Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues:
Thank you for joining us yesterday evening as we came together as a community to celebrate the start of the academic year with our virtual convocation program! We have worked tirelessly over the past several months to prepare our courses and the campus for the fall semester. The time is now to put our plans into action. Thanks to all of you who volunteered this weekend to help welcome our nearly 400 students who will be in residence this fall.
In order to have a safe and successful semester, we ask you to help in every way you can with our 3 W's--wearing a mask, even outside; watching your distance from others, at least six feet away even with a mask; and washing your hands frequently. These may seem simple--and at times a hassle--and we know that they are keys to helping us stay healthy and stop the spread. We ask you politely to hold each other, and the students, accountable as well.
I am enthusiastic about seeing students, faculty, and staff, albeit in limited numbers, on campus. Together, we are persevering and showing our resolve to pursue our educational mission.
Together, we can keep our community safe and take care of each other.
Best,
Doug Hicks
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I’m grateful for the invitation to bring back these notes to the Campus Update. I’ll share them with you every two weeks this semester as one way to live out my calling as your chaplain. We always live in interesting times; now even more so, I think. A chaplain’s role, as I see it, is to offer care and counsel; to bring to light both reality and hope to the everyday; to diminish obliviousness; to stir up “good trouble” — thank you John Lewis; and, perhaps, most importantly, to assist in the ways in which we make meaning. I could go on, but I won’t. These notes will hopefully live into some aspect of this role each time I offer them. Take them or leave them, and don’t hesitate to let me know what you think. For this week, I hope you’ll take a moment to view this infographic in the Religious and Spiritual Life fall info section below about how religious and spiritual life is here for you, faculty and staff. More later …
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Alejandro Abarca, lecturer in dance and movement studies. Alejandro Abarca begins the academic year as lecturer at Oxford, where he has served as instructor in dance since 2016. Abarca earned a BA from the University of Houston and an MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
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Jill Petersen Adams, senior lecturer in interdisciplinary studies. Jill Adams joined Oxford in 2012 as an adjunct faculty member in religion. She served as the assistant director of Oxford's Center for Academic Excellence and subsequently was named Oxford’s director of experiential learning. She is a graduate of Oxford College and Emory College, where she received a BA summa cum laude in philosophy and religion. She earned an MA and PhD with distinction in religion from Syracuse University. Her work focuses on postwar memorial and visual culture theory in Japan and Germany.
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Zachary Binney, assistant professor of quantitative theory and methods. Zach Binney joins Oxford from Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, where he served as instructor in longitudinal data analysis and epidemiological methods. He also taught at Georgia State University, and his prior experience includes work as a health and science editor for CNN Radio and injury analyst for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Georgia Tech Athletics, and other entities. He received an AB degree in history, philosophy and social studies of science and medicine from the University of Chicago and an MPH and PhD in epidemiology from Emory's Rollins School of Public Health.
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Christopher Blake, assistant professor of economics. Chris Blake joined Oxford as visiting assistant professor in economics in 2017. His teaching experience also includes positions at Front Range Community College and Colorado State University. He earned a BS degree in economics from Gonzaga University and an MA and PhD in economics from Colorado State University.
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Andrew Boatright, lecturer in visual arts. Andrew Boatright joined Oxford as an adjunct lecturer in art in 2013, later becoming visiting lecturer. His art has been exhibited frequently, including at Aqua Miami, MOCA GA, and the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center. He received a BFA from the University of Central Arkansas and an MFA in drawing and painting from Georgia State University.
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Tameka Cage Conley, assistant professor of English and creative writing. Tameka Cage Conley joins Oxford from the University of Iowa, where she was adjunct assistant professor of English and creative writing. Her teaching experience also includes roles at Chatham University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Bucknell University, among others. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in such publications as Ploughshares, Callaloo, and the Virginia Quarterly Review. She earned a BA in English from Dillard University, a PhD in English from Louisiana State University, and an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
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Alfred Farris, assistant professor of physics. Alfred Farris previously served as visiting assistant professor of physics at Oxford and was a research assistant at the University of Georgia. He is a graduate of Oxford College and Emory College, where he received a BS in applied physics. He earned a PhD in physics from the University of Georgia’s Center for Simulational Physics.
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Daniel Ludwinski, assistant professor of economics. Daniel Ludwinski joins Oxford from Colgate University, where he served as visiting assistant professor of economics. He received a BA in economics and mathematics from Colgate University and an MA and PhD in economics from Cornell University.
