Eberly College of Arts and Sciences welcomes to its faculty a group of educators and researchers from West Virginia University and institutions across the world.
"I am delighted to have this exceptional group of scholars join us at Eberly College," said Dean Gregory Dunaway. "They will not only provide students with an excellent education in a variety of subject areas, but they will also contribute to the breadth of scholarship produced by Eberly's faculty."
Meet Eberly College's new faculty:
Christopher Arnold
Biology
Dr. Arnold got his bachelor's degree from UCSD in Molecular Biology. He
earned his doctoral degree from Stanford University, where he studied
stem cell self-renewal using mouse models. Unfortunately, as a graduate
student he developed an allergy to mice, forcing him to seek out a new
(and less furry) animal model to pursue his scientific interests. For
his postdoctoral research, he joined the laboratory of Dr. Alejandro
Sánchez Alvarado at the Stowers Institute. There he studied a relatively
new stem cell research organism, the planarian
Schmidtea mediterranea. These invertebrate flatworms have stem cells
that allow them to perpetually grow, renew and regenerate all of their
organs and tissues. If you cut a piece of tissue from a planarian, it
will regrow what was lost in less than a week. At the same time, that
small piece of tissue will regenerate into an entirely new worm. Planaria
use these regenerative abilities to asexually reproduce, tearing off
small pieces of their tissue to make new copies of themselves. In his
work, Dr. Arnold studies how highly conserved genes used in human development
are utilized to establish the growth, regenerative and asexual reproductive
capabilities of planaria. Dr. Arnold plans to use this simple animal
model as a tool to better understand developmental, stem cell and regeneration
biology with the aim of inspiring new approaches to the treatment of
human disease.
Dr. Arnold is interested in working with a number of Biology faculty in their areas of expertise, including: Dr. Bergeron, Dr. Horstick, Dr. Masat, Dr. Dacks, and Dr. Daly. Arnold is also interested in collaborating with Dr. Huebert Lima to develop undergraduate and graduate level courses on topics of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine.
Dr. Arnold would be interested in hosting undergraduates from the Research
Apprenticeship Program and similar programs. Working with local
high schools would be an exciting opportunity, as planaria are well suited
for biology experiments in the classroom.
Education:
B.S. in Molecular Biology, University of California, San DiegoPh.D. in Immunology, Stanford University
Nisan Hubbard
Biology
Dr. Hubbard’s interests revolve around creating and facilitating an
effective, productive and safe learning environment that is beneficial
for all students who come into his classes/courses. He means to design
courses to implement the valuable concepts and skills necessary for every
student’s endeavors throughout their undergraduate experience. Currently,
he will teach Biology Orientation (BIOL 191) and Advanced Human Physiology
(BIOL 344) and has interests in teaching Reproductive Biology and History
in the future. His hope and ambition are to train students to be autonomous,
critical thinkers and the next generation of leaders in the science field.
As an advisor for Biology majors, Dr. Hubbard hopes to assist students
in their academic journey through constructing and implementing a personalized
plan of success that they will use to achieve their goals in their undergraduate
experience.
Past community engagement that Dr. Hubbard has participated in involved mentoring and teaching in various capacities in scientific outreach programs within local and national clubs such as the Boys and Girls Club of America, conducting activities and science days for K-12 students, and judging in local and regional science fairs. He has also participated in numerous seminars involving research and career development, speaking in local community settings and businesses.
Dr. Hubbard has also participated in and facilitated Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives and programs on college campuses, notably serving as an intern for The Graduate School at Northwestern University, facilitating efforts for campuses to create safe spaces and places for a diverse workforce and students as they contribute to the dynamic scientific community. He hopes to continue these endeavors and community service here in Morgantown.
Education:
B.S. in Biology, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityPh.D. in Molecular Biosciences (Reproductive Biology), Northwestern University
Carolyn A. Kitchens
Biology and Chemistry
Dr. Kitchens received her doctoral degree in Molecular Pharmacology from the University
of Pittsburgh (2011), where she specialized in Cancer Drug Discovery Research.
From 2011 to 2012, she held a post-doctoral position in the Women’s Cancer
Research Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, where she specialized
in Genomic Breast Cancer Research.From 2012 to 2021, Dr. Kitchens primarily taught Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology at Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia. While at Bethany, she was the pre-health professions advisor and served on several committees including the Faculty Welfare and College Budget Committee. She also worked with Representative David McKinley on the Ohio Valley Research Consortium, a collaboration between the eight colleges and universities within the Ohio Valley. The primary initiative of this group was to recognize and address the Opioid Epidemic in the Ohio Valley and West Virginia overall. Unfortunately, this initiative was put on hold once the COVID pandemic began.
In addition to her academic career, Dr. Kitchens also pursued a career
in athletics, playing basketball at Appalachian State for two years,
then throwing the javelin at both Appalachian State and the University
of Pittsburgh for three years overall. While at Bethany College, she
served as the head throws coach for both the Men’s and Women’s track
team and helped the Men’s Indoor Track team win back-to-back championships.
She also coached multiple individual champions in Javelin, Shot Put,
Discus and the Weight Throw.
Dr. Kitchens is interested in researching and collaborating on ways to
increase diversity, equity, and inclusion within the classroom, science
majors, and science careers. She is also interested in building more
collaborations within the sciences to help bridge the gaps between chemistry,
biology, physics, mathematics, agricultural, and health sciences.
She would like to get involved with the LGBTQ+ community and help mentor
those in need. She also loves sports and coaching and would really enjoy
getting involved in athletics in the Morgantown area.
Education:
B.S. in Chemistry, Appalachian State UniversityPh.D. in Molecular Pharmacology, University of Pittsburgh
Hacer Karatas Bristow
Chemistry
Dr. Karatas Bristow received her doctoral degree in Medicinal Chemistry
at the University of Michigan under the direction of Prof. Shaomeng Wang.
After graduation, she was a postdoctoral fellow at EPFL (Switzerland),
and then at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology (Germany).
She worked as an assistant professor in Istanbul Medipol University (Turkiye)
before joining WVU. Her research focuses on addressing unmet needs in
disease treatment. Her group explores new drug targets by developing
protein-protein interaction inhibitors, identifying the inhibitors’ mechanism
of action, and establishing assays to determine the inhibitor binding
to the target protein.
Dr. Karatas Bristow focuses on exploring novel protein targets for therapeutic applications. By nature, her research is highly collaborative, combining efforts from a range of disciplines such as chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology.
