David V. Powers, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Seattle University, announced new faculty in a number of departments, including the largest cohort of new tenure track faculty in more than 15 years. ““I extend a warm welcome to our new tenure track faculty and the new leader of our Army ROTC program. This is a remarkable group of talented educators and I look forward to their contributions to our academic community,” he said, “I also am very happy to congratulate Dr. Hidy Basta and Dr. Leann Conley-Holcom on their promotions.”
New tenure track faculty
- Byron Au Yong, MFA, Associate Professor and Director, Arts Leadership Programs, Performing Arts and Arts Leadership
- Marina Carcamo-Garcia, PhD, Assistant Professor, Modern Languages and Cultures
- Daniel Avi Gilbert Coren, PhD, Assistant Professor, Philosophy
- Eva Dicker, PhD, Assistant Professor, Psychology
- Tam Dinh, Q. PhD, LICSW, Full Professor and Director, Master of Social Work Program, Social Work
- Sam Harrell, MSW, PhD Candidate, Assistant Professor, Social Work
- Bridget Joyner-Carpanini, PhD, Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics
- David Kwon, PhD, Assistant Professor, Theology and Religious Studies
- Yangjung Lee, PhD Candidate, Assistant Professor, English
- Robin S. Reich, PhD, Assistant Professor, History
- Yasemin Sari, PhD, Assistant Professor, Philosophy
Promoted to tenure track
- Hidy Basta, PhD, Assistant Professor, English
- Leann Conley-Holcom, DMA, Assistant Professor of Music, Director of Choral & Vocal Activities, also appointed to Music Program Director, Performing Arts and Arts Leadership
New ROTC Leader
- LTC Haley Beth Middlebrook, MA, Professor of Military Science, Army ROTC
Meet the faculty
New tenure track
Byron Au Yong, MFA, Associate Professor and Director, Arts Leadership Programs, Performing Arts and Arts Leadership
Byron Au Yong is an Associate Professor and Director of the MFA and BA in Interdisciplinary Arts in Arts Leadership programs. He previously served as an Associate Professor and Program Director at the University of San Francisco, Adjunct Faculty at Cornish College of the Arts, and Public Programs Manager for the Wing Luke Museum. Au Yong has also led workshops for Asian Musical Voices of America, Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, Stanford University ITALIC, Strategic Planning Partners, and Taiko Community Alliance.
As a composer, Au Yong incorporates imagination and knowledge to advocate for social change. His music has been featured around the world, including the American Conservatory Theater, Asian Arts Initiative, International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Jeonju Sanjo Festival, Live Arts Miami, Moss Arts Center, and Nashville Opera. Variety magazine describes his work as “intimate and existential, personal and political all at once.”
Honors include a Creative Capital Award, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Building Demand for the Arts Grant, and Sundance Institute Time Warner Foundation Fellowship. Residencies include the A/P/A Institute, Bloedel Reserve, Exploratorium, Livable Futures, Montalvo Arts Center, and Yale Institute for Music Theater. He holds degrees in theater, dance, and music from NYU, UCLA, and the University of Washington.
Marina Carcamo-Garcia, PhD, Assistant Professor, Modern Languages and Cultures
Marina Cárcamo-García is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures at Seattle University, specializing in Spanish, and Translation and Interpretation. With over 7 years of experience in higher education, Marina has taught a wide range of courses, including introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels in Portuguese and Spanish, as well as Spanish linguistics, and translation and interpretation. Furthermore, Cárcamo-García brings valuable practical experience to her academic role, having worked as a proficient translator, interpreter, and proof-reader across English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Cárcamo-García obtained her doctorate in Hispanic Linguistics with a doctoral minor in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching from The University of Arizona. Her research is centered around sociolinguistics and translation studies. In the field of sociolinguistics, her primary areas of interest include language contact, bilingualism, language variation and change (particularly in contexts of second language [L2] acquisition), and language ideologies and attitudes. In her dissertation, she employed an interdisciplinary approach to examine language mixing, commonly referred to as code-switching, within diaspora contexts where L2 acquisition occurs through immersive experiences. Within the field of translation studies, she is particularly interested in transfer competence and the development of translation pedagogy for both L2 and heritage speakers.
