Two biologists, an economist, an artist and a political scientist have earned tenure this year. The Board of Trustees voted on the promotions at its most recent meeting, awarding tenure to Jack Bateman (biology), Bill Jackman (biology), Stephen Meardon (economics), Carrie Scanga (art), and Ericka Albaugh (government). The five faculty members will be promoted to associate professor on July 1.
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Ericka A. Albaugh, an assistant professor of government and legal studies, specializes in African politics and comparative politics in the developing world. She recently published a book with Cambridge University Press, State-Building and Multilingual Education in Africa, which examines the links between language, state building and democracy in Africa. One reviewer suggested the book would become an important text because it “uses language policy to make a broader statement about the nature and pitfalls of state construction in Africa.”
Albaugh has also published articles in several top journals, and was recently invited to work with the U.S. Department of State’s cohort of foreign service officers in Africa. She teaches courses on imperialism and colonialism, development politics, politics in Africa, language politics, ethnicity politics, and comparative perspectives on state building. She has also coordinated two symposia at Bowdoin: Crisis of the State in Africa and Mapping Language Spread in Africa. She received her PhD from Duke University and her MA from Tuft University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She earned a BA at Pepperdine University.
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Jack R. Bateman, currently Bowdoin’s Samuel S. Butcher Assistant Professor in the Natural Sciences, focus his research on genetics and molecular biology. Last year Bateman was awarded a $797,395 National Science Foundation grant for his project, “Mechanisms of cis-/trans-promoter competition in Drosophila.” Bateman – who was also the lead investigator for a Maine INBRE grant project – studies the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to better understand how genes can be turned on and off. He also is the co-founder of the Personal Genetics Education Project, an organization that raises awareness about personal genetics, with a focus on the ethical, legal, and social issues around personal genome sequencing.
Bateman has published in top journals in his field, including articles in Genetics and Nature Review Genetics. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School and his B.Sc. from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. Some of his courses include Genetics and Molecular Biology and Advanced Genetics and Epigenetics.
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William R. Jackman specializes in developmental biology and evolutionary developmental biology. His research, which has been supported by a grant from Maine’s IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), investigates the molecular mechanisms of embryonic development and how they have changed during evolution. More recently, he’s been awarded a major grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Jackman has published articles in top journals in his field, such as Evolution and Development, and co-authored articles with Bowdoin students. His Bowdoin courses include Evolutionary Links, Scientific Reasoning in Biology, Developmental Biology and Evolutionary Developmental Biology. Jackman earned a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon and did post-doctoral research at the University of Colorado. He has a B.S. from the University of Washington.
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Stephen J. Meardon specializes in economic history. His most recent research examines how economic doctrines of free-trade and protection treat the problem of reciprocity — the attempt to secure a level footing with trade partners using a range of instruments, including treaties and implicit bargains. He has published articles in top economics journals, including History of Political Economy and History of Economic Thought and Policy.
Since 2013, Meardon has been the editor of the Journal of the History of Economic Thought. He teaches courses on the history of economic thought, the history and politics of international trade, macroeconomics, and Latin American studies. Meardon was a Fulbright scholar and lecturer at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. He has a Ph.D. and M.A. from Duke University and a B.A. from Bowdoin.
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Carrie Scanga is a printmaker and installation artist. Her works on paper, artists books, and installations have been exhibited in over 50 solo and group exhibitions and received critical recognition in The New York Times and The Boston Globe. She has exhibited her work around the world, most recently in Barcelona, Monasterace, Italy, and Berlin. At Bowdoin, she established the Marvin Bileck Printmaking Project, a print residency which has brought over 30 notable artists to the college.
She has been awarded numerous fellowships and residencies, as well as grants from the Pollock Krasner Foundation and the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation. Her current projects include a book arts collaboration with Maine artist Rebecca Goodale and a traveling solo exhibition and performance work called “Breathe: The Emergent Colony.” Scanga received her M.F.A. from University of Washington and her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College. She teaches courses on printmaking, drawing and narrative structures.
