Javier Pabón
Dean of Humanities
Durham
Joined NCSSM in July 2024
Javier Pabón joined NCSSM in July 2024 as our Dean of Humanities. Javier graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications from Universidad de La Sabana (Bogotá-Colombia), where his focus was on audiovisual production, media-social movement dynamics, and cultural practices. Subsequently, he earned a master’s with a Latin American studies certificate from Duke University, where he started his research in themes such as diasporic thought and decolonial aesthetics. His academic journey culminated in a Ph.D. in Latin American cultural studies from Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar. Before joining NCSSM, Javier was the Division Head of the Humanities at Methodist University, where he demonstrated his dedication to interdisciplinary education. As the division head of humanities and associate professor of modern languages, he shared his Spanish language and literature expertise while exploring diverse fields such as film and Latin American history. In 2022, he authored and published the book “A Tres Voces,” exploring contemporary symbolic representations of Afro-Ecuadorians in poetry, oral tradition, and media discourse. When time allows, he also partakes in a combination of filmmaking and theater performances for social justice projects. Beyond academia, Javier is an avid tennis enthusiast, both as a coach and as a player. In addition, he loves spending time with his wife Anna and son Ezra.
Humanities
Nadiyah Aamer
Instructor of Spanish
Layla Aldousany
Instructor of American Studies and Humanities
Carrie Alter
Instructor of Studio Art
Marcelo Aranda
Instructor of American Studies and Humanities; Faculty Senate Chair
Kate Axelrod
Program Associate
Erudiel Bernal
Instructor of World Languages
Jay Bonner
Instructor of American Studies
Sarah Booker
Instructor of World Languages
Michelle Brenner
Instructor of Humanities
David Cantrell
Instructor of Humanities
Jane Cantwell
Instructor of American Studies and Humanities
Kristin Connor
Instructor of Spanish
Chad Cygan
Instructor of Choral Music
Christy Davenport
Instructor of American Studies and Humanities
Katy Doll
Instructor of American Studies
David Dry
Instructor of American Studies and Humanities
Mark Dubois
Instructor of Humanities
Alexa Garvoille
Instructor of American Studies and Humanities
Fiona Gillespie
Instructor of Spanish
Neal Keesee
Instructor of American Studies and Humanities
Chad Keister
Instructor of Economics and Social Science
Jim Kirkpatrick
Instructor of Music
Fayez Kurdi
Instructor of World Languages
Scott Laird
Instructor of Music and Chair of Fine Arts (Durham/Morganton)
Hong Li
Instructor of Chinese
Courtney Long
Instructor of Visual Arts
Blake Madden
Instructor of Photography
Margaret McDowell
Instructor of American Studies and Humanities
Tatiana McInnis
Instructor of American Studies and Humanities
Lindsay Metivier
Instructor of Photography
Ormand Moore
Instructor of Humanities
Amanda Moulder
Instructor of American Studies and Humanities
Katie Moulder
Instructor of Humanities
Meredith Murphy ’02
Instructor and Chair of Humanities (Durham)
William Nessly
Instructor of American Studies and Asian-American Studies
Tess Nielsen
Instructor of Choral Music and Drama
Robert Noffsinger
Instructor of Spanish and Humanities
Liz Peeples
Instructor of Humanities
Carolina Perez
Instructor of Music
Martha Regalis
Instructor of Humanities
Meltem Safak
Instructor of American Studies and Humanities
Adam Sampieri
Instructor of Drama
Tonya Smith ’89
Instructor of Spanish and Humanities
Marc Sprintz
Instructor of American Studies and Humanities
Keegan Storrs
Instructor of Spanish and Chair of Humanities (Durham)
Natsuko Suwa
Instructor of Japanese
Cecile Tougas
Instructor of Latin
Ying-Hua Tsai
Instructor of Chinese
Qian Wang
Instructor of Chinese
John Woodmansee
Instructor of Humanities
John Zimmerman
Instructor of American Studies and Humanities and Chair of Humanities (Morganton)