End-of-the-Year Report from the Dean

by Staff | May 16, 2011

Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues in Arts & Sciences:

Dean Carl Strikwerda

Thank you once again for your hard work and dedication to helping our students over the past academic year. Despite continued fiscal pressures, you have done an excellent job.

As I leave the College to take up my next post in Pennsylvania, I am grateful for the many kindnesses and rewards that come with being a part of this wonderful community. This past semester provided a superb example of our community values. On Friday, March 11, Japan experienced one of the most devastating natural disasters of modern times. By the following Tuesday, a group of faculty, students, and staff convened the first meeting of what became the W&M Japan Recovery Initiative, which has since held various fundraisers, offered knowledgeable guidance through its website on how to help Japan, and attracted favorable and deserved publicity to the College. I congratulate Hiroshi Kitamura, Associate Professor of History and co-director of the East Asian Studies Program, and other campus leaders for stepping up in this way. It is gratifying to know that these values will continue to inspire the College.

New Appointments in the Dean's Office

I am pleased to announce the following new appointments in the Dean's Office:

Kelly Joyce, Associate Professor of Sociology, will serve as the next Dean of Undergraduate Studies, replacing Sue Peterson, Reves Professor of Government and International Relations, who is returning to the teaching faculty after six years as Dean of Undergraduate Studies. Prof. Joyce brings significant strengths as a scholar, teacher, and administrator to the position of Dean. She received a B.A. in anthropology from Brown University and a Ph.D. in sociology from Boston College. She was a lecturer for the Committee on Degrees in Social Studies at Harvard University from 1999 to 2002, after which she joined the Department of Sociology at William and Mary as an assistant professor. In 2008, she was promoted to associate professor. Among her teaching awards are a Bok Award for Teaching Excellence from Harvard, a Favorite Professor Award from Kappa Alpha Theta at the College of William and Mary, and an Alumni Fellowship Award from the William and Mary Alumni Association. Her book, Magnetic Appeal: MRI and the Myth of Transparency (2008), won the Eliot Freidson Outstanding Publication Award in 2010 from the Medical Sociology section of the American Sociological Association. An article of hers was awarded an Honorable Mention for the IEEE Life Members’ Prize in Electrical History. With Meika Loe, she published Technogenarians: Studying Health and Illness Through an Ageing, Technology, and Science Lens (2010). Since 2009 Prof. Joyce has served as a Program Director at the National Science Foundation, where she directs the Science, Technology, and Society Program and the Ethics Education in Science and Engineering Program. At William and Mary, she helped organize the Mercury sGIG. She has also served as secretary-treasurer of the Science, Knowledge, and Technology Section of the American Sociological Association. As Dean, she will have primary oversight of the adjunct and NTE budget, deal with student concerns, work closely with the Registrar and the Dean of Students’ office, oversee Academic Advising, serve as the College’s Chief Transfer Officer, and be the contact dean for seven departments and two interdisciplinary programs.

Guilia Pacini, Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, will serve as the new Coordinator of Summer School and Washington, D.C., Programs. Prof. Pacini received her B.A. from Princeton University, a Laurea degree from the University of Florence, and her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. She has served as assistant professor and currently associate professor of French in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at William and Mary, while also teaching a number of courses cross-listed in Women’s Studies. Prof. Pacini’s research is on environmentalism, sociability, and women’s roles in eighteenth-century France and the French Revolution. Besides serving as the coordinator of French and Francophone Studies and as a member of many committees in her department, Prof. Pacini has been active in the University Teaching Project, European Studies, and Literary and Cultural Studies. As coordinator, Prof. Pacini will report to Dean for Educational Policy Teresa Longo.

Please join me in welcoming Kelly and Guilia to the Dean’s Office.

I also want to add a special thanks to Sue Peterson for her dedicated service over the last six years. In dealing with myriad student concerns, transfer issues, Academic Advising, New Student Orientation, the adjunct/SSRL budget, and a host of faculty concerns, she has done a remarkable job. I am grateful for her leadership and wish her well.

We are currently searching to fill two positions, the Administrative Assistant to the Office of the Dean, a position previously held by Annette Arbogast, and the Administrative Assistant/Budget Manager for the Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Dean for Educational Policy, a position previously held by Debbie Eck, who has taken a position in the Department of Sociology. We wish Annette and Debbie well and thank them for their service to Arts & Sciences.

