New faces across the college & saying farewell
College of Arts and Letters
SUMMARY: Getting to know the faculty who have joined us this year and saying goodbye to those who have retired.
James Madison University
We are excited to welcome new and familiar faces to campus this year as faculty in the College of Arts and Letters!
Dr. Helen Buckwalter
Assistant Professor of Religion. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, and her research focuses on Jewish Studies, the Hebrew Bible, and Rabbinic Judaism.
Dr. Taylor B. Callaway
Assistant Professor of Anthropology. She earned her Ph.D. from William & Mary, and her research focuses on Native American Middle Atlantic history, community-engaged archaeology, and food archaeology.
Dr. Sarah Hagelin
Academic Unit Head of English. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, and her research focuses on U.S. film and television, feminist media studies, and popular culture.
Angela Hayslett, M.B.A
Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Design. She earned her M.B.A and M.S. at JMU, and researches broadcasting and the future of sport as it is shaped by systems, risk and technology.
Dr. Becca Klaver
Assistant Professor of English. She earned her Ph.D. at Rutgers University, and her research focuses on poetry writing, feminist poetics, and post-1945 avant-garde literary movements.
Dr. Sarah R. Meiners
Assistant Professor of History. They earned their Ph.D. from Cornell University, and their research focuses on U.S. immigration histories, refugee and asylum policy, and U.S. foreign relations since World War II.
Dr. Natascha Toft Roelsgaard
Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Design. She earned her Ph.D. from Ohio University and researches advocacy journalism, foreign correspondence, media law, and media practices during times of conflict.
Dr. Abby Wightman
Academic Unit Head of Sociology and Anthropology. She earned her Ph.D. from University of Oklahoma, and researches Oklahoma’s Indigenous communities, particularly around gender, kinship, identity and social change.
Dr. Tiffany Wilgar
Assistant Professor of Writing, Rhetoric & Technical Communication. They earned their Ph.D. from the University of South Florida and their research focuses on technical and risk communication and social risk construction.
Saying Farewell
We thank these individuals for their service to the university, and wish them the best in their retirement:
Dr. Elizabeth Armstrong, Communication Studies
Dr. Dennis Blanton, Sociology and Anthropology
Dr. Kevin Borg, History
Dr. Sharon Cote, English
Laurie Kutchins, MFA, English
Dr. Gwen Mellinger, Media Arts and Design
Dr. Roger Soenksen, Media Arts and Design
This article was published as part of the Arts and Letters Review, Fall 2026, Issue 9.