The university is pleased to welcome 21 new tenure-track faculty members into our ranks this year.
From countries as diverse as China, Romania, South Korea, Turkey and Bangladesh – and from states all over the United States, from Louisiana in the south to Utah in the west — they bring with them a wide variety of experiences and expertise. Among them are a former president of the Connecticut School Counselor Association, a medieval historian who speaks seven languages; a strategic planner and marketing manager for Aetna, and a deputy national security advisor to the president of Romania. Their scholarly interests range from church-state relations since the 16th century to experimental and nuclear physics, from diabetes research to the psychology of donation behavior, to how art can boost literacy.
Our new faculty members’ talents add to the rich palette of teaching, creative activity, and service that characterizes our academic community. We wish them well as they begin their Southern careers!
School of Arts and Sciences
Alan Brown, assistant professor of sociology, joins Southern’s faculty after serving as an assistant professor of sociology/anthropology at Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California in Riverside, Calif. He also has an M.A. in sociology from the University of New Orleans, and a B.A. in sociology from San Francisco State University. He was named Best Professor in Halifax in 2014 by Coast Magazine. He has written extensively on sociological aspects of sexuality.
Costel Calin, assistant professor of political science, becomes a tenure-track faculty member after a pair of one-year special appointments at Southern, and five years as an adjunct faculty member at Quinnipiac. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Tennessee. He also has an M.A. in political science from Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss., and a B.S. in technological systems’ engineering and management from University “Politehnica” in Bucharest, Romania. He served as deputy national security advisor to the president of Romania and head of that country’s National Security Council staff from 1997 to 2000. He has presented papers on U.S. foreign policy at various academic conferences.
Jason Lawrence Cootey, assistant professor of English, comes to Southern after many years as an adjunct faculty member and a graduate instructor, including a most recent stint as an adjunct faculty member teaching technical writing at Salt Lake Community College in Utah. He holds a Ph.D. in the theory and practice of professional communication at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. He also has an M.S. in literature and writing from Utah State, and a B.A. in psychology and an honors B.A. in English, both from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. He has served on his community’s library board of directors, and has attended conferences on the use of software and educational games to improve student learning.
Evan Finch, assistant professor of physics, becomes a tenure-track faculty member following a one-year special appointment at Southern. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from Yale University, where he also earned an M.S. and an M. Phil. in physics, and a B.A. in physics. He is a co-author of more than 200 journal articles pertaining to high-energy and nuclear physics. He is a member of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experimental high-energy astrophysics collaboration for the International Space Station.
Darcy Kern, assistant professor of history, joins us at Southern after a year as a visiting professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. She previously taught at McDaniel College in Westminster, Md., and at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She holds a Ph.D. in history from Georgetown, where she also earned an M.S. in history. She graduated summa cum laude in history and Spanish from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan. She has studied six world languages (other than English) and has presented papers on medieval Europe.
Binlin Wu, assistant professor of physics, comes to Southern from Weill Cornell Medical College in Yonkers, N.Y., where he served as a postdoctoral associate. He also had been an adjunct faculty member at Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY). He holds a Ph.D. in physics from CUNY, where he also earned a master’s degree in physics. He has a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in physics from Nankai University in Tianjin, China. He has conducted biomedical research in many areas, such as various types of cancer, diabetes and cardiac disease, using in-vitro, ex-vivo and in-vivo optical imaging.
School of Business
Russell Engel, associate professor of accounting, becomes a tenure-track faculty member after teaching at Southern last year on a special one-year appointment. He previously had been an assistant professor of accounting at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he also earned an M.S. and B.S. in economics. His research interests include studying how people react to uncertainty and incentives. He also studies how companies deal with large amounts of foreign earnings and how investors value foreign cash.
Mehdi Hossain, assistant professor of marketing, comes to Southern from Minot State University in North Dakota, where he served as an assistant professor of marketing. He holds a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Texas at Arlington. He has an M.S.S. in economics from the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh, where he also has a B.S.S. Honors in economics. His research interests include the psychology of donation behavior, and the role of affective and cognitive motivation in consumer decision making.
Rebecca Ranucci, assistant professor of management, comes to Southern after having been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Connecticut while pursuing her doctorate. She formerly had been a marketing manager, and then a strategic planner, for Aetna in Hartford. She has a Ph.D. in management/strategy at UConn, where she also earned an M.B.A. She has a B.A. in humanities from Providence College in Rhode Island. She has conducted research on firm strategy and capital markets, long-term decision making in strategic management and corporate governance.
