17 new faculty members hired for fall
New additions to the CSB+SJU faculty range over 12 different academic departments, including those cut by last year's Academic Program Prioritization.
This year, 17 faculty members join the hundreds of first-year students finding a new home at St. Ben’s and St. John’s.
The professors were hired this year across a variety of departments, replacing other faculty who have moved on, retired and been awarded tenure, as well as serving to bolster academic programs and ensure student success and flourishing.
The faculty members Arein Duaibes (mathematics), Hansol Goo (theology), Samantha Grayck (language and culture), Jason Harris (theater), Shuoshuo Hou (economics), Adam Kluck (music), Jinwoong Lee (accounting and finance), Wendy Nevarez (nutrition), Claire Otteson (chemistry), Ryan Picone (music), Alexa Roemmich (biology), Christine Shikutwa (global business leadership), Vijay Tida (computer science), Andrew Towsey-Grishaw (music), Srikanth Vemula (computer science), Clinton Warren (global business leadership) and Daniella Zsupan-Jerome (School of Theology) join a community that has undergone some major recent changes, both academically and administratively.
The large number reflects rates of turnover that have been seen in the past. Different this year, however, is the securing of longer-term contracts with several new faculty members, something made possible by the recent Academic Program Prioritization (APP). This will allow programs to grow and gain stability, as professors and students get the opportunity to become rooted in the program and in the institution, as well as building connections with one another.
Finding new faculty begins with the formation of a search committee who writes a job description and puts out a job posting. A hiring matrix is used to discover applicants without bias, taking into account their skills and qualifications. Applicants go through several interviews as well as a campus visit before they are recommended and finally selected.
Pam Bacon, associate provost and dean of the faculty, is responsible for interviewing and making the final offer to candidates. Bacon ensures that DIEJ (Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Justice), sophisticated pedagogy and the mission and values of CSB+SJU are at the forefront for prospective faculty.
Bacon also made sure that positions across the academic board were being filled. There are hires in music, theater, business, computer science and more.
Bacon especially advocated hiring in some of the departments that faced scrutiny under the APP, like music and theater, and to hire these positions for longer contracts.
“What does a program need in order to flourish?” Bacon said. “Having it all be adjuncts would not be the way to go. Even in programs that were targeted by APP, we still have to make sure that we nurture and allow those programs to thrive.”
Harris is teaching a stagecraft course for the theater department this semester. He is passionate about the value of arts for a well-rounded education and the versatility of art in its benefits to majors of all kinds.
“Everything we do here is a life skill,” Harris said. “You can take the value in aesthetic and design and apply it to whatever you do.”
Harris also praised the small liberal arts college experience as a whole. His position at St. Ben’s brings him back to his roots, as Harris earned his undergraduate degree at a similar small university before continuing to work for larger institutions. The level of student involvement and interpersonal contact at CSB+SJU is something that is important to him, and he is excited to experience this level of engagement once again.
Warren joins the global business leadership program after teaching most recently for the University of Minnesota. While the class content is the same, the environment is completely different, with classes of 25 students compared to 80, and the chance of seeing several familiar faces on the walk across campus.
Warren feels like he is coming back to his roots from his undergraduate days at Illinois Wesleyan University and is looking forward to this change and the opportunity to get to know students.
“I’m excited to figure out how I can be a pathway [for students] to help them figure out what’s next,” Warren said.
