Seven members of Stetson University’s faculty have recently earned tenure and/or promotion. The new status for these faculty members will be effective August 2014, with the start of the 2014-15 academic year.

“The heart of the academic enterprise is led by Stetson’s outstanding faculty,” said Provost Elizabeth Paul, who made the announcement. “Stetson’s learning community is enriched by teacher-scholar faculty who inspire a love of lifelong learning in our students at the same time they are vibrant lifelong learners themselves. The seven faculty whom the University is recognizing exemplify this distinctive commitment. We celebrate their accomplishments, inspiration and impact.”

Jason Bent – Promotion to Associate Professor of Law Professor Bent joined the College of Law in 2011 and teaches in the areas of employment law and civil procedures.  His scholarly interests include systemic theories of employment discrimination, workplace safety regulation, and law and economics.  His recent articles have been selected for publication in the Ohio State Law Journal, the Denver University Law Review, the Tennessee Law Review and the Michigan Journal of Law Reform.  Bent graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School, where he served as notes editor of the Michigan Law Review and was a member of the Order of the Coif. Following law school, he served as judicial clerk to Judge Cornelia Kennedy of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the 6^th Circuit and Judge Joan B. Gottschall of the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In private practice he became a principal and shareholder of Smith & Bent P. C., where he practiced employment law and environmental litigation.

Ramee Indralingam – Promotion to Professor of Chemistry Dr. Indralingam holds a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Florida and has a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Her research interests include innovative experiential learning of chemical principles and analysis of exotic spices for their flavor compounds. Her teaching includes General Chemistry I and II, Analytical Chemistry and Instrumental Analysis. Indralingam has published extensively in the Journal of Chemical Education and Chemical Educator.

Daniel Plante – Promotion to Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Professor Plante holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Notre Dame, and M.E. in Computer Science from North Carolina State University and a B.S. in Physics from Marlboro College. He enjoys teaching and working with students on research projects that cover the broader areas of web application development, software engineering, mobile application development, artificial intelligence, computational science and security. Plante also enjoys crossing disciplinary boundaries and collaborating with students and faculty in mathematics, business, economics and other fields which require a computational approach. He believes students learn best by actively performing tasks associated with the material covered in class rather than passively listening during a lecture. His classes tend to require students to directly engage during class by working through problems, designs and development of software.

Mark Powell – Awarded tenure and promotion to Associate Professor of English Mark Powell, M.F.A., an author, has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Breadloaf Writers’ Conference, the Collegeville Center for Ecumenical Research and the Vaclav Havel fellowship in playwriting to the Prague Seminar. Powell has won a Fulbright Scholarship Award for 2014-15, allowing him to teach at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra in the country of Slovakia. He has served as a craft class instructor at the Breadloaf and on the faculty of the Appalachian Writers’ Conference. For the past three years he has taught a fiction workshop at Lawtey Correctional Institution, a level II prison in Raiford, FL. His fiction, essays and reviews have appeared in a number of journals, including Still, Ellipsis, Rivendell, the New Delta Review, Appalachian Heritage, American Polymath, the South Carolina Review and Yemassee.  He was the featured artist in the winter 2012 issue of Appalachian Heritage, in which two excerpts from The Dark Corner, as well as a critical appraisal of his previous work appears. Powell holds an M.A.R. from Yale Divinity School, an M.F.A. from the University of South Carolina and a B.A. from The Citadel.

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy – Promotion to Associate Professor of Law Professor Torres-Spelliscy teaches courses in Election Law, Corporate Governance, and Constitutional Law. Prior to joining Stetson’s faculty, she was counsel in the Democracy Program of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law where she provided guidance on the issues of money in politics and the judiciary to state and federal lawmakers. She researches and speaks publicly on campaign finance law as well as judicial selection. In 2013, Torres-Spelliscy was named as a member of the Lawyers of Color’s “50 Under 50” list of minority law professors making an impact in legal education. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute on Money in State Politics and a Brennan Center Fellow.  She holds a J.D. from Columbia School of Law and an A.B. from Harvard University.

Thomas Vogel – Awarded tenure and promotion to Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Dr. Vogel holds a Ph.D. in mathematics; M.S. in applied mathematics, and B.S. in mathematics from the University of Central Florida. He also holds a B.S. in physics from UCF. His research interests include differential equations, mathematical physics and dynamical systems. Vogel currently teaches Calculus I and II, Partial Differential Equations, Great Ideas in Mathematics, and Ordinary Differential Equations. In May 2011 he received the First Year Student Advocate Award for his support of first year students at Stetson University. Vogel’s latest publication, “Establishing the Onset, and Parameter and Spatial Domains of Chaos in a Smooth Quadratic Autonomous System Using Sil’nikov Criteria and Competitive Mode Analysis” was published in Discontinuity, Nonlinearity, and Complexity.

