4 / Athletic Honors and Upgrades
7 / New Vice President of Enrollment Management
The Briar Wire Volume 10, Issue 4 | December 2024
Four Professors Named Faculty Fellows Four Sweet Briar faculty members were recently recognized for their academic contributions to the College: Dr. August Hardy and Dr. Christopher Penfield were named Dana Faculty Fellows and Laura Pharis and Dr. John Morrissey were named Cameron Fellows. “Sweet Briar’s faculty are its most valuable asset. Awards such as these show appreciation and recognition for their efforts in support of the College’s academic program,” said Dr. Jeffrey Key, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College. The Dana Faculty Fellowship was instituted in 1972 to provide a means of rewarding faculty who have demonstrated excellence in pedagogy, scholarship, and service to the College. The Dana award includes a salary supplement and research funding for a period of three years, during which faculty hold the title of Dana Professor. Dr. August Hardy, named as Dana Professor of Economics, has been at Sweet Briar since 2019. After earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, Dr. Hardy received a master’s degree and Ph.D. from George Mason University. His dissertation focused on “Rationality on the Fringes,” and his research and teaching have centered around applied microeconomics and political economy, with a secondary interest in industrial organization. Dr. Christopher Penfield came to Sweet Briar in 2017 and has been named a Dana Professor of Philosophy. He studied philosophy at Haverford College as an undergrad, earned a master’s from the New
School for Social Research, and completed his Ph.D. at Purdue University. Dr. Penfield’s teaching interests include social and political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of art and literature, philosophical psychology, environmental philosophy, philosophy of religion, history of philosophy, and logic. Endowed by Flora Cameron Crichton ’46, the Cameron Fellows program was established in 2004 to recognize tenured faculty who have demonstrated excellence in one or more of these areas: teaching, scholarship, or service to the College. Cameron Fellows receive a salary increase and will hold the title of “Cameron Fellow” for the remainder of their time at Sweet Briar. A member of the Sweet Briar community since 1990, Professor of Studio Art Laura Pharis was recently named a Cameron Fellow. She was previously recognized as Virginia Artist of the Year by the Richmond Women’s Caucus for the Arts. Pharis is the first woman to be named a Cameron Fellow. Dr. John Morrissey was also named a Cameron Fellow. A marine biologist and textbook author who studies the biology of sharks and rays, he has been teaching at Sweet Briar since 2007 and currently also serves as the pre-vet advisor. A graduate of Hofstra University and the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Dr. Morrissey is a lifetime member of the American Elasmobranch Society. Dr. Morrissey has brought approximately 1,000 students to the Caribbean for a course in the biology of coral reefs and has helped many Vixens on their journeys to becoming vets.