assistant professor in sociology. Courtesy photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Carla Dhillon<\/span><\/b>\u00a0is an incoming assistant professor in sociology. With a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, Dhillon’s research bridges environmental sociology, decolonial studies, climate change, and social dimensions of science and technology.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dhillon examines pathways that aim to transform inequalities in environmental science practices. Her recent projects focus on the politics of cross-cultural climate change partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous parties, and on community-oriented science in environmental health and justice movements.\u00a0Also\u00a0a licensed civil engineer,\u00a0Dhillon\u00a0previously worked as a structural and sustainable building designer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As an educator, Dhillon emphasizes critical social analysis applied to environmental challenges. Her approach highlights voices and actions by those often excluded from formal environmental fields.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

T<\/span>he\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span>Antiracism cluster<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>brings eight faculty in departments across the humanities and social sciences, all jointly appointed with an institute or program focusing on race, gender, sexuality, and\/or ethnicity. From searches framed through the concepts of Catalyzing Antiracist and Decolonial Futures and Racial Justice, the faculty are joining the Departments of English; Political Science; Philosophy; Journalism; Literatures, Cultures, and Languages; History; and Communication. Their research will focus on centralizing Black, Latinx, <\/span>Asian and Asian American,\u00a0<\/span>and Indigenous voices in the humanities and social sciences and on building transdisciplinary research.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ayanna
Ayanna De\u2019Vante Spencer, assistant professor of philosophy with a joint appointment in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ayanna\u00a0De\u2019Vante\u00a0Spencer\u00a0<\/span><\/b>is an incoming assistant professor in philosophy\u00a0jointly appointed with Women\u2019s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, with a Ph.D. from Michigan State University. As a\u00a0survivor-scholar and Black feminist epistemologist, Spencer\u2019s\u00a0research weaves Black feminist theory, epistemology, sexual violence literature, settler colonial studies, and feminist anti-carceral studies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Through her work with Girls for Gender Equity, the Firecracker Foundation, and the \u2018MeToo\u2019 Movement, Spencer saw first-hand a problematic intersection between criminalization, how Black girl sexual violence survivors are expected to respond to violence, and how the state determines what they know about their own experience(s) of violence. Her research<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>examines structures of knowledge verification that contribute to what is called the \u201csexual abuse to prison pipeline.\u201d Spencer has long focused on gendered anti-Black racism and state violence, including her noteworthy \u2018Say Her Name\u2019 chapter published in\u00a0<\/span>The Bloomsbury Companion to Analytic Feminism (2018)<\/span><\/i>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a first-generation college graduate and former\u00a0<\/span>UNCF\/Mellon Mays fellow, Spencer<\/span>\u00a0is committed to equity and inclusion in her\u00a0classes and\u00a0is\u00a0a\u00a0strong proponent of undergraduate research.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Briona Simone Jones, assistant professor in English with a joint appointment in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Briona Simone Jones<\/span><\/b>\u00a0joins the College as an assistant professor in English\u00a0jointly appointed with Women\u2019s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies,\u00a0specializing in African American literature,\u00a0feminist and\u00a0queer\u00a0theory, and\u00a0Black\u00a0queer studies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With a Ph.D. in English and Certificate in Women\u2019s and Gender Studies from Michigan State University, Jones has published a collection of Black Lesbian writings titled\u00a0<\/span>Mouths of Rain: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Thought,\u00a0<\/span><\/i>the most comprehensive anthology centering Black Lesbian thought to date<\/span>.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0During her research, Jones developed the concept of \u201cBlack Lesbian Aesthetics\u201d to describe the\u00a0shift in self-definition that transpired after the groundbreaking formation of the\u00a0Combahee River Collective\u00a0of Black lesbian activists\u00a0in 1974.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jones\u2019s teaching philosophy includes centering the knowledge and experiences of Black, Indigenous, and Queer people of color and other underrepresented students.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\"A
Elva Orozco Mendoza, assistant professor in political science jointly appointed with Women\u2019s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Elva Orozco Mendoza<\/span><\/b>\u00a0joins the College as\u00a0assistant professor in political science\u00a0jointly appointed with Women\u2019s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, specializing in political theory and Latin American politics. With a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, she was an assistant professor of political science at Texas Christian University before joining UConn.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Orozco Mendoza\u2019s research draws on decolonial feminist thought, critical contract theory, comparative political theory, and feminist analyses on maternal activism in Latin America and contributes to several fields,\u00a0including decolonial approaches to political theory, protest politics, and\u00a0femicide\u00a0studies. She conducted research in Northern Mexico in 2012 and 2013 to examine anti-feminicide activism, maternal political action, and citizenship. Orozco Mendoza is currently working on\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>book\u00a0tentatively titled\u00a0<\/span>The Maternal Contract: A Decolonial Approach to Subaltern Justice in the Americas<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the classroom, Orozco Mendoza incorporates authors and texts from the global south in conversation with the western canon to encourage students to develop a global perspective and be able to think across histories and experiences.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Katerina
