Faculty members put their knowledge into action so students and others are able to benefit from it. Recently, faculty published papers in prestigious outlets and presented at renowned conferences.
Patti Frazer Lock
Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Patti Frazer Lock has been invited to a math summit at Harvard University this May, sponsored by TPSE-Math (Transforming Post-Secondary Education in Mathematics). The invitation-only gathering brings together nationally recognized mathematics educators from across the country.
Professor Lock has also been active on the national lecture circuit. She recently delivered an invited address on "Pathways and Possibilities to Support Student Learning about Data and AI" for the Entry Points Webinar Series, and will give another invited address this July on "AI and the 2026 College GAISE Recommendations: Sparking Joy and Discovery in Intro Stat and Intro Data Science."
Howard Eissenstat
Associate Professor and Chair of History Howard Eissenstat served as an invited discussant at the book launch of Reuben Silverman's The Rise and Fall of Turkey's Democrat Party: The Cold War and Illiberalism, 1945–60, published by Cambridge University Press.
The event, hosted by Stockholm University's Institute for Turkish Studies in March 2026, is available to view online.
Stephanie Wang
Assistant Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies Stephanie Wang was an invited panelist on the Chinese Masculinities panel at the Brown China Summit on April 11. Her presentation examined the "boy's crisis" and rural crisis in China within the context of the country's broader social reproduction challenges amid rapid political and economic transformation.
She also explored the queer ballroom scene in China as a site where expressions of femininity and masculinity are both contested and pushed to their limits.
Alanna Gillis
Associate Professor of Sociology Alanna Gillis presented her expertise across three sessions at the Southern Sociological Society annual meeting in Jacksonville, Florida in April. She led workshops on translating teaching practice into research and crafting job market teaching statements, and facilitated a discussion on her research, "Promoting Student Participation through an Equitable, Growth-Based Model."
Gillis also brought student Lily Welch '26 along to the conference, where Lily presented a poster on how students' social and economic backgrounds affect transitions out of college, the culmination of her two-semester honors Senior Year Experience project. Lily successfully defended her thesis to a faculty committee on April 24.
Faculty & Alumni Spotlight
Four St. Lawrence faculty members and one alum presented research at the 2026 meeting of the National Popular Culture Association, held April 8–11 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Michael and Virginia Ranger Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs Ronnie Olesker, and Assistant Professor of Political Science at Anderson University Zach Lang '19, presented "The Dragon in Our Minds: Exposure Impact of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon on Students" in the science fiction and fantasy area.
Charles A. Dana Professor of Mathematics Dan Look presented "Conan by Committee: A Computational Look at Tor's Conan Era" in the pulp studies area.
Assistant Professor of Performance and Communication Arts Ashley Rife presented research on a horror movie, "Presence" (2024), which directly ties to the concepts and research methods in her Horror Rhetorics class. The presentation, "Becoming Spectral: Presence and the Limits of the Contemporary Self," explored how the film's use of first-person perspective collapses the distance between viewer and specter, turning the act of watching into an encounter with ourselves and the limits of the identities we perform in everyday life.
Assistant Professor of Performance and Communication Arts Tyler Rife presented "Panic Attack // Baby Invasion," which showcased his research on Harmon Korine's 2024 experimental film "Baby Invasion." In the research, Rife argues that the film is a non-traditional form of premonitory horror that anticipates a future digital culture even more deeply entrenched in unreality through A.I.
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St. Lawrence’s Faculty Focus is a regular roundup of noteworthy faculty news.
