Called to Teach New Faculty Join the Community
Westmont welcomes eight new tenure-track professors this fall: James Davidson (sociology), David Emanuel (religious studies), Kyle Hansen ’19 (mathematics), Sally Hawkins (education), Raymond Kim (economics), Smaranda Lawrie (psychology), Nicole Marsh ’17 (biology) and Claudia Molina (Spanish).
Davidson has served as an assistant professor at Westmont since 2023, and he frequently collaborates with Westmont professor Blake Victor Kent, whom he has known for more than a decade. Davidson’s research examines discrimination and health among racial and ethnic minority groups as well as strategies in religious organizations for recruitment and retention. He recently managed a research team for law enforcement. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma before earning a master’s and doctorate at Baylor University. He previously taught at CSU Northridge. “There's something happening here at Westmont that’s happening in few other places,” he says. “I enjoy the pastoral aspects of the job and living life in a Christian community.”
Emanuel, who taught for 13 years at Alliance University and Theological Seminary, has served as an academic tour guide in the Middle East and Europe for the Center for Holy Lands Studies since 2012. A native of England, he earned master’s degrees from the University of London and Hebrew University of Jerusalem before completing a doctorate at Hebrew University. His most recent book, “An Intertextual Commentary to the Psalter: Interpretation and Allusion in Book I,” “explores intertextuality in the Psalms — seeing how psalmist use other biblical texts,” he says. “I’m looking forward to conversations with students and the religious studies faculty, who are quite academically engaged.”
Hansen ’19 has taught discrete mathematics at Westmont as an adjunct instructor since 2021. He earned a master’s degree and doctorate from UC Santa Barbara and will continue his research on quantitative topology and aperiodic tilings. “It’s a beautiful, fascinating blend of chaos and order that’s accessible and easily engaging,” he says. Just as his Westmont professors mentored him during his college years, he’s excited about engaging with his students. “That’s a gift,” he says. “I’m looking forward to seeing academic and spiritual growth and development in the students and in myself.”
Hawkins earned a doctorate in educational leadership from Saint Mary's College of California, where she taught literacy courses and developed teacher residency programs to remove barriers for prospective credential candidates and grow the teacher education program. She hopes to expand Westmont's education department and attract new students. Her research focuses on how literacy instruction and teacher preparation affect student well-being. “My faith is the lens through which I see the future of teacher education,” she says.
Raymond Kim, who earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees at UC Merced, conducts research exploring the lasting impact of historic hubs of civilization on the modern distribution of people and political power. He co-authored a book chapter, “Economic Penalties based on Neighborhood, and Wealth Building” in Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance. “I look forward to integrating my faith into the classroom, the small classes and connecting with students to help them be their best,” he says.
Lawrie, a cultural and positive psychologist, studies wellbeing across socioeconomic status and national cultures. She graduated from Yale and earned three master’s degrees as well as a doctorate in psychological and brain sciences at UC Santa Barbara. Lawrie served as an adjunct professor at Westmont for several years before moving to Rhode Island in 2021 to teach at Providence College. “My faith is everything — it informs my research and how I teach,” she says. “It’s a calling to understand God’s creation through science,” she says. “The students here are special, and I’m excited to work with them.”
Marsh ’17, who earned a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Washington’s Department of Pharmacology, blends two unconnected graduate school theses to explore the ways mitochondria communicate with the rest of the cell. She has been teaching at Westmont since last year and enjoys integrating ideas of science and faith. “We also dive into what that looks like in a professional context,” she says. “We're reading books such as ‘The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” and debating modern bioethics and how faith influences people’s perception of science.”
Molina discovered a passion for Spanish, her Mexican culture and teaching while an undergraduate at UT Arlington. She earned a master’s degree and doctorate at UCLA researching animals in contemporary Mexican women’s fiction. “I look forward to mentoring students, integrating faith into my teaching, connecting with minority and first-generation students and serving the Hispanic community here at Westmont,” she says. She is actively involved at Restauración Los Ángeles (RLA) Church, where her husband directs young adults.
Madeline Fanton (theater arts), Stephen Owusu (economics and business), Alyse Wallace (kinesiology), Kyra Davidson (sociology), Erica Zorn (nursing) and Jessica Colborn (nursing) will serve in full-time, one-year appointments with the faculty.