Six Women Join the Tenure-Track Faculty at Amherst College

Amherst College, the highly rated liberal arts college in Massachusetts, has announced that there are six women who have joined the tenure-track faculty this fall.

Mary Ellen Hicks was named an assistant professor of Black studies and history. Her research examines the maritime dimensions of the African diaspora, with an emphasis on the eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century Brazil. Dr. Hicks is a graduate of the University of Iowa and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

Deborah S. Holoien is a new assistant professor of psychology. Her research investigates interactions among diverse group members across various relationships (e.g., friends, college roommates, strangers). She is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Princeton University in New Jersey.

Jeeyon Jeong was appointed assistant professor of biology. Research in her laboratory focuses on unraveling the molecular mechanisms that regulate iron homeostasis in plants. She is a graduate of Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, and holds a master’s degree from Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea. She earned Ph.D. at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Pooja G. Rangan is an assistant professor of English teaching courses in film and media studies. She was an assistant professor of culture and media at the New School in New York. Dr. Rangan is a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in modern cultural and media from Brown University.

Yael R. Rice is a new assistant professor art, the history of art, and Asian languages and literatures. She is completing work on a book entitled The Emperor’s Eye and the Painter’s Brush: Artists and Agency at the Mughal Court. Dr. Rice is a graduate of the University of North Carolina. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Crystal L. Valentine is an assistant professor of computer science. She was a software consultant in Boston. Dr. Valentine is a 2004 graduate of Amherst College. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in computer science from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.