Seven Davidson College faculty members have been promoted to the rank of full professor. The promotions were approved during a meeting of the Board of Trustees on Tuesday. This year’s class of full profs, as reported by the Dean of Faculty, Clark Ross, is Chris Alexander, Michael Dorcas, Tim Gfroerer, Mark Smith, Greg Snyder, Erland Stevens, and Dave Wessner.

Full professor is the college’s top rank and recognizes faculty for achievements in teaching, professional activity, and college/community service. New professors typically begin at the rank of assistant professor. They can be granted tenure and promoted to associate professor after a sixth-year review. They become eligible for full-professor honors after another review and seven more years.

Read more about them:

Chris Alexander

M. Christopher Alexander

Came to Davidson in 2002 as associate Professor of Political Science and McGee Director of the Dean Rusk Program in International Studies. He specializes in the politics of north Africa and recently has been widely quoted for his expertise in the situation in Tunisia.  He received his B.A. (magna cum laude, with honors) from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga). He has an M.A. and PhD (Duke)

(RELATED LINK: Jan. 16, 2011, “Amid chaos in Tunisia, world press calls on Davidson expert.“)

Mike Dorcas

Michael E. Dorcas

Came to Davidson in 1998 as Assistant Professor of Biology. He studies reptiles and directs the college’s herpetology laboratory. He received tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2004. B.S., M.S. (University of Texas at Arlington), PhD (Idaho State)

(RELATED LINKS: June 30, 2009, “Davidson prof studies pythons, coming this way?”; Also, Davidson College DayBook blog, “Burmese Python Invasion! Snakes on a Campus?”)

Tim Gfroerer

Timothy H. Gfroerer

Came to Davidson in 1999 as Assistant Professor of Physics. He teaches a variety of physics courses and conducts research on defects in semiconductors with application to photovoltaic devices.  Received tenure and promoted to Associate Professor in 2004. B.S. (summa cum laude) (University of the South), M.S. (Georgia Institute of Technology), PhD (Dartmouth)

His faculty web page on Davidson.edu

Mark Smith

Mark A. Smith

Came to Davidson in 1998 as Assistant Professor of Psychology. His research focuses on the biochemical and behavioral effects of opioids and cocaine, two classes of drugs that have high abuse and dependence liability. He received tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2004. B.A. (magna cum laude) (Lenoir-Rhyne), PhD (UNC Chapel Hill)

Read more about him in his Davidson.edu biography.

Greg Snyder

H. Gregory Snyder

Came to Davidson in 2000 as Assistant Professor of Religion. Received tenure and promoted to Associate Professor in 2004. He teaches courses on New Testament literature, Jesus, Paul, and selected topics in early Christianity.  B.S. (Seattle Pacific University), M.S. (Columbia University), M.Div. (magna cum laude), S.T.M., M.Phil., PhD (Yale)

See his biography on Davidson.edu.

Erland Stevens

Erland P. Stevens

Came to Davidson in 1998 as Assistant Professor of Chemistry. He teaches organic chemistry and other courses and currently serves as the department’s chair. His research interests include nitrogen heterocycles, medicinal chemistry, and bioorganic chemistry. Received tenure and promoted to Associate Professor in 2004. B.S. (Duke), PhD (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)

Read more about him on the chemistry department website.

Dave Wessner

David R. Wessner

Came to Davidson in 1998 as Assistant Professor of Biology. He teaches biology, microbiology, and genetics, and he studies, among other things, the biology of HIV/AIDS. Received tenure and promoted to Associate Professor in 2004. A.B. (cum laude) (Franklin and Marshall), PhD (Harvard).

RELATED LINKS: July 21, 2010, “Live from Vienna: It’s biologist Dave Wessner” – DavidsonNews.net’s Cathryn Westra talked to Dr. Wessner about his trip to the World AIDS conference in Vienna.

RELATED COVERAGE

Feb. 25, 2010, “College promotes 4 to full professor” (last year’s class of new full professors.