WASHINGTON, PA (May 25, 2012)—The following faculty members have been awarded tenure by Washington & Jefferson College (W&J):
▪ Thomas Contreras, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Biology
Contreras received a bachelor’s degree in education with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry from Central Michigan University in 1984. He followed that in 1991 with a master’s degree in teaching, and in 1995, with a master’s in conservation biology, both from the same university. In 2002, he received his doctorate in biology, specializing in landscape ecology, from Carleton University. Following post-doctoral appointments at the University of Florida, he joined the W&J faculty in 2006.
▪ Jennifer Harding, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, English
Harding received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a bachelor’s degree in English from Lafayette College in 1996. She followed that in 2000 with a master’s in English language and literature from the University of Maryland and, in 2004, received her doctorate in English language and literature from the same university. She joined the W&J faculty in 2006.
▪ Hanna Kim, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Philosophy
Kim received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1997, and, in 2006, a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Michigan. In addition, during the 2005-2006 academic year, she was a visiting scholar in the department of philosophy at Rutgers University. She joined the W&J faculty in 2006.
▪ Katherine Ternes, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Modern Languages/Spanish
Ternes received her bachelor’s in Spanish from Beloit College in 1993, and, during her time at Beloit, received the Diploma de Estudios Hispánicos from the University of Salamanca. She followed her undergraduate degree in 1995 with a master’s in foreign languages and literatures from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and in 2006 received her doctorate in Spanish from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She joined the W&J faculty in 2006.
▪ Yongsheng Wang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Economics and Business
Wang received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Qingdao University in 1999. He followed that in 2003 with a master’s in economics from Texas Tech University and, in 2005, received his doctorate in economics from the same university. The following year, Wang served as a visiting assistant professor at Texas Tech and, in 2006, he joined the W&J faculty.
▪ Michael Wolf, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Philosophy
Wolf received a bachelor’s in philosophy and political science from the University of Pittsburgh in 1993. He followed that in 1999 with a doctorate in philosophy from Georgetown University. Before joining W&J as a faculty member in 2008, Wolf held academic appointments at Kalamazoo College for three years and California State University at Fresno for five years.
In addition, Zheya Gai, Ph.D., has been promoted to rank of professor of political Science. Gai received her bachelor’s in 1982 in international politics from Fudan University, Shanghai, China. She followed that in 1984 with a master’s in international politics from the same university. In 1997, she received her doctorate in political science from the University of Pittsburgh. Following an appointment at the University of Pittsburgh, she formally joined the W&J faculty in 1998.
(end)