Faculty Recognition

A number of Arts & Sciences faculty members have won awards or professorships and deserve our hearty congratulations:

Margaret Hamilton Professorships:

Maryse Fauvel, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
Jennifer M. Mellor, Department of Economics

Wilson and Martha Claiborne Stephens Distinguished Associate Professorship:

Hainang Wang, Department of Computer Science

Robert and Sarah Boyd Distinguished Associate Professorship:

Vassiliki Panoussi, Department of Classical Studies

Class of 1964 Distinguished Associate Professorship:

Diane Shakes, Department of Biology

University Professorships for Teaching Excellence:

Elizabeth Harbron, Department of Chemistry
Robert T. Vinson, Department of History

Weingartner Professorship in International Studies:

Paula Pickering, Department of Government

Coco Faculty Fellows and Dean’s Distinguished Lecturers:

Robin Looft-Wilson, Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences
Simon Stow, Associate Professor, Department of Government

Arts & Sciences Awards for Faculty Governance:

Katherine Kulick, Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
Barbette Spaeth, Associate Professor, Department of Classical Studies

Arts & Sciences Faculty Awards for Teaching Excellence:

Liz Allison, Professor and Chair, Department of Biology
Dennis Smith, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Government
Jim Whittenburg, Pullen Professor, Department of History

Plumeri Fellowships:

Arnab K. Basu, Economics
Christopher D. Carone, Physics
Rachel DiNitto, Modern Languages and Literatures
John D. Griffin, Biology and Neuroscience
Christopher D. Howard, Government and Public Policy
Rex K. Kincaid, Mathematics
Lisa M. Landino, Chemistry
Christopher J. MacGowan, English
Scott R. Nelson, History
John H. Oakley, Classical Studies
Gul Ozyegin, Sociology and Women’s Studies
John C. Poutsma, Chemistry
Marc T. Sher, Physics
Sarah L. Stafford, Economics and Public Policy

Department Chairs and Program Directors

A very large number of faculty members have completed terms as department chairs or program directors or are taking on new responsibilities as chairs or directors. All of us owe a debt of thanks to those who serve in these administrative capacities.

Maureen Fitzgerald, Director of American Studies, replaced by Chandos Brown
Brian Kreydatus, Chair of Art and Art History, replaced by Catherine Levesque
Will Hausman, Chair of Economics, replaced by David Feldman
John Swaddle, Director of Environmental Science and Policy, replaced by Randy Chambers
Brent Owens, Chair of Geology, replaced by Chuck Bailey
Phil Daileader, Chair of History, replaced by Leisa Meyer
Ken Kambis, Chair of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, replaced by Michael Deschesnes
Colleen Kennedy, Director of Literary and Cultural Studies and Film Studies, replaced by Ann Marie Stock
Tom Payne, Chair of Music, replaced by Anne Rasmussen
John Griffin, Director of Neuroscience, replaced by Josh Burke
Keith Griffioen, Chair of Physics, replaced by David Armstrong
Connie Pilkington, Chair of Psychology, replaced by Janice Zeman
Tom Linneman, Chair of Sociology, replaced by Kay Jenkins
Christy Burns, Director of Women’s Studies, replaced by Gul Ozyegin

Faculty Governance

Several faculty members have completed significant tasks in faculty governance:

Liz Allison, Chair of Biology, and Phil Daileader, Chair of History, served as Co-Chairs of the Dean’s Advisory Council, and have been succeeded by Chris Abelt, Chair of Chemistry, and Joan Gavaler, Chair of Theatre, Speech, and Dance.
Maryse Fauvel, Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures, completed two years as Chair of the Retention, Promotion, and Tenure Committee. RPT will select a new chair next year.
Sophia Serghi, Associate Professor of Music, served as Chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee, and has been succeeded by J.C. Poutsma, Professor of Chemistry.

Last Words and a Welcome to Dean Tracy

Once again, I want to thank all of you for your hard work and dedication to Arts & Sciences. It has been an honor to work with you. As I pass on my responsibilities to Gene Tracy, I am confident that you will welcome him and support him as you have me over the past seven years. Gene and I have been meeting regularly over the past several months, and he has been increasingly involved in our decision-making. I know you will help him make a smooth transition into the position of Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences.

Best wishes for a restful and productive summer,

Carl J. Strikwerda
Dean of Arts & Sciences