Six Young Women Join the Faculty at Princeton University

Princeton University in New Jersey has announced the hiring of 13 new assistant professors. Six of the 13 new assistant professors are women.

Ruha Benjamin was appointed assistant professor of African American studies. Since 2010, Dr. Benjamin has been an assistant professor at Boston University. She is the author of People’s Science: Bodies and Rights on the Stem Cell Frontier (Stanford University Press, 2013). Dr. Benjamin is a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta. She earned a Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley.

Katherine Hill Reischl was named an assistant professor in Slavic languages and literatures. She will join the Princeton faculty on August 1. She has been a visiting professor at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Hill Reischl holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in Slavic languages and literatures, all from the University of Chicago.

Elizabeth Lew-Williams was named an assistant professor of history at Princeton, effective September 1. She specializes in Asian American history. Dr. Lew-Williams was a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University. She is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University in California. Her husband, Casey Lew-Williams, will also be joining the Princeton faculty as an assistant professor of psychology.

Ju Ri Seo was appointed an assistant professor of music. She will join the Princeton faculty on July 1. Dr. Seo has been a lecturer in musical composition at Washington University in St. Louis. A graduate of Yonsei University in Seoul, South Koreia, Dr. Seo holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor was named assistant professor of African American studies. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Illinois. Dr. Taylor is a graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University.

Carolyn Yerkes was appointed an assistant professor or art and archaeology. She will join the Princeton faculty in September. Dr. Yerkes, who specializes in early modern European art history, has been serving as a lecturer at Columbia University. She holds a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degree and a Ph.D., all from Columbia University. She earned a master’s degree in architecture from Princeton University.