Six Black Scholars Join the Cornell University Faculty

Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, has announced the hiring of six Black scholars to its faculty.

Christopher A. Alabi was appointed an assistant professor of chemical and bimolecular engineering. From 2009 to 2013 he was a National Institutes of Health Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Alabi is a graduate of New York University. He holds a master’s degree from the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology.

Matthew Clayton is an associate professor of finance in the College of Hotel Administration. He was an associate professor of finance at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He has also taught at the University of Virginia, Rutgers University, and New York University. Dr. Clayton is a graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in finance from Northwestern University.

Eve De Rosa is a new associate professor of human development in the College of Human Ecology. She was an associate professor of psychology at the University of Toronto from 2009 to 2013. Dr. De Rosa is a native of Bermuda and a graduate of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where she double majored in biology and psychology. She earned a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Harvard University.

Oneka LaBennett is an associate professor of Africana studies. She was an associate professor and director of the American studies program at Fordham University in The Bronx, New York. She also taught at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. Dr. LaBennett is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. She holds a Ph.D. in social anthropology from Harvard University.

Jamila Michener is a new assistant professor of government. From 2011 to 2013, she was a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in Health Policy at the University of Michigan. Dr. Michener is a graduate of Princeton University. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago.

Olufemi Taiwo was hired as a professor of Africana studies. He was a professor of philosophy and director of the Global African Studies Program at Seattle University in Washington. Professor Taiwo holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria. He earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Toronto.