Faculty Advisors for Undeclared Students at CAS
2008/2009

Professor Ethan Baxter
Department of Earth Sciences

Professor Baxter has been teaching in the Department of Earth Sciences since Spring 2003. His classes include Mineralogy, History of the Earth, Geochemical Modeling, and Isotope Earth Science. His research involves the rates and timescales of solid earth processes, such as mountain building, metamorphism, and deformation. While much of his research happens in the lab, Professor Baxter and his students enjoy geological field work which has taken them to field areas such as the Greek Isles, the Austrian Alps, California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, and sites throughout New England.

Professor Charles Dunbar
Department of International Relations

Charles Dunbar joined the International Relations Department in September 2004. From 2001-2004, he taught at Simmons College and earlier was President of the Council of World Affairs in Cleveland where he taught at Case Western Reserve and Cleveland State Universities. As an American and U.N. diplomat and ambassador, he lived for 21 years in the Middle East between 1962 and 1998. He was Secretary-General Annan's special representative for the referendum in Western Sahara, U.S. Ambassador first to Qatar and Yemen, and head of the American embassy in Afghanistan. He has also lived and worked in Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco and Iran. He is a bicycle commuter.

Professor Ashis Gangopadhyay
Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Professor Gangopadhyay teaches undergraduate and graduate level statistics courses,
and serves as the Associate Chairman of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.  His research interests involve development of statistical methodologies with applications in business, economics and actuarial science. Professor Gangopadhyay enjoys reading, listening to music, and spending time with his family.

Professor Elizabeth Godrick
Department of Biology

Professor Godrick teaches biology courses including a) Immunology for Biology/BMB majors, b) Human Disease:  Aids to Tuberculosis, c) Introductory Biology for Health Sciences  and d) Principles of Biology for the BU Academy students.  She conducted a graduate WABU telecast TV course for high school teachers.  She reminds students
that education is a journey not only a destination.  Professor Godrick enjoys yoga, college basketball, traveling everywhere, and photography.

Professor Alya Guseva
Department of Sociology

Professor Guseva teaches courses in sociology of economic life, healthcare
and market transitions. Her research interests include the emergence of
consumer credit markets in post-communist transitional societies and the
rise of medical markets in the US and globally. When she is not traveling to
Europe, she can be found reading Russian and French literature, playing
piano with her daughter or chasing after her 2-year old son.

Professor Brian Jorgensen
Department of English/Core Curriculum

Professor Jorgensen teaches in Core Curriculum Humanities (CC101, 102, 201, 202)
and the Department of English. His interests include Classical Literature, Greek
philosophy and Renaissance poetry. He cannot help but admire both Odysseus and
Lao Tzu.  He affirms the virtues of a liberal education.

Professor Pedro Lasarte
Department of Romance Studies (Modern Foreign Language)

Professor Pedro Lasarte's teaching and research center on Spanish-American literature and culture. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Renaissance and Baroque Hispanic Poetry as well as the Associate Editor of Calíope and serves on the Editorial Boards of Revista Iberoamericana and Colonial Latin American Review. He received a John Carter Brown Fellowship and was Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Michigan. Professor Lasarte is a member of the Peruvian Academy of Language.

Professor Stephanie Nelson
Department of Classical Studies and Core Curriculum (Humanities),

Professor Nelson teaches in the Core Curriculum and the Department of Classical Studies, where she specializes in Greek and Latin languages, literature, and philosophy.  During the summer, she works on a small dairy farm in County Cavan, Ireland.

Professor Robert Richardson
Department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literature

Professor Richardson is the CAS Foreign Language Advisor in the Ralph W. Taylor Academic Advising Center.  He teaches courses in Russian language and literature, as well as humanities in the Core Curriculum.  Note: Professor Richardson is only available for foreign language advising, not for course selection.

Professor Loren Samons
Department of Classical Studies

Professor Samons teaches Greek and Roman history and classical languages.  His scholarship focuses on Athenian democracy and imperialism in the fifth century B.C.  A native of Arkansas, Professor Samons spends most of his free time playing bluegrass or harassing the trout population of North America.

Professor James Siemon
Department of English

After many years in the College, Professor Siemon can be counted upon to know the “ins” and “outs” of course selection and registration procedures.  He teaches courses in British literature and drama.  His scholarship focuses on Shakespeare.  Professor Siemon enjoys advising as it allows him to “get in contact with students.”  His interests have always been broad; he chose to concentrate in English as an undergraduate only after exploring a number of other fields.  He therefore understands that undeclared students are sometimes faced with the twin prospects of vast choices and difficult decisions.

Professor Strom Thacker
Department of International Relations

Professor Thacker teaches international relations courses that include International Political Economy, North-South Relations, Political Economy of Latin America, and Political Economy of Mexico and NAFTA.  His research focuses on political economy, governance, human development, and the politics of trade and international financial flows.  He has a long-standing interest in Latin America and Mexico, where he has lived and taught.  Professor Thacker enjoys scuba diving, alpine skiing, snowboarding, biking, running, hiking, baseball and basketball.

Professor Frederick Wasserman
(Senior Faculty Advisor)
Department of Biology

Professor Wasserman’s area of research is avian behavioral ecology with a focus on bird song and territoriality.  He has lectured in the ecology, evolution, and behavioral component of the Introductory Biology Program for  many years.  Professor Wasserman and his family enjoy hiking in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.

Professor Roye Wates
(Senior Faculty Advisor)
Independent Concentration

Professor Wates teaches music history, music appreciation and interdisciplinary courses in music, art and literature.  Her recent research has centered on Mozart.  A transplanted southerner, she enjoys traveling -- inevitably and most frequently, to Austria and Germany.  In her advising, Professor Wates tries to move beyond simple course selection to “help students find their way through the maze of offerings available to them and encourage them to build programs of study which exploit to the fullest the incredible resources of this university.”

Professor Daniel Weiner
Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Prof. Weiner’s research interests include probability and real analysis with applications to statistics, as well as the history of mathematics. He teaches courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, typically including mathematical analysis, probability, and elementary statistics. His personal interests include French language, literature and history (where he is currently working on a project involving the French crusader king Saint Louis) as well as classical music and opera.