Education:
B.Sc. in Faculty of Pharmacy, Ankara University, TurkiyeM.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Ankara University, Turkiye
Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan, USA
Dave Mersing
Chemistry
Dr. Mersing was born and raised in Terra Alta, WV and graduated from Preston
High School in 1993. He enlisted in the US Army in 1993 served till October
1997 and completed a tour of duty in Bosnia and Herzegovina. After returning
to civilian life, he began working in logistics managing transportation
hubs for several trucking companies throughout Michigan and Ohio. During
that time, he met his wife and had three children. Dr. Mersing returned
to West Virginia in 2006 and he made the decision to attend college.
While finishing my BS at WVU, he applied and was accepted to the McNair
Scholars Program. After completing this program, he made the decision
to attend graduate school at WVU. Mersing joined Dr. Ken Showatler’s
group and finished the PHD program in the spring of 2022. During that
spring semester he also had the opportunity to teach General Chemistry
at the United States Naval Academy.
Dr. Mersing would like to collaborate with the computer science department
and determine if any CS majors would be interested in undergraduate
research. His main focus is increasing diversity in the chemistry department
by investigating the reason why students do not choose chemistry as
a major.
Education:
B.S. Chemistry, West Virginia UniversityBrian Nichols
Chemistry
Dr. Brian Nichols was born and raised in central Massachusetts. After earning a bachelor's degree at Drew University and a master’s degree at the University of Vermont, he moved on to complete his doctoral degree in organic/organometallic chemistry under Dr. Brian Popp at West Virginia University. His doctoral research focused on studying the effects of pendant Lewis acid containing ligands on the second coordination sphere of late transition metal complexes of rhodium and iridium.
After the completion of his doctoral degree from WVU in 2018, Dr. Nichols
was hired as an assistant professor of chemistry at West Liberty University,
where he taught general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry and
advanced synthetic laboratories. He is now rejoining the chemistry department
in Morgantown for the Fall 2022 semester as a teaching assistant professor.
Dr. Nichols currently resides in Morgantown with his wife, Trina, whom
he married on New Year’s Eve of 2021. In his spare time, he is an avid
New England sports fan and enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Education:
M.S. in Analytical Chemistry, University of Vermont
Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, West Virginia University
Oluwatobi (Tobi) Odeleye
Chemistry
Dr. Oluwatobi (Tobi) Odeleye is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry. She is a chemical education researcher, and her research interests revolve around different factors that influence student attitudes towards chemistry specifically, and STEM fields in general. She believes in a learner-centered classroom and continues to investigate ways to make her classroom environment learner-oriented. Tobi is an avid tennis fan and enjoys playing and watching tennis whenever she can.
Oluwatobi is interested in STEM Education research, discipline-based
education research (DBER), equity in STEM fields, increasing representation
of minoritized groups in STEM fields, increasing student engagement
in the classroom, and inclusive learning environments. She would be
interested in collaborating to implement student-centered teaching
strategies in STEM courses.
Education:
Ph.D. in Chemistry, South Dakota State UniversityLindsay Morris-Neuberger
Communication Studies
Dr. Lindsay Morris-Neuberger is Woodburn Professor and chair of the Department
of Communication Studies at West Virginia University. She earned her doctoral
degree at Michigan State University and received bachelor’s and master’s
degrees from Wake Forest University. She previously served as associate
director for academic programs and student services in the Nicholson School
of Communication and Media and was a fellow in the College of Undergraduate
Studies and the Office of the Provost at the University of Central Florida.
Dr. Morris-Neuberger primarily conducts research in the areas of health campaigns,
translational research and risk communication and has worked on projects
funded by groups including the National Science Foundation, Department
of Health and Human Services and the World Health Organization. Her work
uses persuasion, formative research, information seeking and program evaluation
concepts, and has covered varied topics from the opioid crisis and breast
cancer to risk assessment and environmental concerns. One recent research
project helped guide policymakers and keep the public informed about COVID-19.
Another is creating messages to encourage eligible citizens to claim their
earned income tax credit. Though diverse in context, her research focuses
on making effective messages that encourage people to make decisions that
are good for themselves, their families and society, and interdisciplinary
collaboration is core to her work.
Dr. Morris-Neuberger is ready to establish new research partnerships with those interested in promoting public health and well-being or effectively communicating science. The specific context is not as important as the desire to create messages to help people. Dr. Morris-Neuberger has extensive experience working with interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams. Please reach out to discuss potential research collaboration where effective communication, whether it be campaign work or findings translation, could enhance impact and help publics.
Dr. Morris-Neuberger is eager to partner with community organizations that
need assistance in crafting effective communication campaigns to promote
public health and well-being or effectively communicate scientific concepts.
Education:
B.A., Wake Forest UniversityM.A., Wake Forest University
Ph.D., Michigan State University
Brian Broome
English
Brian Broome’s debut memoir,
Punch Me Up to the Gods, is an New York Times Editor’s Pick and the
winner of the 2021 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction and the 2021 Randy Shilts
Award from The Publishing Triangle, and a finalist for the Lambda Literary
Award. He is a contributing columnist at The Washington Post. His work
has also appeared in Hippocampus, Poets and Writers, Medium and more. Brian
was a K. Leroy Irvis Fellow and an instructor in the Writing Program at
the University of Pittsburgh.
He has been a finalist in The Moth storytelling competition and won the
grand prize in Carnegie Mellon University’s Martin Luther King Writing
Awards. Brian also won a VANN Award from the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation
for journalism in 2019. His film,
Garbage, won the Audience Choice Award at the Cortada Short Film Festival
and was a semi-finalist in the Portland Short Fest.
Education:
B.F.A., Chatham University
M.F.A., University of Pittsburgh
Ann Pancake
English
Dr. Ann Pancake is a native of West Virginia and an alumna of West Virginia University. She’s published two short story collections, Given Ground (UPNE 2001) and Me and My Daddy Listen to Bob Marley (Counterpoint 2015), and a novel, Strange As This Weather Has Been (Counterpoint 2007), which was one of Kirkus Review’s Top Ten Fiction Books of the year, won the best Appalachian Book of the Year, and was a finalist for the Orion Book Award and the Washington State Book Award. She has also received a Whiting Award, an NEA grant, a Pushcart Prize, the Breadloaf Bakeless Prize, the Barry Lopez Visiting Writer in Ethics and the Community Fellowship, and has been inducted into the Fellowship of Southern Writers.