Daniel Avi Gilbert Coren, PhD, Assistant Professor, Philosophy
Dr. Daniel Avi Gilbert Coren earned a doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Colorado (Boulder) in 2019. He was a Visiting Assistant Professor at McMaster University (2019-2022) and Skidmore College (2022-23). His work focuses on moral responsibility, Aristotle, free will, and related issues in ethics. His pre-SU teaching experience includes ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, logic, ethics, political philosophy, Classical Indian Buddhist philosophy, early modern philosophy, philosophy of law, and other areas. Dr. Coren’s main research goal is to develop a philosophically, scientifically, mathematically, and theologically defensible account of free will. Outside philosophy, he enjoys watching and playing soccer and chess (not at the same time). I have also long enjoyed hiking and meditating (at the same time, if possible). Selected publications include “Zooming Irresponsibly Down the Slippery Slope,” Analysis, 2021, 81: 396–402; “Testing for Intrinsic Value, for Us as We Are,” Inquiry, 2023, 66: 773-798; “Sympathetic Joy,” Erkenntnis, forthcoming; “Indecision and Buridan’s Principle,” Synthese, 2022, 200: 1–18; “Aristotle on Motion in Incomplete Animals,” Apeiron, 2020, 53: 285–314; “Aristotle Against (Unqualified) Self-motion: Physics VII 1 α241b35–242a49 / β241b25–242a15,” Ancient Philosophy, 2019, 39: 363–80; and “Freedom, Gratitude, and Resentment: Olivi and Strawson,” Res Philosophica, 2019, 96: 1–21.
Eva Dicker, PhD, Assistant Professor, Psychology
Dr. Eva Dicker is joining Seattle University as a tenure track Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department. Originally from Davis, CA, she received her B.A. in Psychology from UC Berkeley and earned her PhD in both Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience and Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine at Rice University in Houston, TX. Her primary research examines the intersection between emotion regulation, social cognitive neuroscience, and physiology to understand health and aging. Using a multidisciplinary approach, Eva is interested in understanding the neurobiological and immunological mechanisms of emotion regulation. She conducts basic and translational research with both undergraduate students and high-stress older adults. She is especially interested in learning how emotion regulation can act as a buffer in the development and progression of clinically relevant health outcomes in these populations, such as depression or Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias. Eva is passionate about mentorship and plans on welcoming undergraduates to her lab this spring. Additionally, she will be teaching Cognitive Psychology, Biopsychology, Statistics & Research Methods with more courses to come.
Tam Dinh, Q. PhD, LICSW, Full Professor and Director, Master of Social Work Program, Social Work
Tam Q. Dinh, PhD, LICSW, is Director of the Master of Social Work Program at Seattle University and Professor of Social Work. She earned her BSW and MSW at the University of Washington and her PhD in Social Work at the University of Southern California. For the past 25 years, her community and professional work centers on racial equity and inclusion practices that increase equitable access, representation, and outcomes for marginalized communities, especially the Southeast Asian refugee and immigrant communities. Her pre-tenure scholarship focused on Asian/SE Asian refugee/immigrant mental health. Since tenure, she has concentrated her scholarly efforts on applied scholarship and public scholarship, which was recognized with the 2021 National Association of Social Work -WA Educator of the Year Award.
Sam Harrell, MSW, PhD Candidate, Assistant Professor, Social Work
Sam Harrell, MSW (they/them) is a doctoral candidate in Social Work and Social Research at Portland State University where they explore social work’s contribution to Progressive Era prison expansion. They teach research-related courses to undergraduate and graduate social work students at Seattle University. Harrell is a macro social worker from the Midwest with experience in child welfare, prison and jail re-entry, low-barrier shelter services, LGBTQ+ youth services, legal advocacy, violence prevention, and crisis intervention. They have previously taught community and organization practice courses at Indiana University, as well as critical history courses at Portland State University. Sam still teaches a leadership course for graduate social work students at Indiana University, while also working as an Editorial Assistant for Affilia: Feminist Inquiry in Social Work. They are proud to serve on the inaugural Editorial Board of Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work.
