Sewanee faculty members have been in the news sharing research, imparting expertise, and creating art. Four professors won this year’s College faculty awards.

Sewanee “takeover” of The Academic Minute podcast, May 11-15

Five Sewanee faculty members are presenting “The Academic Minute” every day this week. “The Academic Minute” is a radio program and podcast that presents academic research in an accessible way. The program (which really runs 2.5 minutes) features researchers at colleges and universities around the world. It airs on 70 radio stations in the U.S. and Canada, and podcasts of the program are also available at Inside Higher Ed

Monday, May 11: Kelly Whitmer, associate professor of history, looks to the young for innovation in “Youth and Early Modern Innovation Culture.”

Tuesday, May 12: Rob Bachman, F. B. Williams Professor of Chemistry, explores a benefit of platinum in “Designing New Platinum-based Anti-Cancer Drugs.”

Wednesday, May 13: William E. Engel, Nick B. Williams Professor of English, discusses how one man had a big effect on English Reformation printing in “The Printer as Author in Early Modern English Book History.”

Thursday, May 14: Katie Nelson-Coffey, assistant professor of psychology, explores why there is “A Happiness Gap for Mothers.” 

Friday, May 15: Katie McGhee, assistant professor of biology, determines maternal stress can have large impacts on children in “The Consequences of Maternal Stress on Offspring.”

Faculty members in the news

English Professor Jennifer Michael, C’89, was awarded the 2020 Frost Farm Prize for Metrical Poetry for her poem “Forty Trochees.” Michael’s poem was selected from a field of nearly 700 entries. Learn more about the prize, and read the winning poem. 

Professor of Politics Amy Patterson writes a blog post for the Washington Post, with Emmanuel Balogun, about President Trump’s proposal to defund the World Health Organization and its potential effect on health partnerships in Africa. (May 5)

Professor and molecular biologist Alyssa Summers, who has been spending her days “off” working to test samples for COVID-19 in a Chattanooga lab, speaks with the Times Free Press about antibody tests. (May 5)

Sewanee Associate Professor of Art Jessica Wohl was commissioned by the New York Times' T Magazine to create a series of stunning original works to illustrate its April article on reclusive artists.

2020 faculty award winners

Congratulations to four members of the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences who were announced as winners of this year’s faculty awards at the semester’s final faculty meeting. The winners are:

  • Award for Teaching: Clint Smith (biology)
  • Award for Scholarship: John Gatta (English)
  • Award for Service to the Institution: Donna Murdock (international and global studies)
  • Award for Advising: Al Bardi (psychology)