Four Women Promoted and Granted Tenure at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon

The board of trustees of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, has promoted eight College of Arts and Sciences faculty members from assistant professor to associate professor with tenure. Four of these promotions were earned by women.

Tabitha Knight was promoted to associate professor of economics. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance at California State University, Sacramento. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics from Colorado State University. A feminist macroeconomist with training in heterodox economic theories, Dr. Knight has expertise in the intersection of economic development, international trade and finance, and the economics of race and gender. Specifically, her research focuses on gendered labor markets both domestically and abroad.

Janet A. Lorenzen was appointed an associate professor of sociology. She earned a Ph.D. in sociology from Rutgers University in New Jersey and a master’s degree in women’s studies from San Diego State University. Her research interests include studying the way people respond to social and environmental problems. She is interested in the micro- and meso-level foundations of macro-level social change, including lifestyle change, social movement strategies, and policymaking.

Katja Meyer was named an associate professor of environmental science. She holds a Ph.D. in geosciences and bio-geochemistry from the Pennsylvania State University and a bachelor’s degree in geology from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. A broadly trained geologist with interest in the interactions between life, the geochemical environment, and climate, Meyer is focused on understanding the Earth system feedbacks that are important to ocean deoxygenation. Much of Dr. Meyer’s work centers on understanding the development of anoxic and sulfidic conditions during the end-Permian mass extinction and recovery era.

Maegan Parker Brooks was promoted to associate profesor of civic communicatiosn and media. She holds bachelor’s degree from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, and a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in communication arts with emphases in rhetoric and Afro-American studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research and teaching interests are inspired by fundamental questions concerning how people in America talk about race and how do conversations about race engage with the legacy of racism.