Fourteen Professors Promoted, Three Honored at Carleton

The Carleton College Board of Trustees has promoted 14 professors and elected three faculty members to emeritus status.

Those promoted to the rank of professor are Michael Flynn, linguistics; Fred Hagstrom, art; Chérif Keïta, French; Louis Newman, religion; and Susan Singer, biology.

Advancing to associate professor are Stephen Kennedy, mathematics; Jamie Monson, history; Timothy Raylor, English; and Gerald Young, physical education, athletics, and recreation.

Faculty members promoted to senior lecturer include Margaret Brand, music; Alice Renken, music; Cynthia Luck Shearer, French; Eric Wahlin, music; and Marcia Widman, music.

Those professors honored with the title of emeritus are David Sipfle ’53, philosophy; William Wells, music; and Gary Wynia, political science.

Michael Flynn, professor of linguistics, received his B.A. in English from the University of Notre Dame, and earned his Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Flynn, who has taught at Carleton since 1986, has authored several papers as well as the definitive book “Structure Building Operations and Word Order.” His current area of
research involves the neurological realization of language and how it relates to the evolution of the language faculty.

Fred Hagstrom, professor of art, earned his B.A. in art from Hamline University and his M.F.A. from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Hagstrom has earned fellowships from the McKnight Foundation and the Minnesota Arts Board, and has taught bookmaking to high school students as a Blandin Fellow. He has published several articles on printmaking in Artist Proof, Mid-America Print Council Journal, and Contemporary Impressions.

Chérif Keïta, professor of French, came to Carleton in 1985. He earned his Licence-Traduction in English and Russian at the Institut superieur de l’Etat de Traducteurs et d’Interpretes in Brussels, Belgium. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in French and Francophone literature as well as a Certificate of Global Policy Studies from the University of Georgia. Keïta published the
acclaimed book “Massa Makan Diabate: Un Griot Mandingue a la Rencontre de l’Ecriture” in 1995, and is currently working on several other books with topics ranging from the Malian singer Salif Keïta, to speech, music, and the articulation of Mande identity.

Louis Newman, professor of religion, received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in philosophy from the University of Minnesota and his Ph.D. in Judaic studies from Brown University. He is the author of “The Sanctity of the Seventh Year: A Study of the Mishnah Tractate Shebiit.” He is also co-editor of “Contemporary Jewish Ethics and Morality: A Reader,” and has completed two other books to be published this year.

Susan Singer, professor of biology, earned her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she held a postdoctoral position before joining the Carleton faculty in 1986. She also studied at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole. Her work focuses on inflorescence in tobacco and pea plants and she has published
several research articles, and co-authored numerous others with her students. Singer has earned grants from the Hewlett Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the United States Department of Agriculture. Most recently, she has served as chair of the biology department.

Stephen Kennedy, associate professor of mathematics, came to Carleton from St. Olaf College in 1994. He received his B.A. from Boston University and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University. Kennedy has published several articles and has recently been named co-editor of Math Horizons. He is also one of the directors of the “Women in Mathematics” summer academic program at Carleton, sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Jamie Monson, associate professor in history, earned a B.A. in both English and German from Stanford University. She received her M.A.A.S. and Ph.D. in African area studies and African history from the University of California, Los Angeles. Monson is a specialist in the history and culture of Eastern and Southern Africa, and has published numerous articles.

Timothy Raylor, associate professor of English, received his B.A. with First Class Honours in English Literature from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and his D.Phil. in English Literature from the University of Oxford. Raylor has published and edited several articles and books. One of his most recent works is a two CD-ROM set on Samuel Hartlib, “the great intelligencer” of Europe.

Gerald Young, associate professor of physical education, athletics and recreation, received his B.S. in health, physical education and recreation from Southwestern College, and his M.S. in physical education from St. Cloud State University. In addition to teaching, Young is the defensive coordinator of the football team, and the men’s and women’s assistant track coach.

Margaret Brand, senior lecturer in music, graduated from the Indiana School of Music and has done graduate work in voice and speech therapy at the University of Minnesota. She has sung opera in Europe and North America. She is also a recitalist and performs regionally with orchestra, chamber and choral ensembles.

Alice Renken, senior lecturer in music, holds a B.M. with honors in voice and a master’s in music with distinction in voice performance and literature from the University of Illinois. She has performed with the Grant Park Symphony Chorus, the Chicago Symphony Chorus and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. An accomplished musician, Renken has taught at Carleton since
1977.

Cynthia Luck Shearer, senior lecturer in French, earned her B.A. from Pembroke College at Brown University, and her M.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.She has taught French at Northern Virginia Community College, the University ofMaryland, the University of California, Santa Cruz and University of California, Los Angeles. Currently, Shearer is the director of Carleton’s Modern Language Center.

Eric Wahlin, senior lecturer in music, attended the Juilliard School of Music, St. Louis University, University of Minnesota, and the University of Pittsburgh. A trumpet player turned cellist, he performed with the St. Louis Symphony, Radio City Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra before joining the Minnesota Orchestra. Wahlin has taught at Carleton since 1978.

Marcia Widman, senior lecturer in music, received her B.M. degree in piano from Morningside College and her M.M. in piano from the University of Michigan. Before coming to Carleton in 1975, she taught piano at Eastern Michigan University and St. Olaf College.

David Sipfle, William H. Laird Professor of Philosophy and the Liberal Arts Emeritus, has taught at Carleton since 1960. He graduated magna cum laude from Carleton in 1953 with a double major in mathematics and philosophy. He then received his M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from Yale University. He retired from teaching this spring.

William Wells, emeritus professor of music and choral director, holds degrees from Occidental College, the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University. Wells conducted the Carleton Chamber Singers and the Carleton Contemporary Ensemble before retiring in 1993. He is an accomplished music reviewer for NOTES: The Journal of the Music Library Association, and has recorded several albums including “Visions of Remembrance,” “Christmas Cantata,” and “Journey to Ixtlan.”

Gary Wynia, William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Latin American Politics, Emeritus, has been at Carleton since 1983. He earned his B.A. in political science from San Jose State University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. He has published numerous articles concerning the politics of Latin America and retired from teaching this spring.