Written by GradFUTURES, March 5, 2025

Graduate School announces five faculty fellows in professional development innovation

The Princeton Graduate School has named five faculty members 2025 Faculty Fellows in Professional Development Innovation. Now in its second year, the Faculty Fellows program recognizes and supports faculty who are committed to delivering innovative and impactful professional development programs that prepare Princeton Ph.D. students for lifelong success in a broad array of career paths. 

This year’s fellows are: Anna Arabindan-Kesson, Associate Professor of Art & Archaeology and African American Studies; Josh Atkinson, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Omenn-Darling Bioengineering Institute; Sophie Gee, Associate Professor of English; Jesse Jenkins, Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Andlinger Center for Energy & Environment; and Ali Nouri, Lecturer, School of Public and International Affairs. 

In collaboration with the Graduate School’s GradFUTURES professional development team, the faculty fellows will contribute to the creation of new professional development programs that help graduate students explore their interests, build new skills, and learn about emerging career pathways. 

Gee, Arabindan-Kesson to focus on expanding publicly engaged humanities scholarship

Professors Sophie Gee and Anna Arabindan-Kesson are known for pioneering a transformative approach to scholarship that bridges the critical gap between academic knowledge and public understanding. Their collaborative efforts represent a reimagining of how humanities research can engage, inform, and even inspire communities beyond academia.

Gee’s innovative podcast, The Secret Life of Books, has demonstrated the powerful potential of public scholarship, transforming complex academic insights into accessible, compelling narratives that resonate with diverse audiences. By bringing scholarly perspectives directly to the public, she exemplifies how humanities research can illuminate cultural dynamics, challenge assumptions, and foster critical thinking among wider publics. Similarly, Arabindan-Kesson’s interdisciplinary multimedia project, ArtHx, showcases the dynamic ways humanities scholarship can intersect with public institutions. Through museum collaborations and innovative multimedia storytelling, Arabindan-Kesson illustrates how scholarly research can become a catalyst for community dialogue, cultural understanding, and social reflection.

The current initiatives of Gee and Arabindan-Kesson represent a strategic, multifaceted approach to what’s become known as  “publicly engaged scholarship.” Their upcoming March 26 workshop at the GradFUTURES Forum, "How We Talk About Our Work," will draw upon their experience, as well as guidance from national organizations like the American Council of Learned Societies and the Modern Language Association, to equip emerging scholars with the communication skills necessary to translate specialized research into meaningful public conversations.

During her year as a Faculty Fellow, Arabindan-Kesson is also planning "train the trainer" sessions that will help graduate advisers integrate support for community-engaged scholarship into their mentoring practices.

Gee and Arabindan-Kesson’s activities as Faculty Fellows are part of their efforts to create a robust infrastructure – including through partnerships with the Princeton Public Library, Princeton University Press, the Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship, the newly-launched Humanities Initiative, and University humanities and social science departments – to support and celebrate scholarship as a dynamic, interactive endeavor.