BU Social Scientists 2026 Tenure and Promotion Are Announced
Congratulations to the 38 faculty members on Boston University’s Charles River Campus who received tenure this spring! Provost Gloria Waters announced this important milestone to the BU community on June 26, 2026 stating, “At the heart of great universities are outstanding faculty who advance our understanding of the world through their scholarship, improve our quality of life through their research, and prepare new generations for success and leadership through their teaching.” Newly tenured social scientists or whose work is informed by social science include:
Cati Connell (CAS/Sociology) is a director of undergraduate studies for sociology and a scholar of the sociology of gender and sexualities whose research contributes to the interdisciplinary field of gender and sexuality studies. She is the author of two books, School’s Out: Gay and Lesbian Teachers in the Classroom (University of California Press, 2015) and A Few Good Gays: The Gendered Compromises of Military Inclusion (University of California Press, 2023). Her 2023 book won the Outstanding Book Award, Division of Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities, from the Society for the Study of Social Problems. In addition, she has published numerous articles in leading journals, such as SIGNS, Sexualities, and Social Problems. Across these publications, Connell has established her reputation as a prominent scholar of gender, sexuality, and key social institutions by illustrating the power of theoretically informed empirical research. She has been promoted to full professor.
James Feigenbaum (CAS/Economics & CISS Affiliate) is an interdisciplinary scholar who has made important contributions to our understanding of labor markets in historical context, race in the Post-Civil War South, political representation and selection, and historical health disparities. His pioneering work on historical record linking has already made him a household name in economic history and beyond. His research has been published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Economic History, Journal of Politics, and many other academic journals. He is a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He has been promoted to associate professor with tenure.
Anne Short Gianotti (CAS/Earth & Environment and IGS & CISS Affiliate) is a human-environment geographer whose research examines the socio-political and ecological dynamics of urban and suburban environmental governance. Supported by grants from the NSF and the Foundation for Animal Care and Education, she is recognized for her contributions in three overlapping areas: the politics of wildlife management and conservation; the justice and finance politics of urban climate action; and urban biodiversity futures. She has published 33 scholarly articles in top geography, ecology, and interdisciplinary journals, and currently serves as lead on the Urban Biodiversity Futures research network. By tracking the roles of finance, institutional interests, and ecology, her work builds a critical understanding of how and why environmental decisions, conflicts, and policies unfold across diverse landscapes. She has been promoted to full professor.
Margarita Guillory (CAS/Religion and AA&BDS & CISS Affiliate) is a scholar of African diaspora religions who has played a pivotal role in the development of the study of religion in digital contexts. She is the author of two books, including her latest, Africana Religion in the Digital Age (2025). Her other writings, including an authoritative overview of “New Religious Movements and the Internet” in the Oxford Handbook of Digital Religion, her Luce Foundation-funded project, “Database of African American Religious Experience in the United States (DARE-US),” and her edition of a special volume of The Black Scholar on “Black Religions in the Digital Age,” have put Boston University at the forefront of research in an emerging digital humanities field whose impact is growing exponentially. She has published 12 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and serves on the editorial board of six major scholarly journals, including the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, the discipline’s flagship journal. She has been promoted to full professor.
Benjamin Marx (CAS/Economics) is a broad and versatile researcher with a research agenda touching on some of the most fundamental questions at the intersection of political economy and development, such as the interplay between electoral competition and economic growth, the evolution of electoral politics in young democracies, and the role of religion in the process of development. His research has been published in the American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Politics, and many other academic journals. He is a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He has been promoted to associate professor with tenure.
Joshua Goodman (WHE/Educational Leadership & Policy Studies) is a leading scholar in the economics of education whose research has significantly advanced understanding of postsecondary access and success, STEM course-taking and persistence, and the wide-ranging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and schools. His work is widely published in top economics and education journals and has shaped both academic discourse and policy conversations. Beyond his research, Professor Goodman is an outstanding teacher and a generous colleague who has played a central role in strengthening education policy as a core area of excellence within the college. His influence extends directly into policymaking, including a year-long leave serving with the White House Council of Economic Advisers, where he contributed economic analysis to inform national education policy. He has been promoted to full professor.
Anthony Abraham Jack (WHE/Educational Leadership & Policy Studies & CISS Affiliate) is a leading scholar of higher education whose work has reshaped our understanding of inequality among lower-income undergraduates by highlighting often-overlooked differences in their pre-college experiences. His award-winning book, The Privileged Poor, has become foundational in the field and has a substantial impact on public policy discussions. His recent book, Class Dismissed, further illustrates that colleges and universities remain insufficiently prepared to support the diverse student populations they seek to serve. Across his scholarship, Professor Jack has illuminated the structural and cultural barriers faced by disadvantaged students, including within the most selective institutions. In addition to his research, he serves as the inaugural faculty director of the Newbury Center, the University’s hub for supporting first-generation college students. He has been promoted to full professor.
Congratulations to everyone for their hard work and commitment to excellence.