Five members of the Pomona College faculty have been promoted in academic rank, recognizing their commitment to students and their endeavors in research and service. The College’s Board of Trustees approved the promotions, effective July 1, at its May 16 meeting.
Steve Bickham was promoted to associate professor of physical education. He is head coach of the Pomona-Pitzer men’s tennis team. Bickham was an NCAA Division I All-American tennis player at the University of New Mexico and was a professional tennis player for four years on the ATP tour, rising to a top 500 world ranking. He has extensive experience in both coaching and tennis operations. In addition to coaching the Pomona-Pitzer team, he teaches courses in racquet sports.
Gabriel Chandler was promoted to professor of mathematics and statistics. His areas of expertise include statistics and statistical theory, and he has experience processing large sets of data. He has taught courses such as Computational Statistics, Time Series, and Statistical Linear Models. Chandler has been actively involved in helping Pomona students learn how to use baseball analytics for the benefit of professional teams. He has helped to determine what statistics are most likely to predict which minor league players will succeed in the majors.
Michael Green was promoted to professor of philosophy. He is coordinator of the College’s philosophy, politics and economics program. Green’s research interests focus on ethics, early modern philosophy and political philosophy. He has also published papers on Thomas Hobbes, a 17th-century philosopher. Among the courses Green has taught recently are Freedom, Markets and Well-Being, History of Modern Philosophy, and Philosophy of Law.
Marc Los Huertos was promoted to professor of environmental analysis. He serves as coordinator of environmental analysis and teaches introductory and capstone courses in the program. He also teaches advanced courses such as Food, Land, and the Environment, Ecology of Inland Waters and Biogeochemistry. Los Huertos has an active research program as a biogeochemist to reduce greenhouse gases and water pollution. Much of this work is based on collaboration with farmers and has focused on agricultural landscapes.
Tomás Summers Sandoval was promoted to professor of history and Chicana/o-Latina/o studies. A historian of Latines in the U.S., he teaches classes on Latine histories, oral history and struggles for change in the 20th century. An oral and public historian, his research has found expression in two community exhibits and a stage play, as well as articles and a book, Latinos at the Golden Gate: Creating Community and Identity in San Francisco. He is currently writing an oral history of Latines and the U.S. war in Vietnam.