Tori Young has joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University in Nashville as an assistant professor of the practice in the department of human and organizational development. She is an expert in mental health therapy for children and families affected by abuse and trauma. In addition to her professional work as a therapist, she previously taught counseling courses at Columbus State University.
Dr. Young earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Tuskegee University, a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling, and a Ph.D. in counselor education from Auburn University. All three educational institutions are in Alabama.
Sarah A. Font was appointed professor of social work and granted tenure at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Font’s research examines the impacts of the child welfare system and the criminal and juvenile legal systems on children and families. She previously spent nine years on the faculty at Pennsylvania State University as part of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network in the department of sociology and criminology.
Professor Font earned a bachelor’s degree and a master of social work degree from Western Michigan University. She holds a Ph.D. in social welfare from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Lizette Zietsman has been named director of the computational modeling and data analytics (CMDA) program and associate director of the Academy of Data Science at Virginia Tech. She previously served as associate director of the CMDA program and has led the Academy of Data Science on an interim basis since July. A mathematics professor, she helped to develop Virginia Tech’s new master’s degree in data science.
Dr. Zietsman holds a doctorate and conducts research on the development and analysis of fundamental numerical algorithms arising in the study of stability, control, and estimation of distributed parameter systems typical in structural control, fluid flow control, and thermal systems.
Kristina Bowdrie is a new assistant professor of communication sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to teaching, she leads the university’s Human Ecology and Auditory Research Laboratory. Her research focuses on how family systems and social environments affect clinical outcomes for individuals navigating hearing loss.
Dr. Bowdrie is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University, where she majored in communication sciences and psychology. She holds both a doctor of audiology degree and a Ph.D. in speech and hearing science from Ohio State University. Before her new appointment, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System.
Ana Daugherty has been appointed director of the Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. She has been a faculty member with the institute since 2018 and holds an affiliate appointment with the translational neuroscience program. As a cognitive neuroscientist, she specializes in aging, Alzheimer’s disease, and related dementia.
Dr. Daugherty earned her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in psychology from Wayne State University.
Swetha Regunathan is a new assistant professor of visual studies at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. A Philadelphia-based filmmaker and writer, Dr. Regunathan creates character-driven fiction films that explore themes of nostalgia, longing, and shifting identities. Her work frequently engages hybrid docuforms and mixed-media techniques to expand the on-screen representation of South Asian Americans.
Dr. Regunathan holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Columbia University, a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in English from Brown University, and a master of fine arts degree in film production from New York University.
Andrea Hickerson is director of the newly established Center for Information Advantage and Effectiveness at the University of Mississippi, where she is dean of the School of Journalism and New Media. Before joining the Ole Miss faculty, she was an associate dean in the College of Information and Communications and director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina. Her scholarship focuses on journalism routines with an emphasis on technology use.
Dr. Hickerson holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and international relations from Syracuse University in New York, a master’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Washington.