Dr. Pancake earned her doctoral degree in English Literature from the University of Washington, and her academic work focuses on social class issues, Appalachian Studies and environmental literature. Her stories, essays, scholarly articles and journalism have appeared in venues like Orion, The Georgia Review, Poets and Writers, The Journal of Appalachian Studies, and New Stories from the South, the Year’s Best. She returned to WVU four years ago to work for the Humanities Center and is now very happy to be taking a position with Eberly in the English Department.
Education:
Jennifer Sano-Franchini
English
Dr. Jennifer Sano-Franchini is the incoming Gaziano Family Legacy Professor of Rhetoric
and Writing and associate professor in the Department English. Previously,
she served as director of professional and technical writing and associate
professor of English at Virginia Tech. Her research and teaching interests
are in the cultural politics of user experience design, cultural and digital
rhetorics, Asian American rhetoric and the rhetorical work of institutions.Education:
Ph.D., Rhetoric and Writing in Michigan State UniversityM.A., English in University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
B.A., in English, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Amanda Berardi Tennant
English
Originally from Fairmont, West Virginia, Dr. Amanda Berardi Tennant completed her bachelor's degree in English at West Virginia University in 2010. After earning her doctoral degree in Rhetoric from Carnegie Mellon University, Tennant worked for Duke University as a post-doctoral fellow for the Partnership for Appalachian Girls’ Education, where she taught digital storytelling to middle school girls in Appalachian North Carolina. For the past five years, she has worked as an assistant professor of English and director of the writing center at West Liberty University. Dr. Tennant lives in Fairview, W.Va. with her husband and two young sons.
Dr. Tennant researches how Appalachian college students negotiate cultural
identity and respond to stereotypes in their academic writing. Her current
project examines the types of challenges Appalachian students face when
they are from low-income or under-resourced backgrounds, speak rural
dialects, or encounter stereotypes of their home communities. She is
interested in collaborating with researchers who question how students
from similarly marginalized backgrounds, within and beyond Appalachia,
navigate different educational settings.
Dr. Tennant has experience practicing and studying community-based writing
initiatives. She has worked with Carnegie Mellon University’s Community
Literacy Center and mentored Duke University undergraduate interns for
the Partnership for Appalachian Girls’ Education in Madison County, North
Carolina. She is interested in collaborating with others on service-learning
courses or community/university projects.
Education:
B.A. in English with a concentration in Professional Writing and Editing, West Virginia UniversityM.A. in Rhetoric, Carnegie Mellon University
Ph.D. in Rhetoric, Carnegie Mellon University
Lisa Licata
Forensics & Investigative Sciences
Lisa Licata attended West Virginia University for her undergraduate education,
completing a dual degree program in Biology and Forensic and Investigative
Science in 2013. She then went on to continue her education at the University
of North Texas-Health Science Center, receiving a master's of science degree
in Forensic Genetics in 2015. From there Mrs. Licata began a career as
a DNA analyst with the US Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory in Atlanta,
Georgia. She concluded her time there and moved to Norfolk, Virginia with
her husband, where she later began working as a forensic technician with
the Chesapeake Police Department. After several years in Virginia she has
made it back to the Mountain State and back to Oglebay Hall where her Forensic
career began.
Education:
M.S. in Forensic Genetics, University of North Texas - Health Science Center
Vikas Agrawal
Geology & Geography
Dr. Vikas Agrawal is assistant visiting professor in the Department of Geology
and Geography at West Virginia University. He utilizes geochemical, data
analytical and numerical modeling tools to address a wide variety of issues
related to energy and environment. His research focuses on improving efficiency
of energy systems in an environmentally sustainable manner. His research
areas include critical mineral exploration and separation, geologic carbon
and hydrogen storage, geothermal energy systems, and unconventional petroleum
systems. He has published several articles in energy and environment journals
and has presented his work at national and international meetings. At WVU,
he teaches the following courses: Critical Minerals, Introduction to Minerals
and Rocks, Introduction to Petroleum Geology, and Planet Earth.
To transition in the near future to cleaner energy sources, like solar,
wind, and geothermal, there is a critical need to develop a skilled workforce.
Dr. Agrawal would like to conduct workshops and lab tours for high school
students and other young professionals to create awareness about the
need to develop environmentally sustainable energy systems. He would
also like to collaborate with other faculty to generate external grants
to develop research programs especially for underrepresented groups and
first-generation students.
Education:
Ph.D. in Geology, West Virginia UniversityB.S.-M.S. dual degree in Geological Sciences (Chemistry minor), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, India
Michael Harman
Geology & Geography
Dr. Michael Harman is classically trained as an applied scientist in
Agricultural Sciences. He understands the importance of space and champions
the utilization of Geographic Information Systems as the cornerstone of solution
building. His doctoral research focused on the use of predictive geospatial
modeling in complex biogeochemical systems. His personal tradecraft is in
mixed method data analytics with geovisualization and geospatial modeling.
Dr. Harman was program head for Geographic Information Systems at Northern
Virginia Community College (NOVA), the largest public educational institution
in Virginia and the second-largest community college in the United States,
with over 75,000 students. He is the new teaching associate professor in
charge of the online master's program in Geographic Information Systems at
West Virginia University. He is from Pendleton County.
Dr. Harman looks forward to working with faculty across the university to solve any problems with a spatial component. GIS can be an amazing enhancement to most any field of study. If you want to incorporate physical space, enhanced visualizations, or mapping into what you do, he would love the opportunity to work with you.
He has historically worked with professional organizations and political
entities, but he wants to expand my professional memberships, continue
or renew old relationships, and expand the geospatial footprint across
the mountain state and beyond.
Education:
Joshua Lohnes
Geology & Geography
Dr. Joshua Lohnes is a broadly trained human geographer well versed in theories of development, political ecology and food studies. He serves as a research assistant professor in the Department of Geology and Geography at West Virginia University, advancing questions related to agri-food systems governance with an emphasis on the political economy of nutrition assistance programs. His doctoral dissertation T he Food Bank Fix: Hunger, Capitalism and Humanitarian Reason (2019) drew on a multi-sited institutional ethnography of emergency food networks in West Virginia to uncover the relationships between the state, private businesses and the nonprofit sector that maintain feeding lines in place and linked across space. He is building on this work to continue to study the moral, political and economic place of expanding humanitarian food networks across the world and how these might fit within broader debates about sustainable food futures and human rights.