Matt Wilson – Awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Sport Business Dr. Wilson holds an Ed.D. from the University of Georgia and has worked in higher education since 1998. His research area focuses on issues in intercollegiate athletics. His work has been presented at several international conferences, published in professional journals as well as documented in media outlets including Time Magazine, USA Today, and Inside Higher Education. Wilson has several years of practical sport management work experience in intercollegiate athletics, the 1996 Summer Olympic Games and Augusta National Golf Club. He teaches Introduction to Sport Business and Social and Ethical Issues in Sport.

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With an historic record-setting undergraduate enrollment at more than 1,000 first-time college students, and almost 100 transfer students, Stetson University begins the 2015-16 academic year welcoming a total of 21 tenure-track and visiting full-time professors, in all four colleges and schools, the duPont-Ball Library and the University Writing Center.

College of Arts and Sciences:

“We have recruited a group of nine extraordinary teacher-scholars to join the Stetson community this year,” explained Karen Ryan, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “They will help us advance the mission of the College, supporting interdisciplinary programs and engaging our students in experiential learning and undergraduate research. I’m very happy to welcome them to the College and to the University.”

These faculty members in Arts and Sciences include Robert Askew, Ph.D., assistant professor of Psychology; Dengke Chen, assistant professor of Digital Arts; Christopher de Bodisco, Ph.D., assistant professor of Economics; Joyce Mundy, Ed.D., assistant professor of Education; Michele Camden, visiting assistant professor of Psychology; Brown Teacher-Scholar in Counselor Education Lamerial Jacobson, Ph.D.; Lynn Kee, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor of Biology; Thomas Vogel, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor of Physics; and Ken Thorson, Ph.D., visiting professor of Integrative Health Science.

“All of these professors are of the highest caliber and their backgrounds will offer a great deal of enrichment to Stetson students,” Ryan said. 

School of Music:

The School of Music is adding two new professors to its classrooms as well as a full-time visiting professor.

“In naming Jared Rawlings, Ph.D., as assistant professor and director of the Music Education program, Stetson is making a deep commitment to the training of young music educators who will have a powerful impact on music education in the state of Florida and throughout the nation,” said Thomas Masse, D.M.A., dean of the Stetson University School of Music. “The appointment of Peter Smucker as assistant professor of Music Theory, continues our commitment to a rigorous undergraduate academic music curriculum.” Additionally, Tammara Phillips, D.M., will be joining the faculty full-time as visiting lecturer in Music.

School of Business Administration: 

The Stetson School of Business Administration welcomes two new tenure-track faculty members and two visiting assistant professors this year.

“Professor of Leadership Ram Subramanian will enhance Stetson’s executive M.B.A. program and will support case research being conducted by many of our faculty members,” explained B. Madhu Rao, Ph.D., associate dean of Undergraduate Programs in Business and professor of Decision Sciences. “Assistant Professor of Family Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Isabel Botero, Ph.D., will add to the strength of our signature programs in family enterprise and the Family Enterprise Center.”

William Sause, Ph.D., and Serina Haddad, Ph.D., are slated to serve as visiting assistant professors of Decision and Information Sciences in the School of Business Administration.

College of Law: 

Stetson University’s College of Law will welcome three visiting professors this fall: Carliss Chatman, J.D.; Michael Oeser, J.D., LL.M.; and Gail Richmond, J.D.

“I am thrilled to welcome new faculty members to enrich the academic experience for our students at the College of Law,” said Dean of the College of Law Christopher Pietruszkiewicz, J.D., LL.M., and professor of Law. “In the next academic year, visiting faculty members from a wide range of backgrounds will be joining us as we continue to provide a curriculum that prepares our students for their professional careers.”

duPont-Ball Library:

New to Stetson’s du-Pont Ball Library this year will be Grace Kaletski, assistant professor, Learning and Information Literacy Librarian.

“Professor Kaletski has a passion for incorporating emerging technologies, active learning and information literacy to her instruction sessions,” said Susan Ryan, dean of the Library and Learning Technologies. “She is a great fit for our mission and vision. With her skill set she should make some significant contributions to teaching and learning, collaboration and innovation.”

University Writing Center: 

Taking the helm as Director of Stetson’s Writing Center and Assistant Director of the Writing Program at Stetson University is Leigh Ann Dunning. “Leigh Ann’s experience, expertise, and education make her the best choice for the leadership of the Writing Center,” said Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs John Pearson, Ph.D., professor of English. “She has very strong interpersonal skills, a strong liberal arts background with a solid understanding of professional education, and she is deeply committed to student learning.”

By Trish Wieland

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Nine members of Stetson University’s faculty have recently earned tenure and/or promotion. The new status for these faculty will be effective August 2016 with the start of the 2016-2017 academic year.

“It is an honor and a pleasure to celebrate the accomplishments of these teacher-scholars,” said Provost Elizabeth Paul, who made the announcement. “I am grateful to our teacher-scholar faculty for inspiring our students’ love of lifelong learning.  Please join me in celebrating their important achievements.”

