Four CC Faculty Members Promoted to Full Professor

Colorado College's Board of Trustees approved four associate professors for promotion to full professor at their recent meeting. The professors are:

William Davis, Comparative Literature and German
Davis was awarded a Ph.D. in German studies and humanities and an M.A. in German studies from Stanford University. He received a B.A. with honors in comparative literature at Brigham Young University. Since joining the CC faculty in 1993, Davis has taught all levels of language courses, Classicism, and Romanticism in German, and many courses abroad or at the Newberry Library in Chicago. In the comparative literature program, he also teaches Romanticism, literary theory, gender and literature, and Romantic Hellenism. In English, he has taught Romanticism, Blake, Byron and the Shelleys, and Women Romantics. Students attest to the breadth and depth of his knowledge, the quality of class discussions, the ways in which Davis guides students' learning with "a kind of quiet strength," and how they have learned to read and analyze literary texts and poetry in his courses. Davis's scholarship includes articles in edited volumes and multiple journals including World Picture, The Wordsworth Circle, and European Romantic Review. His recent book, "Romanticism, Hellenism, and the Philosophy of Nature," was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2018. Davis has chaired both the comparative literature program and German, Russian, and East Asian Languages Department. He is well-recognized across the campus as the faculty marshal.

    Marion Hourdequin, Philosophy
    Hourdequin joined the Colorado College faculty in 2006. She earned her Ph.D. in philosophy at Duke University, and an M.A. in philosophy and an M.S. in biological sciences from the University of Montana. She received her A.B. in ecology and evolutionary biology, summa cum laude, from Princeton University. Hourdequin's areas of expertise include ethics, environmental philosophy, and comparative philosophy. She teaches courses on Techno-Natures, Classical Chinese Philosophy, Environmental Ethics, Humans and Other Animals, and Philosophy of Science. Students describe Hourdequin as a kind and caring professor who models "lived ethics" and successfully cultivates students' critical thinking abilities through classroom debate and field trips. A productive scholar, her current research focuses on climate ethics, climate justice, and the social and ethical dimensions of ecological restoration. She is the author of "Environmental Ethics: From Theory to Practice" (Bloomsbury, 2015) and co-editor, with David Havlick, of "Restoring Layered Landscapes" (Oxford, 2016). Reflecting her multi-disciplinary interests, she has served as associate editor for the journal Environmental Values, and on the editorial board of Environmental Ethics. From 2013-15, she served as the director of the environmental program at CC, and she currently chairs the Philosophy Department.

      Mike Taber, Education
      A science educator for more than 20 years, Taber began his tenure-track appointment at Colorado College in 2006. A CC alumnus, he taught high school physics and biology in El Paso, Texas, and math and science in Colorado Springs, shortly after receiving his Master of Arts in Teaching and his B.A. in geology. Taber earned a Ph.D. in water resources-micrometerology at Iowa State University. The author of many articles in science education journals, he also has received numerous grants. He is the lead principal investigator for the Colorado College Noyce Scholarship Program and the Proactive Positioning of Future Educators for Rural Community Success. Specializing in teacher preparation, inquiry, and curriculum development utilizing technologies and culturally responsive design, his courses include Framework of U.S. Education, Educational Research Design, Curriculum and Engaging Pedagogies, and Educational Interventions. For many years, Taber has served the college by chairing the Education Department, which includes the Master of Arts in Teaching program. He also has taught Meteorology, Atmosphere, and Introduction to Global Climate Change as an active participant in the environmental studies program. Colleagues and students are impressed by his commitment to teaching and scholarship and his continual efforts to enhance his teaching through creativity and experimentation.

        Tricia Waters, Psychology
        Waters came to Colorado College in 1991, after earning a Ph.D. in developmental psychology at Boston University, an Ed.M. in human development from Harvard University, and a B.A. in psychology from Western Washington University. In addition to giving many public talks and professional presentations on adolescence and developmental processes, Waters has coauthored several articles that exemplify her recent work. "Voicing academia: Developmental psychology and the loss of voice" was published in Feminist perspectives on building a better psychological science of gender (Springer International Publishing, 2016), and "The gendered body project: Sexual and self-objectification as motivated and motivating processes," is forthcoming in the "Oxford Handbook of Motivation." Waters teaches courses on Introduction to Cultural Psychology, Lifespan Developmental Psychology, Adolescence, Moral Reasoning in Context, Developmental Psychopathology, Women and Madness, and Abnormal Psychology. She brings her expertise in developmental psychology to bear on the variety of dynamic teaching techniques she employs, and on the relationships she builds with students and pre-tenure faculty as an adviser and mentor. She has served as director of the feminist and gender studies program and chair of the Psychology Department, and as a member of the Faculty Executive Committee and several task forces and advisory boards.

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