Josh directs the work of the Food Justice Lab at the Center for Resilient
Communities and offers support to the Food System Development and Community
Economies Labs. He is actively engaged with local, national and international
coalitions that seek to advance the right to food through principles of
food sovereignty and food justice. He is passionate about popular education
in the Freirean tradition of critical pedagogy and committed to participatory
action research that advances more just and sustainable economic systems.
He is currently engaged in a number of community-based initiatives including
the WV Agrarian Commons, WV Food for All, Voices of Hunger WV, the National
Right to Food Community of Practice, The Global Solidarity Alliance for
Food, and Health and Social Justice. Dr. Lohnes is interested in engaging
with opportunities that align with advancing the right to food and food
sovereignty in West Virginia and beyond.
Education:
B.A., San Diego State UniversityM.A., West Virginia University
Ph.D., West Virginia University
Brooke Durham
History
Dr. Brooke Durham is an assistant professor of modern European history. She
is a specialist in French colonial history in Africa. Her dissertation
research focused on self-described politically neutral human development
and welfare projects in colonial and postcolonial Algeria. Relying on archival
research and interviews conducted in Europe, the United States and North
Africa, this dissertation demonstrates the fallacy of political neutrality
during decolonization through an analysis of local actors and organizations
on the ground. This work also highlights the extraordinary obstacles to
fostering cooperation between Europeans and Algerians on these development
projects during and following the Algerian War of Independence against
the French military.
Professor Durham is broadly interested in the history of decolonization
and international development in the postwar period. Her research on these
topics is especially important to social histories of European and African
relations. Professor Durham is developing two new research projects. The
first concerns European and African university student internships and
participation in development projects on both sides of the Mediterranean
during the 1950s and 1960s. A secondary research project turns to the southern
military port city, Toulon, to investigate its role in French wars of decolonization
after the Second World War. Professor Durham welcomes undergraduate and
graduate students interested in researching the histories of modern France
and Europe, European colonialism and international development.
Dr. Durham is eager to collaborate with colleagues working on European
and African history, politics, and culture. Particularly those teaching
French language and literature, and European and African politics and
culture. She looks forward to collaborating with the West Virginia and
Regional History Center collections to highlight historical and contemporary
links between West Virginians and Europe. Collaborating with colleagues
working on innovative, inclusive, and accessible approaches to in-person
and virtual learning is also of interest to her.
She is excited to join the WVU Faculty Justice Network and support the
Center for Black Culture. She also anticipates organizing
cultural events such as film screenings and discussions with the university
community and the public.
Education:
B.A. in History, The Pennsylvania State UniversityB.A. in International Politics, The Pennsylvania State University
M.A. in History, Stanford University
Ph.D. in History, Stanford University
Sean Lawrence
History
Dr. Sean Lawrence earned his doctoral degree in European History from the University of California, Santa Cruz. His research intersects with questions of political-economy, space, ecology and governmentality. His dissertation titled "What do you suppose this rain is worth?”: German finance and the remaking of Anatolia's waterways, 1903-1945 examines the causes and consequences of Deutsche Bank’s many dam-building projects in late Ottoman and early Turkish Republican Anatolia. Originally interested in cultural landscapes of the historic middle east, Sean Lawrence became interested in the role of European organizations operating abroad while working on his first master's degree in UNESCO World Heritage Studies. While working on a research project in southeastern Turkey, Sean was interested to observe the ways that European experts and government officials interacted with rural communities. This propelled his career in a new direction. His doctoral work examined the role of German cultural and financial institutions as quasi-imperial agents in middle eastern contexts. His current research raises questions about historical agency, environment and the role of German finance in propelling the late Ottoman Empire to reconstruct itself as the modern Turkish Republic. He works in German, French, Turkish and Ottoman Turkish, in addition to English. His research has been supported by the U.S. Fulbright Program, the Humboldt-Yale History Network, the Gerda-Henkel Foundation and the American Research Institute in Turkey. Beyond history, his abiding passions are for the outdoors, travel and film.
Sean is eager to collaborate with experts in West Virginia University's
Geography and Biology departments on his second research project, titled Vectors
of Modernity: Sedentarization, zoonotic disease, and European medical
‘expertise’ in the eastern Mediterranean 1945-1980, which focuses on
the production of medical knowledge about zoonotic disease between Europe
and the Ottoman successor states. Sean hopes to work closely with Brooke
Durham to develop content covering the Middle East and North Africa to
expand the course offerings of WVU’s History Department.
Sean is excited to bring his passion for the outdoors to Morgantown by
working with WVU’s partner organizations promoting environmental awareness
and conservancy including the Mon River Trails Conservancy and the Mon
Valley Green Space Coalition.
Education:
B.S. in Political Science, Santa Clara UniversityM.A. in UNESCO World Heritage Studies, Brandenberg University of Technology (Cottbus, Germany)
M.A. in European History, University of California, Santa Cruz
Ph.D. in European History, University of California, Santa Cruz
Austin McCoy
History
Dr. Austin McCoy is an assistant professor in History at West Virginia University.
Austin earned his doctoral degree in History from the University of Michigan
in 2016. He served as a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Michigan-Mellon
Project on Egalitarianism and the Metropolis from 2016-2018. His research
and teaching interests include African American History, the U.S. Left,
labor, and social movements. Dr. McCoy is working on a book project tentatively
entitled,
The Quest for Democracy: Black Power, New Left, and Progressive Politics
in the Post-Industrial Midwest, which analyzes campaigns for participatory
democracy in economics, foreign policy and criminal justice after 1967.
He is also a public scholar, publishing social criticism in numerous media
outlets, including Truthout, Black Perspectives, CNN and The Washington
Post.
Education:
M.A., The Ohio State University (African and African American Studies)
M.A., Kent State University (History)
Ph.D., University of Michigan
Jesse Cook
Mathematical and Data Sciences
Originally from Hardy County, West Virginia, Jesse Cook always enjoyed helping
his classmates with mathematics. He graduated from East Hardy High School
in 2011, then attended Potomac State College before transferring to the
main campus of West Virginia University to complete his studies. After
graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Physics in 2015,
Cook decided to do graduate work at WVU because of how much he enjoyed
his experience at WVU as an undergraduate. He completed a Master of Science
in Mathematics in 2017, and has been a lecturer in the WVU School of Mathematical
and Data Sciences since 2019. Cook loves teaching calculus courses, as
it provides an opportunity for early college students to challenge themselves
and learn math they likely have not experienced before.
