Meet Our New Faculty

St. Lawrence University is pleased to welcome our new faculty members for the 2026–2027 academic year. Representing a range of disciplines, they bring new perspectives, expertise, and experiences to our academic community and share a commitment to teaching, scholarship, and student learning. 
 

2026–2027 New Faculty. Front row, from left: Samiya Bashir, Emily Reilly, CJ Gill, and Mikey Rioux. Back row, from left: Alejandra Luna, Kenton Jones, Jiali Luo, Qiao Wang, Andrew Beck, Daniel Chupik, and Mahdi Khadem. Not pictured: Victoria Consolvo.
                              

Samiya Bashir

Samiya Bashir joins St. Lawrence University as the Viebranz Visiting Professor of Creative Writing. An award-winning poet, librettist, multimedia artist, editor, and educator, she is the author of four poetry collections, including I Hope This Helps and Field Theories, winner of the Oregon Book Award. Her honors include the Rome Prize in Literature, a Pushcart Prize, and fellowships from MacDowell and the New York State Council on the Arts. She has taught at Columbia University, University of Michigan, Reed College, and in community-based programs across the country. Working across poetry, performance, opera, and visual media, Bashir explores language, history, identity, and place while fostering curiosity, experimentation, and rigorous creative practice in the classroom.

Andrew Beck

Andrew Beck joins St. Lawrence as an Associate Professor and the inaugural Dr. J. Mark Erickson Professor of Geology.  He earned his BA in Philosophy from Albion College and PhD in Geology from University of Tennessee, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and an appointment at Johns Hopkins APL.  Most recently, Beck was an Associate Professor and Department Chair of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Marietta College.  His research involves identification of early Solar System igneous processes through microscopic examination of meteorites, and geologic interpretation of nuclear and reflectance spectra from planetary bodies.  Beck looks forward to incorporating Adirondack rocks into his research and teaching portfolio, along with introducing students to planetary science.

Daniel Chupik

Daniel Chupik joins St. Lawrence University as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Geology. He recently earned his Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from Arizona State University. This fall, he will teach Natural Hazards and Disasters, Global Climate, and Directed Studies. Daniel’s research focuses on reconstructing paleoenvironments associated with early hominins in the Afar Depression of Ethiopia and understanding how volcanism, tectonics, and sedimentary processes interact in active rift settings. He uses field mapping, drone-based remote sensing, stratigraphy, geochemistry, and geochronology to study landscape evolution, rift basin development, and volcanic histories.

Victoria Consolvo

Victoria Consolvo joins St. Lawrence as an Assistant Professor in Economics. Consolvo earned her Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame, and her research is in applied macroeconomics, monetary economics, and household finance. Her recent work uses grocery scanner data to study how households changed their shopping behavior during the most recent high-inflation episode. Her teaching interests include macroeconomics, applied econometrics, and money and banking. She especially enjoys helping students build empirical research skills to investigate the economic questions they find most interesting. 

CJ Gill

CJ Gill, Visiting Assistant Professor of Anatomy and Physiology, received her B.S. in biology from the University of North Carolina and her Ph.D. in neuroendocrinology from the University of Virginia. Professor Gill did postdoctoral research at the University of Texas examining the development of brain steroid receptor regulation in parthenogenetic and sex-reversed lizards. She has also studied neuroendocrine regulation and connectivity in response to environmental and social cues in amphibians and a variety of mammalian species. Her interests span the areas of human and comparative physiology, neuroscience, endocrinology, herpetology, conservation biology, kinesiology, and behavioral biology.

Kenton Jones

Kenton Jones joins St. Lawrence University as a Visiting Instructor of Scenic Design. After many years living and working in Los Angeles, Tucson, and several Midwestern communities, he recently relocated to the East Coast. He holds two Master of Fine Arts degrees: one in Applied Drama and Theatre for Youth from Eastern Michigan University and another in Theatre Design from the University of Memphis. In addition to designing for the stage, Kenton has worked in film and television and is an accomplished interior decorative painter. His interests include theatre history, devising scenic design through the rehearsal process, and improvisation.

Mahdi Khadem

Mahdi Khadem joins St. Lawrence University as a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Biology. He earned his Ph.D. from Florida State University, where his research studied the role of the SWI/SNF ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complex in cellular reprogramming. His current research interests center on uncovering the molecular alterations that drive cancer development and progression using genomics approaches. Beyond his research, Khadem believes his greater impact comes from training students who will become the future scholars shaping both the scientific community and society at large. Outside the lab, he enjoys photography, exploring the outdoors, and spending time with friends.

Alejandra Luna

Alejandra Luna joins St. Lawrence University’s Performance and Communication Arts Department as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre. A Mexican theatre director and educator, she holds an AA in Theatre from Chandler-Gilbert Community College, a BFA in Acting from Western Michigan University, and an MFA in Directing with a graduate certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Illinois State University. She views directing as a way to contribute to her community through storytelling, collaboration, and shared joy. Her research examines how different systems of oppression limit access to theatre and explores practical ways to make the art form more equitable, inclusive, and accessible across diverse backgrounds and social classes.

Jiali Luo

Jiali Luo begins her appointment as an Assistant Professor of Accounting at St. Lawrence University. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Montreal, where her research focused on environmental disclosure quality, the impact of audit and assurance services, and the integration of machine learning into accounting research. Luo’s work is primarily quantitative and archival, drawing on large-scale datasets and complemented by interviews with partners at Big Four accounting firms and sustainability consulting firms. She enjoys teaching financial and managerial accounting, using these foundational courses to show students how accounting shapes effective business decision-making.

Emily Reilly

Emily Reilly joins St. Lawrence as an Assistant Professor in Psychology. Reilly earned her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and worked as a Research Scientist at Duke University. Her teaching interests include developmental psychology, parenting and family interventions, and stress and trauma. Her research focuses on early childhood development and how the relationships between young children and their primary caregivers are shaped by psychological and biological processes and adversity. She is passionate about engaging students in research and has previously mentored McNair scholars. In her free time, she enjoys cross-country skiing and walking her dog.

Qiao Wang

Qiao Wang joins St. Lawrence University as a Visiting Instructor and Research Fellow in the Department of Economics. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Finance at Kent State University, where his research focuses on real estate, corporate governance, and investment. Before pursuing his doctoral studies, Qiao spent many years working in the finance industry, an experience that continues to shape his teaching. He enjoys connecting classroom concepts with real-world business and financial examples, helping students bridge the gap between theory and practice. Outside of teaching and research, Qiao enjoys hiking and exploring new technologies.