Five Women Scholars Selected for Endowed Professorships

Sarah Tolbert is the inaugural Charles and Carolyn Knobler Endowed Term Chair in the department of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles. A UCLA faculty member since 1997, she holds a joint appointment in the department of materials science and engineering. As a materials chemist, she has made key contributions to a wide range of interdisciplinary areas, with applications varying from battery systems to the design of new superhard materials.

Dr. Tolbert holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Yale University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.

Rashmi Adaval has been named the James S. Womack/Gemini Chair of Signage and Visual Marketing in the Carl H. Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati. Her scholarship centers on the analysis of narratives and stories in the consumer domain. Before joining the University of Cincinnati faculty, she was taught at Hong Kong University of Science & Technology in China and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

A graduate of Bangalore University in India, Dr. Adaval earned her master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Sarah Lindley, professor of art, has been named the Robert W. and JoAnn Stewart Chair at Kalamazoo College in Michigan. She has been with the college since 2001, teaching a variety of ceramics and sculpture courses. Earlier in her tenure, she received another endowed faculty appointment as the Arcus Social Justice Leadership Professor of Art.

Professor Lindley received her bachelor of fine arts degree from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and her master of fine arts degree in ceramics from the University of Washington.

Karolina KoĊ‚pak has been appointed to the Stanislaus A. Blejwas Endowed Chair in Polish and Polish American Studies at Central Connecticut State University. Her recent research has focused on grassroots civic engagement and intercommunal cooperation in late imperial Poland. Beyond academia, she works closely with migrant and refugee communities in Poland and has helped organize humanitarian initiatives supporting scholars at risk.

Dr. KoĊ‚pak holds a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University in Chicago, where she majored in history and international studies with a minor in German studies. She received her Ph.D. in history from Yale University.

Sarah L. Karalunas has joined the Syracuse University faculty as the Cobb-Jones Clinical Psychology Endowed Professor and chair of the department of psychology. She comes to Syracuse from Purdue University, where she was an associate professor and director of graduate studies for the department of psychological sciences. As a scholar, she has conducted extensive research on cognitive and emotional development in children.

Dr. Karalunas holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and a Ph.D. in child clinical psychology from Pennsylvania State University.

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