He wants to help students build community outside of the classroom. Many
students who attend WVU are from rural areas or are first-generation
students, and community building would help them meet and bond with one
another.
Education:
B.A. in Mathematics and Physics, West Virginia UniversityM.S. in Mathematics, West Virginia University
Hugh Geller
Mathematical and Data Sciences
Originally from Massachusetts, Hugh moved to Towson, MD to pursue a bachelor's
degree in mathematics at Goucher College. While there, Hugh maintained
a ballet scholarship and competed each year as a three-season distance
runner. After spending his junior year studying abroad at Oxford University,
Hugh decided to pursue graduate studies in mathematics at Clemson University.
His initial focus was number theory but switched to homological and commutative
algebra under the guidance of Dr. Keri Sather-Wagstaff. His dissertation,
Minimal Differential Graded Resolutions of Fiber Products, focused on the
study of algebraic objects known as fiber products. His research introduced
him to the work of current West Virginia University faculty Dr. Ela Celikbas
and Dr. Olgur Celikbas.
Hugh completed the final year of his doctoral program remotely from Arlington,
Virginia. While in Arlington, Hugh started research with Dr. Rebecca R.G.
of George Mason University. Their work focuses on identifying applications
of commutative algebra to neuroscience through neural codes. Hugh maintained
this work in the following year when he moved to Sewanee, Tennessee to
accept a visiting assistant professorship at Sewanee: The University of
the South.
Hugh is excited to start his next chapter at WVU (and is looking for recommended
running routes).
Dr. Geller has an on-going collaboration with Dr. Ela Celikbas and is looking to start another with Dr. Olgur Celikbas. Outside of WVU, Hugh will continue his work with Dr. Rebecca R.G. of George Mason University. Hugh is interested in interdisciplinary collaborations that identify possible applications of both commutative and homological algebra. While Hugh’s role is predominantly research focused, he is interested in growing his teaching skills to transition from teaching lecture-based math classes to discussion-based math classes.
He is hoping to organize reading and research groups within the math department
for both undergraduates and graduate students. As a member of both Phi
Beta Kappa (Goucher College, Beta of Maryland) and Phi Kappa Phi (Clemson
University, Chapter 49), he would gladly volunteer his time with either
group at WVU.
Education:
Ph.D. in Mathematical Sciences, Clemson UniversityM.S. in Mathematical Sciences, Clemson University
B.A. in Mathematics, Goucher College
Guangming Jing
Mathematical and Data Sciences
Researcher in the areas of Combinatorial algorithms, Discrete Optimization.
M.S. in Mathematics, North University of China, Taiyuan, China
M.S. in Statistics, Georgia State University
Ph.D. in Mathematics, Georgia State University
Galyna Voitiuk
Mathematical and Data Science
M.S. in Mathematics, WVU
Ph.D. in Mathematics, WVU (expected August 2022)
Dylan Wilson
Mathematical and Data Sciences
After receiving his doctoral degree at Northwestern University, Dylan was
a Dickson Instructor at the University of Chicago and then an NSF Postdoctoral
Fellow at Harvard University. His research is in homotopy theory, the qualitative
study of shapes, which has connections to both pure and applied mathematics,
including arithmetic geometry, physics and data analysis.
As an instructor, Dylan is interested in inclusive pedagogy; in cultivating
curiosity, mindfulness and a growth mindset; and in supporting students
as best he can to explore past the edges of wherever they currently are.
Outside of academia, Dylan enjoys nature, reading, cooking and occasionally
sitting and breathing. He is very excited to join the “Wild and Wonderful”
West Virginia University community, and to once again live near the mountains!
He has always been interested in experimenting with new methods in teaching mathematics, which is a subject that has unnecessarily been the cause of much pain and confusion for our students.
Education:
B.S. in Mathematics, University of WashingtonPh.D. in Mathematics, Northwestern University
Thaddeus Herman
Multidisciplinary Studies
Dr. Thaddeus Herman holds a PhD of Education Policy, Organization and
Leadership with a dual concentration of Philosophy of Education and Global
Studies in Education and a minor in Global Studies from the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has lived extensively abroad in India helping
to implement new curriculum in various institutions of higher education throughout
the western Indian state of Maharashtra. He is fluent in Persian and his
research broadly focuses on historical and modern educational connections
between Iran and India. His recent research focuses on how a Bahá’í inspired
school in Maharashtra began by Iranian Bahá’í refugees functioned during
the global COVID-19 pandemic. Thaddeus is a two-time FLAS (Foreign Language
and Area Studies) Fellow in Persian and utilizes the language in his research.
Dr. Herman is interested in collaborating with other scholars of globalization
and those who incorporate a global lens within their research. He is
also interested in collaborating with scholars from a variety of disciplines
to invite them as guest lecturers into the classes he will teach. Collaborating
with the Human Rights Commission of Morgantown, the Greater Morgantown
Interfaith Association, and any units on the WVU campus which focus on
global issues is of great interest to him.
Education:
PhD of Educational Policy, Organization and Leadership with a dual concentration in Philosophy of Education and Global Studies in Education and a graduate minor in Global Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Jayme Scally
Multidisciplinary Studies
Dr. Jayme Scally comes to Multidisciplinary Studies from the Honors Program
at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where she served as faculty for six
years. She is originally from Baltimore, MD and has lived and studied in
England, Ireland, Spain, and South Africa. Her research focuses on the
development of intercultural competence in various settings, including
through study abroad, intentional campus programming, and through media.
Jayme’s dissertation focused on a comparison of the three main study abroad
models in US undergraduate education and assessed their program structures
to ascertain which best support the development of intercultural competence,
as well as the influence of administrative support and varying student
motivations. Other work has investigated the idea of “internationalization
at home” including a look at the relationship between Fundamental British
Values and Arabic complementary schools and a focus on the mismatch between
Global North and South institutions in higher education exchange programs
that results in further propagating the inequity such programs are meant
to address. A scholar-practitioner, Jayme has also worked in careers and
study abroad advising, welfare and student support in the US and UK.
Education:
B.A. History, Gettysburg CollegeM.Ed. Higher Education Administration, Vanderbilt University
Ph.D. Education, University of York, UK
Certificate in Disability and Diversity Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, USA
Daniel Miller
Philosophy
Dr. Daniel Miller earned his doctoral degree at Florida State University
in 2016. He is currently co-director of the Health Care Ethics course in
the West Virginia University School of Medicine with Dr. Allison Lastinger.
