Meet the new faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences

The College of Arts & Sciences welcomes new faculty members for the 2026-2027 academic year, bringing fresh expertise, innovative research and a commitment to student success. In addition to 16 full-time faculty, 24 visiting or adjunct professors representing disciplines across the arts, humanities, social sciences and sciences join Arts & Sciences. We look forward to the impact these exceptional scholars and educators will have on the W&M community through their outstanding teaching, research and mentorship. 

Hannah Alarian

Hannah Alarian, assistant professor of government, earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine in political science. Alarian’s research focuses on the comparative politics of belonging in Europe, with a focus on citizenship, migration and far-right politics. Her primary research explores the relationship between immigrant rights and belonging in Europe and the United States. Currently, Alarian is working on a book project, "Voters without Citizenship: Immigrant Voting Rights and Citizenship in Europe," which examines immigrant suffrage’s impact on citizenship in relation to democratic erosion.  Alarian’s teaching assignments will include courses in European Politics and Comparative Politics.  

Srijani Basu

Srijani Basu, assistant professor of biology, received her Ph.D. from the National Institute of Immunology in New Delhi in 2018. After completing her postdoctoral training at Weill Cornell Medicine in 2023, she joined Columbia University as an associate research scientist. Her research focuses on how nutrient-derived metabolic signals regulate immune-cell function in health and disease. She has authored 14 peer-reviewed articles and four book chapters. Her honors include the Berrie Fellowship, a Naomi Berrie collaborative grant, and travel awards from Disease Models & Mechanisms and Frontiers in Metabolism. She has presented her work internationally and, in the U.S., and holds editorial roles with Immunology, Vaccines, and Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. 

Christian Brahe

Christian Brahe, assistant teaching professor of art, earned his MFA in studio art from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His expertise is in drawing and painting. Brahe will be teaching foundational Drawing and Color.

 

 

 

Rocío del Águila Gracey

Rocío del Águila Gracey, assistant teaching professor of modern languages and literatures (Hispanic Studies), earned her Ph.D. in Latin American, Iberian and Latino Cultures from the Graduate Center, City University of New York. She specializes in contemporary Latin American literature and culture, women’s writing, gender and LGTBIQ+ studies, and the interconnections between Central America and Peru. Her teaching assignments will include Beginning and Intermediate Spanish, Culturas de in(ex)inclusión en el mundo hispánico, and Gender, Race & Sex in Latin American Literature.     

 

Paul Eberwine

Paul Eberwine, assistant teaching professor of classical studies, earned his Ph.D. in classics and interdisciplinary humanities from Princeton University. Eberwine's research explores Athenian drama and its reception. His teaching assignments include Greek, Latin, and topics courses on literature in translation. 

 

 

Jane Fruehwirth

Jane Fruehwirth, professor of economics and public policy and director of public policy, earned her Ph.D. in economics from Duke University.  Prior to coming to William & Mary, Fruehwirth served as professor of economics at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill where she was also a fellow in UNC’s Carolina Population Center and adjunct professor in public policy.  Fruehwirth’s research focuses on the economics of education and social education and mental health in adolescence. Her teaching assignments will include courses in education policy. 

 

Ian Greenlund

Ian Greenlund, assistant professor of health sciences, earned his Ph.D. in physiology with a concentration in physiological neuroscience from Montana State University and recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in sleep, cardiovascular and renal physiology at the Mayo Clinic. Greenlund’s research focuses on the intersection of sleep and cardiovascular risk, exploring how sleep loss, sleep disorders and autonomic dysregulation contribute to hypertension, vascular dysfunction and cardiometabolic disease. His teaching assignments will include anatomy, physiology, and sleep physiology. 

 

Andrew Hicks

Andrew Hicks, assistant teaching professor of mathematics, received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Louisiana State University in 2024. He specializes in numerical analysis of partial differential equations. His teaching will include classes ranging from calculus to applied and computational mathematics. 

 

 

Tory Jeffay

Tory Jeffay, assistant professor of English and film & media studies, earned her Ph.D. in film and media Studies, with an emphasis in new media, from UC Berkeley. Jeffay's research focuses on the construction of visual evidence, especially in relation to race. Her teaching assignments will include film and media studies core courses and special topics courses like "Race & Representation in Media," which she will teach this fall.  

