Professors Marie-Magdeleine Chirol and Jake Carbine have recently been appointed as the Hazel Cooper Jordan Chair in Arts and Humanities and the C. Milo Connick Professor of Religious Studies Chair, respectively.These appointments recognize the professors’ outstanding accomplishments in teaching and scholarship, and it is intended to support future scholarly growth.
Chirol, Professor of Modern Languages, is an accomplished scholar of French and African Francophone film and literature. She has written three books, the most recent on Francophone African Cinema with a focus on filmmaker Gaston Kaboré from Burkina Faso. Chirol’s two other books are on the motif of ruins in 20th-century French literature and imaginary ruins in Marcel Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past.
Chirol was recognized by the French government last year as a Knight in the Order of Academic Palms, and in 2006 by the American Association of Teachers of French-Southern California as a Distinguished French Educator.
Carbine, Professor of Religious Studies, has extensive research experience in the history and culture of Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia. He is the author of two published books, How Theravada is Theravada? Exploring Buddhist Identities and Sons of the Buddha: Continuities and Ruptures in a Burmese Monastic Tradition. Carbine is also a regular presenter at national conferences and serves in leadership positions in several scholarly societies related to religious studies, Buddhist studies, and Asian studies.
During his time at Whittier, he has hosted ten internationally oriented events at the College, several of which have focused on Myanmar. Currently, Carbine is bringing his expertise to Whittier’s Luce Foundation planning project designed to enhance the College’s curriculum on sustainable development in China and East Asia.
The Hazel Cooper Jordan Chair in Arts and Humanities was established in 2007 with a gift from Dr. Chester “Chet” McCloskey ’40, and his wife, Olive (Jordan) McCloskey ’44, in memory of Olive’s mother, an alumna in the Class of 1912. Its purpose is to maintain and enhance Whittier College’s contribution to the languages and the humanities.
Named in honor of C. Milo Connick, Professor Emeritus of Religion and College Trustee, this endowed chair provides funds for support of distinguished faculty in the field of Religion. Funding for the chair was made possible through the support of C. Milo Connick, Richard and Sharon Ettinger, Jr. and Ray and Joanie Dezember.
