Dedman College Welcomes Experts in Marine Geology, Economics, Public Policy, Literature Among New Faculty

Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences welcomes more than 18 new faculty members this fall.

These educators and researchers add to Dedman’s expertise across a wide range of high-impact fields, including energy systems, geophysical hazards and quantum science to global trade, health, inequality and public policy. Their scholarship also spans political behavior, AI ethics, human development, literature, culture and the ancient world. 

"The breadth of expertise these faculty as a whole bring to Dedman College reflects the strength of our academic community," said Janan Jayawickramarajah the Elisabeth Martin Armstrong Dean of Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences. "Their work spans some of the most important questions of our time–from energy, technology and public policy, behavior, culture and society. We look forward to the new ideas, collaborations, and opportunities they will bring to our students and the broader SMU community." 

Below is an introduction of the additions to our faculty this year.

Aanmona Priyadarshini
Lecturer of Anthropology

David Thomas
Lecturer of Biology

Matthew Hornback
Professor of Earth Sciences, C.W. Matthews Endowed Chair in Earth Sciences

Fernando Leibovici
Research Professor (by appointment only)

Sarah Bainn
Assistant Teaching Professor of Economics

Ana Maria Santacreu
Associate Professor of Economics

Serdar Ozkan
Associate Professor of Economics

Fabien Postel-Vinay
Professor of Economics

Adam Bradley
Professor of English, Duwain E. Hughes Distinguished Chair in English

Marcela Fuentes
Sterling R.E. Havens Endowed Professor in Creative Writing Fiction

Sarah Mullens

Hughes Fellow in Creative Writing

Martin Peterson
Professor of Philosophy, Elisabeth Scurlock Chair in Human Values of Ethics in Artificial Intelligence

Kuei Sun
Lab Lecturer in Physics

Shelby Jackson
Visiting Lecturer in Political Science

Jennifer Hudson
Professor of Political Science, Vice President for Executive Affairs

Naureen Bhullar
Lecturer in Psychology

Wendy Li
Assistant Professor of Sociology (beginning Spring 2027)

Stephanie Murphy
Visiting Lecturer of Latin