There are 15 new tenure-track faculty members at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, this fall. Four of the 15 new faculty members are Black.
Oheneba A. Boateng is a new assistant professor of political science. Much of Dr. Boateng’s research focuses on the roles of international organizations in humanitarianism and their place in broader international relations. Dr. Boateng is a graduate of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the Free University Berlin in Germany.
Samantha Francois was hired as an associate professor of psychology. She was the co-executive director of the Violence Prevention Institute at Tulane University in New Orleans. Her research examines the intersections of the individual, community, and structural factors that impact development in Black and African American adolescents and emerging adults. Dr. Francois is a graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She holds a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Xavier University and a master’s degree and a doctorate in psychological sciences from Tulane University.
Nana Kesse, a new assistant professor of history, specializes in African environmental history, specifically focusing on water systems and bodies of water. His research examines how Africans interacted with waterbodies throughout history and how this relationship shaped the continent’s past. Dr. Kesse is a graduate of the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. He holds a master’s degree in African studies from Ohio University and a Ph.D. in African history from Michigan State University.
James Maurelle is an assistant professor of visual and performing arts. He is an interdisciplinary artist whose analog and digital primes include sculpture, video, photography, and sound art. He has held academic appointments at Drexel University in Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania. Maurelle holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from the San Francisco Art Institute and a master of fine arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
