Conn POSSE Mentors

Professor of History, Chair of the Department of History, Director of the Global Islamic Studies Program

Joined Connecticut College in 2008.

Education: A.B., Brown University, M.A., Ph.D., Princeton University

Eileen Kane is a historian of modern Europe, and her research looks at the relationship between Russia and the Middle East. At Connecticut College, Kane teaches courses on the history of modern Europe and Eurasia in a comparative, global perspective. One of her favorite courses to teach is “Modern Europe, 1790s-1990s,” a critical history of progressive reforms, promises, and failures in Europe, from the French Revolution through the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. Other courses include “The Soviet Union and Its Legacies,” “Jews and Muslims in Europe,” “Pilgrimage in the Modern World,” and a first-year seminar, “The Politics of Citizenship.”

Associate Teaching Professor, Hispanic Studies

Joined Connecticut College in 1992.

Education: B.A., Connecticut College, Class of 1985; Ph.D., Princeton University

Jessica Koehler graduated from Connecticut College in 1985 with a double major in Hispanic Studies and Economics. She attended graduate school at Princeton University and received a Ph.D in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. Her specialization is Golden Age Spanish Literature and she is fluent in Spanish. She has taught at Connecticut College for over 20 years and loves teaching and mentoring students. Jessica has taught a large variety of courses during her years in the Hispanic Studies Department at Connecticut College ranging from 100-level language courses to 300-level literature and culture. She has also taught two first-year seminars and finds advising first-year students extremely rewarding. Jessica is thrilled to be a Posse mentor and is looking forward to meeting her students very soon.

Professor of Dance

Joined Connecticut College in 2003.

Education: B.A., Colby College, M.F.A., Smith College

Heidi Henderson teaches Modern Technique, Composition, Improvisation, Anatomy, and Dance Writing. Henderson is the artistic director of elephant JANE dance. She is a four-time recipient of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts Choreography Fellowship for excellence in the field. Her work has been performed in London, Korea, NYC, at Jacob’s Pillow in Mass., The Flynn Space in Burlington, VT, The Bates Dance Festival in Lewiston, Maine, and at many other places in New England. Heidi danced in the companies of Bebe Miller, Nina Weiner and Paula Josa-Jones, and with Colleen Thomas, Peter Schmitz and Sondra Loring.

Professor of Anthropology

Joined Connecticut College in 2008.

Education: B.A., Portland State University, Cand. Mag., University of Oslo (Norway), Ph.D., City University of New York

Jeffrey Cole, Professor of Anthropology, was appointed Dean of the Faculty effective July 1, 2018; he had served as chair of the department of anthropology 2008-14 and as Associate Dean of the Faculty from January 1, 2015. The highest ranking officer after the president, the Dean of the Faculty is responsible for providing academic leadership for the College and its faculty. Food matters increasingly figure in Cole’s teaching and research. His earlier research explored varied aspects of migration, with a focus on Italy.
Cole is a fellow of the Goodwin-Niering Center for the Environment (GNCE) and has supervised individual studies and honors theses conducted by students in the GNCE and the Toor Cummings Center for International Studies and the Liberal Arts (CISLA).