Southern Connecticut State University welcomes a new cohort of faculty for the 2026–2027 academic year, bringing new expertise, perspectives, and professional experience to classrooms, laboratories, studios, and programs across the university.
As a Carnegie-designated R2 research university, Southern continues to strengthen its commitment to high-impact scholarship, student-centered teaching, and community-engaged research. This year’s faculty bring expertise spanning the arts and sciences, education, health professions, business, and social sciences — contributing to Southern’s growing research enterprise while creating new opportunities for hands-on learning and mentorship.
The 2026–2027 group includes both faculty who are new to Southern and educators transitioning into new faculty appointments after previously serving the university in special appointments and other roles.
Together, they bring a wide range of academic, professional, and research experience that will strengthen Southern’s academic offerings and enrich the campus community.
College of Arts and Sciences
Bianca Ibarlucea, assistant professor of art and design, joins Southern from the Yale School of Art. A Mexican-American graphic designer and artist, Ibarlucea works across a range of creative practices and brings experience in contemporary design and visual communication. She holds a B.F.A. in graphic design from Wayne State University and an M.F.A. in graphic design from the Yale School of Art.
Eunjin Kim, assistant professor of art and design, joins Southern from Northwest Missouri State University. Research interests include equity and inclusion in art education, Asian and Asian American experiences, first-generation college student experiences, and the integration of digital technologies in art classrooms. Her research examines how identity, lived experience, and artistic practice can contribute to critical reflection and more inclusive approaches to art education. She holds a Ph.D. in art education from Penn State University.
Liam Mazurowski, assistant professor of mathematics
John Protzko, assistant professor of psychology
Sameer Ramchandran, assistant professor of music
Raquel Rose, assistant professor of psychology, joins Southern from Yale University, where she completed a postdoctoral fellowship. Her research examines how structural determinants of health, including systemic trauma, resource precarity, and inequitable contact with institutions, affect the psychosocial outcomes of ethnic-racial minoritized youth, particularly those navigating both mental health and legal systems. She is especially interested in combining implementation science and community-based participatory research to improve programs and policies serving youth and families. Rose holds a B.S. in psychology from Stony Brook University and a Ph.D. in counseling-clinical psychology from New York University.
College of Education
Elise C. Allen, assistant professor of curriculum and learning, joins Southern from the University of Northern Colorado. Research interests include motivation, self-regulated learning, teacher-student relationships, and related topics in secondary and postsecondary education. Her recent work focuses on understanding the negative motivational aspects of learning, particularly students’ perceptions of cost and how they may create barriers to academic success. She holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology with an interdisciplinary specialization in quantitative research and evaluation methods from The Ohio State University.
Kristin Bengston Mendoza, assistant professor of curriculum and learning, joins Southern from New Haven Public Schools. Research interests include multilingual education, translanguaging pedagogy, immigrant students, urban public education, and teacher preparation. Her current work focuses on developing educators’ critical language awareness and translanguaging stance. She holds a B.A. from Bennington College, an M.S.Ed. from Long Island University Brooklyn, a bilingual and ESL leadership certificate from Bank Street College of Education, and an Ed.D. in educational leadership and policy studies from Southern.
Chaka Felder, assistant professor of educational leadership and policy studies, brings experience at the University of New Haven and Gateway Community College. Research interests include educational leadership, education policy, college access and success, community-engaged partnerships, and systemic approaches to improving postsecondary outcomes. Her work examines how educational leadership, public policy, and cross-sector collaboration can expand educational opportunity, strengthen college and career pathways, and promote economic mobility. Felder earned her doctorate from Southern and holds graduate degrees in counselor education and organizational communication and development from Canisius College.
Rebecca Hotchkiss, assistant professor of inclusive education and behavior sciences, brings experience from the Evergreen Center and Cambridge College. Research interests include improving the efficiency and effectiveness of applied instruction in educational settings, developing verbal behavior repertoires, and treating severe behavior. She holds master’s and doctoral degrees in applied behavior analysis from Teachers College, Columbia University, and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral and certified special education teacher.
Stephanie Sulkowski Fumiati, assistant professor of curriculum and learning, transitions into her new appointment after serving Southern in a special appointment during the 2025–2026 academic year.
College of Health and Human Services
Elizabeth Alicea-Torres, assistant professor of recreation, tourism, and sport management, joins Southern from Springfield College. Research interests include occupational therapy’s role in aging in place, home safety modifications, end-of-life care, flipped-classroom andragogy, and experiential learning in occupational therapy education. Her professional experience includes working with adults and older adults in acute care, rehabilitation, long-term care, home health, community-based, and outpatient settings. She holds a B.S. in biology from Salve Regina University, an M.S. in occupational therapy from Barry University, and a post-professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy from American International College.