Bridget Joyner-Carpanini, PhD, Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics
Dr. Bridget Joyner-Carpanini is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics at Seattle University. She holds a PhD, MS, and BS in Criminology & Criminal Justice from Florida State University. Her primary research interests include propensity-based theories of crime and victimization, intergenerational risk of psychopathology, life-course and developmental criminology, and evolutionary criminology. Her works have appeared in the Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology, Crime & Delinquency, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Child Abuse & Neglect, Psychiatric Quarterly, American Journal of Criminal Justice, and Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences. She also co-authored a chapter in Revitalizing Victimization Theory: Revisions, Applications, and New Directions – Advances in Criminological Theory. She is a member of the American Society of Criminology, Biosocial Criminology Association, and Human Behavior & Evolution Society. Dr. Joyner-Carpanini’s present research focus includes examining biological and environmental risk factors of various criminal behaviors and traits. She currently has projects in progress investigating the causes and consequences of callous-unemotional traits and is working to develop novel quantitative genetic methods to studying the etiology of complex and rare behaviors, including homicide.
Daniel Kwon, PhD, Assistant Professor, Theology and Religious Studies
Dr. David Kwon is Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Seattle University. He received his PhD in moral theology from Boston College. He also holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins University and degrees in social work and social policy (AM/MSW) as well as MDiv from the University of Chicago and draws on his education and professional experience in these fields in his work as a social ethicist and theologian of intersectionality. His areas of teaching and research include the ethics of peace, business and environmental ethics, health care ethics, and, more recently, gender and racial justice, all of which he approaches from a global perspective. His first book Justice after War was published by Catholic University of America Press in Summer, 2023. He has published several writings on the topics of the intersections between race, gender and sexual violence, and class such as in the Journal of Catholic Social Thought, Journal of Society of Christian Ethics, Journal of Peace and Justice, Journal of Moral Theology, Journal of Interreligious Studies, as well as Asian American Theological Forum and other peer review journals and open access ones. Before joining Seattle, he was an assistant professor at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota where he was recognized with the College’s Student Senate teaching award in 2021. He is excited to join the Seattle community and will need support and guidance in his quest to find the best coffee and food on campus and in Seattle. He loves outdoor activities and tennis, and rain!
Yangjung Lee, PhD Candidate, Assistant Professor, English
Yangjung Lee is a scholar of the literature and culture of nineteenth-century Britain and its empire. More broadly, her interests include colonial and postcolonial theories, transatlantic literature, the study of race in the nineteenth century, slavery and emancipation, and the circum-Caribbean. Her research focuses on Victorian narratives about the Caribbean to uncover the racial logic of post-emancipation British imperialism. Her work problematizes the triumphant narrative of emancipation as the pinnacle of success for British abolitionist politics by reading the deliberate absence of compensation for enslavers in Victorian fiction. Like her research, her teaching locates marginalized and absent perspectives to expand the range of representation in history and literary texts. Her experiences as a third culture individual have informed her awareness of diverse voices and cultures and have nurtured her commitment to sharing experiences across different communities to foster long-lasting connections. Lee will receive her PhD in English at the University of California, Los Angeles, with a certificate in Writing Pedagogy, and her MA and BA in English Language and Literature from Yonsei University in South Korea.
Robin S. Reich, PhD, Assistant Professor, History
Robin S. Reich is a historian of medicine and science in the medieval Mediterranean. She has always been drawn in by the romance of the Middle Ages, and its gritty alter-ego, "the Dark Ages". Her work uses methods of art history and archaeology to trace knowledge and practices of science across religious, linguistic, and geographical borders. She is particularly interested in the roles of gender and ethnicity in medieval practices of medicine. Dr. Reich received her PhD in History from Columbia University, her MA from Boston College, and her BA from Carleton College. She teaches on topics related to women and gender studies, history of science, medieval history in Europe, Africa, and western Asia, and the modern perception of medieval and Middle Eastern cultures. Dr. Reich is also the Managing Director of the Medievalist Toolkit project, which seeks to depoliticize the use of the Middle Ages in popular discourse. In her spare time, you can find her walking the city or the outdoors or learning new handicrafts.