Katerina Gonzalez Seligmann, associate professor in Literatures, Cultures, and Languages with a joint appointment in El Instituto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Katerina Gonzalez Seligmann,\u00a0<\/span><\/b>who has\u00a0Cuban, Colombian, and\u00a0Jewish\u00a0heritage, is an incoming associate professor in\u00a0the\u00a0department of\u00a0Literatures, Cultures,\u00a0and Languages and\u00a0is jointly appointed with\u00a0El Instituto. With a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Brown University and a focus on Caribbean literature and thought, they\u00a0previously served as\u00a0assistant\u00a0professor\u00a0of literature at Emerson College since 2015.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Working at the intersection of literature, history, and social theory, Gonzalez Seligmann recently published a book titled\u00a0<\/span>Writing the Caribbean in Magazine Time<\/span><\/i> that profiles the central role of Caribbean literary magazines in contributing to frameworks of decolonization. They received a Career Enhancement Fellowship in 2018 and a Ford Fellowship in 2013. They also regularly translate Cuban literature and collaborate with researchers at the \u00c9cole normale superieure in Paris<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2017, KGS, as they are known to students, won\u00a0the Helaine\u00a0and Stanley Miller\u00a0Award\u00a0for\u00a0Outstanding\u00a0Teaching.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Erika Williams<\/span><\/b> joins the College as associate professor of English and Africana Studies. With a Ph.D. in Comparative<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Erika
Erika Williams, associate professor of English and Africana Studies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Literature and Literary Theory from the University of Pennsylvania, Williams taught at Emerson College for 15 years, specializing in 20th- and 21st-century African American and Afro-Diasporic literature and culture.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At Emerson, Williams served on the Honors Advisory Council, the Diversity Review Committee, and the Council for Inclusive Excellence, where she worked to further diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies and in the college overall.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Williams has published her work in such venues as\u00a0<\/span>African American Literature<\/span><\/i>,\u00a0<\/span>Modern Fiction Studies<\/span><\/i>, and\u00a0<\/span>Studies in American Fiction<\/span><\/i>, and presented it to associations including the American Literature Association, the American Comparative Literature Association, and the Modern Language Association. Her essay \u201cA Lie of Omission: Plagiarism in Nella Larsen\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Quicksand<\/span><\/i>\u201d received\u00a0<\/span>African American Review<\/span><\/i>\u2019s Joe\u00a0Weixlmann\u00a0Award for Best Essay in Twentieth- and Twenty-first- Century African American or Pan-African Literature and Culture. She recently completed a scholarly monograph of literary and cultural criticism entitled \u201cTales from Du Bois:\u00a0<\/span>The Queer Intimacy of Cross-Caste Romance<\/span><\/i>,\u201d slated to be released\u00a0in\u00a02022.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Jiyoun
Jiyoun Suk, assistant professor of communication and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jiyoun\u00a0Suk<\/span><\/b>\u00a0joins the College as\u00a0assistant professor in communication\u00a0jointly appointed in Women\u2019s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, specializing in big data and diversity. With a Ph.D. in\u00a0journalism and\u00a0mass\u00a0communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Suk uses computational approaches such as natural language processing, social network analysis and machine learning\u00a0to examine how communication processes in the hybrid media environment influence civic trust and activism.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Recently, Suk led a team of researchers examining how the narratives of sharing trauma and showing solidarity supported and sustained nascent #MeToo activism on Twitter. Through her research, Suk seeks to enhance people\u2019s understanding of diverse populations and attitudes toward them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In the classroom, Suk developed four core values she emphasizes when teaching: learning within and outside the classroom, learning through interactions, building a vibrant intellectual community and building empathy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Martine Granby, assistant professor of journalism with a joint appointment in Africana Studies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Martine Granby<\/span><\/b>\u00a0will be\u00a0assistant professor of journalism\u00a0jointly appointed with Africana Studies, with a focus on\u00a0antiracism\u00a0documentary journalism. She holds a master\u2019s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Granby most recently served as\u00a0assistant\u00a0professor<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0at\u00a0The New School in New York City, where she taught ethics and the history of journalism. She also worked as\u00a0producer\u00a0of\u00a0workshops and\u00a0labs at\u00a0<\/span>UnionDocs<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0where she developed non-fiction media programming and centered underrepresented voices within the filmmaking community. As a fellow with\u00a0Kartemquin\u00a0Films’ Diverse Voices in Docs program, she started production on her current film THE MASK THAT GRINS AND LIES, a documentary feature unveiling a triptych portrait of intergenerational silence and the stigma shrouding Black women’s mental health.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the classroom, Granby creates a space in which students shape, share,\u00a0and strengthen their journalistic voices by providing technical training, challenging critiques, and a broad sampling of media to learn from.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hana
Hana Maruyama, assistant professor of history and Asian and Asian American Studies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hana Maruyama<\/span><\/b>\u00a0is an incoming assistant professor in history\u00a0and Asian and Asian American Studies, specializing in digital public history, with a Ph.D. in American\u00a0studies from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Her work challenges scholars to deepen engagements with American Indian and Indigenous\u00a0Studies\u00a0methodologies\u00a0beyond settler colonial studies by centering Indigenous people. In addition to her academic research, she co-produced the podcast\u00a0Campu\u00a0and worked as a research fellow for EO9066, a podcast on Japanese American Incarceration produced by American Public Media.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to her graduate studies, Maruyama led the social media strategy for Heart Mountain Interpretive Center and worked as a multimedia producer for the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a professor, Maruyama is committed to helping students who are underrepresented in higher education by honoring different experiences while acknowledging how oppressions build on one another.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New CLAS faculty will work across disciplines to advance Antiracism and Human Interactions with the Environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":176646,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2226,2430],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2214],"class_list":["post-176640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clas","category-philosophy"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-21 03:56:37","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/140"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176640"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178225,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176640\/revisions\/178225"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/176646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176640"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=176640"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=176640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}