Professor Kristen Cecala Recognized with ACA Faculty Fellowship
Jan. 8, 2026
The Appalachian College Association (ACA) has announced that Sewanee Professor and Co-Chair of the Biology Department Kristen Cecala has received the association’s John B. Stephenson Semester Fellowship to support her research activity during the 2026-2027 academic year.
An ecologist with a special interest in amphibians and reptiles, Cecala’s research focuses on understanding how human-driven changes of the landscape affect aquatic organisms and how climate change impacts on the behavioral, population, and community ecology of stream amphibians. Cecala’s research team, which includes a large number of Sewanee students, uses a combination of observational, experimental, and modeling approaches to develop information that can often guide the management and conservation of aquatic ecosystems and the organisms that inhabit them. Click here to watch Cecala discuss why she believes amphibians are nature’s superheroes.
With the support of the fellowship, Cecala aims to design and develop a framework integrating participatory science, undergraduate engagement, and advanced population modeling to improve conservation outcomes for rare wildlife, while further building institutional and regional capacity. In service of this goal, Cecala plans to collaborate with nonprofit organizations in the region to engage more people in conservation activities like headcount surveys to generate sustainable and reliable data on rare species populations.
“We are thrilled to see Kristen receive this recognition for her scholarship,” says Vice-Provost and Dean of the College Jennifer Cooley. “Her work seeks to address critical conservation issues at a time of great challenge for the field, and will offer invaluable opportunities for Sewanee students to develop advanced analytical skills and connect their learning to real-world problems of significance.”
The Appalachian College Association is a nonprofit consortium of 33 private four-year liberal arts institutions located in the Appalachian region. The association is governed by a board comprised of the presidents of all member institutions, and an executive committee with representation from presidents and chief academic officers. Each year, the association awards fellowships to provide financial support to member institutions’ faculty for post-doctoral research or pre-doctoral degree completion. Cecala is one of 31 professors representing 23 member institutions to receive the award this year.
