- He’s a chemist by training, graduating from Swarthmore College in 1990 and earning a PhD from Stanford in 1995.
- Suggested ice breaker for when you meet him: ask about his dissertation, “Novel Approaches to Probing Structure-Function Relationships in Myoglobin.” Or I’m sure he’d be happy to hear about your found-materials studio art project, too.
- He was a professor and associate dean at Mount Holyoke College before coming to Oberlin, where he is currently a professor and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
- He received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 1999 and a Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award in 2003.
- He was named an Emerging Scholar of 2007 by Diverse Magazine.
- He’s a native Clevelander, and met his wife, Renee Romano, in high school. They have two children, and, according to the Youtube video above, adorable dogs.
- He names his mother, a math and science teacher in the Cleveland public school system, as his greatest mentor. (D’aww!)
- He has been featured several times in the New York Times feature “Room for Debate,” discussing higher education issues.
- Tons more information can be found in this extensive Q&A, or in this press release.
The Kenyon Thrill 
Does he know Lena Dunham? homgz
Purple necktie! Points!
This. Just this. Accurate.