9 new faculty to teach at Cornell College
A new academic year begins today at Cornell College, and in addition to its new students, the college welcomes nine new faculty members. Their expertise extends to a wide range of fields in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences.
Jill Holaday, visiting fellow in art history, teaches Latin American Art, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in Context, Contemporary Art and Controversy, Modern Art, and a course in art history methodologies. Her focuses are modern and contemporary art and her minor specialties are East Asian and 19th century French art. She earned a B.A. in mass communication with a minor in art history at the University of Evansville, an M.A. in art history at the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. in art history at the University of Iowa.
Sikder Huq, visiting assistant professor of computer science, teaches Foundations of Computer Science, Software Architecture, Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science, Computer Organization, Algorithms and Data Structures, and Computer Networks. He has focused his research on studies of distributed algorithms, distributed systems, large-scale networks, and cloud computing. Huq earned a bachelor of science in computer science and information technology at Islamic University of Technology in Gazipur, Bangladesh, and is completing his Ph.D. in computer science at the University of Iowa.
Scott Jordan, visiting assistant professor of mathematics and statistics, teaches courses including Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Calculus, and the Applied Mathematics sequence. His research interests are in mathematical biology, specifically in modeling host-parasite systems in alfalfa crops. Other topics of interest are disease modeling, predator-prey systems, differential equations, partial differential equations, linear algebra, and numerical analysis. Jordan earned a B.S. in applied mathematics at Brigham Young University-Idaho. He received an M.S. in mathematics and a Ph.D. in mathematical sciences at Utah State University.
Nathan Kish, visiting fellow in classics, teaches courses in Latin, Greek, classical mythology, and Roman history. His research interests include ancient Latin and Greek rhetoric and invective, the ethical and political dimensions of writing and speaking style, and the reception of classics and the use of Latin in the Renaissance, especially in the work of the Italian Humanist Poggio Bracciolini (1380-1459). Kish earned a B.A. in English literature at Lawrence University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in classics at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Becca Klaver, Robert P. Dana Emerging Writer Fellow for 2018-20, specializes in creative writing, contemporary American poetry, and feminist and experimental literature. Author of the poetry collections “LA Liminal” and “Empire Wasted,” she has previously taught at Tennessee Tech and as the Distinguished Visiting Writer at Bowling Green State University. She co-founded the small press Switchback Books, and is currently co-editing the multimedia anthology “Electric Gurlesque.” Klaver earned a B.A. in English-creative writing at the University of Southern California, an M.F.A. in creative writing-poetry from Columbia College Chicago, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in English at Rutgers University.
Chris Kromphardt, visiting assistant professor of politics, teaches courses in American politics, campaigns and elections, politics and media, and constitutional law. His recent research work focuses on how the demographics and ideological commitments of Supreme Court law clerks affect their justices’ votes on cases before the court. Kromphardt earned a B.A. in political science at Eastern Illinois University and a Ph.D. in political science at the University of Alabama. He was most recently an instructor at Washington State University.
Madeline Marshall, Anderson Natural Science Lecturer of Geology and Visiting Assistant Professor, teaches courses that include Paleontology, Historical Geology, and Sedimentology. She is a stratigrapher and paleoecologist whose research interests focus on the intersection of life and sedimentary rocks to understand how ancient environments evolved and were preserved. She studies the sedimentary records of nutrient-rich paleoenvironments to assess paleoecology, paleo-oxygenation, and the formation of phosphatic and biogenic sediments, using rocks from the northern Rocky Mountains. Marshall earned a B.A. at Macalester College and a Ph.D. in stratigraphy, sedimentology, and paleobiology at the University of Chicago.
Colin Pennington, visiting assistant professor of kinesiology, teaches courses including Lifetime Physical Fitness and Activities, Methods for Team and Dual Sports, Elementary Physical Education Methods, Adaptive Physical Education, and Physical Education Methods for Secondary School. His interests and research focus on teacher socialization, physical education teacher training, character development programs within physical education and sport, and physical education’s impact on health and wellness. Pennington earned a B.A. in pedagogical kinesiology, an M.S. in exercise physiology from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a Ph.D. in sport pedagogy from the University of Alabama.
Katie Sagal, visiting fellow in English, teaches courses in 18th-century British literature and academic writing. She was recently the Monticello College Foundation & Audrey Lumsden-Kouvel Fellow at the Newberry Library, completing a book manuscript, “Resisting Gardens: Pedagogy & Natural Philosophy in Eighteenth-Century Women’s Work.” Sagal earned a B.A. in English and history from George Washington University, an M.A. in English and American literature from Georgetown University, and a Ph.D. in English from Tufts University.
