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Our Faculty

In our quest to educate and form persons for others, Saint Louis University’s College of Arts and Sciences has gathered a world-class faculty of teacher-scholars who are dedicated to excellence in undergraduate and graduate education.

Each is devoted to outstanding teaching, cutting-edge research and scholarship, inspired artistic expression and faithful service to SLU's campus and community.

Embracing the great and wondrous diversity that makes up the human race and the unique gifts and talents of every individual, this collection of curious seekers and learners works together to unpack the mysteries and answer the endless questions posed by the physical, social and spiritual worlds we inhabit.

We always do this with an eye toward justice, peace, beauty and the common good of the whole human family and the created world we share.

You can find more information on our faculty members on the pages devoted to their disciplines.

Explore Our Academic Areas

Faculty in the News

  • Keli Jackson (Communication) was quoted in a KMOV-TV Ch. 4 article about political campaigns’ efforts to reach younger people through social media. The article also appeared on KFVS-TV Ch. 12, WGEM-TV Ch. 10, KVTY-TV Ch. 3, and KAIT-TV Ch. 8. 
  • Liz Chiarello, Ph.D. (Sociology) was interviewed by AcademyHealth about her recent book, “Policing Patients: Treatment and Surveillance on the Frontlines of the Opioid Crisis.”
  • Helen De Cruz, Ph.D. (Philosophy) was interviewed on the Templeton Ideas Podcast.
  • Benjamin Looker, Ph.D. (American Studies) was mentioned in a review in the music magazine Maggot Brain, discussing liner notes he wrote for a recent archival free-jazz album release from the legendary Black Artists Group.
  •  Diana Carlin, Ph.D. (Communication emeritus) was featured on a C-SPAN panel covering a variety of political topics, including debates, women in politics and more. 
  • Election season is on the way. CAS faculty member Benjamin Looker (American studies) offers an urban-studies take on recent presidential elections for the popular political news site Talking Points Memo. Ben and his co-author cover how Republicans have talked about city neighborhoods in the past, and how Democrats could talk about those same spaces in 2024 and beyond.
  • Allison Miller, Ph.D. (biology) was featured on KSDK-TV Ch. 5 about how the state's wineries saved the global wine industry from a devastating plague.
  • Ness Sandoval, Ph.D. (sociology) was quoted in the Illinois Business Journal about the latest U.S. Census data showing a rise in the Hispanic population.
  • Diana Carlin, Ph.D. (communication) wrote an op-ed that ran in the Kansas Reflector about what to watch for during the first debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and why this debate is important. 
  • Steve Rogers, Ph.D. (political science) was featured in Yahoo! News, MSN, and KTVI-TV Ch. 2 about the SLU/YouGov poll and its results regarding key races and issues on the November ballot.
  • Kira Banks, Ph.D. (psychology) was quoted in WBUR-FM about whether “colorblindness” could lead to racial equality in America. 
  • Gretchen Arnold, Ph.D. (women's and gender studies) was quoted in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about domestic violence and how someone can get out of an abusive relationship. 
  • David Paternostro, S.J. (philosophy) was featured on Fox News and AOL about two readings in the Catholic Church this past Sunday and what those readings mean about following God’s law. 
  • Christopher Duncan, Ph.D. (political science) was featured in KCUR-FM 89.3 about third-party candidates. 
  • Karla Scott, Ph.D. (communication) was quoted in Oregon Live about the 10-year anniversary of Michael Brown’s death and the aftermath of the Ferguson protests. 
  • Saint Louis University was mentioned in the Good Men Project on World Elephant Day for elephant research from Stephen Blake, Ph.D. (biology).

Faculty Honors

SLU Biologists Receive Grant from National Science Foundation to Study How a Turtle’s Brain Can Survive Without Oxygen

Professors Dan Warren from biology (principal investigator) and Mickey Ariel from pharmacology and physiology (co-principal investigator) recently received a three-year, $700,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study the neurophysiological basis of anoxia (complete absence of oxygen from an organism’s environment) tolerance in turtles.

The Warren Lab will study various aspects of the turtle’s neurophysiology without oxygen, including how single neurons respond to neurotransmitters, how their visual and auditory systems function, and how the expression levels of thousands of genes change in different brain regions. This research will be performed in collaboration with Zhenguo Lin Ph.D., also from the Department of Biology, and Christian Damsgaard, Ph.D., from Aarhus University in Denmark. The broader aim is to reveal the basic requirements for a vertebrate neuron to survive without oxygen in hopes of identifying novel targets for therapeutic interventions to prevent or minimize brain injury following strokes and heart attacks in humans.

The project will also create training opportunities for a post-doctoral fellow, graduate students, and undergraduates, and provide continued support for Warren’s outreach program called TRTLE: Teaching Research with Turtle Life-history and Ecophysiology. Warren will partner with SLU Professor of Education Christa Jackson, Ph.D., to provide authentic research experiences to middle school children involved in programming from within SLU’s Institute for STEM Collaboration, Outreach, Research and Education (ISCORE).

Feel free to contact Professor Warren to learn more about this research.