Three Women Selected for Endowed Faculty Positions

Noël Valis has been named the Kingman Brewster, Jr. Professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Yale University. She has been a member of the Yale faculty since 1999. She has translated, edited, and authored dozens of publications, including her most recent book, Lorca After Life (Yale University Press, 2022).

Dr. Valis received her bachelor’s degree in Spanish and French from Douglass College of Rutgers University in New Jersey.  She holds a master’s degree in Spanish and a Ph.D. in Spanish and French from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.

Laura Finzi has been appointed as the inaugural Dr. Waenard L. Miller, Jr. ’69 and Sheila M. Miller Endowed Chair in Medical Biophysics at Clemson University in South Carolina. Prior to her new role, she was a professor of physics at Emory University in Atlanta. Her research focuses on the mechanics of DNA transcription.

Dr. Finzi received her undergraduate degree in industrial chemistry from the University of Bologna in Italy. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of New Mexico.

Amy Johnson has been named to the J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair of Opera at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. A critically acclaimed soprano vocalist, she has been a professor of voice since 2013. She is the co-producer of CCM Undergraduate Opera, and previously co-directed the conservatory’s summer opera studio and bootcamp.

Professor Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College in Iowa and a master of music degree from the Manhattan School of Music.