Yasemin Sari, PhD, Assistant Professor, Philosophy
Yasemin Sari is Assistant Professor of Philosophy. Dr. Sari completed her PhD in Philosophy at the University of Alberta in 2015. She was a DAAD Post-Doctoral Researcher at Goethe University, Frankfurt in 2016. Before coming to Seattle University in 2023, she taught at the University of Northern Iowa, and she is the recipient of a UNI Outstanding Teaching Award, as well as an MWOne UNIque Advising Award. As a political philosopher, her work mainly focuses on democratic political theory, especially as it relates to human rights, extra-institutional recognition, and the borders between citizen and non-citizen. Her current research takes up the global refugee crisis. She is co-editor of the Bloomsbury Companion to Arendt, and author of numerous articles that have appeared in journals such as Research in Phenomenology, Philosophy Today, Symposium, Arendt Studies and APA Studies on Feminism and Philosophy. In short, Dr. Sari reads, thinks, and writes for a living. When she is not analyzing and synthesizing concepts, information, and complex data she helps her students develop ideas, and projects, and most importantly ask questions to shape and re-envision their lives. She has had the opportunity to DJ at her favorite music venue while in Cedar Falls, and she is looking forward to identifying the place to host her '90s & 2000s redux set in Seattle.
Promoted to tenure track
Hidy Basta, PhD, Assistant Professor, English
Dr. Hidy Basta holds a Ph. in Language and Rhetoric and an MAT. in English to Speakers of Other Languages from the University of Washington. She is also the Director of the Seattle University Writing Center. Her research and teaching interests include critical discourse analysis, interdisciplinary writing, genre theory, language ideology and identity, bilingualism, and narrative analysis. She has taught several classes in service learning and the Interdisciplinary Writing Program at the University of Washington and at Antioch University. Over the past few years, she directed the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Academic Support Lab at Antioch University Seattle. Her current research focuses on exploring the role of feedback on students’ writing and the role of peer consultations in facilitating creativity and risk-taking in academic writing. She enjoys good conversations and good food, hikes, camping under the stars, adventures with her family, and to varying degrees of helplessness, gardening and video games.
Leann Conley-Holcom, DMA, Assistant Professor of Music, Director of Choral & Vocal Activities, also appointed to Music Program Director, Performing Arts and Arts Leadership
Dr. Leann Conley-Holcom has served as Director of Choral & Vocal Activities since 2018 and Music Program Director since 2022. Prior to her appointment at SU, she was Director of Choral Activities at Chabot College and led choirs for the GRAMMY award-winning Pacific Boychoir Academy and Tacoma Youth Chorus. Recognized for her integration of vocal technique and embodiment practices within choral teaching, she is in demand nationally as a clinician, adjudicator, presenter and guest conductor. Guest conducting highlights include the Seattle Men's & Women's Choruses, Shaoxing Philharmonic Children's Chorus in China, and an upcoming 2024 Carnegie Hall conducting debut with MidAmerica Productions. Dr. Conley-Holcom tours extensively as a freelance professional choral and solo singer with many of the nation’s top ensembles, including the Oregon Bach Festival, Vox Humana, Bach Ensemble Helmuth Rilling, Bach Academy Stuttgart, and True Concord Voices and Orchestra (appearing on their GRAMMY award winning album Far in the Heavens). Solo appearances include Mountainside Baroque, the Tacoma, Flagstaff and Coeur D'Alene Symphonies, and her solo debut at Carnegie Hall with the NYC Chamber Orchestra. She is co-founding director of the treble ensemble MUSING, board member of Pacific MusicWorks, and College/University Repertoire and Resources Chair for WA-ACDA.
New ROTC Leader
LTC Haley Beth Middlebrook, MA, Professor of Military Science, Army ROTC
Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Haley Middlebrook has served in numerous Army command and staff positions over the past 16 years as a Psychological Operations (PSYOP) officer. Her overseas assignments include deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as well as a rotation in support of US Embassy Jakarta. LTC Middlebrook previously served as a PSYOP officer at the Company, Battalion (BN), Army Service Component Command and Joint Staff. She commanded a BN Headquarters Company and later the Psychological Operations Qualification Course; served as the capabilities and development staff officer at 1st Special Forces Command; and served as a staff officer at the Joint Information Operations Warfare Center. In her last assignment at Army North, she supported lead federal agencies in hurricane response, COVID-19 response, and Operation Allies Welcome. LTC Middlebrook’s military education includes the Military Intelligence Officer Basic and Captain’s Career Courses, Indonesian Language Course, Psychological Operations Qualification Course, Jumpmaster Course, and Command and General Staff College. She holds an undergraduate degree in Anthropology from East Carolina University and a Master of Science in Business and Organizational Security Management from Webster University. Her military award and decorations include three awards of the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal and the Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. LTC Middlebrook and her husband Joshua have three children Aeneas (13), Amelia (10), and Adelaide (7).