Faculty Stories

Before joining Principia's Business Administation Department in 2017, Portia Benson (C’96) served as the Finance Manager and math teacher at the Link School in Colorado. Prior to that, she worked for nine years as a financial consultant and three years as a senior technical training consultant for Lucent Technologies. ...

A painter and art critic, Paul Ryan (C’77) joined the faculty at Principia College in 2016. Before that, he taught for nearly 25 years at Mary Baldwin University, where he is now Professor Emeritus of Art. He also served as Director of Hunt Gallery at Mary Baldwin for most ...

Dr. Barry Huff (US’98, C’02) focuses on biblical studies in his research and teaching. His dissertation explored how the book of Job engages with and transforms the language and theology found in the priestly texts of the Torah. Along with conducting research at Oxford University, he has traveled in ...

Dr. Jeffrey Cornelius (C'81) has taught physical, environmental, instrumental, and general chemistry at Principia College for over 25 years. He is active in the St. Louis section of the American Chemical Society, currently serving as an elected officer. Dr. Cornelius's graduate and postdoctoral work examined novel techniques of pulsed ...

In his research, Dr. Peter van Lidth de Jeude (C'04) focuses on modern European history with a special emphasis on Germany. Prior to teaching at Principia, he served as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and at Pennsylvania State University, where he also served ...

Dr. Marie Farson has extensive experience working in marine engineering and has completed more than 15 years of seagoing research on autonomous and unmanned remotely operated vehicles in Panama, Singapore, and India. Prior to teaching at Principia, she developed acoustic and vibration analyses of the New Attack Submarine and ...

Joan Toohey Wesman brings 25 years of radio experience to the classroom. Prior to teaching at Principia, she worked as a producer for Fresh Air, hosted by Terry Gross on National Public Radio, and for the World Service radio program of The Christian Science Monitor . In addition to ...

With broad and collaborative scholarly interests, Dr. Greg Bruland (C'97) encompasses multiple spatial scales in his research, from the micro (i.e., soil core) to the macro (i.e., watershed). He has given more than 100 presentations at national and international scientific meetings and has been either the principal investigator or ...

Dr. Julie Blase joined Principia College’s Political Science Department in 2003. Her primary scholarly focus is international relations, with special interest in globalization and security; Latin American and Middle Eastern politics; and U.S. federalism and foreign affairs. She presents her research in both English and Spanish at conferences and ...

Dr. Sally Steindorf (C’97) emphasizes holistic thinking in her sociology and anthropology classes and in the multidisciplinary Global Studies program she directs. A keen advocate of field research, she has co-directed several study abroad programs in India and Nepal, where she advises students on their research projects—some of which ...