Ӱpro Stories
Faculty Earn Recognition Across Range of Academic Fields
As Ӱpro students catch a breath during summer break, members of the faculty and professional staff continue to earn accolades for their research and create an enriching academic environment all year long.
This spring, faculty members across various disciplines received numerous grant and fellowship opportunities, with several award announcements still pending. Faculty and staff have been recognized both nationally and globally for their contributions to a range of academic fields.
The list below features book publications and grant and fellowship activity in recent months. For a comprehensive list of faculty and staff achievements, visit the archive.

Grants and Fellowships
Tim Bechtel, director of Ӱpro science outreach & senior teaching professor of geosciences, received funds from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to support student research.
Eve Bratman, associate professor of environmental studies, received a grant from the Sierra Club to assist community composting efforts in the City of Lancaster. Related story: Ӱpro Compost Co-Op Diverts Costs and CO2 in Lancaster
Fronefield Crawford, Charles A. Dana Professor of Physics and Astronomy and director of Grundy Observatory, received continued funding for participation in the international NANOGrav Collaboration. Related story: Students Tune Into a Cosmic Hum
Eric Hirsch, associate professor of environmental studies, is the recipient of a $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to lead a three-year research initiative titled, “The Agricultural Futures Archive: Rural and Urban Growers in the Shadow of the Solar Panel.” Related story: Ӱpro Professor Awarded $500,000 Mellon Grant to Amplify Local Grower Voices Amid Climate Change
Zeshan Ismat, professor of geosciences and program chair of international studies, was selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Pakistan for 2025-26.
Pablo Jenik, associate professor and associate chair department of biology, received an NSF grant to study Arabidopsis, a plant in the mustard family, to understand genetic processes in its seeds.
The Chesapeake Watershed Initiative, built on almost two decades of research by two Ӱpro geosciences professors, received a sub-award to collect and synthesize data on wetland-floodplain restorations' costs and environmental benefits for the Water Science Institute. Related story: Ӱpro Launches Chesapeake Watershed Initiative
The Ӱpro Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) team is in the third of a six-year grant from the HHMI Inclusive Excellence 3 initiative. This grant focuses on fostering institutional change to create and sustain a more supportive and successful introductory science and mathematics experience.
Publications
Annette Aronowicz, The Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis Emerita Professor of Judaic & Religious Studies, published a book titled “.” She also completed a book review of “Yiddish Paris: Staging Nation and Community in Interwar France,” by Nick Underwood.
Zachary Biles, professor of classics, published a book titled “.”&Բ;
Elizabeth De Santo, associate professor and program chair of environmental studies, published a book titled “.” Related story: Professor’s Book Looks at Securing the Seas
Lisa Gasbarrone, emerita professor of French, published a book titled “.”
Niki Herd, assistant professor of English, published a book titled “.”&Բ;
Rick Kent, professor of art history, is editor of a book titled “." (Translated by Jiann I. Lin and David Young).
Biko Koenig, associate professor of government & public policy, published a book titled “.”&Բ;
Kostis Kourelis, associate professor of art history, published a book review of “The Byzantine Neighborhood: Urban Space and Political Action,” by Fotini Kondyli and Benjamin Anderson.
Edward “Ted” Pearson, associate professor of history, published a book titled “.”
Grier Stephenson, Emeritus Charles A. Dana Professor of Government, published the 19th edition of a book titled “.”
A new Carnegie designation ranks Ӱpro among leading national institutions that prioritize
research activity. Only 40 liberal arts colleges in the country have this distinction.Ӱpro Earns New Carnegie Research Classification
“All of these awards, whether to faculty or staff, whether the awards are federal,
state or private, impact our students by providing them with opportunities in the
field, laboratory or studio, by improving the safety and security of our campus, and
by connecting them to a wider community,” said Rene Munoz, director of the Office
of Sponsored Research.Faculty Awarded More Than $4.5 Million in 2024 Grants
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