Williams grants tenure to eight assistant profs

12:00AM / Wednesday, February 04, 2004Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN â€” Williams College has awarded tenure to eight assistant professors: Monique Deveaux, political science; William Dudley, philosophy; Roger Kittleson, history; Marc Lynch, political science; Karen Merrill, history; Peter Pedroni, economics; Lara Shore-Sheppard, economics and Thomas Smith, chemistry. Deveaux is author of the recent book, â€œCultural Pluralism and Dilemmas of Justice.â€ Her research deals with the challenges and difficulties that cultural-group rights may pose for individual rights and liberal norms in democratic states. She received her B.A. in political theory in 1989 and her masterâ€™s in political theory in 1991 from McGill University. She earned a masterâ€™s in philosophy in 1993 and her Ph.D. in 1997 at Cambridge University. Dudley specializes in 19th- and 20th-century continental philosophy and Kant. His book, â€œHegel, Nietzsche, and Philosophy: Thinking Freedom,â€ is a comparison of the theme of freedom in the writings of the two philosophers, demonstrating a significant convergence in their thought. Dudley received his B.A. from Williams in 1989 and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1998. Kittlesonâ€™s research focuses on the politics of culture in modern Brazil. He is completing his first book, â€œA New Regime of Ideas: Transformations of Political Culture in Porto Alegre, Brazil, 1845-1895,â€ and starting a second project on race, region and masculinity in Brazilian soccer. Kittleson received his B.A. from Northwestern University in 1985 and his Ph.D. in 1997 from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Lynch studies the role of deliberation and public spheres in international relations, focusing on the Middle East. His most recent article, â€œTaking Arabs Seriouslyâ€ was published in Foreign Affairs, one of the most influential foreign policy journals in the world. Lynch is the author of â€œState Interests and Public Spheres: The International Politics of Jordanâ€™s Identity.â€ Another book, â€œIraq and the New Arab Public Sphere,â€ is forthcoming. Lynch received his B.A. in political science from Duke University in 1990 and his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1997. Merrill researches 20th-century American politics and political economy, the American West and environmental history. She is the author of â€œPublic Lands and Political Meaning: Ranchers, the Government and the Property Between Themâ€ and edited â€œThe Modern Worlds of Business and Industry: Cultures, Technology, Labor.â€ Another book, â€œThe Oil Crisisâ€ will be published by Bedford/St. Martin's Press. She received her B.A. from Oberlin College in 1986, her masterâ€™s in creative writing and English from the University of Denver in 1988, and her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1994. She taught at Princeton University and the University of California at Irvine. Pedroni specializes in macroeconomics, international finance, time-series econometrics and empirical explanations of the divergent growth processes experienced among countries. He has written a number of articles for economic journals, including Advances in Econometrics, the Journal of Business Economics and Statistics and the Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics. He received his B.A. from Miami University in Ohio in 1986 and his Ph.D. from Columbia University. He taught at Indiana University. Shore-Sheppard is interested in health economics, labor economics, poverty and welfare policy and wage distribution. Her recent work, â€œMedicaid and Crowding Out of Private Insurance: A Re-examination Using Firm-Level Data,â€ delves into the relationship between expanded Medicaid eligibility and falling private health insurance coverage, combining individual and firm-level data to investigate possible responses to the Medicaid expansions by both firms and workers. Shore-Sheppard received her B.A. from Amherst College in 1991 and her Ph.D. in 1996 from Princeton University. She taught at the University of Pittsburgh from 1996 to 2000. Smith works within the broad category of organic synthesis. His current focus is the development of new methods of increased efficiency in organic synthesis and their application to molecules of biological importance. His work is supported by the National Science Foundation. He has published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the Journal of Organic Chemistry, Organic Letters and Heterocycles. Smith received his B.A. in chemistry from Williams in 1988 and his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Stanford University in 1996. He was an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University from 1996 to 1998.

Community in Unity Day in Pittsfield

10:28AM / Friday, September 04, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Community in Unity Day: Living with Purpose will be held on the First Street Common from 10 to 4 on Monday, Sept. 7.

Downtown Pittsfield Inc. and the Downtown Pittsfield Cultural Association have partnered with local resident Ricardo Reeves to host this event.

This will be a day dedicated to bringing the community together through music, art, food, and family-friendly activities.

The event will feature live music by Wanda Houston, children's art activities, food trucks, and community resources. The splash pad will be open for kids to enjoy, and water will be provided. Community in Unity Day is open to everyone free of charge and the event is senior friendly and will feature an interpreter.

This is a drug and alcohol-free event. Food trucks will have fare available for purchase.