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Five Exceptional Pomona College Faculty
Members Voted Wig Professors By Students
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Students at Pomona College, one of the nation's premier
liberal arts colleges, have elected professors Martha E.
Andresen, Eleanor P. Brown, Sidney J. Lemelle, Gilda L.
Ochoa, and Kenneth B. Wolf to receive the 2004 Wig
Distinguished Professor Awards for Excellence in Teaching.
The Award recognizes exceptional teaching, concern for
students and service to the college and community.
The recipients of the Wig Awards are elected by the junior
and senior classes and then confirmed by a committee of
trustees, faculty and students. The awards were announced at
Pomona's 111th Commencement held on May 16, 2004. They were
established by Mr. and Mrs. R.J. Wig in 1955.
Martha E. Andresen, the Phebe Estelle Spalding
Professor of English, is now a seven-time recipient of the
award. In 1992, she was selected as the CASE (Council for
the Advancement and Support of Education) California
Professor of the Year and five years later, authored a
chapter in Inspired Teaching: Carnegie Teaching Award
Winners. A member of the faculty since 1972, she teaches the
courses Major British Authors I, The English Lyric Before
1700, Shakespeare: The Comedies and Histories, Shakespeare:
The Tragedies and Romances, Milton, and Advanced
Shakespeare.
Student comments included: “Dr. Andresen can make a biology
major excited about Shakespeare.” “[She] is very passionate
about literature, and she infuses her lectures with this
passion.” “At times, the resonance of her words speak
directly to a student’s personal life, and every person’s
struggle to come to terms with the world.” “Her amazingly
articulate, philosophically profound lectures never fail to
be touching as well as informative. She is well-known for
her compassion as well as her scholarship.”
Andresen focuses her research on Shakespeare in performance,
illustrated, in the classroom, and in relation to
contemporary culture. Her articles have appeared in the
Shakespeare Quarterly, Shakespeare Studies and Women’s
Studies. Since 1972, she has given more than 400 lectures on
Shakespeare and literature to a wide variety of audiences.
Andresen earned her B.A., B.S. from the University of
Minnesota and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University.
Eleanor P. Brown, the James Irvine Professor of
Economics and co-coordinator of the Philosophy, Politics and
Economics Program, has been a member of the faculty since
1986. Now a four-time Wig Award recipient, she teaches
courses in Principles of Microeconomics; Microeconomic
Theory; Gender, Family, and Roles in the Economy; Economics
in the Public Sector; and Freedom, Markets and Well-Being.
Students say “She made Principles of Micro exciting and
related it to life, even the Bare Naked Ladies!! She is an
interesting, brilliant, and well-prepared professor.” “Prof.
Brown actually made econ fun and understandable for someone
like myself that probably would have hated it otherwise. Now
that’s an accomplishment!!” “Her lively down-to-earth
lectures and personable character allow students access to
economics as well as her office, where she is happy to help
with difficulties.” “She’s sneaky too. She’ll pose questions
and tease along discussions that result in a
self-realization of the lesson.”
Brown focuses her research on personal philanthropy, tax
policy, the market for volunteer labor, not-for-profit
organizations, unemployment insurance, and markets for
childcare. Her most recent articles have been published in
the Journal of Economic Education, Journal of Human
Resources, Law and Contemporary Problems, and the Nonprofit
and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. Brown earned her B.A. from
Pomona College and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Princeton
University.
Sidney J. Lemelle, now a three-time winner of the Wig
Award, is an associate professor of History and Black
Studies, as well as chair of the History Department. A
member of the faculty since 1986, he was recently promoted
to the rank of full professor, effective July 1. Lemelle
teaches the courses: History of Africa to 1800; History of
Africa, 1800 to Present; Pan-Africanism and Black Radical
Traditions; Slavery and Freedom in the New World; and
Industrialization and Social Change in South Africa.