He teaches courses on ethical theory, health care ethics, the philosophy
of religion, and writes on topics related to moral responsibility, blame
and forgiveness, and health care ethics. He is especially interested in
questions concerning the relationship between moral responsibility and
ignorance. Outside of school he loves spending time with his wife and their
newborn daughter.
Education:
Ariane Nomikos
Philosophy
Dr. Ariane Nomikos is a first-generation Greek American from Astoria, New York, and a first generation college student. In her free time she likes to walk, hike, cook, paint, play Wingspan and watch David Attenborough documentaries.
Mo st of Dr. Nomikos' teaching is in applied ethics, and courses in environmental ethics hold a special place in her heart. She would be especially interested in co-teaching courses on the environment with environmental/climate scientists and geographers.
Her research focuses on issues at the intersection of ethics, aesthetics,
and the environment. In particular, she is interested in understanding
how people give social meaning to places, and how their well-being
is wrapped up in their relations to such places.
Education:
B.A. in Philosophy and Classics, Fordham UniversityPh.D. in Philosophy, University at Buffalo, SUNY
Subhasish Mandal
Physics & Astronomy
Dr. Subhasish Mandal has obtained his doctoral degree from the Department of Physics at Michigan Technological University in 2012 and master's of science degree from Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 2007. In 2005, he obtained his Bachelor of Science in Physics (with Honors) from the University of Calcutta. He has pursued his postdoctoral research from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers University. Prior to that, he was a Yale-IBM postdoc in the Department of Applied Physics at Yale University.
Dr. Mandal's area of research is the theoretical & computational aspects
of quantum condensed matter physics. He tries to understand the behavior
of electrons in many classes of advanced quantum and functional materials
like high-temperature superconductors, Mott insulators, topological insulators
and multi-ferroelectrics materials by predicting electronic, optical
and magnetic properties. He is in the process of building a materials
database that would be more accurate than the existing databases and
would rely on theories that go beyond the conventional density functional
theory (DFT) method. This work is in collaboration with NIST. Mandal
is interested in teaching Physics to both undergraduate and graduate
students.
Jason May
Physics & Astronomy
Jason May, Ph.D., is a teaching assistant professor in the Department
of Physics & Astronomy. Jason's responsibilities include providing high-quality
instruction, managing the department's laboratory courses and lecture demonstrations,
and training and supporting graduate teaching assistants. Jason, a former
NSF graduate research fellow, received his doctoral degree in Physics from
the University of Utah in 2022, specializing in physics education research
(PER) in undergraduate physics laboratory courses. During his tenure at the
University of Utah, Jason led the development efforts for a new interdisciplinary
physics laboratory course for life science majors, the Introductory Physics
Labs for Life Sciences (IPL2S). His doctoral research utilized qualitative
educational research methods to investigate student sensemaking, experimental
activity, and agency in these lab courses.Dr. May also hopes to work with graduate students and faculty to promote
effective and longitudinally valuable training for graduate students,
ensuring their professional success in the future.
As the lecture-demonstration specialist, he would also like to extend
the department's lecture-demonstration resources to interested ECAS faculty
for instructional or outreach opportunities.
Education:
Ph.D., Physics, University of UtahJason Ybarra
Physics & Astronomy
Jason E. Ybarra is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Physics and
Astronomy department and serves as the Director of the WVU Planetarium &
Observatory. Dr. Ybarra’s research interests include galactic star formation,
protostellar outflows, physics education, and the history of astronomy. They
earned a Ph.D. from the University of Florida where, as a NASA Graduate Student
Researchers Program (GSRP) fellow and a NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium
fellow, they studied how star formation progresses through the Rosette Molecular
Cloud by analyzing the stellar and gas content of embedded clusters. Dr.
Ybarra’s postdoctoral work at the Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional
Autónoma de México (UNAM-Ensenada) involved characterizing mid-infrared emission
from star-forming regions, studying protostellar outflow interactions, and
developing astro-statistical methods. They served as the editor of the "This
Month in Astronomical History" column (2019-2020) for the Historical Astronomy
Division of the American Astronomical Society (HAD-AAS), as well as being
a frequent contributing author.Dr. Ybarra enjoys teaching and mentoring students.
Previous to WVU, they taught physics and astronomy at Davidson College, Bridgewater
College, and California State University, Sacramento. They have also taught
physics to Buddhist monastics at the Drepung Loseling Monastery in Karnataka,
India through the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative. Dr. Ybarra currently serves
as a coordinator for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-V) Faculty and Student
Team (FAST) program.
When not teaching or doing science, Dr. Ybarra writes poetry, paints, goes camping, and spending time with their wife and cats. They are also a proponent of the Oxford comma.
Education:
B.S. Physics, California State University, SacramentoM.S. Physics San Francisco State University
M.S. Astronomy University of Florida
Ph.D. Astronomy University of Florida
Vito D'Orazio
Political Science and Mathematical & Data Sciences
Dr. Vito D'Orazio is an associate professor with a joint appointment in the Departments of Political Science and Data Sciences. Previously, he was on the faculty at the University of Texas at Dallas for seven years and was a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University for two years. He has authored or co-authored 27 peer-reviewed publications in leading Political Science journals and Computer Science conference proceedings. His research has been funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation, totaling over $5,000,000 in funding since he began as tenure-track faculty in 2015.
Dr. D'Orazio's primary research interest is conflict forecasting. The goal of this research is to use statistical models to answer questions such as when, where and among whom armed conflict is likely to occur. In this context, “conflict” refers to the threat or use of violence in pursuit of political or social goals. It includes different types such as militarized disputes between countries, riots associated with protest movements and terrorism. High quality predictive modeling combines theoretical understandings of violence and war, state of the art algorithms and vast data resources. Thus, his research and teaching interests branch into each of these areas, while conflict forecasting remains at the core of his research agenda.
Dr. D'Orazio enjoys teaching a broad array of undergraduate and graduate
courses. Topics include conflict and political violence, cyber war and
policy, quantitative research methods, machine learning, databases and
text analysis."
Dr. D'Orazio plans to engage in a lot of outreach and curriculum development
related to the new Data Science program, and to bridge the program to
the social sciences. He also hopes to develop a presentation series where
data-intensive and policy-oriented work is presented to the public.
