2015

Muhlenberg announces faculty promotions

Seven promoted to full professor following the spring meeting of the Board of Trustees

 Tuesday, April 28, 2015 09:38 AM

Muhlenberg College is pleased to announce the following faculty members have been promoted to Professor by the Board of Trustees.

Dr. Thomas Cragin has been promoted to professor of history. He earned a B.A. in history and economics from Trinity University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from Indiana University.and a Ph.D. in history. A cultural historian of France and Italy, Cragin teaches a broad range of courses, including two introductions to history and a series of surveys of European history that span from 1787 to the present, ranging from the French Revolution and Napoleon to Sex and Gender in Europe. Cragin's early publications focuses on the popular press in France and Italy, and his recent work deals with the representation of World War II in cinema and national memory. 

Dr. Donald Dale has been promoted to professor of economics. He holds a B.S. in economics and a B.A. in physics from the University of Delaware and a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University. Prior to joining the Muhlenberg faculty in 2000, Dale taught in the M.P.A. program at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He teaches a portfolio of courses in microeconomic theory and finance. His research interests are primarily experimental in methodology and focus on questions of responses to incentives, charitable giving and gambling behavior. He currently serves on the college's Faculty Development and Scholarship Committee.

Dr. Marten Edwards has been promoted to professor of biology. He earned B.A. in biology from Reed College, a Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Arizona and was a postdoctoral fellow in the department of genetics at Case Western Reserve University. At Muhlenberg, he teaches Principles of Biology, Cell Biology I and II and Entomology. In the lab, he and student researchers are doing cutting-edge, National Institutes of Health-funded research investigating the molecular interface between mosquitoes and pathogens that cause human diseases. They are introducing foreign genes into the mosquito genome with the aim of blocking the transmission of LaCrosse Virus, the leading cause of viral pediatric encephalitis in the United States.

Dr. Mohsin Hashim has been promoted to professor of political science‌. He has an M.A. from Moscow State University and earned his Ph.D.at Pennsylvania State University. His research focuses on post-Soviet Russian political and economic transitions. His publications have appeared in Communist and Post-Communist Studies and Problems of Post-Communism. Hashim, in conjunction with his colleague Dr. Brian Mello, associate professor of political science, is exploring the role and nature of Islamist political parties in Bangladesh and Turkey. He is fluent in Russian and Bengali. He is the recipient of the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, 2007 and the Paul C. Empie Memorial Teaching Award, 2011.

Dr. Michael Huber has been promoted to professor of mathematics. He has a B.S. from Loyold University, an M.S.E from The Johns Hopkins Univeristy and an M.S. and Ph.D. from The Naval Postgraduate School. He joined the Muhlenberg faculty in 2006. He teaches applied mathematics courses at all levels, has guided students in independent study courses and sponsors summer research assistantships. Huber is primarily interested in (1) applying mathematics to solve interesting problems, (2) modeling and predicting rare events in baseball, and (3) teaching differential equations and mathematical modeling. He also serves the College as Dean of Academic Life.

Dr. Beth Schachter has been promoted to professor of theatre and dance. She earned her B.A. at Harvard-Radcliffe University, her M.F.A from University of California, San Diego and her Ph.D. from City University of New York. Schachter has directed at New York Theatre Workshop, Second Stage, The Public Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, Adirondack Theatre Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and The Vineyard Theatre, among others. Her areas of expertise include contemporary American avant-garde theatre, feminist theatre and theory, African-American drama and Jewish ethnicity studies. She recently directed the world premiere of Brighde Mullins's The Bourgeois Pig at Muhlenberg College, as well as two staged readings for The Blank Theatre (Los Angeles). She is chair of the department of theatre and dance.

Dr. Lora Taub-Pervizpour has been promoted to professor of media and communication. She received her B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. from University of California, San Diego. Her work explores the links between communication and consumer culture, focusing in particular on new digital technologies and youth. She is the co-director of HYPE, a youth leadership program for Allentown teens. Along with colleagues Sue Jansen and Jeff Pooley, she is co-editor of Media and Social Justice. She teaches Documentary Research, Environmental Communication, Children and Communication, Documentary Fieldwork and New Information Technologies. Taub-Pervizpour also directs the RJ Fellows Program and holds the Rita and Joseph Scheller Endowed Chair. She was recently appointed the College’s associate dean for digital learning. 

 

Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a highly selective, private, four-year college located in the Lehigh Valley of eastern Pennsylvania, affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Muhlenberg offers programs in the liberal arts and sciences, along with selected pre-professional studies and a number of interdisciplinary majors.