Three Woman Scholars Appointed to Endowed Faculty Chairs

Maura McLaughlin was named the Eberly Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy at West Virginia University. Her research focuses on using neutron stars to detect gravitational waves.

Professor McLaughlin is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University.

Lan Yang was appointed the Edward H. and Florence G. Skinner Professor in the department of electrical and systems engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Professor Yang joined the Washington University faculty in 2007.

Dr. Yang holds bacehlor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Science and Technology in China. She earned a second master’s degree and a Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology.

Kimberly Theidon was named to the Henry J. Leir Chair in International Humanitarian Studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. She has been serving as a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

Professor Theidon is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz. She earned a master’s degree, a master of public health degree, and a Ph.D. in medical anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley.