Bucknell Honors Outstanding Faculty with Endowed Professorships and Chairs

From the geology of Alaska to ancient shipwrecks, from the history of Wall Street to Balinese music, Bucknell professors recently named to endowed academic positions pursue a wide array of scholarly projects.

Professors chosen for endowed positions are among Bucknell's most accomplished scholars and most effective teachers. Their exemplary work inspires students and colleagues alike and sustains Bucknell's reputation for academic excellence nationally and globally. Funded by external gifts and awarded for specific terms, endowed academic positions advance faculty research and benefit the University in perpetuity.

Presidential Professorships, created by grants from the Hewlett and Mellon foundations, were awarded to two professors, whose three-year terms begin this September:

Professor Gary Steiner, philosophy, is internationally known in his field for his seminal work on the moral status of animals as well as for his scholarship on Descartes and Heidegger. He is the sole author of four books and more than 30 articles, book chapters and encyclopedia entries and he lectures widely throughout the world. A multilingual scholar, Prof. Steiner has also translated three books and two articles into English from German and French. He has maintained an extraordinary level of productivity over the years while remaining deeply committed to students both in and out of the classroom, including by serving as a Posse mentor.

Prof. Steiner plans to use his Presidential Professorship sabbatical semester to work on his fifth book, which addresses the respective roles and mutual interplay of reason and emotion in the moral life and to complete a four-book translation project, primarily in German, on the moral status of animals.

Professor Jeffrey Trop, geology & environmental geosciences, is a well-established and highly respected research scientist whose scholarship focuses on Alaskan Basin analysis and tectonics. He has also made important contributions to Pennsylvania geology and he recently completed a multiyear study of icy debris fans in Alaska and New Zealand. Since arriving at Bucknell in 2000, Prof. Trop has had nearly continuous National Science Foundation funding for his research program and he conducts extensive field work with students in locations ranging from a nearby limestone quarry to isolation in the wilderness. Student evaluations consistently describe his teaching style as exciting, engaging and caring.

Prof. Trop will use his Presidential Professorship funds to accelerate two new projects: a study of late Devonian-age bedrock outcrops near Bucknell; and a study of landscape evolution in southern Alaska, including Cenozoic topography, environments and ecosystems.

Seven other faculty members have been appointed to endowed chairs and professorships beginning in September:

Professor Bethany Collier, music, has been appointed the Ellen P. Williams Professor of Music. An ethnomusicologist, her scholarship focuses on the interaction between music and culture - how and why humans make music, what makes music meaningful in context and how those meanings are generated and conveyed. Prof. Collier's expertise lies in Indonesian music and culture, with a specific interest in the relationship between performance and identity in contemporary Bali.

Professor Mark Haussmann, biology, has been appointed the Herbert L. Spencer Professor in Biology. Prof. Haussmann has extensively studied the physiological effects of stress on the aging process, particularly the link between early exposure to stress hormones, advanced cellular aging and early mortality.

Professor Gregory Krohn, economics, has been appointed the Charles P. Vaughan Chair in Economics. His research interests include macroeconomics, monetary and fiscal policy, forecasting, religion and economics and sports economics. Prof. Krohn plans to use his research funding to pursue scholarship in the economics of water resources, with a particular emphasis on residential water demand, water pricing policies, the effectiveness of voluntary and mandatory water use restrictions during water shortages, and how water pricing policies impact the effectiveness of water rationing.

Professor Shara McCallum, English, has been appointed the Margaret Hollingshead Ley Professor in Poetry & Creative Writing. As director of the Stadler Center for Poetry, she is the leading campus voice for creative writing. A poet of international acclaim, Prof. McCallum draws from her Jamaican childhood and frequently explores themes of personal and ethnic identity and motherhood.

Professor Anthony Stewart, English, has been appointed the John P. Crozer Chair of English Literature. Stewart has spent much of his career engaging with questions of race and identity, particularly in the context of English literature written by canonical figures like Jonathan Swift, George Orwell and Ralph Ellison. A prolific author, Prof. Stewart focuses on issues of belonging, national identity and race.

Professor Janice Traflet, management, has been appointed the Howard I. Scott Professor of Management. A business historian, Prof. Traflet blends deep knowledge of two fields, American history and management and exemplifies interdisciplinary teaching and scholarship. Her scholarship has examined themes of leadership and innovation as well as developments in Wall Street history, including the rise of mutual and index funds and high-frequency trading.

Professor Kristine Trego, classics & ancient Mediterranean studies, has been appointed the National Endowment for the Humanities Chair in the Humanities. A social historian and nautical archeologist, she has conducted important work on two wrecks in Turkey, including the only fifth-century BCE shipwreck to be fully excavated. Prof. Trego's interdisciplinary perspective has helped cement her reputation as an expert in ancient seafaring life.

Endowed academic positions are among the top priorities of WE DO, The Campaign for Bucknell University. The most ambitious comprehensive campaign in University history, WE DO aims to raise half-a-billion dollars.