Professors of professional practice play an important role in the teacher-scholar model and are experienced practitioners and experts in their specific fields.
The John V. Roach Honors College was pleased to hire three outstanding new professors of professional practice over the past year: Kristin Ferebee, Ph.D.; Sylviane Greensword, Ph.D.; and Sarah Vartabedian, Ph.D. Although they share the same title and a dedication to mentoring Honors students, they each bring their own unique areas of expertise and personalities.
Keep reading to learn more about the new Honors faculty members and how they plan to enrich the Honors experience.
Kristin Ferebee, Ph.D., assistant professor of professional practice
Prior to joining the Honors College, Ferebee worked as an assistant professor of English
and Humanities at the American University of Afghanistan and Kabul. She has also held
roles as a postdoctoral researcher with the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies
and the Narrating the Mesh Project in the Department of Literary Studies at Ghent
University. Ferebee earned her doctoral degree in English from The Ohio State University.
Q: Why are you excited to be teaching in the Honors College?
A: I'm very excited to be able design courses that reflect my own passions and to be
able to share my experiences with students.
Q: What Honors classes are you teaching this semester?
A: I'm teaching “Exploring Cultural Contact Zones: The War on Terror” and an Honors
Colloquium, “Narratives of Climate Change.”
Q: Do you have a particular research area or areas of expertise?
A: I would say that my primary area of interest is human and nonhuman rights, mostly
in the context of the environmental humanities.
Q: What’s something interesting about you that might not be found on your résumé?
A: Before I went into academia, I toured the world as a rock violinist.
Sylviane Greensword, Ph.D., assistant professor of professional practice
Greensword’s work centers on ethnic identity and cultural performance in the African
Diaspora. She is the co-author of the book “TCU in Purple, White, and Black” and the
author of several other publications, including the article “Historicizing Black Hair
Politics.” She earned her doctoral degree in geography and anthropology from Louisiana
State University.
Q: Why are you excited to be teaching in the Honors College?
A: There are many reasons. I get to “dig deeper” with my students concerning big picture
issues. I receive administrative support to develop out-of-classroom student experiences.
Most Honors students already exhibit academic rigor so there is more room to have
fun learning. Students come from all kinds of majors, so our discussions and applications
of class material are very diverse.
Q: What Honors classes are you teaching this semester?
A: I’m teaching “Culture, Literature and Adaptations: The Hunger Games” and “Francophone Blackness.”
Q: Do you have a particular research area or areas of expertise?
A: Black hair, ethnography, cultural anthropology, French and francophone studies, the
African Diaspora
Q: What’s something interesting about you that might not be found on your résumé?
A: I am a native of France and of Congolese descent. I’ve been married to my college
sweetheart for 17 years, and we have six wonderful children. We love sports, especially
track and field and soccer (aka football)!
Sarah Vartabedian, Ph.D., assistant professor of professional practice
Vartabedian is an experienced executive speaker coach who has worked with many Fortune
500 companies and higher education institutions. Before joining the Honors faculty
full time, she served as a visiting lecturer. Vartabedian earned her doctoral degree
in communication and media studies from the University of Texas at Austin.
Q: Why are you excited to be teaching in the Honors College?
A: I love getting to have critical discussions with bright and creative students, tackling
the contemporary issues of our time. This next generation is remarkably invested in
creating a playing field that feels equitable and accessible to all. They are remarkable
and impressive people, and it's a privilege to get to engage them in these pressing
discussions.
Q: What Honors classes are you teaching this semester?
A: I am teaching a course called "Punishing Spaces, Sanctified Places" and another called
"Giving and Philanthropy."
Q: Do you have a particular research area or areas of expertise?
A: On the academic side, performance and the rhetoric of place and space, focusing on
public memory, materiality and subjectivity. On the corporate side, I’d say my specialization
is in executive coaching with a focus on technology and security.
Q: What’s something interesting about you that might not be found on your résumé?
A: I have a pretty epic case of wanderlust. I have traveled to all seven continents,
backpacked most of the big trails in the United States, and I am currently trying
to convince myself that traveling with kids can be fun.