Jada Benn Torres is a new associate professor of anthropology. Her research examines population genetic history and variation of African Caribbean populations. Dr. Been Torres is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico.
Brandon Byrd was hired as an assistant professor of history. His research interests include black internationalism and black nationalist movements. He is completing work on his first book, An Experiment in Self-Government: Haiti in the African-American Political Imagination, 1863-1915 (University of Pennsylvania Press). Dr. Byrd is a graduate of Davidson College in North Carolina. He holds a master’s degree from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Nicole M. Joseph is an assistant professor of mathematics education at Peabody College of education and human development. She previously taught in the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver. Dr. Joseph is a graduate of Seattle University. She holds a master’s degree from Pacific Oaks College Northwest in Seattle and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.
Sharece Thrower was appointed an assistant professor of political science. Prior to joining the faculty at Vanderbilt University, she served on faculty in the department of political science at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Thrower is a graduate of Ohio State University. She earned a Ph.D. at Princeton University in Virginia.
Duane Watson is a new associate professor of psychology and human development in Peabody College. His research is focused on understanding the cognitive processes that underlie interactions between speakers and listeners. Dr. Watson is a graduate of Princeton University and holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
