Cornell University Announces the Addition of Eighteen Women to Its Faculty

Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, has published a list of its new faculty members. Eighteen of the new faculty appointees are women.

Valerie Aymar, Catherine Barrera, Colleen Carey, Julia H. Chang, Suzanne Lanyi Charles, and Jessica Chen Weiss

Valerie Aymar is a new assistant professor of landscape architecture. She was technical director of landscape architecture at AECOM Inc. in New York City. Alymar is a graduate of Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, where she majored in biology. She holds a master of landscape architecture degree from Cornell University.

Catherine Barrera was appointed assistant professor of economics. She was a visiting researcher at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and previously worked at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Dr. Barrera is a graduate of Yale University, where she majored in mathematics. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University.

Colleen Carey is a new assistant professor of policy analysis and management in the College of Human Ecology. She was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholar in Health Policy Research at the University of Michigan. Earlier, she was a staff economist at the Council on Economic Advisers. Dr. Carey is a graduate of Yale University, where she majored in international development studies. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Julia H. Chang was appointed an assistant professor of Romance studies at Cornell. She was an assistant professor of Hispanic studies at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Her research focuses on nineteenth-century Spanish literature and culture. Dr. Chang is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She holds a master’s degree from New York University and a Ph.D. in Hispanic languages and literature from the University of California, Berkeley.

Suzanne Lanyi Charles was named an assistant professor of city and regional planning. She was an assistant professor of architecture at Northeastern University in Boston and earlier taught at the University of Michigan. Dr. Charles is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She holds a master of architecture degree from Arizona State University and a second master’s degree and a doctorate in design from Harvard University.

Jessica Chen Weiss is a new associate professor of government. From 2009 to 2105, she was an assistant professor of political science at Yale University. Her research focuses on domestic politics in international relations and Chinese politics and foreign relations. Dr. Chen Weiss is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, San Diego.

Stephanie J. Creary, Karen Jaime, Ann Johnson, Katherine Kinzler, Karen Levy, and Fang Liu

Stephanie J. Creary was named assistant professor of strategy in the School of Hotel Administration. She was an adjunct professor of organizational behavior at the Simmons School of Management in Boston. Dr. Creary holds a bachelor’s degree in communication disorders and a master’s degree in speech language pathology from Boston University. She holds an MBA from the Simmons School of Management and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in management/organizational studies from Boston College.

Karen Jaime was appointed an assistant professor of performing and media arts and an assistant professor of Latino studies. She was a postdoctoral associate at Cornell and earlier at the University of Illinois. Dr. Jaime is a graduate of Cornell University, where she majored in history and Spanish literature. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in performance studies from New York University.

Ann Johnson was named an associate professor of science and technology studies. She was an associate professor in history and philosophy at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Johnson is a graduate of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. She holds a master of fine arts degree from the Yale School of Drama and a Ph.D. in the history of science from Princeton University.

Katherine Kinzler was appointed associate professor of human development and psychology. Since 2008 she has served on the faculty in the department of psychology at the University of Chicago. Dr. Kinzler is a graduate of Yale University, where she majored in cognitive science. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University.

Karen Levy is a new assistant professor of information science. She was a postdoctoral researcher at the Information Law Institute at New York University. Dr. Levy holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a law degree from Indiana University. She earned a Ph.D. in sociology from Princeton University.

Fang Liu was named an assistant professor of finance in the School of Hotel Administration. Her research is focused on theoretical and empirical asset pricing. Dr. Liu holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Nanjing University in China. She holds a master’s degree in financial mathematics from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in finance from Washington University in St. Louis.

Yifei Mao, Sunita Sah, Samantha N. Sheppard, Jamie Vanucchi, Penny Von Eschen, and Sumudu Watugala

Yifei Mao is also a new assistant professor of finance in the School of Hotel Administration. She is interested in empirical corporate finance and venture capital investment. Dr. Mao is a graduate of Tsinghua University in China. She holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in finance from Indiana University.

Sunita Sah was named an assistant professor of management and organization in the Graduate School of Management. She was an assistant professor at Georgetown University. Dr. Sah holds bachelor’s and medical degree from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She earned an MBA at London Business School and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Samantha N. Sheppard is a new assistant professor of cinema and media studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. She was a postdoctoral associate in the department of performing and media arts at Cornell University. Dr. Sheppard is a graduate of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in cinema and media studies from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Jamie Vanucchi was appointed an assistant professor of landscape architecture. She was an assistant professor at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry of the State University of New York in Syracuse. Vanucchi is a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and earned a master of landscape architecture from Cornell University.

Penny Von Eschen is the L. Sanford and Jo Mills Reis Professor of Humanities and History. She was a professor of history and American culture at the University of Michigan. She had taught at the University of Michigan since 1999 and earlier served on the faculty at the University of Texas and the University of Iowa. Professor Von Eschen is a graduate of Northwestern University and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University.

Sumudu Watugala is a new assistant professor of finance in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She was an economist in the Office of Financial Research at the U.S. Department of Treasury. Dr. Watugala holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She earned a Ph.D. at the University of Oxford.