Upon their retirement, Hamilton professors are recognized in the program distributed at Commencement. Because the pandemic prevented an in-person event in 2020, this spring's program featured all 14 faculty members who retired over the past two academic years. We hope these brief write-ups spark memories of professors to remember.
Retiring in 2020-21
Daniel F. Chambliss
Appointed to the faculty in 1981, Dan Chambliss, the Eugene M. Tobin Distinguished Professor of Sociology, has written numerous articles and books, including How College Works (2014), with Christopher Takacs ’05, which received Harvard University Press’ Stone Prize for outstanding book on education and society. In 2018, the American Sociological Association awarded Chambliss its Prize for Scholarly Contributions to Teaching and Learning Teaching. His interests include higher education, formal organizations, social psychology, and research methods. He holds a doctorate and master’s degree from Yale University and a bachelor’s degree from the New College of the University of South Florida. Chambliss has directed the Mellon Foundation Project for Assessment of Liberal Arts Learning and Hamilton’s New York City Program, and chaired the Sociology Department and the Committee on Gender Equity in Athletics.
Steve J. Goldberg
Associate Professor of Art History Steve Goldberg joined the Hamilton faculty in 1998 and has been an instructor and director of summer institutes and conferences for the Asian Studies Development Program. With a doctorate from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree from the University of Hawai’i, and a bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College, his research interests include globalization and “transcultural imagination,” as well as Chinese calligraphy. The author of numerous essays, reviews, and articles, Goldberg served as a consultant for the PBS program Lost Treasures of Tibet (2003). He has chaired the Asian Studies Program and the Art and Art History Department, and served on the committee that planned Hamilton’s new arts facilities.
Shelley P. Haley
Having joined the faculty in 1989, Professor of Africana Studies and Classics Shelley Haley, the Edward North Chair of Greek and Greek Literature, is president of the Society for Classical Studies. She holds a doctorate from the University of Michigan and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Syracuse University. An expert on Cleopatra, Haley has discussed the subject on BBC and The Learning Channel programs, and has lectured widely on increasing the representation of students of color in Latin, ancient Greek, and classics classrooms. The author of several articles and books, her honors include the Excellence in Teaching of the Classics at the College Level Award from the Society for Classical Studies and the Samuel and Helen Lang Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Among her many contributions to Hamilton, she has chaired the Posse Advisory Committee and the Harassment Grievance Board, and served as a member of the Africana Studies and Women’s Studies program committees.
Robert G. Hopkins
Associate Professor of Music Rob Hopkins, who joined the faculty in 1983, studies the analysis of codas in the works of 19th-century composers, changes in musical forms in instrumental works of the 19th century, and the evolution of the barbershop quartet style of singing. He earned his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Oberlin College. Hopkins is past president of the Barbershop Harmony Society and performs in and directs barbershop groups. Inducted into the Barbershop Harmony Society Hall of Fame, his arrangements have twice been named best barbershop songs of the year (2000 and 2001) by the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America. In addition to chairing the Music Department, he has served as associate dean of students for academic affairs, faculty secretary, and chair of the Advising Assessment and Long-Term Planning committees. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Samuel & Helen Lang Prize for Excellence in Teaching.
Roberta L. Krueger
Professor of French and Francophone Studies Bonnie Krueger, who came to Hamilton in 1980, studies medieval French romance and conduct literature, and medieval and Renaissance women writers. She earned a doctorate and master’s degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University. A co-founder of the Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship, her published works include editing and contributing to the Cambridge Companion to Medieval Romance (2000) and Women Readers and the Ideology of Gender in Old French Verse Romance (1993). Honored three times with National Endowment for the Humanities awards, she previously held the Burgess Professor of French and the Leonard C. Ferguson Professor of French endowed chairs. Krueger has chaired the Romance Languages and Literature Department and served 10 times as resident director for Hamilton’s Junior Year in France program.
John C. McEnroe
Chair and Professor of Art History John McEnroe, appointed to the faculty in 1983, combines academic research in Athens with archaeological fieldwork in Crete. His doctorate is from the University of Toronto, his master’s degree from the University of Michigan, and his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University. McEnroe received a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship and Hamilton’s 2018 Notable Year Achievement Award, among other distinctions. His published works include Architecture of Minoan Crete: Constructing Identity in the Aegean Bronze Age (2010) and “Community Building/Building Community at Gournia,” a co-authored study in Minoan Architecture and Urbanism (2017). He has chaired the Art Department and served on the steering committee for visual arts facilities development and various academic committees.
Paul Gary Wyckoff
An economist by training, Professor of Government Gary Wyckoff is director of Hamilton’s Public Policy Program. His research interests include the empirical foundations of public sector decision-making. Appointed to the faculty in 1991, he received his doctorate from the University of Michigan and his bachelor’s degree from Macalester College. Wyckoff’s articles have appeared in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of Urban Economics, and the Journal of Education Finance. He authored Policy and Evidence in a Partisan Age: The Great Disconnect (2009) and is working on Radical Empiricism, which highlights personal, business, and public policies that conflict with the best available evidence. Wyckoff has served on the Environmental Studies Committee and as executive editor of Insights, Hamilton’s undergraduate social science journal.
