Three Whittier College educators in environmental science, art, and Spanish have all been promoted to the rank of full professor.
Upon the recommendation of Whittier College’s Faculty Personnel Committee, the Dean of Faculty and the President, the Board of Trustees confirmed the promotions for Professor of Environmental Science Cinzia Fissore, Professor of Spanish Lizardo Herrera and Professor of Art Danny Jauregui.
The promotions take effect August 1. The three were previously associate professors.
Professor Fissore began teaching at Whittier in 2011. She is a soil scientist with over 15 years of research experience, focusing on forest soils, biogeochemistry and carbon cycling, especially the role of soil carbon to offset CO₂ emissions.
Fissore has spearheaded a sustainable coffee orchard on campus that provides students research and internship opportunities. The orchard received a $300,000 grant in 2020, which has allowed its collaboration with the newly emerging California coffee grower’s agricultural community to bloom.
Earlier this year, Fissore was recognized with the 2023 Nerhood Teaching Award. The annual award honors a full-time professor for overall excellence in teaching, in recognition of Professor Harry W. Nerhood, professor emeritus of history. Fissore earned her B.S. from the University of Torino, in Italy, and her Ph.D. from Michigan Technological University.
Professor Herrera has been with Whittier since 2011. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and was awarded the Cultural Studies Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh for Cultural Studies. His research includes the Baroque and neo-Baroque aesthetics, and the culture and experience of drugs in Ecuador and Latin America.
In 2019, Herrera was appointed as faculty-in-residence at Whittier’s Garrett House. There, he worked on diversity, equity and inclusion programs by providing a platform for interdisciplinary engagement with interactions between faculty and students from different backgrounds.
Professor Jauregui joined Whittier in 2010. An emerging artist as well as educator, he teaches courses in new media, photography, game art and drawing. Jauregui attended the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture summer residency program in Maine and was part of a group exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego. He received his M.F.A. from the University of California, San Diego and B.F.A. from Maryland Institute College of Art.
Jauregui is involved with the new Poet StoryLab, which was awarded $500,000 from the Mellon Foundation to explore the historical evolution of an intersectional “brown” identity in the U.S via oral history projects, virtual and augmented reality story experiences, creative writing and podcasting.
Academic promotions at Whittier College are based on excellence in scholarship, teaching and service.