Alison Wall, assistant professor of management, comes to Southern after working as a visiting lecturer at the University of Louisiana at Monroe and at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La. She holds a D.B.A. in management from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. She also has an M.B.A. from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and a B.B.A. from the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. She is a former marketing director at the Monroe-West Monroe Convention and Visitors Bureau in Louisiana. Her research interests include the moderating effects of personality with regard to turnover and the use of social media in higher education.
Sang Won Yoon, assistant professor of economics and finance, joins us at Southern after serving last year as an assistant professor of business and economics at the University of Wisconsin in Stevens Point, Wisc. He holds a Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics from the University of Maryland in College Park, Md. He also has an M.S. in applied economics and management at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and a B.A. in economics from Korea University in Seoul, South Korea. He formerly served as a consultant for the World Bank. His research includes environmental economics and development economics.
School of Education
Jessica Powell, assistant professor of elementary education, comes to Southern from Cazenovia College in Cazenovia, N.Y., where she had been an assistant professor of inclusive early childhood/elementary education. She holds a Ph.D. in education from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She also has an M.Ed. in early childhood inclusive education from the University of Florida in Gainesville, as well as a B.A.E. in special education from the University of Florida. She has researched the role that families and cultures play in the education of children.
Louise Shaw, assistant professor of special education, comes to Southern after serving as an instructor of reading and language arts at Central Connecticut State University. She previously worked at Dowling College in Oakdale, N.Y., where she served as director and an instructor in that institution’s Literacy Center. She holds an Ed.D. in literacy studies from Hofstra University on Long Island. She has an M.Ed. in literacy from Southampton College/Long Island University in Southampton, N.Y., and a B.S. in elementary education and special education from Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio. She has written extensively about how art can be used to boost literacy.
Kari Swanson, assistant librarian, comes to Southern after working as a systems librarian at the Ruth A. Haas Library and Robert S. Young Library at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. She previously had been chief acquisitions librarian at Yale University. She holds an M.L.S. from Southern and a B.A. in English literature from Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, Vt. She is a member of the American Librarian Association.
Yan Wei, assistant professor of special education, joins us at Southern after teaching courses at the University of Connecticut as a graduate assistant instructor. He also has been active as a research assistant at UConn for many projects, including those related to teaching students with disabilities and examining the achievement gap. He holds a Ph.D. in special education from UConn, where he also earned an M.S. in educational psychology/school counseling. He has a B.A. in English education from the Anhui Normal University in Wuhu, China, and an A.A. in English education from Huainan Normal College in China. He also has been a classroom consultant for many school districts in Connecticut.
Olcay Yavuz, assistant professor of educational leadership, joins us at Southern after having been the AP curriculum supervisor and director of guidance at Central Jersey College Prep in Somerset, N.J. He also has been an adjunct faculty member at the New York Institute of Technology. He holds an Ed.D. in teacher leadership from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., an M.S. in school counseling from the New York Institute of Technology, an M.Ed. in educational management and supervision from Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul, Turkey, and a B.S. in primary mathematics education from Bogazici University in Istanbul. He was a teacher and counselor in the Paterson, N.J., school system for many years, and has presented many papers addressing urban education.
School of Health and Human Services
Marian Evans, assistant professor of public health, becomes a tenure-track faculty member after serving as an adjunct faculty member for three years in both public health and women’s studies. She previously had been an associate professor of public health at Southern. She formerly held the position of director of health and social services for the city of Bridgeport. She holds an M.D. from Pennsylvania State University in State College, and an M.P.H. from Southern. She also has a B.A. in biology from Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Penn. She has researched various health subjects, including diabetes and menopause.
Lorrie Greenhouse Gardella, associate professor of social work, comes to Southern after many years as an administrator in higher education. She previously served as vice president for professional and graduate studies at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, where she also had been a professor of human services. She also had been associate dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Services at the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford. She holds a J.D. from the University of Connecticut in Storrs, where she also earned an M.S.W. In addition, she has an A.B. in government from Smith College in Northampton, Mass. She has written extensively on a variety of social work topics.
Cheryl Green, assistant professor of nursing, becomes a tenure-track faculty member after three years in an adjunct role at Southern, as well as a senior therapist at Renew Counseling Associates in Fairfield, a nurse leader at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and a clinical nurse educator at Bridgeport Hospital’s School of Nursing. She holds a D.N.P. from Chatham University in Pittsburgh and a Ph.D in clinical Christian counseling from the International University for Graduate Studies from Basseterre, St. Kitts, as well as a Master of Nursing from Sacred Heart University, an M.S.W. from Southern and a B.S.N. from the College of Our Lady of the Elms in Chicopee, Mass. She has written journal articles on a variety of nursing topics.
