Dear Members of the Williams Community,
It is with great pleasure that I report that Ondine Chavoya, Professor of Art and Latina/o Studies, and Christopher Goh, Associate Professor of Chemistry, have agreed to serve as faculty fellows of the Davis Center and the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity. They will assume the roles on July 1, 2016.
Professor Chavoya joined the Williams College community in 2002. His scholarly and curatorial projects have grown out of the intersection of his work in the classroom, archives, and art museums in Williamstown and around the world. Professor Chavoya’s recent curatorial project, Asco: Elite of the Obscure, A Retrospective, 1972-1987, was a public exhibition viewed by more than 66,000 people over the course of 78 days at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, before it travelled to the Williams College Museum of Art, and the University Museum of Contemporary Art at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City. In addition to being recognized for that work, Professor Chavoya has received numerous fellowships, residencies and grants, from the Getty Foundation, Smithsonian Institute, College Art Association, Ford Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, UCLA Institute of American Cultures and Georgia O’Keeffe Museum Research Center.
We are excited to leverage Professor Chavoya’s interdisciplinary experience in Art History, Latina/o Studies, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and American Studies, and his collaborative work with faculty, staff, and students on campus. Professor Chavoya, a core faculty member responsible for developing and implementing the college’s Latina/o Studies Program, has developed and taught more than two dozen courses at Williams and served as an advisor for approximately two dozen masters and senior theses and independent studies. He continues to mentor Gaius Bolin and Creating Connections Consortium (C3) fellows and visits R1 institutions in partnership with the Creating Connections and Liberal Arts Diversity Officers consortia in support of the college’s efforts to recruit and retain a diverse faculty. In addition, he has served as a member of the Exploring Diversity Initiative Committee, Academic Standing Committee, Faculty Compensation Committee and WCMA Acquisitions Committee.
Professor Goh joined the Williams chemistry department in 2007, where he teaches general and inorganic chemistry and instrumental methods of analysis. He has co-authored forty publications and in recent years, given more than a dozen academic presentations around the country. His research activities have centered on catalysis, and included making models of the active site of enzymes, and devising methods for making polymeric materials such as polypropylene, polystyrene and butyl rubber used in products such as Saran wrap or the inner tubes of bicycle tires. Professor Goh has advised more than a dozen students working on theses and independent study projects, and over two dozen students for summer research. His research has received funding from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund, the Hellman Foundation and the Research Corporation for Science Advancement.
We are excited to leverage Professor Goh’s experience and success around inclusive pedagogy and work with faculty, staff, and students on campus. Professor Goh redesigned the college’s introductory chemistry class to emphasize additional development of problem solving skills and in-class activities to encourage and foster group learning. In addition, he has served as a member of the Academic Standing Committee, Committee on Educational Policy, Writing Advisory Board, Committee on Undergraduate Life, and Faculty Review Panel.
Please join me in thanking Professors Chavoya and Goh for agreeing to serve in these critical roles. The faculty fellowships are rotating positions. This year marks the first time there will be two faculty fellows serving as important bridges between the faculty, students, and staff. As key members of the Davis Center and Office for Institutional Diversity and Equity, the faculty fellows will leverage their academic disciplinary work to strategically assess and build opportunities for students, faculty, and staff centered around inclusive pedagogy, research, recruiting, retention, and programming that support all members of the community. Professors Chavoya and Goh will succeed Rhon Manigault-Bryant, Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Faculty Affiliate in Religion, who has served in the role since January 2015.
Megamenu Social