These new associate professors come from across disciplines with unique expertise in their fields
On the recommendation of President David A. Greene, eight faculty members have recently been promoted and granted tenure.
Those receiving tenure and a promotion to
associate professor are Greg Drozd, chemistry; Sarah Duff, history; Nicholas Jacobs, government; Carrie LeVan, government; Benjamin Lisle, American studies; Joshua Martin, biology; Evan Randles, mathematics; and Elizabeth Seto, psychology.Tenure also qualifies these teacher-scholars for a , which includes a two-year, $100,000 grant. Developed by Tom and Cathy Tinsley in 2021, this innovative pilot project is unique to Colby and was recently extended to 2027. The grants support creative and high-impact research projects and celebrate excellence in teaching. Funds may be used entirely for research purposes, or up to 40 percent for personal expenditures.
“These faculty members work in very different fields, but they have many things in common,” said Provost and Dean of Faculty Margaret McFadden. “They are innovative, inclusive, and inspiring teachers; they are accomplished and influential scholars; and they are generous and collaborative contributors to the community. They are also exceptional colleagues and wonderful people, and I couldn’t be more delighted that they have joined the senior faculty.”
Greg Drozd—Chemistry
Greg Drozd is a physical chemist who works in atmospheric and environmental contexts. His portfolio of projects, including research on brown carbon aerosols, microplastics, and diesel-fuel emissions, answer fundamental research questions about the physical chemistry of atmospheric particles that have important applications to climate and human health. His research has refined our understanding of the complex ways materials such as wildfire smoke behave in the atmosphere. This is foundational to our ability to predict the ways our climate will respond to changing conditions like increased forest fire frequency. He has developed a suite of innovative and creative tools and methodologies to explore many different interesting and important questions that have significant real-world and policy impacts. Drozd earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University and his B.S. in chemistry from The Ohio State University.
Sarah Duff—History
Sarah Duff is a historian of age, gender, and reproduction in 19th- and 20th-century Africa and the British Empire. More specifically, she is a prominent scholar of the history of childhood and youth in Africa. Her work is having a significant impact on the field, as she has developed innovative and original methods for researching children, who often do not appear in traditional historical sources. More recently, her interests have evolved to focus on the histories of health and medicine in Africa. Her current book project is the first extensive study of sex education in South Africa. In 2022 Duff was awarded a competitive Mellon Foundation New Directions Fellowship, which allowed her to earn an M.Sc. in women’s health at the University of London and learn the science that underlies many of the historical questions she is asking. Duff earned her Ph.D. in modern history at the University of London and a B.A. and M.A. in history from Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
Nicholas Jacobs—Government
Nick Jacobs is a prolific scholar of U.S. politics. His research program has evolved to encompass three central themes: American political geography, federalism, and American political development. His most recent book is The Rural Voter: The Politics of Place and the Disuniting of America. The Rural Voter Survey that provided the data used in the book was the first of its kind and a significant scholarly achievement that has enriched our understanding of public opinion and mass political behavior in rural America. He has expanded his original research focus to incorporate new projects on rural voters and the role of place, as well as an ambitious comparative study of U.S. and EU federalism. Jacobs earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in government from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in political science from the University of Mary Washington.
Carrie LeVan—Government
Carrie LeVan is a political scientist who examines the intersection between civic engagement and place, race, and policy within the United States. In her recent book, Neighborhoods that Matter: How Place and People Affect Political Participation, LeVan examines how neighborhood layout, including the built environment and walkability, affects the degree of civic engagement among residents. Research for the book involved an innovative, cutting-edge methodology that she developed for defining “walkability” and engaged student researchers to assess neighborhoods virtually via Google Street View. LeVan was the recipient of the Susan Clarke Young Scholar Award for Urban Politics in 2019. She is currently expanding her research into the realm of AI and will develop machine-generated assessments of neighborhoods and will apply this data in her new book project. LeVan earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in political science at the University of California at Los Angeles and her B.A. in political science and English from California State University at Bakersfield.
Benjamin Lisle—American Studies
Ben Lisle is a cultural geographer whose research is at the leading edge of urban studies, cultural geography, and American studies, with a particular focus on the intersections of place, power, and cultural production. His latest monograph explores the history and social significance of stadiums in American urban landscapes. Lisle’s scholarship also extends the reach of his work on urban spaces. His recent articles on gentrification in small-town Maine expand upon his previous work by addressing issues of urban renewal in contexts that are often overlooked in favor of larger cities. In addition to his traditional scholarship, Lisle has been actively writing for a public readership, contributing essays and articles to local media outlets, reflecting his dedication to connecting his academic practice with the community. Lisle earned a Ph.D. in American studies from the University of Texas, an M.A. in American studies from the University of Virginia, and a B.A. in English from Carleton College.
Joshua Martin—Biology
Josh Martin is a biologist whose research expertise lies in neuroethology and biomechanics, which investigates how brains control bodies to pursue goals. Much of his recent research has involved live mantis colonies, though he creatively pivoted in recent years to a project on locally captured dragonflies when the pandemic forced him to shut down his mantis colony. He has two important recent papers: the first documents the discovery of a new mantis sensory organ, while the second uses machine-learning techniques to examine how mantis limb morphology is related to predation. In 2019 he received a grant from the Alden Trust to equip a 3D imaging lab at Colby, which has benefitted several departments and numerous faculty and students. Martin earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of Arizona and a B.S. in psychology and biology at The Ohio State University.
Evan Randles—Mathematics
Evan Randles is an applied mathematician interested in questions about how order emerges from randomness. His research includes aspects of both probability theory and analysis, and he has generated a significant body of work in the area of local limit theorems for convolutions of complex functions. He has developed several new collaborations in the past few years, taking his work in new directions. Randles also completed extraordinary work with Colby student Huan Bui ’21, conducted nearly entirely over Zoom during the pandemic that led to the rare result of Bui, as an undergraduate, publishing original work in a prestigious mathematics journal. Randles earned an M.S. and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Cornell University and an M.S. in mathematics, a B.S. in physics, and a B.A. in mathematics from California State University at Northridge.
Elizabeth Seto—Psychology
Elizabeth Seto is a social psychologist interested in studying topics historically the province of existential philosophy. Her influential work focuses on the psychological effects of belief in free will on self and social judgments and on the effects of authenticity on individuals’ lives. In her SETO Social Psychology Lab on campus, she is pursuing research projects that examine free will beliefs in relation to meritocracy, environmental attitudes, AI, moral emotions, and beliefs across the lifespan. Her second line of research focuses on understanding how people experience authenticity. In other words, under what circumstances do we find or feel closer to our true selves? Seto earned her Ph.D. in social and personality psychology at Texas A&M University and a B.A. in psychology at Baylor University.
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