Bowles Hall Live-In Faculty
Our residential college experience is guided by a professional team that lives in-residence alongside students. Working closely with the Bowles Hall Foundation Board of Directors as well as an active alumni group, this leadership group guides residents towards achieving success both on and off campus – staying on track academically, promoting readiness for advanced studies and/or careers, and becoming meaningful contributors to society.
College Principal
Prof. Gasper Begus has been the College Principal of Bowles Hall since January 2022. He is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at UC Berkeley, where he also directs the Berkeley Speech and Computation Lab. He received his undergraduate education at the University of Ljubljana and graduated with a Ph.D. from Harvard. Before coming to Berkeley, he was an Assistant Professor of Linguistics at the University of Washington.
Prof. Beguš leads efforts to develop techniques that help us better understand the inner workings of AI. In his Berkeley Speech and Computation lab, he also builds the most realistic models of human language learning—creating an artificial baby language learner. Serving as the Linguistics Lead at Project CETI, a non-profit dedicated to listening to sperm whales, he researches one of the most intriguing communication systems in the animal kingdom. His recent research discovered that sperm whales have equivalents to human vowels. Prof. Begus is also a historical linguist and Indo-Europeanist and has done research on languages such as Vedic Sanskrit, Austronesian languages, and languages of the Caucasus. His research has been featured in numerous press outlets, including the Financial Times, The Atlantic, National Geographic, Quanta Magazine, Harvard Magazine, Noema Magazine, and others.
Dr. Beguš regularly appears as an invited speaker in diverse venues such as NYU Stern School of Business, Centre Pompidou, the National Science Foundation, and the Santa Fe Institute. His models inspired parts of the La Biennale di Venezia exhibition and a science fiction book for young audiences.
Prof. Begus is dedicated to creating supportive and welcoming communities and comes to Bowles Hall with years of experience in residential colleges. At Harvard, he served as Resident Tutor in Mather House, one of Harvard's twelve residential colleges. In his leadership role as a Sophomore Advising Coordinator, he led training for advisers, consulted with university administration, and co-coordinated a pilot project to welcome incoming sophomore students into the house community that later became a model for other houses at Harvard. As a Fellowships Tutor, he advised undergraduate students on applications to post-graduate fellowships (Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright).
As our College Principal Prof. Begus serves as our foremost academic leader, working to ensure the successful implementation of a wide array of programs and services that support the College in fulfilling its goals, including enrichment programs, traditions and resident self-government. Serving as our official representative to the University’s Administration and Academic Senate, he also plays a key role in identifying and hosting guest speakers and visitors who may have temporary residence in the Hall.
He loves to make up fairy tales for his kids and to bake very complicated things. He also likes to study old dead languages (Tocharian, Luwian, Avestan) and spend time on his grandpa’s remote farm in Slovenian hills.
Prof. Begus resides in Bowles with his spouse Dr. Nina Begus and their three sons. Nina is a researcher at UC Berkeley. She graduated from Harvard with a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature, where she also served as a Consent Advocate and Relationship Educator for Mather House and did programming for first gen students. Her work focuses on the intersection of philosophy, literature, and cutting-edge technologies and ranges from academic research to consulting. Her book titled Artificial Humanities is forthcoming with the University of Michigan Press.
Antje Postema, PhD
Dean of Students
Dr Antje Postema has been at Bowles since January 2019. As Dean of Students, her primary purview is academic advising and programing, as well as career guidance. She also heads up alumni outreach with the aim of bringing together Bowlesfolk from all eras. Dr Postema is an active presence in the Hall, sharing meals with residents, accompanying them on trips into SF, and mentoring them through the challenges they face as Cal students and young adults.
On campus, Dr Postema is a Lecturer in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, where she teaches all levels of Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian language, as well as courses on Yugoslav literature, graphic novels, childhood in literature, and émigré writing. Dr Postema grew up in Tokyo, Japan. Before joining the faculty at Cal, she received her BA and PhD from the University of Chicago. Dr Postema’s research focuses on representations of traumatic memory in Southeast European literature, film, and public spheres. She conducts annual field research in Bosnia and Serbia and is currently completing a book on postwar Bosnian memory cultures. Dr Postema’s work has been supported by a number of grants and fellowships, including a Fulbright-Hays fellowship and several US Department of State and Department of Education grants.
Dr Postema is a voracious reader and a podcast fanatic. She loves hiking and exploring her new home state of California with her spouse, Gerry. You will invariably see Dr Postema zipping around on her bike, usually with a full cup of coffee balanced on her handlebars.
Sophie Cushman
Program Director
Sophie has been Program Director at Bowles since Spring 2020, with a break from 2021-2023 when she held academic fellowships in Athens, Greece. As Program Director, Sophie works closely with students to curate and coordinate events of all kinds. Sophie also oversees and advises the Hall Association, working with the student-run Executive Committee and the chairs of various Resident Committees. She also oversees the application process each year.
Sophie has focused programming initiatives within the Hall on academic success, mental health, philanthropy, and DEI projects. She organizes workshops, guest speakers, outings, and cultural activities and events. Sophie's primary focus is making sure all residents feel welcome, involved, and supported at Bowles Hall. Sophie also provides advising and mentoring services for all students on personal and professional matters including graduate school and job applications, course selections, and achieving work-life balance as a Berkeley student.
At Cal, Sophie is a PhD candidate in Classical Archaeology in the Department of Ancient Greek and Roman Studies (DAGRS). She is currently finishing her dissertation on Late Bronze Age Greek burial practices. She has taught several courses at Cal including Greek Archaeology, Greek and Roman civilization, and Latin and you will often see her around Dwinelle Hall or Doe Library. As a current graduate student, Sophie is a great point of contact for Bowles residents interested in applying to graduate school and is always happy to discuss what being a PhD student is like.
Outside of Bowles and her research, Sophie loves reading for fun (historical fiction and fantasy), hiking, playing tennis, and planning “research” trips to Greek islands.