Three Women Promoted and Granted Tenure at Carleton College in Minnesota

Carleton College, the highly rated liberal arts educational institution in Northfield, Minnesota, has announced the promotion of five faculty members to the rank of associate professor. They were also granted tenure, Three of the five promotions went to women.

Sonja Anderson was promoted to associate professor of religion. Professor Anderson arrived at Carleton in 2016 as a visiting professor and then began a tenure-track position as assistant professor in 2017. Prior to arriving at Carleton, she taught Greek at the Yale Divinity School and Yale College, and was a McDougall Teaching Fellow at the Yale Center for Teaching and Learning. Her book, Idol Talk: False Worship in the Early Christian World, will be published by Edinburgh University Press later this year. Dr. Anderson earned a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from University of California, Los Angeles, a master’s degree in religious studies from the University of Notre Dame, and a Ph.D. in religious studies from Yale University.

Summer Forester was appointed associate professor of political science. Professor Forester joined the Carleton faculty in 2019. She has taught an array of courses across the political science curriculum at Carleton, from an introductory course on international relations and world politics, to an advanced course on Middle East politics, to an upper-level seminar on global gender politics. Dr. Forester earned a bachelor’s degree in hospitality and tourism management from the University of West Florida. She holds a master’s degree in government and justice studies from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, and a Ph.D. in political science from Purdue University in Indiana, where she studied security threats in the Middle East with a focus on women’s rights.

Meredith McCoy was named an associate professor of American studies and history. Dr. McCoy was an American Indian studies specialist and program instructor at Duke University and then taught at community colleges. Professor McCoy joined Carleton’s faculty in 2019.  She earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and music with a minor in Native American studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She then completed a master’s degree in teaching, learning and leading from Lipscomb University in Nashville and a Ph.D. in American studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.