Boston University Grants Tenure and Promotes Seven Women Faculty Members

Boston University has announced the granting of tenure and/or promotions for 12 members of its faculty. Seven women were granted tenure and promoted to associate professor.

Elizabeth Blanton was named an associate professor of astronomy and granted tenure. She is an expert on galaxy clusters and is active in science outreach programs through the Boston Museum of Science. Dr. Blanton is a graduate of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She holds two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Brooke L. Blower was appointed associate professor of history and granted tenure. She is the author of Becoming Americans in Paris: Transatlantic Politics and Culture Between the World Wars (Oxford University Press, 2011). Dr. Blower is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Princeton University.

Arianne Chernock was promoted to associate professor of history and granted tenure. She is the author of Men and the Making of Modern British Feminism (Stanford University Press, 2009). Dr. Chernock is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.

Irit Ruth Kleiman was named associate professor of Romance studies and granted tenure. She is the author of Philippe de Commynes: Memory, Betrayal, Text (University of Toronto Press, 2013). Professor Kleiman is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Cheryl Knott was granted tenure and appointed associate professor of anthropology. In 1994, she established the Gunung Palung Orangutan Project with a research station in Indonesia. Dr. Knott is a graduate of the University of California at Davis. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from Harvard University.

Sigrun Olafsdottir was promoted to associate professor of sociology and granted tenure. Her research is focused on medical sociology and the sociology of mental health. A graduate of the University of Iceland, Dr. Olafsdottir holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Indiana University.

Merav Opher was granted tenure and promoted to associate professor of astronomy. She has been on the Boston University faculty since 2011 after previously teaching at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She holds a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil.