The Obermann Center's Advisory Board has proven to be a valuable sounding board and source of ideas and advice. Members serve three-year terms and meet once per month. The charge of the Advisory Board is to make recommendations to the Vice President for Research and the Director of the Obermann Center on major matters of policy regarding the mission and direction of the Center; to advise the Vice President and Director how the Center can best serve the research and creative needs of the faculty of the University; to advise the Vice President and the Director on programs and projects at the Center; to assist in the review of proposals for Center grants; and to help publicize opportunities available at the Center.
Members of the 2024–25 Advisory Board:
Cassie Barnhardt
Cassie Barnhardt is Senior Research Fellow in the Social and Education Policy Research Program and Associate Professor in the College of Education. Her work focuses on various aspects of civic and public engagement, including how college students learn about and enact social responsibility, and how universities contribute to democracy and civic life. Of particular scholarly interest to Barnhardt is examining how different campus stakeholders mobilize around contentious public issues, and how campus administrators respond.
Brittany A. Bettendorf
Brittany Bettendorf is Clinical Associate Professor in Rheumatology. She completed her Internal Medicine and Pediatrics residency as well as her Rheumatology fellowship at Medical College of Wisconsin. She joined the faculty at University of Iowa in 2017. She sees patients with a wide range of rheumatologic diseases. She runs a specialty clinic helping to transition young adult patients with pediatric rheumatologic conditions into adult rheumatology and also has another specialty clinic caring for pregnant patients with rheumatologic conditions. She also has an interest in medical humanities and medical education of students, residents, and fellows.
Sarah E. Bond
Sarah E. Bond is an Associate Professor of History. She is interested in late Roman history, epigraphy, late antique law, Roman topography and GIS, Digital Humanities, and the socio-legal experience of ancient marginal peoples. She earned a PhD in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2011) and obtained a BA in Classics and History with a minor in Classical Archaeology from the University of Virginia (2005). Her book, Trade and Taboo: Disreputable Professionals in the Roman Mediterranean, was published with the University of Michigan Press in 2016.
Cynthia Chou
Cynthia Chou is Professor of Anthropology and C. Maxwell & Elizabeth M. Stanley Family Chair of Asian Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; she also serves on the advisory board of the UI Center for Human Rights. She is a socio-cultural anthropologist with teaching and research interests across all of Southeast Asia, with specific expertise in the area of the Malay World.
Mary Beth Easley
Mary Beth Easley is Associate Professor of Directing, chair of the Department of Theatre Arts, and Head of Directing. She focuses on new play development, intercultural theatre expression, and outreach to under-represented urban and rural communities, where she utilizes devised theatre as a means to deepen awareness and foment change.
Ebonee Johnson
Ebonee Johnson is Assistant Professor of Community and Behavioral Health in the College of Public Health. Her research engages communities in order to investigate disparities in biopsychosocial outcomes for populations living with or at risk of developing chronic illness and disability.
Kristy Nabhan-Warren
Kristy Nabhan-Warren is an Associate Vice President for Research in the Office of the Vice President for Research. She is also Professor and V.O. and Elizabeth Kahl Figge Chair in Catholic Studies in the Department of Religious Studies, and a professor in the Department of Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies. She is committed to making scholarship meaningful to non-academics as well as academics, and prides herself on writing for a wide audience. She embraces a Humanities for the Public Good approach to her research, writing, and dissemination of information.
Roland Racevskis (ex-officio)
Roland Racevskis oversees programs in the Arts and Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In his role as Associate Dean, he directs faculty recruitment as well as faculty reviews. He also collaborates with the other Associate Deans to implement the CLAS strategic plan as it pertains to the Arts and Humanities. Racevskis seeks opportunities to learn more about faculty scholarship and teaching and to support high-impact creative and scholarly activities in the college. He is also a professor in the Department of French & Italian.
Victor Ray
Victor Ray is F. Wendell Miller Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology & Criminology and African American Studies, as well as Director of Graduate Studies in African American Studies. His research applies critical race theory to classic sociological questions to show how race shapes social processes typically considered race-neutral, such as organizational policy. He is also an active public scholar, publishing commentary in outlets such as The Washington Post, Newsweek, and Boston Review. Ray's work has been funded by the Ford Foundation and the National Science Foundation, among others.
Joseph Yockey
David Yockey is Associate Dean for Research and Professional Development and David H. Vernon Professor of Law. His teaching has been recognized at the college and university level. He was named Iowa Law teacher of the year in 2012, and he received the university-wide President and Provost Award for Teaching Excellence in 2022. Yockey writes in the areas of corporate governance, organizational compliance, social enterprise, and higher education. He is the co-editor of the Cambridge Handbook of Social Enterprise Law, and his scholarship appears in leading law journals across the country. Yockey served as President of the University of Iowa Faculty Senate in 2020-21. He is also the faculty advisor to the Iowa Law Review, as well as the co-advisor and co-founder of the law school’s First-Generation Lawyers (FGL) student organization.