Faculty

FACULTY AT PITZER

Dr. Alicia Bonaparte
Associate Professor of Sociology

Research Interests

African American sociology; medical sociology; hierarchical system within healthcare for sociological classes; reproductive health disparities, birthing and midwifery; Granny midwifery; teenage pregnancy and infant mortality; public policy in healthcare; immigrant healthcare; consumer health experiences; healthcare professionals and consumer relationships; female juvenile delinquency; gender in American society

Dr. Phil Zuckerman
Professor of Sociology & Secular Studies
Associate Dean of Faculty

Research Interests

Secularity, Atheism, Apostasy, and Scandinavian Culture

 

Jessica McCoy
Professor of Art

 

Dr. Lars Schmitz
Associate Professor of Biology

Research Interests

Functional and evolutionary vertebrate morphology; paleobiology; evolution of vertebrate vision, phylogenetic comparative methods

Dr. Paul Faulstich
Professor of Environmental Analysis

Research Interests

Cultural ecology, ecological design, the ecology of expressive culture, Aboriginal Australia

50+%
OF PITZER FACULTY
ARE WOMEN
35%
OF OUR FACULTY ARE FROM
UNDER-REPRESENTED GROUPS
100%
OF OUR FACULTY HOLD A PH.D. OR
TERMINAL DEGREE IN FIELD
Pitzer College Professor Emma Stephens

Dr. Emma Stephens
Professor of Economics

“I love teaching my agricultural economics class. It’s community based and really shows students how what they learn in class can be used in the ‘real world.’ Huerta del Valle, a community garden and farm, is considering planting avocado trees. I had my students investigate how long each tree would take to grow, cost to plant and maintain, and how much they could make in avocado sales.”

Pitzer College Professor Brian Keeley

Dr. Brian Keeley
Professor of Philosophy

“I team-teach a course on the ‘Philosophy of Technology’ with Pomona professor Laura Perini. In one fun class, we explore doorknobs as a technology. Students are surprised to learn that doorknobs have a history and that we can spend an entire class talking about their social implications. When we move from doorknobs to digital passwords, they see that more contemporary phenomenon in a new light.”

Pitzer College Professor Elizabeth Affuso

Dr. Elizabeth Affuso
Professor of Media Studies

“Pitzer stands out in that it really is an institution that values many forms of community building and intellectual expression. Students are encouraged to pursue these practices in creative ways both in the classroom and in the larger campus environment.”

FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR

ON YOUR SCHEDULE TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS FROM 11A TO 12:15P.

During Fall semester, all first-year students take a writing intensive, interdisciplinary First-Year Seminar to fulfill the college’s Written Expression educational objective. While the seminar is the only required Pitzer course—you do pick a seminar topic of interest from a list of options.

Pitzer College First-Year Seminar

Things to Know

  • The professor teaching your seminar will serve as your academic advisor for three to four semesters.
  • Seminars are capped at around 15 students.
  • Seminars are not part of or meant to be introductions to any particular major.

Learn More

Sample Seminar Topics

  • Love and Loathing in Los Angeles
  • Drug Development, Policy and Innovation
  • Surfing and the Politics of Race and Gender
  • Women and Political Change in Africa
  • Political Imagination: Life on the Right
  • Seeing is Believing: Photography and Truth

Dr. Phil Zuckerman
Professor of Sociology & Secular Studies
Associate Dean of Faculty

What makes a good student for a Phil Zuckerman class? Two things:

Interest…genuine interest in the topic at hand, and…
The desire for students to provide their own insights

Keck Science Department

Within the three umbrella disciplines that Keck Science encompasses – biology, chemistry, and physics – Keck offerd 15 discrete degree programs. Because the real world is interdisciplinary in nature – and the solutions to its problems must, therefore, also be interdisciplinary – many Keck Science degree programs provide comprehensive instruction in more than one scientific discipline.

Read more about the distinguished Keck Science Faculty here.