Fall 2012

New Tenure-Track Faculty Member in Art.  After a successful search last spring, the department is pleased to welcome Ken Fandell, who joins us this year as Associate Professor of Art.  Professor Fandell comes to Harvey Mudd from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he taught for eleven years and chaired the Department of Photography.  This fall he is teaching courses in photography and the history of photography.  For further information on Professor Fandell's background and interests, see our current profile on him in the Faculty Spotlight section.

Visiting Faculty Member in Literature. The department welcomes Ambereen Dadabhoy back for a two-year term as Visiting Assistant Professor of Literature.  She re-joins the department after many years as a Humanities 1 instructor.  This year and next, Professor Dadabhoy will teach a variety of courses, including Literature 110 (Shakespeare), Literature 179 (Special Topics: Medieval /Renaissance Romance), HSA 10 (Critical Inquiry), and others.

Groves and Mashek Appointed to Deanships. Professor of Literature Jeffrey D. Groves has been appointed Dean of Faculty for a five year term, succeeding Robert J. Cave, who now returns to his department as Professor of Chemistry.  Professor Groves will continue to teach Literature 117 (Dickens, Hardy, and the Victorian Age) and Art 60 (Workshop in Hand Press Printing).  His other teaching responsibilities will be assumed by Professor Dadabhoy.  The department wishes Professor Groves well in his new position.

Fresh off a productive sabbatical, Associate Professor of Psychology Debra Mashek has been appointed Associate Dean for Faculty Development.  This position carries a broad range of responsibilities for helping to foster the development of HMC faculty members as scholars and teachers.  The department welcomes Professor Mashek back from sabbatical and congratulates her on her selection as associate dean.

Sullivan and Dyson Appointed to Endowed Chairs. This summer, the college appointed two members of the HSA Department to endowed chairs. Lisa M. Sullivan has been named Willard Keith Fellow in the Humanities.  Sullivan, an economic historian, succeeds Emeritus Professor of History Richard Olson, the previous holder of the Keith Fellowship.  Erika Dyson has been appointed Howard and Iris Critchell Assistant Professor.  The Critical Assistant Professorship is awarded for a one-year term to a junior faculty member who excels both in teaching and in student mentoring.

Dyson was chosen as the Critchell Assistant Professor by a small committee consisting of the Dean of the Faculty and two previous holders of the professorship.  "Erika was a strong candidate and is a clear fit for this honor," said Dean of Faculty Jeff Groves.  "The ways in which she mentors students, both in the classroom and outside it, represent a continuation of the efforts of Iris and Howard Critchell to bring out the best in the students they worked with in the Bates Aeronautics Program."

"The Keith Fellowship was established to support the work of faculty members in the humanities and social sciences," continued Groves, "and it was held for many years by Dick Olson, who brought leadership, vision, and a strong sense of service to his tenure in the department.  Lisa brings all of those characteristics to the position as well, she has exercised them in the department to its benefit for many years, and President Klawe and I felt that she was an excellent choice for this honor."