Education:
A.A. in Liberal Arts, Nassau Community CollegeB.A. in Political Science, Binghamton University
M.A. in Political Science, Pennsylvania State University
Ph.D. in Political Science, Pennsylvania State University
Brennan Armshaw
Psychology
Dr. Armshaw received his masters degree in behavior analysis from the
University of North Texas in 2018. He then went on to receive his PhD in
health services research in 2022. During his graduate training, he studied
under the supervision of Manish Vaidya. Dr. Armshaw is excited to be joining
the WVU faculty in the fall as a service assistant professor and the assistant
director of graduate training in the psychology department. Dr. Armshaw’s
primary research interest is in the intersection of behavior analysis and
medicine to promote wellbeing and health. He is particularly interested in
the development of smart schedules and gamification to promote neuromuscular
rehabilitation across a variety of contexts involving loss of muscular control.
A secondary area of interest for Dr. Armshaw is the development and implementation
of best practice education techniques to promote student mastery and self-ownership
of the subject matter. Dr. Armshaw is passionate about mentorship and welcomes
those interested in becoming involved in research focused either on behavioral
medicine techniques or educational practices to reach out.
Similar to his approach to research Dr. Armshaw believes in a collaborative approach to teaching. In his own teaching he emphasizes active student engagement and the application of the subject material to out of the box and real world problems. He is interested in assessing educational practices through research and welcomes collaborations from any one who shares a similar passion for education.
Dr. Armshaw has provided support for college autism programs, worked with physical therapists on improving treatment and compliance, and served on boards. Driven by the hope of having a true applied impact he recognizes that the heart of that lies in the community. He welcomes opportunities to work with and learn from community organizations where his skill sets may be of use.
Education:
PhD in health services research, 2022 , University of North Texas
Bridget Bailey
Social Work
Bridget Bailey, Ph.D., LICSW is an assistant professor in the School
of Social Work
and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Behavioral Medicine
& Psychiatry at West Virginia University. Dr. Bailey currently holds licensure as an
Independent Clinical Social Worker under the West Virginia Board of Social Work Licensure. Dr. Bailey has ten years of clinical experience in the field of mental health (inpatient, outpatient, community-based and school-based) and specializes in the use of evidence-based psychotherapy for youth and adults with mood disorders, complex trauma and a high risk of suicide.
Research collaborations that interest her are content areas relating to children’s mental health; school-based mental health; mood disorders; suicide prevention; trauma-informed care; clinical intervention research; implementation science; prevention science; mixed methods research.
Education:
Ph.D., Ohio State University College of Social WorkM.S.W., Ohio State University
B.Phil. in Social Work, University of Pittsburgh
Rebekah Dunaway
Social Work
Rebekah is a graduate of West Virginia University's bachelor of social work
program and earned her Master of Social Work and Master of Public Administration
dual degree from WVU. Through her previous experiences in nonprofit organizations,
school systems and youth development programs, Rebekah is a licensed graduate
social worker who worked with youth and families, communities, program
development, grant writing and training development. Bekah focuses on creating
organization and system changes through education and community-centered
approaches and interventions. In her spare time, Bekah volunteers with
4-H and CASA For Kids. Rebekah’s teaching and advising philosophies use
student-centered approaches and incorporate aspects of experiential learning,
advocacy, social justice and diversity.
Education:
B.S.W., West Virginia UniversityM.S.W./M.P.A., West Virginia University
L.G.S.W.
Megan Fabbri
Social Work
Dr. Megan Fabbri’s interests focus on the human rights of migrant women
and children from a global social work perspective. During her doctoral studies,
she worked in Colombia with both domestic Colombian and migrant Venezuelan
women in sex work to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the
access to social supports. Through a community engagement approach and partnerships
with Colombian social workers, Megan worked to connect the women with formal
social services and identify service gaps. Additionally, Megan has extensive
teaching experience focusing on social work education, community organizing,
and social welfare policy. Prior to academic work, Megan worked predominantly
with migrant adolescents and their families, supporting and advocating for
services, specifically in the areas of education and health care. Megan plans
to continue her work in Colombia while also developing new partnerships to
support migrant families in West Virginia.Dr. Fabbri is interested in collaborating in research involving migration,
human rights, and feminist perspectives, including working with Lupe Davidson
on her work with women and social justice initiatives and Gloria Negrete-Lopez
pertaining to her work with Latin@ folks and border issues. She also spoke
to Dr. Cynthia Gorman about partnering on her work with migrant workers
in West Virginia. She is interested in developing an international study
abroad program for social work students to allow them to study abroad and
complete their required field placement hours internationally. From a community
perspective, she would like to volunteer with youth sports programs such
as Girls on the Run or youth soccer programs.
Education:
PhD in Social Work from The Ohio State UniversityMSW from The University of Pittsburgh
BSW from Shippensburg University
Andrew Irish
Social Work
Dr. Irish joined the faculty of the West Virginia University School of Social Work as an assistant professor in 2022. He completed his Master of Social Work degree with a concentration in Mental Health at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, New York (2014). His post-master's degree practice background is in outpatient behavioral health. This includes direct clinical practice with individuals and groups, as well as administration. He has experience in rural, suburban and urban settings, with a diverse range of client demographics. Dr. Irish completed his doctoral degree in Social Welfare at the University at Buffalo (2022) where he was a presidential fellow and recipient of the University’s Graduate Award for Research, Scholarship, and Creativity.
Dr. Irish's research has two focal points. The first area is the relationship
between population-level economic inequality and a range of physical/behavioral
health outcomes. His dissertation examined theory and empirical evidence
for the income inequality hypothesis at the level of U.S. states. He also
works in the area of substance use/misuse. This includes policy mapping
studies on the opioid epidemic, qualitative and quantitative research on
substance misuse recovery, and quantitative work on youth mental health.
He is currently part of an NIH-NIAAA grant project developing a measure
of recovery capital. Dr. Irish has teaching interests in social policy
and analysis as well as social stratification. He is interested in collaborative
and interdisciplinary research and has broad academic interests including
public health, sociology, economics, political science, history and philosophy.
Education:
B.A., Houghton CollegeM.S.W., Roberts Wesleyan College
Ph.D., University at Buffalo
Fanica Payne
Social Work
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW).
Payne has served on Committee on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Justice and Faculty Search Committee - Online Field Coordinator. She is affiliated with the Council of Social Work Education.
