Several new faces will be among the Austin College faculty when students begin classes this week. Tenure-track faculty join several departments, and visiting and adjunct faculty fill several vacancies across campus.
Saritha Bangara joins the faculty as assistant professor of public health after serving the College in a visiting role in public health during the 2015-2016 year. She began her academic career in public health at the University of Minnesota, then earned her master’s and Ph.D. in public health, focusing on epidemiology, at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. She has done various research in cancer epidemiology.
New to the Political Science Department is Audrey Flemming, assistant professor. She served in a visiting faculty role at Austin College for the past two academic years. She earned her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude at Coe College and her master’s and doctoral degrees at University of Florida, Gainesville. A Phi Beta Kappa inductee, she has done research in Cuba, Mexico, and Spain, particularly in connection with film and politics.
Loriann Garcia joins the Biology Department as assistant professor after serving in a visiting faculty role in the 2015-2016 academic year. She earned a bachelor’s degree with high honors in biology at Lynchburg College and a Ph.D. in entomology at Texas A&M University. Before joining Austin College’s faculty, she taught at Texas A&M University and at Bard College in New York.
The Department of Classical and Modern Languages has two new faculty members. Colin Foss joins the French faculty, and Melinda “Mindy” Landeck, joins the East Asian Studies faculty. Foss earned a bachelor’s degree at Middlebury College and master’s and doctoral degrees at Yale University, where he taught various courses in French. He also was a visiting researcher at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. Landeck earned a bachelor’s degree at Colorado State University in English, history, and Asian Studies. She earned a master’s degree in East Asian studies at Yale University, and a Ph.D., with honors, in East Asian history at the University of Kansas. She has served as a visiting instructor at University of Wyoming-Laramie and held teaching positions at University of Kansas and Colorado State.
Sayed Kamal joins the Business Administration Department as assistant professor. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in finance and banking at University of Dhaka in Bangladesh, as well as a master’s degree in economics at State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo, and a Ph.D. in finance and economics at University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is a veteran of the United States Army.
Catherine Patterson joins the Mathematics Department as assistant professor. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, Spanish, and political science at Furman University in South Carolina, a master’s degree at the Universitat de Valencia in Spain, and a master’s degree in mathematics and a Ph.D. in applied mathematical and computational sciences at the University of Iowa. She has served as a teaching assistant and instructor at Furman University and the University of Iowa.
Lindsay Zack joins the Department of Chemistry. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Northern Arizona University and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry at University of Arizona. She spent the 2014-2015 academic year as a visiting assistant professor at Manhattan College and had previously been a substitute lecturer at Wayne State University. She was a postdoctoral researcher at Universität Basel in Switzerland.
New visiting faculty for the 2016-2017 academic year include Mathias Akuoko, visiting assistant professor of public health; James Blackshear, visiting assistant professor of history; Stacey Battis, visiting assistant professor of French; and Ernesto Perez, visiting assistant professor of biology.
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New adjunct faculty include Brianna Burnett, adjunct assistant professor of art; Stephen Clayton, adjunct instructor in economics; Daniel Nix, adjunct instructor in music; and Maria Cecilia Salisbury, adjunct instructor in Spanish. Barbara Sylvester and Jane White, both associate professor emerita of education, will serve as adjuncts for 2015-2016.
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Stephanie Motz serves as executive in residence in the Department of Business Administration and Economics. Andrew Smith, coordinator of instructional and public services librarian in Abell Library, holds the rank of assistant professor.
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Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 40 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of approximately 1,275 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.