Bookshelf

Death by DNA

John S. Shaw III

Associate Professor and Acting Psychology Department Head
John S. Shaw III, 2016

The Joy of Set

Elizabeth McMahon

Professor of Mathematics
Princeton University Press, 2016

Couple Relationships in the Middle and Later Years: Their Nature, Complexity, and Role in Health and Illness

Jamila Bookwala

Dean of Curriculum and Research
American Psychological Association, 2016

The Presentation of Self in Contemporary Social Life

David Shulman

Professor of Anthropology and Sociology
Sage Publications, 2016

Ron Chernow

speaker spotlight

The Marquis de Lafayette has loomed large in Ron Chernow’s celebrated nonfiction, and now the famed biographer will loom large at the College that bears Lafayette’s name. Chernow, the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and commentator on politics, business, and finance, will be the featured speaker at Lafayette’s 182nd Commencement Saturday, May 20. Chernow served as the historical consultant on the acclaimed Broadway musical Hamilton, which was inspired by his biography of Alexander Hamilton. “Having written biographies of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, I have twice written about the Marquis de Lafayette and am therefore especially pleased to be honored by Lafayette College,” he says. The College will present Chernow with an honorary Doctor of Letters degree.

On The Move

Chris Hunt

Dean of equity
At Moravian since 2008, Hunt rose from director of student life/housing and summer conferences to associate dean of students and director of intercultural advancement and global inclusion. He began his professional career here at Lafayette in 2003 as assistant director of residence life.

Anne Houston

Dean of libraries
As director of teaching, learning, and research at Smith College Libraries in Massachusetts, Houston works closely with faculty and students to support their research and integrate instructional technology and digital scholarship into the curriculum.

Joaquin Gomez-Minambres

Assistant Professor of Economics
As assistant professor of economics at Bucknell University, a position he’s held since 2013, Gomez-Minambres is a behavioral and experimental economist. His work straddles psychology and economics, examining the reasoning (or lack thereof) people use when spending, saving, and investing money.

Melissa Gordon

Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Gordon amassed an impressive career in chemical engineering at Lafayette—and now she’s back as faculty. She obtained an NSF Graduate Fellowship and a NASA Space Grant Fellowship while obtaining her Ph.D. at University of Delaware developing materials for the International Space Station.

Marie Fechik-Kirk

Director of Sustainability
In mid-November, Fechik-Kirk became Lafayette’s first director of sustainability. She is charged with leading campus efforts to build and implement an environmentally sustainable future for the College. Fechik-Kirk was sustainability coordinator at the Sports & Exhibition Authority in Pittsburgh.