Students find him “challenging and caring,” and “able to
reach out to wherever the student is stuck.” “Professor
Lemelle is an amazing teacher both in and out of the
classroom.” “His classes have pushed me to learn more about
the subject matter, and my shelves are now filled with books
that were mentioned in his classes but not assigned
material.” “He’s always a wonderful source of advice and
insight. Just as importantly, he contributes to the campus
community through his involvement with student organizations
and events.”
Outside the classroom, Lemelle focuses his research on
African American history, slavery, South Africa, Pan-Africanism,
and the effects of regional "circum-Caribbean" migration by
groups from Louisiana. He is the author of Pan-Africanism
for Beginners (1992) and a co-editor Imagining Home: Class,
Culture and Nationalism in the African Diaspora (1994) and
Class, Culture and Nationalism in the Pan-African Diaspora
(1993). Lemelle earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees from
California State University, Los Angeles, and his Ph.D. from
the University of California, Los Angeles.
Associate Professor of Sociology and Chicana/o Studies
Gilda L. Ochoa has been a member of the faculty since
1997. She teaches the courses
Chicanos/as in Contemporary Society; Introduction to
Sociology; Los Angeles Communities; Chicanas and Latinas in
the U.S.; Sociology of Race and Ethnicity; and
Chicanos/Latinas and Education.
Students say “Professor Ochoa…provides not only the
one-on-one commitment and attention, but she creates
classrooms that incorporate multiple forms of knowledge and
allows for all voices to be heard. No matter how tired we
may be, she infuses her students with energy.” “She leads
some of the most dynamic conversations I have had at this
college.” “Her office hours are always overflowing with
students for her classes, for mentorships or for outside
projects.” “She is involved and engaged in the classroom, on
campus and in the community.”
Ochoa’s research interests include: Chicanas/os in
contemporary society, race/ethnicity, class and gender,
communities and institutions, and immigration. Her current
work focuses on the factors and situations that influence
the relationships between Mexican Americans and Mexican
immigrants. She is the author of Becoming Neighbors in a
Mexican American Community: Power, Conflict, and Solidarity
(2004), and her articles have appeared in California
Politics and Policy, Frontiers: A Journal of Women’s
Studies, and the Social Science Quarterly. Ochoa earned her
B.A. from the University of California, Irvine and both her
M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Los
Angeles.
Kenneth B. Wolf, a professor of history, has been a
member of the faculty since 1985. This is his fourth Wig
Award. He teaches the courses Medieval Latin Readings; The
Medieval Mediterranean; Christians, Muslims, and Jews in
Medieval Spain; Saints and Society; Rationalizing Religion;
and a freshman seminar on The Crusades.
Students find that “Professor Wolf is not only a brilliant
instructor in class, but is always willing to put in extra
time to continue the teaching/learning process outside of
class.” “Best lecturer I ever had. Makes history fascinating
without simplifying the issues or shying away from their
difficulties (as experienced by the average undergraduate).
Simply shares and instills his passion for the topic.” “If I
succeed in becoming a professor in my own right, I will
undoubtedly model my teaching after his.”
Wolf began his research career with a focus on early
medieval Spain, with an emphasis on Christian-Muslim
interaction and Christian views of Islam; and historiography
and its relationship to conquest. He has concentrated his
most recent research on St. Francis of Assisi (13th-century)
and the kind of poverty-based sanctity that he personified,
specifically the relationship between Francis' voluntary
poverty and the involuntary poverty of the poor. He is
currently working on a study of medieval poverty saints. A
prolific author, he is the author of four books: The Poverty
of Riches: St. Francis of Assisi Reconsidered (2003);
Christian Martyrs in Muslim Spain (1988, Japanese trans,
1999); Conquerors and Chroniclers of Early Medieval Spain
(1990; 1999); and The Normans and their Historians in
Eleventh-Century Italy (1995). Wolf received his B.A., M.A.,
and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University.
Pomona College, one of the nation’s premier liberal arts
institutions, offers a comprehensive program in the arts,
humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. Its
hallmarks include small classes, close relationships between
students and faculty, and a range of opportunities for
student research. Visit Pomona College on the web at
www.pomona.edu.
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