Seven Women Named to Assistant Professor Positions at Virginia Tech

Christie Hayne is a new assistant professor in the department of accounting and information systems in the Pamplin College of Business. Before joining the faculty at Virginia Tech, Dr. Hayne was a staff accountant at KPMG in North Bay, Ontario. Dr. Hayne holds an MBA from Memorial University in St. John’s, New Foundland, and a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in management from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario.

Denise Elise Christensen was appointed assistant professor in the department of religion and culture. She is the author of the forthcoming book, Freedom From Want: Home Canning in the American Imagination. Dr. Christensen is a graduate of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Indiana University.

Rebecca J. Hester was appointed an assistant professor in the department of science and technology in society. She is a co-editor of Translocalities/Translocalidades: Feminist Politics of Translation in the Latin/a Américas (Duke University Press, 2014). Dr. Hester is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Erin Ann Hopkins was named an assistant professor in the department of apparel, housing, and resource management. She is teaching courses in property management and applied real estate development. Dr. Hopkins is a graduate of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and a Ph.D. from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

Ashley Reed is a new assistant professor of English. She was a postdoctoral fellow in English and online learning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Reed is a graduate of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Stephanie A. Smith was named an assistant professor of communications. Dr. Smith’s research focuses on communication strategies that recent college graduates use to seek and secure jobs. She is a graduate of DePaul University in Chicago. Dr. Smith earned a master’s degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.

Carolyn M. Shivers was appointed assistant professor in the department of human development. For the past two years, she has been a Hegarty Research Fellow at Michigan State University. Dr. Shivers is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.