Retired in 2019-20
Stuart Hirshfield
Stu Hirshfield, the Stephen Harper Kirner Professor of Computer Science, joined the faculty in 1982. He was an original member of the Liberal Arts Computer Science Consortium, which developed and published what became the model curriculum for a computer science bachelor’s degree. He holds a doctorate and master’s degree from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. With his colleague Richard W. Decker, Hirshfield co-authored nationally recognized text and software packages and received the EDUCOM/NCRIPTAL award for best curriculum innovation. His recent research is conducted primarily with his colleague (and daughter-in-law) Leanne Hirshfield ’02 and focuses on the application of brain measurement and computer learning technologies to the design and evaluation of human-computer interfaces.
Stephenson Humphries-Brooks
Professor of Religious Studies Steve Humphries-Brooks’ teaching and research interests include literary and social-historical criticism of the Gospels, religion in film, early Christian mysticism, and theories and methods for the study of religion. Having joined the faculty in 1986, he earned a doctorate and master’s of philosophy at Columbia University/Union Theological Seminary, a master’s of divinity at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a bachelor’s degree at William Jewell College. A prolific author, his published works include Cinematic Savior: Hollywood’s Making of the American Christ (2006). Humphries-Brooks served as a visiting fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford University. At Hamilton he has chaired the Religious Studies Department and directed the Cinema and New Media Studies and Senior Fellows programs.
G. Roberts Kolb
Rob Kolb, the Marjorie and Robert W. McEwen Professor of Music, directed choral activities at Hamilton for 36 years. Appointed to the faculty in 1981, he earned a doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a master’s degree at California State University at Fullerton, and a bachelor’s degree at Occidental College. Kolb conducts Tapestry, the All-Centuries Singers, and is past conductor of the Syracuse Vocal Ensemble and the Cayuga Vocal Ensemble. He is a contributing author to Up Front!: Becoming the Complete Choral Conductor (1993). His long list of work on behalf of the College includes chairing the Music Department and the Faculty Committee on Budget and Finance, and serving as acting dean of faculty, acting dean of students, and chair of the faculty. Other duties include service on the Phi Beta Kappa membership committee, the Committee on Admission and Financial Aid, and the Presidential Task Force on Academic and Student Life.
R. Bruce Muirhead
Professor of Art Bruce Muirhead joined the Kirkland College faculty in 1972, and, after the two colleges merged, remained at Hamilton. A painter and printmaker, his works have been exhibited at The New York Society of Etchers and the National Academy of Design, and are held in permanent collections throughout the world, from the New York City Public Library, to the Guanlun Museum in China, to the Fyre Gallery in Australia. Muirhead received a master’s degree from Boston University School of Fine Arts and a bachelor’s degree from Rhode Island School of Design. His honors include a Yaddo Foundation fellowship and the 2002 John Singleton Copley Award. The Amity Art Foundation owns a complete collection of his etchings and has published a catalogue raisonné of the work.
Willian A. Pfitsch
Appointed to the faculty in 1989, Associate Professor of Biology Bill Pfitsch studies how soil microorganisms help plants meet the challenges of living in potentially stressful conditions. In recent years, he has focused on the ecological implications of invasive plants in local forests. Pfitsch earned his doctorate and master’s degree from the University of Washington and bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College. His articles have appeared in such journals as Restoration Ecology and Oecologia, and the book Tropical Alpine Environments: Plant Form and Function (1994). Having chaired the Biology Department, he also served on the Environmental Studies Advisory Committee, the Appeals Board, the Committee on Athletics, and the Academic Council.
Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz
Professor of Comparative Literature Nancy Rabinowitz joined the Kirkland College faculty in 1974 and the Hamilton faculty in 1978. An expert on ancient Greek tragedy as well as modern literature, her published works include Anxiety Veiled (1993) and, more recently, Sex in Antiquity: Exploring Sexuality and Gender in the Ancient World (2015). She received a doctorate and master’s degree from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from the City College of New York. Rabinowitz has worked with the Hamilton Oneida Prison Education project, teaching at the Marcy Correctional Facility. Honors include the Activism Award from the Lambda Classical Caucus of the Society for Classical Studies and Hamilton’s Career Achievement Award. A Posse mentor, she has served on the Committee on Academic Policy, chaired the Kirkland Endowment Advisory Committee, and directed the Kirkland Project for the Study of Gender, Society, and Culture.
Peter Rabinowitz
Peter Rabinowitz, the Carolyn C. and David M. Ellis ’38 Distinguished Teaching Professor of Comparative Literature, joined the Hamilton faculty in 1978 after serving on the Kirkland College faculty since 1974. He earned his doctorate and master’s and bachelor’s degrees at the University of Chicago. Rabinowitz describes himself as a narrative theorist with a strong interest in music. His extensive published works include Before Reading: Narrative Conventions and the Politics of Interpretation (1987) and, more recently, Narrative Theory: Core Concepts and Critical Debates (2012). His essays have appeared in numerous books and journals, including PMLA (the journal of the Modern Language Association of America), Critical Inquiry, Black Music Research Journal, and 19th-Century Music. Honors include Hamilton’s Career Achievement Award and the Lang Prize for Excellence in Teaching. He has chaired the Comparative Literature Department and the Linguistics Program.
