The college has previously announced several leadership
changes, including new department chairs, which were
effective Sept. 1.
At the State of the College event, Pelesko
introduced the new leadership and welcomed 44 new faculty members in the
following areas:
Associate in Arts
The Associate in Arts program, with
locations in Wilmington, Dover and Georgetown, has added six new faculty
members. They are Assistant Profs. Sarah Vigliotta and Brad Thompson, who both
teach mathematics, Dwight Higgin,
psychology, Robin Kucharczyk, chemistry, and Lawrence Livingston, Africana
studies and world religions, and Instructor Sean Tandy, history. In addition to
their teaching roles, Kucharczyk will serve as faculty coordinator and
Livingston as student support services coordinator, both for the Wilmington
campus.
Arts
Five faculty members have joined the newly
named School of Music. They are Prof. Mark Clodfelter, Associate Profs.
Guillaume Combet and Elias Goldstein and Assistant Profs. Heidi Lucas and
Elicia Silverstein. Combet, Goldstein and Silverstein are violinists, adding
three new members to the strings faculty.
Natural
sciences
Within
the Deans Office, Murray Johnston has accepted a permanent appointment as
associate dean for the natural sciences, after serving an interim role in that
position.
Also
in the natural sciences, Velia Fowler is the new
chair of Biological Sciences, joining UD this past January from The Scripps
Research Institute. In the Department of Psychological and Brain
Sciences, Tania Roth, a behavioral neuroscientist and one of UDs Mangone
Scholars, has accepted appointment as department chair.
New faculty in the natural sciences include
Prof. Ivan Todorov and Instructors Nelson Brittingham and Amanda Seiwell, all
in the Department of Mathematical Sciences. Assistant Prof. Alexei Kananenka
has joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Assistant Profs. Jodi
Hadden-Perilla and Jeffrey Mugridge are new members of the Department of
Chemistry and Biochemistry. Also joining the college in the natural sciences
are Assistant Prof. Rebecca Tollan in the Department of Linguistics and
Cognitive Science and Assistant Prof. of Instruction David Raden and Assistant
Prof. Molly Sutherland, both in the Department of Biological Sciences.
Humanities
New leadership in the humanities includes Alison Parker, who joined the
Department of History as department chair from SUNY Brockport. A scholar in African
American womens history, she has research and teaching interests at the intersections
of gender, race, disability, citizenship and the law in U.S. history.
In the
Department of Art History, Sandy Isenstadt has accepted the role of department
chair. A specialist in the history of modern architecture, he has been a
long-time leader in material culture studies at UD. In the Department of
Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, Meredith Ray has accepted appointment as
interim chair. A specialist in medieval and Renaissance Italian literature, she
has served as chair of the departments Italian section.
Also in the humanities, Assistant Profs. Mary
Bowden and Brooke Stanley have joined the Department of English, and Assistant
Prof. Geoffrey Bil is a new member of the Department of History. Three new
faculty members have joined the Department of Art Conservation: Assistant
Profs. Joelle Wickens and Nina Owczarek and Instructor Madeline Hagerman.
Marcaline Boyd is a new assistant professor in the Department of Languages,
Literatures and Cultures, and Associate Prof. Cheryl Hicks has appointments in
both Africana studies and history.
Social sciences
In the Deans Office, Dan
Smith of the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration is
serving as the acting associate dean for the social sciences this academic year
while Senior Associate Dean David Wilson is on sabbatical.
Also
in the social sciences, Julio Carri??n is the acting department chair of Political Science and
International Relations during David Redlawsks sabbatical.
New social sciences faculty include Associate
Prof. Sarah Bruch, Assistant Profs. Gregory Dobler and A.R. Siders and Prof.
Kimberley Isett, all in the Biden School. Dobler also has an appointment in the
Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Joining the Department of Communication are
Prof. Amy Bleakley, Assistant Prof. John Crowley and Instructor Tara Smith. The
Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice has welcomed Assistant Profs.
Sarah DeYoung and Shawna Vican and Associate Prof. of Practice Monica Sanders.
Assistant Prof. Adriana Gorea has joined the Department of Fashion
and Apparel Studies, and the Department of Political Science and International
Relations has welcomed Assistant Prof. Vladimir Medenica and Associate Prof. Joanne Miller,
who has a dual appointment in Psychological and Brain Sciences. Joining the Department
of Anthropology and the Disaster Research Center is Assistant Prof. Jennifer
Trivedi.
Article
by Ann Manser; photos by Andre Smith
Published
Oct. 28, 2019