Faculty
College of the Atlantic
Meet our faculty and instructors
Our faculty and teaching staff bring diverse expertise in human ecology’s many facets—from zoology and environmental politics to performance art and public policy. You’ll learn alongside scholars and practitioners who blend research, teaching, and real-world engagement.
Faculty
David Rockefeller Family Chair in Ecosystem Management and Protection
Partridge Chair in Food & Sustainable Agriculture Systems | Provost | Dean of Faculty
Faculty in Animation, Film and Video, & Historical Filmmaking
Sharpe-McNally Chair of Green and Socially Responsible Business
Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Chair in Earth Systems and GeoSciences
Darron Asher Collins Chair in Music & Sound Studies
Vice President, Academic Innovation and Global Outreach Faculty, Education and Psychology
Faculty in Ceramics, Sculpture, Mixed Media, & Performance Art
McNally Family Chair in Human Ecology and Philosophy
Faculty in History, Latin American Studies, and Historical Agriculture
Charles Eliot Chair in Ecological Planning, Policy, and Design
Cody van Heerden Chair in Economics & Quantitative Social Sciences
Faculty in Global Environmental Politics, Agriculture Policy, & International Studies
Faculty in Literature and Writing, Digital Humanites, & Global Anglophone and Postcolonial Literature
Faculty in Cultural and Political Anthropology, Postcolonial Studies, Feminist Theory, & Israel Studies
Teaching staff
Director, Geographic Information Systems Laboratory
Faculty emeriti
Our emeriti faculty continue to shape COA’s legacy with decades of scholarship across disciplines:
- John Anderson—Zoology, behavioral ecology, anatomy, physiology
- Nancy Andrews—Performance Art, Video Production
- Elmer Beal—Ethnology, anthropological theory, traditional music
- Rich Borden—Psychology, human relations, history and philosophy of human ecology
- JoAnne Carpenter—Art history, architectural history, painting
- William Carpenter—Creative writing, Maine studies, mythology
- Dru Colbert—Studio practice, 2D and 3D design, visual communications, museum studies
- Helen Hess—Biology, biomechanics, zoology
- Steven Katona—Biology
- Anne Kozak—Writing, composition
- Susan Lerner—Visual arts, Women’s Studies
- Isabel Mancinelli—Architecture, design, land use, landscape architecture, planning
- Ernest McMullen—Drawing & painting, two-dimensional design, ceramics
- Suzanne Morse—Plant ecology, agroecology, organic production, fermented foods
- Chris Petersen—Marine biology, evolution, field ecology, policy
- Steve Ressel—Vertebrate biology, comparitive animal physiology, herpetology
- Bonnie Tai—Educational theory, research and practice
- Davis Taylor—Institutional economics, economic democracy, and cooperation
- John Visvader—Cosmology, history of ideas, philosophy
Lecturers Emeriti
- Candice Stover—Writing, literature
- Anna Demeo—Physics, engineering
Adjunct instructors
2025–2026 Academic Year
- Michael “Mixbeck” Becker—Spanish: Immersive Beginning I
- Michael Bennett—World Percussion
- Robert Benson—Now What?: Finding Purpose in Chaotic Times
- Ryan Blotnick—Jazz Ensemble
- Peter Breslow—Audio Journalism: Reporting, Producing, Storytelling
- Tionna Brothers—Organic Chemistry I & II
- Rebecca Buchanan—Culturally Sustaining and Revitalizing Education
- Tom Coiner—Actor Training I
- Cory Diemler—Physics I
- Annika Earley Mphil ’14—Fundamentals of Drawing; Studio Printmaking
- Pamela Gagnon da Silva—Intimate Partner Violence: Dynamics and Community Response; Introduction to Feminist Therapy: Practices and Principles
- Nathaniel Hanson—Paddlesport Instructor and Leadership Course
- Matthew Herrington—Constitutional Law: Supreme Court and Civil Liberties
- Richard Hilliard ’09—Chemistry I & II
- Richard Hsu—Chamber Music
- Franklin Jacoby ’12—Introduction to Philosophy of Mind; Our Life with Words: Philosophies of Language; Philosophy of Science: Reason, Truth, and Reality
- June Kim—Advanced Photography
- Galen Koch—Audiocraft: Writing and Producing Longform Narrative Audio; Sound Studies Practicum
- Andrea Lepcio ’79—10X Dramatic Writing Studio
- Timothy Lock—Sustainable Architecture: Ecological Artifact
- Adam McLean—Advanced Music Theory; Teaching and Learning Music in Human Ecology
- Jeffry Neuhouser—Human Ecology Core Course; Career Ecology Seminar
- April Nugent—Farming the Wild
- Kendra Rand—Public Speaking Workshop
- Dani Robbins—Beginning Contemporary Dance Technique; Contemporary Dance Composition; Queer Dance Histories
- Jennifer Rock ’93—Communicating Science
- Kelley Sanborn—Supporting Students with Disabilities in the Regular Classroom
- Elliot Santavicca ’20—Archiving COA: A Practicum
- Eloise Schultz—Curriculum Design and Assessment
- Josie Sigler Sibara—Your Turn: Critical/Creative Inquiries in Board Game Media
- Hillary Smith—Blue Food Systems
- Jasmine Smith ’09—Experiential Education
- Zach Soares ’00—Audio Production as Compositional Tool.
- Christina Spurling—Chamber Music
- Toby Stephenson ’98—Working the Sea; Navigation: Skills, Tools, and the Drivers of Seafaring; Introduction to Marine Navigation
- Leeann Sullivan—Environmental Justice; Mutual Aid, Past, and Future
- Kristy Summers—Metal Arts
- Anna Titcomb—Foundations of Human Nutrition
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