M.S.W, West Virginia University
B.S. Health Science, Health Promotion and Wellness, West Virginia State University
Enkeshi El-Amin
Sociology and Anthropology
Enkeshi El-Amin will join West Virginia University as an assistant
professor of Sociology this fall. She recently earned a doctoral degree in
sociology at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Her research, exploring
the link between race and place, focuses on how racial practices shape Black
places and how Black people, in turn, are involved in practices that define,
contest and reimagine places. As a doctoral student, she completed an NSF-funded
dissertation examining and analyzing the contested experiences and meanings
of urban Black space in a region conventionally represented as a domain of
rural white poverty. She is expanding this dissertation in her first book,
for which she has signed an advanced contract with the University of Kentucky
Press.
As a scholar of Black Appalachian studies and a member of the Black in Appalachia podcast and research team, West Virginia is an important place for Dr. El-Amin's work. She is looking forward to connecting with communities in the only state that is completely Appalachia and drawing insights from those communities that can help us understand the larger Appalachian and African American experience. Dr. El-Amin is eager to get acquainted with Morgantown and learn more about what her colleagues in the region are studying and see ways that our work can intersect.
Dr. El-Amin is intrigued by digital sociology and the ways sociologists can use digital tools as part of their pedagogy. She have been working with East Tennessee and West Virginia public radio on several projects, and hopes to find ways to bring WVU students into these collaborations.
Community engagement has been a cornerstone of her academic career. It
is important that Dr. El-Amin's work goes beyond academic spaces and
is engaged with and by local and regional Black communities. She looks
forward to the next few years of getting to know these West Virginia
communities better to anticipate how they can collaborate with her in
meaningful ways.
Education:
B.A. in Africana Studies, Agnes Scott CollegeM.A. in Pan-African Studies, Syracuse University
Ph.D. in Sociology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Aaron Foote
Sociology and Anthropology
Aaron Foote is an urban sociologist and community activist from Flint,
Michigan.
His current research examines the social, political and economic factors that led to the Flint Water Crisis, specifically detailing how state and suburban actors colonized water rights in Southeast Michigan, ultimately leading to the poisoning of tens of thousands of Black Flint residents. Aaron’s research also sheds light on the lived experiences of the thousands of families who fought back and were directly impacted by this tragedy.
Education:
B.A. in Social Relations and Policy, Michigan State UniversityM.A. in Sociology, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Ph.D. in Sociology, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Mihyun Kim
Statistics
Mihyun Kim is an assistant professor of Statistics within the School
of Mathematical and Data Sciences at West Virginia University. Before joining
WVU, Dr. Kim was a post-doctoral fellow in the department of Statistics and
Actuarial Science, University of Waterloo. She received her doctoral degree
from the Statistics department from Colorado State University.Dr. Kim is aware that being a faculty member does not mean just being successful
in research and teaching, but also being active in roles that make the
community better. She is interested in working with organizations that
promote diversity and help female students and students of color in STEM
fields.
Education:
Ph.D. in Statistics, Colorado State UniversityM.S. in Mathematics, Yonsei University, South Korea
B.S. in Mathematics and Civil Engineering, Yonsei University, South Korea
Jason Palmer
Statistics
Dr. Palmer is an expert in statistical signal processing and machine learning. His primary experience is in applied statistical analysis of electroencephalography signals using advance machine learning techniques. He has worked as a researcher at UCSD Institute for Neural Computing, and as a professor in Japan focusing on application of advanced statistical methods to brain computer interface technology.
Dr. Palmer is interested in developing collaborations with the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute in brain imaging, and the Departments of Physics and Astronomy in radio astronomy.
Education:
Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California San Diego
Gloria Negrete-Lopez
Women's and Gender Studies
Gloria Negrete-Lopez (she/her/hers/ella) is an assistant professor of Women’s
and Gender Studies at West Virginia University. She holds a doctoral degree
in Gender and Women’s Studies with a minor in Mexican-American Studies
from the University of Arizona. Interdisciplinary in scope, her research,
teaching and creative work focuses on gender and feminist studies, critical
prison studies, Latinx/e studies, migration studies, queer and trans of
color critique, cultural studies and new media studies.
Dr. Negrete-Lopez’s research examines the important role of art and cultural
work in disrupting dominant legal narratives of migrant criminality. She
is currently working on a book project that analyzes the artistic and cultural
work of migration activists who use this work as spaces of knowledge-making,
co-creativity and feminist praxis, wherein the artworks challenge violent
anti-immigrant discourses that criminalize and punish migrant communities.
Additionally, her teaching and scholarly work reflect her commitment to
creating learning communities that study art as a powerful tool for social
change. Lastly, Dr. Negrete-Lopez has a forthcoming piece essay titled
“'IMA MAKE IT LOOK FLY!': Abolitionist Feminist Aesthetic Coding in Fashion
and Adornment” in Abolition Feminisms Vol. 1: Organizing, Survival, and
Transformative Practice (August 16, 2022) from Haymarket Books.
As a recent transplant to West Virginia, Negrete-Lopez would like to collaborate with campus centers like the WVU Center for Resilient Communities in their food and environmental justice labs. Within the space of the university community there are many professional networks she interested in getting to know further, like the WVU Faculty Justice Network and the local AAUW chapter.
Education:
Ph.D. in Gender and Women’s Studies, University of ArizonaM.A. in Women and Gender Studies, San Francisco State University
A.A. in Gender Studies with a Minor in Labor and Workplace Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
A.A. in Liberal Arts, Fullerton College
Marie Paillard
World Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
Marie Paillard is originally from Normandy, France, and received degrees
from the University of Delaware and Penn State since coming to the United
States in 2011. She just earned a doctoral degree in French from Penn State
in May 2022. Her research focuses on 20th and 21st century Francophone literatures
from the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean, and how literary texts can help
us decenter our vision of migratory pathways. Paillard has been teaching
for over a decade and is passionate about her classes, specifically about
embedding cultural content in language classes to give students a lived experience
of the language and culture they are learning. In her spare time, she enjoys
reading, cooking, knitting and running.She is thrilled to be a part of the West Virginia University community
and would love to, organize cultural events such as film viewings and
discussions, or Francophone music and/or food festivals.
Education:
B.A. (Licence) in English Studies, Université de Caen, FranceM.A. in English and American Literature, Université de Caen, France
M.A. in French, University of Delaware
M.A. in French and Francophone Studies, Pennsylvania State University
Ph.D. in French, Pennsylvania State University
