The Gettysburg College Board of Trustees approved three appointments of faculty to endowed chairs and professorships that began Sept.1:
- Management Prof. Heather Odle-Dusseau as the David M. LeVan Endowed Chair of Ethics and Management
- Biology Prof. Véronique Delesalle as the John McCrea and Marion Ball Dickson Chair
- Management Prof. Patturaja Selvaraj as the Harold G. Evans Professor of Eisenhower Leadership Studies
Odle-Dusseau and Delesalle view their new Endowed Chair positions as an opportunity to make a positive impact on the Gettysburg College community through their scholarship and teaching. Likewise, as the first management faculty member to be granted a Professorship of Eisenhower Leadership Studies, Selvaraj assumes the role with great excitement for the future.
Management Prof. Heather Odle-Dusseau
David M. LeVan Endowed Chair of Ethics and Management
“It’s a tremendous honor to hold an Endowed Chair position, and something that I want to be sure that I’m very thoughtful and careful with. With this opportunity, I focus on conducting scholarship in the spirit of how organizational decisions can be made with ethical considerations, especially concentrating on decisions that impact workers, their families, and communities,” said Management Prof. Heather Odle-Dusseau.
“Any information that can show the importance of making ethical decisions is something that’s a lot of responsibility, and my goal is to do what I can to widely share that type of information with students, academics, and practitioners.”
While her past research focused on the effect of employer policies and benefits on work-life balance, Odle-Dusseau is now spending her sabbatical attending and presenting at conferences and meeting with other researchers to follow the impact of financial hardships and financial insecurity on workers and their health, stress, and work-life balance.
Biology Prof. Véronique Delesalle
John McCrea and Marion Ball Dickson Endowed Chair and Professor of Biology
While Biology Prof. Véronique Delesalle’s research primarily focuses on the evolution of phages as a pathogen of bacteria, she has found herself learning more about coding and bioinformatics as it progressively relates to her research. With the endowment, she plans to further her education on bioinformatics, learning from others beyond workshops and meetings.
“You can learn this stuff on your own, but it takes a really long time. It’s a little like being in college, and it’s easier to learn with a guide and a community,” she explained.
Moving forward, Delesalle will teach semester-long laboratory courses on bioinformatics. Her students will be able to become co-authors for some publications focused on the work completed that semester.
Management Prof. Patturaja Selvaraj
Harold G. Evans Professor of Eisenhower Leadership Studies
“Before coming to the United States, I was teaching a similar [labor relations] course in India and was very familiar with the industrial relations climate there. But here, I’m learning how things really work on the ground,” said Management Prof. Patturaja Selvaraj. “When an undergraduate fellow looks at things from a different political perspective, that really helps me understand what’s happening on the ground.”
With the endowment, Selvaraj will study job insecurity as it relates to different emerging economies, like China and India, and developed economies, like the United States, with other professors in the Management Department. This research will not only carry through to students in his own class but also the Eisenhower Institute Undergraduate Fellows.
“Next year, it will be very different. I can give more examples, based on my undergraduate fellows every week, as well as whatever preparation I’m doing for my labor relations course.”
Learn more about Gettysburg College’s first-class faculty.
By Katie Lauriello ’25
Posted: 11/16/22