Amy Smoyer, assistant professor of social work, comes to Southern from the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, where she has served as a post-doctoral fellow in the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS. She also has been an adjunct faculty member at Southern. She holds a Ph.D. in social welfare from City University of New York/Hunter College. She also has an M.S.W. and an M.P.A. from Florida State University, as well as a B.A. in women’s studies from Columbia University in New York. She researches food in prison, especially in women’s prisons, and earned a grant from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program in 2014.
Superintendent of Weston Public Schools Colleen Palmer is no stranger to success. In Newsweek magazine’s most recent rating of high schools in the U.S., Weston High was top in Connecticut and 47th nationally. Palmer, a 30-year education veteran has received personal accolades as well, including being named the 2016 Superintendent of the Year by the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents. “I have always loved being an educator, from being a teacher, a guidance counselor, a principal, an assistant superintendent, and a superintendent. In each of those roles you can positively influence the lives of children. I love my work,” said Palmer, quoted in the publication Westport Now. In July, she will begin serving as superintendent for the neighboring town of Westport.
The first in her family to attend college, Jahana (Flemming) Hayes transferred to Southern after earning an associate degree from Naugatuck Valley Community College. Raised in Waterbury, she credits teachers with inspiring her to dream big. “Teachers exposed me to a different world by letting me borrow books to read at home and sharing stories about their college experiences,” writes Hayes. After beginning her teaching career in New Haven, she returned to Waterbury where she has taught for the past 11 years. In addition to her classroom duties, she was the lead teacher for the district’s after-school programming for seven years and is working to further minority teacher recruitment and retention. “I’ve been telling my students for years that excellence happens here every day. Our students need to know that they have value and can make a difference in the world. This honor makes that real for them,” says Hayes. She is one of only four finalists for the National Teacher of the Year Award, which will be announced in April.
Megan Johnson kicked off the year in high style. Named the Connecticut state representative for the 2016 School Counselor of the Year program, Johnson was among a select group honored at the White House and a black-tie gala held at Washington, D.C.’s historic Union Station. “Going to the White House was an amazing experience,” says Johnson. “It was so nice to see our profession be publicly recognized and appreciated by the First Lady.” Johnson was raised in a family of educators. Her father, David Fox, is a retired history teacher and her mother, alumna Rosemary Fox, ’69, M.S. ’72, also taught before becoming a school counselor. At Southern, Johnson worked as a graduate assistant while pursuing her studies. She credits Professor Emeritus of Counseling and School Psychology Michael Martin, for his mentorship. “His belief in me as a professional helped me gain the confidence I needed to pursue my career and is something I will never forget,” says Johnson, who earned this most recent honor after being named the 2015 School Counselor of the Year by the Connecticut School Counseling Association.
Librarian Elizabeth Rumery has rolled out the welcome mat for students and the community, says Sue Shontell, executive director of the New London Housing Authority, (NLHA), which provides housing opportunities for the elderly, those with disabilities, and low-income families. In addition to welcoming NLHA families and staff at on-campus events, Rumery has encouraged her students to learn the joys of giving back. “She has made the library not only a place of academic learning and support, but a place to learn life lessons as well,” says Shontell. Interested students have attended a presentation by Edward Epps, a representative from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C., and collected cellphones for victims of domestic violence. On campus, Rumery has worked to enhance the library’s physical space and fostered collaborations with veterans, the Rainbow Center, and the writing center. She’s also created a “safe space” in the library, where students grappling with problems and issues will be connected with the appropriate help and resources.
When members of a recent focus group were asked to describe what they loved most about the Stetson Branch library in New Haven, their answer was lightning fast: “Miss Diane!” Many echo their enthusiasm for Diane Brown, who is widely credited with transforming the library into a safe, nurturing oasis for the inner-city Dixwell neighborhood — an area burdened by poverty, high unemployment, and low literacy. Working with the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology, for example, she helped establish an afterschool tutoring program for Lincoln Bassett School as well as a satellite branch library within the school. Other initiatives she’s helped forward include family nights, health fairs, the International Festival of Arts and Idea’s Pop-Up Festival in the Dixwell neighborhood, and much more. Dawn La Valle, director of the Division of Library Development for the Connecticut State Library, who nominated Brown, notes: “Her commitment to the community she was born and raised in is unbreakable, and it goes well beyond the walls of the library.”
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