Three academic appointments have been announced by Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton.
Gerhild S. Williams, Ph.D., the Barbara Schaps Thomas and David M. Thomas Professor in the Humanities, associate vice chancellor, special assistant to the chancellor for academic affairs and professor of German, of comparative literature and of women, gender and sexuality studies, all in Arts & Sciences, has been named vice provost. She will expand her role to include work with Edward S. Macias, Ph.D., provost, executive vice chancellor and the Barbara and David Thomas Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences, and will be the principal liaison between the Office of the Provost and Office of the Chancellor.
James V. Wertsch, Ph.D., the Marshall S. Snow Professor in Arts & Sciences, director of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy and director of the International & Area Studies Program in Arts & Sciences, has been named associate vice chancellor for international affairs. He will be the responsible University official regarding international programs.
Priscilla Stone, Ph.D., director of overseas and undergraduate programs in the International & Area Studies Program and adjunct associate professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences, has been named assistant provost for international education. She will continue to be responsible for issues related to overseas and off-campus programs, including the development of programs for undergraduate study in Washington, D.C., and Shanghai, China.
“During my tenure here, I have had the privilege of working closely with Dr. Wertsch, Dr. Williams and Dr. Stone,” Wrighton said. “All have made significant contributions to the University, and it is rewarding to be able to recognize their achievements in this important way. Their continuing leadership will bring great benefit to Washington University.”
“I have asked Priscilla, Gerhild and Jim to continue all that they do now and take on new University-wide duties,” Macias said. “That is a tall order, but I know they will succeed.”
Williams, after earning a doctorate in comparative literature specializing in medieval studies from the University of Washington in Seattle, joined the WUSTL faculty in 1975 as an assistant professor of German and of comparative literature.
She served as acting chair of the German department from 1986-87, as chair from 1988-1992, and again from 2003-06.
In 1989, she was named associate provost. She held this appointment until 1995, at which point she was named associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. She continues to do research and teach in the areas of early modern and translation studies in German and comparative literature.
During her career, Williams has served on a number of University committees, including the 2008 Advisory Committee on the Appointment of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences. She is a member of the Provost Advisory Committee on Diversity.
Wertsch has led the McDonnell International Scholars Academy in its first four years at the University. The academy has become WUSTL’s most successful international program. It enrolls exceptional graduate and professional students from partner universities throughout the world across all graduate disciplines and professional schools at the University.
Wertsch is an expert on collective memory and identity. He has particular interest in how these issues play out in Russia, the Republic of Georgia and Estonia. He is working on several projects in the Republic of Georgia, including collaboration with colleagues on efforts to understand the emergence of civil society and democracy in this region.
He is particularly interested in how schools and other institutions are harnessed to create and maintain official collective memory.
In addition to his work with the scholars academy and international and area studies, Wertsch holds appointments in anthropology, education, psychology and philosophy-neuroscience-psychology, all in Arts & Sciences.
Wertsch joined the faculty of Arts & Sciences in 1995 as professor of education and chair of the department.
Since joining the faculty, Wertsch has played a major role in developing several areas of research and teaching in Arts & Sciences, including the International & Area Studies Program, of which he serves as director. He is a guest professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, Tsinghua University in Beijing and the University of Oslo and also is a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Stone earned a doctoral degree in anthropology from the University of Arizona in 1988. She started at WUSTL in 1995 as a visiting professor of anthropology.
Stone is an economic and ecological anthropologist whose primary focus is African agrarian systems. She has published most recently on drought and poverty dynamics in South Wollo, Ethiopia.
Stone serves on several national boards governing study abroad, including the Council of the Forum on Education Abroad and the Academic Consortium Board of the Council on International Education and Exchange. She also serves as a member of the selection jury for the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization, sponsored by NAFSA, the Association of International Educators.
She directs the undergraduate major in international and area studies, of which there are more than 200 students. It is an interdisciplinary program that allows students to develop a broad understanding of the world and explore the diversity and richness of other cultures.
She also manages overseas programs for Arts & Sciences, helping more than 500 WUSTL students study in more than 50 countries annually. Her office is responsible for international grants, including the Fulbright, the German Academic Exchange Service and the Fulbright-Hays programs.