CLAIRE HIPPS
COPY EDITOR
9/9/2022
You may have been asked to attend teaching demonstrations by faculty candidates last semester, or even asked to eat breakfast with a potential new professor. Given the large number of faculty vacancies, Alma is welcoming eleven new faculty members to campus this fall.
The psychology department is welcoming both Janelle Blazek and Jacob Sawyer as assistant professors of psychology.
Blazek’s work focuses on gender and race in developmental psychology. Sawyer specializes in clinical and counseling psychology and is excited to “work with students on group and independent research projects.”
Beth Spinner is joining the education department as an assistant professor. Spinner is passionate about making education applicable and meaningful to her students. She was drawn to Alma because “it was clear… that students are the center of the college.”
New to the sociology department are two new assistant professors: Emma Bosley-Smith and Dion Campbell.
Bosley-Smith is a sociologist “focusing on sexualities, gender, family and economic inequality.” Her research focuses on “LGBTQ adults [and their] relationships with their parents” as well as economic insecurity for young LGBTQ people.
Campbell researches “community, culture and identity”. Campbell earned his undergraduate degree at Central Michigan and is looking forward to “learning more about the gaming scene [at Alma].”
The Department of Business Administration has three new faculty members.
James Haupt was hired as an instructor. Andrew Sellers, an assistant professor, specializes in sports management and ethics. Since sports ethics is a new concentration at Alma, Sellers is excited to “bring the subject to any Alma student that is interested in the field.”
Sangchul Park has also been hired as an assistant professor of business administration. Having worked as an analyst, marketing assistant and advertisement operator on a global scale, he will specifically teach Business Analytics and Global Strategic Management courses at Alma College.
Mathew Smith is a new assistant professor of religious studies. Smith specializes in the study of “religion, race and colonialism/imperialism in the Americas” while also working on research related to gender, sexuality, and environmental humanities.
Additionally, new to Alma’s Dance department is Catherine MacMaster. Macmaster is an assistant professor of dance who uses choreography to study dance “in relation to space.” MacMaster hopes to “broaden the awareness and appreciation of dance as both an art form and a research methodology” at Alma.
Finally, Matthew Kinkel is joining the economics department as an assistant professor, specializing in labor economics and sports economics. He has researched labor market dynamics, “public policy in the construction industry,” and “labor union activism in sports.”
Candidates for Alma College faculty “are evaluated on three criteria – teaching, scholarship and service,” said Janie Diels, Interim Provost. Coming from diverse backgrounds to contribute to seven departments, all new faculty members cited the community feel and emphasis on the student body as reasons for coming to campus.