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Other new faculty include these visiting assistant professors: Natalia Bayona-Vásquez, biology; Saikat Chakraborty, chemistry; Jenny Mischel, psychology; Andrew Neff, psychology; and Callie Wigington, biology.
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New adjunct faculty include: Corian Ellisor, Center for Healthful Living; Louis Fagnan, history; Luke Hageman, Latin and classics; Kristin Helfen, music; Ana Kucelin, nursing; Caitlin LeClair, French; Annie McEwen, art history; Kelin Michael, art history; Matthew Sherman, German; and Donny Zhao, business.
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Faculty members who begin the 2020-21 academic year with promotions are Brad Hawley, senior lecturer in English; and Sean Mo, senior lecturer in chemistry.
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On sabbatical during fall semester are Susan Ashmore, professor of history; Henry Bayerle, associate professor of classics; Fang Chen, associate professor of mathematics; Sharon Lewis, professor of psychology; Florian Pohl, associate professor of religion; and Reza Saadein, associate professor of chemistry.
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Chris Blake, assistant professor of economics, was invited to participate in the series "Discovery Live: Ask an Expert" hosted by the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery. He fielded questions about the state of the economy, his research interests, and what metrics can be most important when looking at the present recession. View the recorded event view here. (Blake appears around the 30-minute mark).
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Ken Carter, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Psychology, appeared on the podcast Everything Happens with Kate Bowler. Listen to the episode "Living Alongside Fear" here.
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Faculty member publications and recognition |
Alix Olson, assistant professor of women's, gender, and sexuality studies, was accepted to participate in the inaugural cohort of the Emory Arts & Social Justice Fellows Program. This program partners six Emory faculty across the colleges with six Atlanta artists to explore racial injustice and other inequities, leading to creative final projects intended to spark conversations on campus and in the wider Atlanta community. Olson and her "Feminist Art-Activism" students will collaborate with the artist Shanequa Gay in fall semester.
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Emory Votes Initiatives updates |
The Emory Votes Initiative (EVI) is a university-wide coalition of faculty, staff, and students across both campuses focused on increasing voter turnout at Emory. The main objective of the group is to serve as a non-partisan resource for eligible voters. EVI is committed to sharing resources on voter registration, important deadlines, and how to vote by mail. All members of the Emory community can access these resources at campuslife.emory.edu/vote.
At Oxford, our component of EVI is coordinated by the Civic Engagement & Democratic Participation program (CEDP) headed by Katie Vigilante, senior lecturer in political science. In collaboration with the college's Office of Student Involvement and Leadership, CEDP has launched #OxfordVotes — a vote-by-mail campaign. This campaign is championed by students serving as Oxford Votes ambassadors. Like the EVI, they'll share resources on voter registration and deadlines. They plan to host couch parties to assist students with registration and requesting absentee ballots. Assistant Director of Student Involvement and Leadership Ricardo Horne is working together with Vigilante to recruit and train the students. More information on #OxfordVotes can be found here.
Those interested from Oxford and Atlanta campus are encouraged to register (or re-register) using emory.turbovote.org in order to make sure you always know when elections are happening and have the information you need to vote with confidence. Sign up to receive election reminders, get registered to vote, and apply for your absentee ballot!
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Office of Religious and Spiritual Life fall resources |
Center for Healthful Living fall facilities and hours |
A message from Director of the Center for Healthful Living, Amanda Yu-Nguyen:
We know you have been excited to see what offerings are available this year from the Center for Healthful Living (CHL). The wait is over! As a reminder, all gyms at Emory are currently closed for all indoor use. However, if our region's COVID-positive numbers decline and our Compact with students/faculty/staff is going well, I am hopeful that the gym will reopen at some point in the semester. Please see the flyer below to find information about outdoor spaces you can reserve, in-person equipment available for check-out, and virtual offerings (group fitness and eSports) this fall.
Book an appointment online here.We know this year is different, but we are doing our best to give you options that are safe and follow the Compact guidelines. Questions? Please feel free to reach out to Amanda or our rec services team at [email protected].
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To submit a news item for the next Campus Update, please email Ansley Holder.
The newsletter is distributed weekly on Wednesday.
Please send any submissions by Monday afternoon. Thanks for reading!
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