September 6, 2012
Hamilton College began its 2012-2013 academic year with exciting new faculty appointments and an expansion in the curriculum, two initiatives that highlight the College’s commitment to excellence in the liberal arts.
On Aug. 28, Patrick Reynolds, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, announced the new appointments, including two tenure-track positions, 25 visiting professors and instructors and four teaching fellows. These faculty members will fill teaching positions across academic disciplines, from dance and movement studies to mathematics.
The new tenure-track appointments are Daniel Barth, Professor of Economics, and Gbemende Johnson, Professor of Government. Barth completed his undergraduate studies at Lewis and Clark College and earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. He will teach a course on financial economics this fall and microeconomics in the spring. Gbemende Johnson comes to Hamilton after completing her Ph.D. in political science at Vanderbilt University. Her dissertation addressed decision-making on state supreme courts, but she has also completed extensive research in executive branch politics. She will teach American Political Process this fall.
Curricular changes include the integration of a new minor into Hamilton’s program of study. In response to the student body’s increased demand for a more defined course of study centered on the Middle East and Islam, the faculty voted to create a minor in Middle East and Islamic World Studies last spring. The interdisciplinary minor requires students to complete courses in three divisions: language and literature, social sciences and religious studies. Meeting the high expectations for the program, two members of the class of 2013 have already declared the minor.
The growth of Hamilton’s curriculum, coupled with the influx of new, accomplished professors, is sure to sustain the vibrancy of academic life on the Hill this academic year.