Last fall, several new faculty were hired in the music, math, and communication departments. Brandon Bate, Sarah Hutchings, and Madison Murphy were hired in the fall of ‘14 and will continue on as part of the faculty in the fall of ‘15. According to the Dean of the College, Linda Mills Woolsey, both Bate, assistant professor of mathematics, and Hutchings, assistant professor of music theory and composition, “will be returning, moving from interim positions to longer term positions.” Both Bate and Hutchings will be on the Full Time Tenure Track. Bates, an ‘04 Houghton College alumni, is excited to continue on in the math department, “I feel blessed to be able to continue with the college in a tenure-track position.”
Also on the Full Time Tenure Track is newly hired Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics, Jason Bintz. Bintz, who graduated from Covenant College in ‘03, will begin teaching applied math in the fall of ‘15.
Murphy, a Houghton College ‘11 alumni and interim assistant professor of media arts and visual communication, will also be staying on as a second year interim professor. Murphy, specializes in 3D visualization and animation, will continue to assist the communication department.
In addition to newly hired faculty returning, there will be more hires within the math, recreation, and biology departments. Laura Alexichik, who has taught for Houghton before and is an ‘01 Houghton alumni, will begin the fall of ‘15 as an Interim Adjunct Professor of Recreation. Also new to faculty next fall will be Rebecca Williams. Williams, who graduated from the University of Windsor in ‘08, will be an Assistant Professor of Biology.
The college had a total of 11 faculty searches for this academic year. There were two failed searches, one in the communication department and another in the science department. Woolsey said, “We did not have a strong enough candidate pool for Web Design and we made an offer in Biochemistry but the candidate declined the offer.”
Offers have also been made to candidates in art, accounting, finance, and one will soon be made in voice. The college is currently awaiting answers from the potential faculty members.