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News
Four Faculty Join the 26-27 Faculty-in-Residence
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The Office of Undergraduate Education is pleased to announce Eric Disbro, Ph.D., Sophia Enriquez, Ph.D., Jennifer Knust, Ph.D., and Daniel Scott Smith, Ph.D. as new Faculty-in-Residence (FiR) at Duke University. These new FIRs will join the eight returning FIRs this month in their East Campus residential apartments in preparation to welcome the Class of 2030.
About the Faculty-in-Residence Program
The Faculty-in-Residence program is a signature Duke program where faculty who are particularly devoted to the undergraduate experience have the opportunity to live in one of the East Campus first-year residence halls.
FiRs create unique programming for their residents, from cozy, home-cooked meals to dorm concerts and lectures. The FiRs dorm apartments allow them to interact casually with first-year students outside typical academic contexts, fostering deeper, more meaningful connections beyond the traditional classroom.
FiRs serve as pivotal academic, professional, and personal resources for students as they navigate their first year at Duke. All four newly selected FiRs have demonstrated passion for undergraduate engagement and are well-positioned to be intentional and thoughtful mentors in their residential communities.
The Office of Undergraduate Education’s Student-Faculty Engagement Office manages the FIR program. The application cycle for the 2027-2028 FIR openings will begin in the spring of 2027.
Meet the New 2026-2027 Faculty-in-Residence
Sophia Enriquez, Assistant Professor of Music – Alspaugh Residence Hall
Enriquez is a community-engaged scholar whose work explores Latino musical life, migration, and regional culture across Appalachia and the U.S. South. Her research and teaching bring together ethnomusicology, folklore studies, Latino studies, southern studies, and public humanities. She has published work that examines how music shapes experiences of migration, belonging, memory, and regional identity. In her Alspaugh apartment, you may find her experimenting with recipes, practicing her jarana, and spending quality time with her very friendly cat, Franklin.
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Jennifer Knust, Professor of Religious Studies – Blackwell Residence Hall
Knust’s research focuses on embodied beliefs, sacred texts and contexts, and religious theory in the varied, lived religious worlds of the late-ancient Mediterranean. As a member of the “What is the Cosmos?” Constellation, she studies ancient interpretations of an enchanted cosmos, filled with singing stars, and, as part of the Manuscript Migration Lab and the Religion: Then & Now Undergraduate Research Initiative, she works closely with students and colleagues on tracing the histories of the incredible manuscripts in the Rubenstein Library collections. When Knust and her husband aren’t hanging out with students at Blackwell, you might find them meandering among the shelves of Duke’s libraries, mixing paints in the studio, reading and writing at the kitchen table, or teaching classes.
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Daniel Scott Smith, Assistant Professor of Sociology – Brown Residence Hall
Smith studies the social foundations of science: how we do it, make sense of it, and value it. Currently, he is studying scientific peer review in journals and the patenting process at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. As an undergraduate, he lived in a dorm with faculty in residence for three of his four years. Later, as a PhD student, he worked with faculty-in-residence programs to support undergraduates for another three years. As a first-generation, low-income student who relied on Pell Grants, Smith knows firsthand that authentic faculty mentorship can be transformative. When not at Duke, he hikes and camps all over the world with his husband and their dog, Spruce. Around East Campus, you may spot him playing fetch with her — or catch the smell of spicy Thai food from his kitchen.
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Eric Disbro, Assistant Professor of Romance Studies – Randolph Residence Hall
As a researcher, Disbro specializes in contemporary literature and cultural studies of the Francophone (French-speaking) regions of the Indian Ocean, Oceania, and the Caribbean, LGBTQIA+ studies, maritime ecocriticism, and care ethics. He is currently at work on a book manuscript, Terraqueous Intimacies: Queer and Trans Crosscurrents in Francophone Archipelagic Literatures, which has led to research stays in Mauritius, France, and Tahiti. Beyond his academic work, he enjoys film and theater, strong coffee from the many wonderful cafés around the Triangle, stand-up comedy, and drag performance. In Randolph, you may hear him playing the piano or see him working on his latest knitting or crochet project.