52 accomplished scholars join Brown faculty as 2021-22 academic year begins

With the start of a new academic year, Brown University welcomes a cohort of 52 new faculty members with research and teaching interests spanning topics from Near Eastern art to computer vision to racial inequality.

“The work of our extraordinary faculty matters today as never before,” said Brown Provost Richard M. Locke. “Over the past 18 months, we’ve seen the magnitude of the challenges that we face, from structural racism to climate change to global pandemics and other health threats, and we’ve watched our faculty pave the way to a better world. We see this in their groundbreaking research and teaching and in the innovative collaborations that have long distinguished Brown.

“I’m thrilled to welcome this year’s new faculty members, all of whom I know will further enrich our community even as they continue to push forward the frontiers of knowledge.”

The new professors, lecturers, researchers and teaching faculty will serve in nearly 30 different academic departments, research centers and institutes across the Brown campus. Hiring this year reflects areas of strategic growth at Brown, including faculty working with the Data Science Initiative, the expansions of the Department of Economics and Department of Computer Science, as well as a new chair in Africana studies — Professor Noliwe Rooks, who served as this year’s keynote speaker for Opening Convocation.

A large proportion of people in this year’s cohort are from groups that are historically underrepresented in higher education, reflecting a commitment to diversity and inclusion laid out in Brown’s campus-wide Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan launched in 2016.

The new faculty join 3,038 new undergraduate, graduate and medical students who also join the Brown community this semester.

“At Brown, we pride ourselves on our vibrant and dynamic scholarly community and the constant exchange of ideas across our campus,” Locke said. “Each year our new faculty — some of the world’s brightest minds representing a wealth of diverse backgrounds — bring new energy to the Brown community and reinvigorate our scholarly discourse. I know that our students will benefit from the knowledge and perspective that this accomplished group of scholars brings to Brown.”

The following is a full list of new faculty members.

Humanities and Social Sciences

Life and Physical Sciences

Biology and Medicine

Engineering

Public Health