Arts and Sciences News 2020-21 New Western Michigan University College of Arts and Sciences leadership
Arts and Sciences dean named a distinguished woman in higher education The Michigan American Council on Education Network has recognized Dr. Carla Koretsky, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, as a distinguished woman in higher education leadership. The award recognizes groundbreaking work on behalf of women that is outside the scope of the nominee’s formal workplace responsibilities.
Dr. Stephanie Peterson
Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. Nicolas Witschi
Interim Associate Dean,College of Arts and Sciences
New Chairs and Directors Dr. Jonathan Baker
Dr. Pablo Pastrana-Pérez
Dr. Kathleen Baker
Dr. Staci Perryman-Clark
Dr. Linda Borish
Dr. Heather Petcovic
Chair, Department of Psychology Acting Chair, Department of Geography, Environment and Tourism Chair, Department of History
Chair, Department of Spanish
Director, Institute of Intercultural and Anthropological Studies Chair, Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences
Dr. Michael Famiano
Dr. John Saillant
Chair, Department of Physics
Dr. Megan Grunert-Kowalske Chair, Department of Chemistry
Chair, Department of English
Dr. Jeffrey Terpstra
Chair, Department of Statistics
Dr. Ilana Nash
Chair, Department of Gender and Women's Studies
As dean of the college, Koretsky has actively promoted diversity and inclusion initiatives, especially related to the advancement of women and people of color in STEM. Previously she has served as a faculty member in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences since arriving at WMU in 2000, and subsequently also the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. A problem solver by nature, Koretsky has worked tirelessly to advance access, equity and inclusion, especially in STEM. Koretsky currently serves as the WMU lead investigator on a three-year, $996,000 ADVANCE grant from the National Science Foundation awarded to support a collaborative partnership with Iowa State University, Michigan Technological University and North Dakota State University. The partners seek to develop and implement institutional strategies to support diverse STEM faculty, especially women who are caregivers or members of underrepresented minority groups. "As a geochemist, Dr. Koretsky is intimately familiar with the obstacles women face both within the scientific disciplines as well as higher education as a whole," says WMU provost, Jennifer Bott. Koretsky is also the co-lead of the ASPIRE Institutional Change team at WMU. In 2019, WMU was selected to participate in ASPIRE, together with 19 other higher education institutions from across the country, to develop and implement outreach, hiring and retention practices to support a more diverse and inclusive faculty. ◆
Teaching Law and Culture of Medieval England This summer 25 faculty and graduate students from institutions across the country had a unique opportunity to learn about the law and culture of Medieval England thanks to a prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities grant garnered by the director and deputy director of the internationally-recognized WMU Medieval Institute. Dr. Jana Schulman, director of the Medieval Institute and professor of English, and Dr. Robert Berkhofer III, deputy director and associate professor of history, were awarded a $169,000 grant – one of just 11 projects nationwide selected for funding. The grants are intended to support professional development opportunities for faculty and graduate students engaged in undergraduate teaching. Together, Schulman and Berkhofer developed and co-directed a virtual four-week summer program focused on the law and culture of Medieval England, with themes including “words as weapons'' and “crime, gender and violence.” The program provided participants opportunities to work closely with an interdisciplinary group of renowned scholars of history, English, law and medieval studies from institutions across the U.S. and Britain. In addition to engaging in lively discussions and readings of legal, literary and historical texts, program participants completed individual projects tracing themes of law and culture from medieval to modern times. Schulman and Berkhofer hope that the experience will inspire these faculty and graduate students to enhance their teaching with new ideas and perspectives on the law and culture of Medieval England. ◆
arts&sciences | 2021
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Dr. Jana Schulman, director of the Medieval Institute and professor of English, and Dr. Robert Berkhofer III, deputy director and associate professor of history.
