Worcester Polytechnic Institute Promotes or Grants Tenure to Six Women Faculty Members

Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts has announced promotions or the granting of tenure for 16 faculty members. Of these, six are women.

Esther Boucher was promoted to associate teaching professor in the department of humanities and art. She joined the faculty at the university in 2012. Dr. Boucher is a graduate of the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Cambridge in England and an educational doctorate from the University of Leicester in England.

Sharon Johnson was promoted to full professor in the Robert A. Foisie School of Business at WPI. Dr. Johnson joined the faculty at the university in 1988. She currently serves as president of the Lean Systems Division of the Institute of Industrial Engineers. Dr. Johnson’s research is also focused on electronic health record systems. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Jennifer McWeeny, an associate professor of philosophy was granted tenure. She joined the faculty at WPI in 2012 after teaching for eight years at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio. She is co-editor of the book Asian and Feminist Philosophies in Dialogue: Liberating Traditions (Columbia University Press, 2014). Dr. McWeeny is a graduate of Colorado College. She holds a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Hawaii. Dr. McWeeny earned a second master’s degree in French language and literature and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Oregon.

Ingrid K. Shockey was promoted to associate teaching professor of interdisciplinary and global studies. Dr. Shockey has been a member of the faculty at WPI since 2008. An environmental sociologist, Dr. Shockey also serves as the director of the India Project Center at the Indian Institute of Technology-Mandi. Dr. Shockey is a graduate of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Karen Troy was granted tenure and promoted to associate professor of biomedical engineering. Her research is focused on understanding the mechanical signals that are experienced within the skeleton during different types of physical activity. Dr. Troy has been on the faculty at WPI since 2013. Earlier, she taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and holds a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Iowa.

Suzanne L. Weeks was promoted to full professor of mathematical sciences. Professor Weeks joined the faculty at the institute in 1998 and has served as director of the university’s Center for Industrial Mathematics and Statistics. Dr. Weeks is a graduate of Indiana University. She holds a master’s degree in applied mathematics and a Ph.D. in mathematics and scientific computing from the University of Michigan.