The University at Buffalo Adds 12 Women to Its Faculty

The College of Arts and Sciences at the University at Buffalo, a campus of the State University of New York system, has added 22 new faculty members this fall. The new faculty hires are part of plan to add 60 new faculty over the next several years. Of the 22 new faculty members this fall, 12 are women.

(L to R) Top row: G. Ekin Atilla-Gokcumen, Dana Farah Fields, Hanna Grol-Prokopczyk, Lindsay Brandon Hunter, Alyssa Mt. Pleasant, and Kristin E. Naragon-Gainey. Bottom row: Yuki Numata, Paige Sarlin, Jessica Houston Su, Jasmina Tumbas, Paola Ugoline, and Cala A. Zubair.

G. Ekin Atilla-Gokcumen is a new assistant professor of chemistry. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute of Harvard Medical School. Dr. Atilla-Gokcumen is a graduate of Koc University in Istanbul, Turkey. She earned a Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dana Farah Fields has joined the faculty of the department of classics as an assistant professor. She was a Mellon Research Fellow in the Society of Fellows in the Humanities at Columbia University. Dr. Fields is a summa cum laude graduate of Barnard College and holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Princeton University.

Hanna Grol-Prokopczyk is a new assistant professor of sociology. She is a graduate of Harvard University and earned master’s degrees in sociology and Southeast Asian studies and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Lindsay Brandon Hunter was appointed an assistant professor in the department of theatre and dance. Dr. Hunter is a graduate of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. She holds a master’s degree from New York University and a Ph.D. in theater and performance studies from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Alyssa Mt. Pleasant is an assistant professor in the department of transnational studies. She was a research associate at the McNeil Center for Early American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and taught in the history department at Yale University. Dr. Mt. Pleasant holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in history from Cornell University.

Kristin E. Naragon-Gainey was named an assistant professor of psychology. She was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University. Dr. Naragon-Gainey is a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard University. She holds a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music and a second master’s degree and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Iowa.

Yuki Numata is an assistant professor of music and an instructor in violin and viola. She is a former adjunct professor at the university. Numata is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester and holds a master’s degree in performance and chamber music from the University of Michigan.

Paige Sarlin was hired as an assistant professor in the department of media study. She was a visiting professor in the department during the 2012-2013 academic year. Dr. Sarlin holds a master of fine arts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago and a Ph.D. in modern culture and media from Brown University.

Jessica Houston Su was named an assistant professor of sociology. She was a research assistant in the department of policy analysis and management at Cornell University. Dr. Su is a graduate of Dartmouth College and holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Cornell University.

Jasmina Tumbas is an assistant professor of visual studies. A native of Serbia, Dr. Tumbas is a graduate of Maryville College in Tennessee. She holds a master’s degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design and a Ph.D. in art history and visual studies from Duke University.

Paola Ugoline was named an assistant professor of Italian. She has been a visiting assistant professor at the university since 2011. Dr. Ugoline holds degrees from the University of Bologna and the University of Venice. She earned a Ph.D. at New York University.

Cala A. Zubair was named an assistant professor of linguistics. She was an assistant professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Dr. Zubair holds a Ph.D. from Georgetown University.