 

 

Kelly McKowen

Kelly McKowen, assistant professor of anthropology, earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from Princeton University.  McKowen’s research focuses on rethinking comparative political economy through the ethnography of economic and moral life.  His teaching assignments will include History of Anthropological Theories and Cultural Aspects of Business. 

 

 

Hui Peng

Hui Peng, assistant teaching professor of theatre and & performance, earned her Ph.D. in theatre and performance from The Graduate Center, City University of New York. Her research spans global disability studies, performance studies, East Asian and Lusophone theatre, and performance and body art. At William & Mary, she will teach Introduction to Theatre and Direction while serving as the access coordinator for productions. 

 

 

C. Michael Porter

C. Michael Porter, assistant professor of music, earned his doctorate at the University of Iowa. Prior to this, Porter was professor of music and director of choral activities at Boise State University where he conducted the Boise State University Meistersingers and Vox Angelis. He will be directing the W&M Choir and teaching Survey of Film Music. 

 

 

Oishani Sengupta

Oishani Sengupta, assistant professor of English, earned her Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Rochester. Sengupta's research focuses on the relationship between race and affect in British colonial print culture, including examinations of the ways in which visual texts transmit and popularize stereotypes about race, primitivity and indigeneity through transcontinental print networks crafted by empire. Her teaching assignments will include English's gateway course, Interpreting Literature, and courses focused on 19th century Anglophone literature like "Fictions of the Raj," which she will teach this fall. 

 

Elizabeth Thomas

Elizabeth Thomas, assistant professor of health sciences, earned her Ph.D. in social and behavioral interventions from the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where she also recently completed a Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute Fellowship. Thomas’s research focuses on designing and evaluating community-level sanitation and hygiene interventions to reduce infection risks and improve child health in vulnerable populations. Her teaching assignments will include introduction to public health and environmental public health. 

 

Enrique Valdes

Enrique Valdes, assistant teaching professor of economics, earned his Ph.D. in economics from Florida International University. Prior to coming to William & Mary, Valdes started out as a teaching assistant and then excelled to instructor at Florida International University. Valdes’s research focuses on international trade and trade policy. His teaching assignments will include Principles of Macroeconomics and Econometrics.   

 

 

Yuting Yuan

Yuting Yuan, assistant professor of mathematics, received her Ph.D. in operations management from Simon Business School, University of Rochester in 2022. Yuan's research mainly focuses on understanding and improving service operations and enhancing interpretability in high-stakes decision-making. Her teaching assignment will include foundational math courses and specialty courses in operations research. 

 

 

 

The College of Arts & Sciences is also delighted to welcome the following visiting faculty members: Felicitas Antwi-Boateng, visiting assistant professor of economics; cfrancis blackchild, visiting assistant teaching professor of theatre & performance; Erin Giffin, visiting assistant teaching professor of early modern European art history; Ryan Taylor Goodman, visiting assistant teaching professor of modern languages and literatures (Hispanic Studies); Harri Horsley, visiting assistant teaching professor of theatre & performance; Maria Kovalchuk, visiting assistant teaching professor of classical studies; Carrie Leonard, visiting teaching professor of neuroscience; Kexin Ma, visiting assistant teaching professor art & art history; Chuangui Meng, visiting assistant teaching professor of modern languages and literatures (Chinese Studies); Alessio Piras, visiting assistant teaching professor of modern languages and literatures (Hispanic Studies); Jimin Seo, visiting assistant professor of English and creative writing; and Derek Vouri-Richard, visiting assistant professor of film & media studies. 

Additionally, we are pleased to welcome the following adjunct faculty: Ronald Fields, adjunct professor of music; T. Jonathan Hargis, adjunct professor of music; Janelle Ings, adjunct professor of theatre & performance; Jessica Joyce, adjunct professor of interdisciplinary studies; Gary Litt, adjunct professor of religious studies; David Luedeka, adjunct professor of health sciences; Kristen Peyton, adjunct professor of art & art history; Blake Puckett, adjunct professor of history; Nickolas Roche, adjunct professor of health sciences; Morgan Sehdev, adjunct professor of interdisciplinary studies; Olga Sokolova, adjunct professor of modern languages & literatures; and Jonathon Turner, adjunct professor of music.