CMU appoints faculty in music, biology and conflict resolution

Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) announced three new faculty appointments.

Rachel Krause and Matthew Pauls will join CMU’s main campus faculty as assistant professor of biology and assistant professor of music, respectively. Jobb Arnold will join the faculty of Menno Simons College (MSC), a college of CMU, as assistant professor of conflict resolution studies.

Gordon Zerbe, vice president academic at CMU, says he is pleased to have Krause, Pauls, and Arnold join the university. “I’m excited about the way they will make their own unique contribution to CMU’s faculty culture and our programs,” Zerbe says. “They all fill in gaps in our program, and at the same time, they each bring something fresh and new.”

Zerbe adds that with these new hires, CMU has 31 full-time faculty members, 93 per cent of whom have earned PhDs.

“As evidenced by CMU’s number one ranking for academic quality in the recent CUSC survey of Canadian universities, we are dedicated to academic excellence,” Zerbe says. “Each of these professors brings an academic quality and background that will enhance our already robust interdisciplinary-minded faculty. They will provide our students with exciting new learning opportunities and expand the institution’s scope of research.”

About CMU’s new faculty:

Matthew Pauls is a CMU alumnus currently completing his doctor of musical arts degree at the University of Western Ontario. Pauls’ speciality is voice performance, and his research focuses on Argentine art song, a body of repertoire that is virtually unknown in the greater performance and scholarly communities.

An accomplished baritone, Pauls has performed as a featured soloist with ensembles such as the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional del Paraguay, Windsor Symphony, Canadian Chamber Choir, Winnipeg Singers, Guelph Chamber Choir, Windsor Classic Chorale, and the Windsor Symphony Chorus.

Rachel Krause recently completed her Ph.D. dissertation at the Institute of Parasitology at the McGill School of Environment at McGill University. For her doctoral research, Krause looked at how the health of preschool children in extremely poor rural communities in Panama has been affected by their families’ participation in a food security intervention based on agricultural development.

Krause’s background in ecology and environment has also led to broad experiences ranging from salmon habitat evaluation and restoration in her native British Columbia, to parasitism and pollution studies of fish in the St. Lawrence River.

Jobb Arnold holds a Ph.D. in cultural studies from Queen's University and has research expertise in the comparative study of post-conflict cultures. Arnold specializes in genocide studies, the dynamics of social movements, and the role of aesthetics and public emotion in community building practices.

Arnold has a background in conflict studies theory and social psychology. His doctoral research took him to Rwanda and Northern Ireland. His research and teaching is motivated by a concern for social justice. He has taught in conflict resolution studies, development studies, and psychology departments.

All of the positions are tenure-track, and the new faculty member will begin work in time for the 2015-16 school year.