Randolph professors granted tenure

Stephanie Earl, Lesley Shipley, and Michael Penn

Art history professor Lesley Shipley, theatre professor Stephanie Earl, and mathematics professor Michael Penn have all been granted tenure by the Randolph College Board of Trustees.

Shipley, who came to Randolph in 2016, received her B.A. in art history from the University of Maryland, College Park, an M.F.A. in painting from American University, and a master’s and Ph.D. in art history from Bryn Mawr College. Her research interests are in modern and contemporary art with an emphasis on identity, feminism, activisim, and abstraction in art since 1960.

Earl, who joined the Randolph faculty in 2015, earned her bachelor’s degree in theatre performance from Greensboro College and an M.F.A. from the University of Houston. While living in Texas, she served as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston and at Lone Star College while also teaching acting and dance classes for children. She has worked professionally as an actor, director, and choreographer. In Virginia, she was a member of the Barter Players in Abingdon and the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton.

Penn, who holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, a master’s from Indiana University, and a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Albany, started working at Randolph in 2017. He specializes in abstract algebra and has completed and published extensive research on vertex operator algebras, an algebraic version of what physicists study in string theory.