Jeongwong Choi, assistant professor of recreation, tourism, and sport management, joins Southern with an academic background in physical education, sport, and exercise science, with a concentration in sport management. Originally from South Korea, Choi brings an international perspective to his teaching and scholarship in sport management.
Jesse Hartley, assistant professor of social work
Byron Juma, assistant professor of recreation, tourism, and sport management
Joan Petrini, associate professor of healthcare systems and innovation, transitions into her new appointment after serving Southern in special appointments for the past three academic years. Her research interests include the scholarship of teaching and learning and approaches to strengthening education and practice within healthcare. A Southern alumna, Petrini earned a B.S. in public health from Southern, an M.P.H. from Yale University, and a Ph.D. from New York University.
Jennifer Templeton, assistant professor of recreation, tourism, and sport management, transitions into her new appointment after serving Southern in a special appointment during the 2025–2026 academic year. Research interests include athletic administration and coaching leadership, with particular attention to how leaders navigate periods of uncertainty and disruption. Templeton is also a Southern alumna, holding a B.S. in exercise science and an M.S. in sport and entertainment management from the university.
Preethi Varghese-Joseph, assistant professor of healthcare systems and innovation
Cayla White, assistant professor of speech, language, and hearing sciences, transitions into her new appointment after previously serving Southern in a special appointment. Research interests include child speech and language disorders, counseling in speech-language pathology, school-based practice, clinical education, and interprofessional collaboration. A speech-language pathologist with more than 12 years of school-based clinical experience, White has also worked in medical settings and higher education. A double Southern alumna, she holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in communication disorders and is pursuing an Ed.D. at the University of New England.
Devon White, assistant professor of social work
Maria del Mar Mazza, assistant professor of nursing, transitions into her new appointment after serving Southern in special appointments during the 2024–2025 and 2025–2026 academic years. Research interests include active learning, simulation, and virtual reality in undergraduate nursing education, along with maternal health and breastfeeding support. In addition to teaching, she practices as a family nurse practitioner at Optimus Health Care, serving underserved populations, and brings experience in lactation consulting and nutritional counseling to her teaching and scholarship.
Rosa Diaz-Herring, assistant professor of nursing, begins her tenure-track appointment after serving as a special appointment faculty member at Southern from 2024 to 2026. Her research interests include clinical judgment, evidence-based nursing education, instructional innovation, technology-enhanced learning, and approaches that prepare nursing students for contemporary clinical practice. She is a Certified Nurse Educator and holds a diploma in nursing from Bridgeport Hospital School of Nursing, a BSN from Sacred Heart University, an MSN in nursing education from Western Governors University, and a DNP from Regis College.
Daniela Lopes, assistant professor of nursing
School of Business
O. Comfort Awoyinka, assistant professor of management and international business, transitions into her new appointment after previously serving Southern in a special appointment. Research interests include international corporate finance, business strategy, global supply chain management, innovation management, and sustainability. Her current research examines the global airline sector, particularly the relationship between corporate financial outcomes, strategic environmental competencies, and airlines’ environmental sustainability performance. She holds a B.Agric. with a specialization in extension and rural development from the University of Ibadan and an M.B.A. from Southern New Hampshire University, where she is completing a Ph.D. in international business.
Veronica Ciarleglio, associate professor of management and international business
Yingying Guo, assistant professor of finance and real estate
Dinh Cuong “Ernest” Nguyen, assistant professor of business information systems, joins Southern from the University of Bridgeport. Research interests include machine learning, explainable artificial intelligence, business analytics, and consumer behavior. His work focuses on developing interpretable AI methods to support data-driven decision-making in business and public policy. Nguyen holds an M.S. in business analytics from the University of Kansas, an M.B.A. from the University of Chester in England, and a B.S. in business administration from Hung Yen University of Technology and Education in Vietnam. He is a Ph.D. candidate in technology management at the University of Bridgeport.
Kamel Warren, instructor of accounting
Libraries
Gwendolyn Reese, associate librarian
Special Appointments
Dionysus Birnbaum, Mathematics
Jakell Bradley, Nursing
William Cleary, Music
Madison Correia, Inclusive Education & Behavior Science
Nicole Danishevsky, Curriculum and Learning
Charles Eick Jr., Economics
Sara Gareiss, Healthcare Systems & Innovation
Melissa Gregorio, School of Nursing
Katharine Grottke, Mental Health Sciences
Grace Halsey, Curriculum and Learning
Seon Kim, Marriage & Family Therapy
Kathleen Kasten-Mutkus, Information/Library Science
Todd Lane, Library Services
Germaine Lawrence, Marriage and Family Therapy
Christina McElroy, School of Nursing
Laura Silva, School of Nursing
Michael Sormrude, Biology
Cristin Tilki, Recreation, Tourism, and Sport Management
Roxanne Tisch, Mathematics
David Tyson, Finance and Real Estate
Elizabeth Wegeler, Health & Movement Sciences
