After a rigorous selection process, the Lawrence fellows for the 2006-2007 academic year have been announced.
Five fellows were selected out of 614 applicants. These five are the best of the best, as only one percent of applicants receive an offer for a position.
Lawrence receives applications for the fellows program from the best graduate programs in the country. The school that put forth the most applicants this year was Indiana University, with 25 prospective fellows. Lawrence also received applications from all eight Ivy League schools, as well as all of the Big Ten schools.
Departments are told not to recommend a candidate unless they are of the same quality that they would demand in tenure-track hiring. Candidates must first go through a phone interview, after which only one or two in each department make it to on-campus interviews.
When candidates visit Lawrence they interview with both the Fellows Committee and the administration, present a public talk, and offer opportunities for the students to evaluate the candidate.
Professor Peter Glick, head of fellows selection, has the utmost confidence in the selection process.
“As you can see, there are many layers of evaluation and extensive input is received from students, departmental faculty and administrators before hiring recommendations are made,” Glick said. “Based on on-campus interviews of 10 candidates, the Fellows Committee recommended that candidates in six departments be offered fellows positions.”
Glick continued, “Five of the six candidates accepted the offers-one had a tenure-track offer that she took instead. We are considering a replacement candidate in that field.”
Annette Thornton, a current fellow in the theatre arts department, gave some insight into the candidate side of the selection process.
“The application process is intense but also highly energizing. Not surprisingly, the interactions between candidates and committee members remain very personable,” she said. “When I came to campus last year to interview, I was met with warmth and enthusiasm by both the committee and my home department.”
Thornton says she chose to apply to the Lawrence Fellows program because it would allow her to develop as a teacher, scholar and artist in a supportive environment. She also finds the many resources available at Lawrence to be helpful, and she enjoys working with and being challenged by the students.
Joining Lawrence next year in the psychology department will be Joshua Hart. Hart is a social psychologist who examines the relationship of anxiety about death to attachment in relationships and self esteem.
A new face in Wriston will be ceramicist Valerie Zimany, who was a Fulbright Scholar in Japan where she studied Japanese ceramic techniques. She says that natural objects often inspire her work.
Another new fellow is Karen Koenig, who is joining the religious studies department. Koenig received her undergraduate degree from Lawrence and her research focuses on the Reformation and the relations between Catholicism and Protestantism.
In economics, Adam Galambos will be teaching in the areas of microeconomic theory, game theory and social choice theory.
Many students will already be familiar with Amy Speier, a new Lawrence fellow who is currently a visiting instructor in the anthropology department. She specializes in medical anthropology and is researching health tourism in central Europe.
“The evaluation of the Fellows Program is ongoing,” said Glick. “Student course evaluations for Term II revealed significant improvement in the fellows’ course evaluations. As a group, the fellows’ Term II evaluations were as good as those for tenure-track faculty.”
The Fellows Program is considered especially beneficial to students because it brings fresh ideas to Lawrence and adds diversity to our education. Be sure to welcome next year’s fellows come September.
Fellows named for 06-07
