Nineteen University of Arkansas professors have been selected to serve as Connor Faculty Fellows for the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.
The 2020 Connor Faculty Fellows include specialists in natural sciences, humanities, fine arts and social sciences.
“In this unusual year, we could not be prouder to honor such a phenomenal group of faculty members who are already making great waves with their scholarly activity and accomplishments,” Todd Shields, dean of Fulbright College, said in a statement. “I know they’ll continue to do amazing things and that each have even greater achievements ahead of them!”
The Fulbright College 2020 Connor Faculty Fellows include:
- Amelia Villasenor, assistant professor, Department of Anthropology
- Sarah DuRant, assistant professor, Department of Biological Sciences
- Shipla Iyer, assistant professor, Department of Biological Sciences
- Chenguang Fan, assistant professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Yaguang Zhu, assistant professor, Department of Communication
- Lora Walsh, assistant professor, Department of English
- Jill Marshall, assistant professor, Department of Geosciences
- Glenn Sharman, assistant professor, Department of Geosciences
- Kelly Hammond, assistant professor, Department of History
- Colleen Thurston, assistant professor, School of Journalism and Strategic Media
- Ariel Barton, assistant professor, Department of Mathematical Sciences
- Micaela Baranello, assistant professor, Department of Music
- Warren Herold, assistant professor, Department of Philosophy
- Yong Wang, assistant professor, Department of Physics
- Shirin Saeidi, assistant professor, Department of Political Science
- Darya Zabelina, assistant professor, Department of Psychological Science
- Mark Plassmeyer, assistant professor, School of Social Work
- Benjamin Smith, assistant professor, Department of Theatre
- Rohdora Vennarucci, assistant professor, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures
The Connor Endowed Faculty Fellowship was established in 2004 by Robert and Sandra Connor with a gift of $1.5 million. The fellowships are designed to provide faculty development opportunities for “rising academic experts,” who are selected by a college committee who select faculty members who are judged to have made “excellent contributions to the college and their departments.”
In total, there have been 189 Connor Fellows since the program’s inception.
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