College of Arts and Letters Welcomes Nine New Social and Behavioral Sciences Faculty for the 2019-2020 School Year

College of Arts and Letters added nine new faculty members to the social and behavioral sciences this fall.

“We are so excited to have the new faculty members join us this fall,” said Dean Kandi Turley-Ames. “They will bring new, inventive ideas for our students to learn and grow from. We found wonderful people to help shape the minds of the next generation.” 

The new faculty members include:

Arunima Datta, assistant professor of history, received her Ph.D. at the National University of Singapore. She earned her master’s degree in southeast Asian studies at Jadavpur University in India and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Calcutta and St. Xavier’s College. Prior to coming to ISU, she was a lecturer on ethnic studies at San Jose Evergreen Valley College. She also taught at the National University of Singapore and Loreto College and was a research fellow at the Asiatic Society of India. 

Sarah Ebel, assistant professor of anthropology, received her Ph.D. in anthropology and environmental policy at the University of Maine. She earned her bachelor’s degrees in biology and environmental studies at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. She also attended the School for Field Studies at Coastal Studies. She previously worked at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine, as a visiting faculty member and was an instructor at the School of Marine Science at the University of Maine. Her research focuses mostly on fisheries in Chile, aquatic life and climate change. 

Sally Hageman, assistant professor of social work, earned her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Social Work. She earned her Master’s of Social Work from the University of California, Los Angeles and her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California, Davis. She was a teaching assistant at both the University of Maryland, Baltimore and at Eastern Washington University. She taught courses in maternal child health and human behavior in the social environment. Her research and teaching interests include social determinants of health, community and organizational program development and practice, financial social work and human behavior in social environment.

Colin Johnson, assistant professor of political science, received both his Ph.D. in political science and his master’s degree in political science from Brown University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in international studies from Rhodes College. He taught as a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies and the Department of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. His research focuses on migration policies, politics of post-communist Eurasia, development, human security and ethnic conflict. He has performed fieldwork research in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, for a project called “Water in Central Asia: Tributaries for Change.” 

Edward Kammerer, Jr., assistant professor of political science, graduated with his Ph.D. in law and public policy from Northeastern University. He received his J.D. in international law concentration with distinction from Suffolk University Law School. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has been teaching for the last eight years at Skidmore College, Occidental College and Northeastern University, among others. Some of his teaching interests include civil liberties, American politics and the criminal justice system. Outside of academia, he worked as a principal attorney and a trial attorney. 

Elizabeth Kickham, assistant professor of anthropology, graduated with her Ph.D. in anthropology with an emphasis in linguistics and Choctaw language ideologies from the University of Oklahoma, where she also received her master’s in applied linguistic anthropology. She earned a master’s degree in library and information science at the University of Illinois and a bachelor’s degree in linguistics at the University of Oklahoma. She recently worked as a visiting scholar at the University of Arizona and as an English Language Arts Teacher at ACE Charter High School in Tucson, Arizona. She has received several grants to pursue her own research and presentation opportunities as well as to enable graduate student studies. Her research focuses on indigenous heritage language learning and Choctaw language ideologies. 

Marie Stango, assistant professor of history, received her Ph.D. in history and her master’s in history from the University of Michigan. She earned her bachelor’s at New York University. Her research interests primarily include African American history, women’s studies and civil rights movements. Prior to coming to Idaho, she worked as an assistant professor of history at California State University, where she received three grants to help grow her program. Since earning her bachelor’s degree, she has served in many fellowships, including a fellowship with the American Association of University Women. 

Katie Terry, assistant professor of social work, received her Ph.D. with an emphasis in teaching and social work practice from the University of St. Thomas and St. Catherine University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Kent State University. Her research focuses on autism spectrum disorders. She has previously worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Akron and taught several courses such as human behavior, social environment and introduction to psychopathology. She has also worked as an independent trainer for the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program. 

Megan Warnement, assistant professor of political science, served as a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Political Science last year. She earned her Ph.D. in public administration, public policy process and disaster policy from North Carolina State University. She received an M.P.A. with an emphasis in public policy process and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Dayton. Her research focuses include narrative policy and multiple streams framework, crisis management and theories of the public policy process. As a graduate student, Warnement taught courses in American government, film and politics, disaster policy and public policy. She has received two grants to study policymaking and has acted as a teaching and research assistant at Duke University. Outside of academia, she has worked as a field representative and constituent liaison for an Ohio congressman and as a law clerk. 

 Written by: Abbey Moe, College of Arts and Letters intern