Shahram Amiri – Promoted to Professor of Decision and Information Sciences

Shahram Amiri, Ph.D., is professor and chair of the Department of Decision and Information Sciences at Stetson University’s School of Business Administration. He is a faculty member with Salzburg Seminars in Salzburg Austria http://www.salzburgseminar.org .

As a CIO and a senior executive for over 25 years, he has provided leadership and direction for large IT organizations at four different institutions of higher learning: Norfolk State University, Christopher Newport University, Williams College, and Stetson University. In each case, he posted a track record of successful, cost-effective and productive IT innovation and implementation.

Because of his strong commitment to serving the community and state, he founded and served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for the Study of Digital Inclusion (ISDI); a (501c3) Nonprofit Organization. ISDI’s mission is to promote the use of effective and affordable technology and enhance individual lives. Over 1000 students (2003-2011) from underserved communities in the state of Florida graduated from the Institute (The Make-It-Take-It After School Program) where they learned internet literacy and built and received their own computers.

Amiri has taught at Stetson University since 2003. His research includes the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on E-commerce, E-health, E-learning, E-government, socio-economics and Gross Domestic Product. His writing has been published in many academic and scientific journals including: International Journal of Applied Science and Technology, AI &Society, IBM Journal of Research and Development and International Journal of Business, Humanities and Technology, China-USA Business Review, and Business Review Cambridge.

Jason R. Bent – Tenured as Associate Professor of Law

Associate Professor Bent joined Stetson Law in 2011 and teaches in the areas of employment law and civil procedure. Professor Bent’s scholarly interests include systemic theories of employment discrimination, workplace safety regulation, and law and economics. His recent articles have been selected for publication in the Connecticut Law Review, the Ohio State Law Journal, the Buffalo Law Review, the Denver University Law Review, the Tennessee Law Review and the Michigan Journal of Law Reform.  Prior to joining the faculty at Stetson, Professor Bent was a Shughart Fellow and visiting assistant professor at the Penn State University Dickinson School of Law.

Professor Bent graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School, where he served as a notes editor of the Michigan Law Review and was a member of the Order of the Coif. Professor Bent earned his bachelor’s degree in economics, with honors, from Grinnell College. Following law school, Professor Bent served as a judicial clerk to Judge Cornelia Kennedy of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit and Judge Joan B. Gottschall of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.  Following his clerkships, Professor Bent practiced in the Labor and Employment and Appellate Practice Groups with Foley & Lardner LLP.  He later became a principal and shareholder of Smith & Bent P.C., where he practiced employment law and environmental litigation.  While in private practice, Professor Bent represented clients in International Chamber of Commerce arbitration proceedings, advocated for clients in systemic employment discrimination cases involving the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and assisted clients in interactions and negotiations with state environmental and human rights agencies.

Christopher Colwell – Tenured as Associate Professor of Education

Dr. Chris Colwell, Ed.D., is the chair of the Education Department at Stetson University. He joined Stetson University’s Department of Education in 2011. He is the author of the book Impact: How Assistant Principals Can Be High Performing Leaders published by Rowman & Littlefield in March, 2015. He serves as the Primary Investigator (PI) for the Florida Department of Education Centers of Excellence in Education grant awarded to Stetson University in 2014. Prior to joining the faculty at Stetson, Colwell served as a school principal at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. He was named the Florida Principal of the Year in 1996. He also served as an Assistant and Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for the Volusia County School Board. He is the past president of the Florida Association of Instructional Leaders. Colwell’s current research focuses on educational leadership at all levels of the K-12 sector. He holds Ed.D. and Ed.S. degrees in Educational Leadership from The University of Central Florida and a M.Ed. and B.A. degree from Stetson University.

Christopher Ferguson – Promoted to Professor of Psychology

Chris Ferguson, Ph.D., is an internationally renowned expert on media effects, having published numerous articles related to video game violence, gender in media, body dissatisfaction and advertising effects, many of these coauthored with Stetson students. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and received the APA’s Media Psychology and Technology Division’s Early Career Scientist award. Ferguson also published short fiction which can be found on his website at ChristopherJFerguson.com, as well as a mystery novel set in Renaissance Florence, titled, Suicide Kings. He lives near Orlando with his wife Diana and son Roman. Ferguson holds his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Central Florida, a M.S. in developmental psychology from Florida International University, and his B.A. in psychology from Stetson University.

David Hill – Promoted to Professor of Political Science

David Hill, Ph.D., is the chair of the Department of Political Science. His teaching and research interests are in the areas of American political institutions and voting behavior. He has a published a dozen peer reviewed journal articles and is the author of the book American Voter Turnout: An Institutional Approach, which explores the impact of governmental and electoral institutional arrangements on turnout in American elections. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Stetson University and his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Florida.

Timothy Peter – Tenured as Professor of Music

Timothy Peter, D.M.A., is director of Choral Activities at Stetson University. Having joined the faculty of the Stetson University School of Music in the fall of 2012, Peter conducts the Stetson Concert Choir, which is the university’s touring SATB ensemble, comprised of select upper-class singers. In addition, he conducts the Stetson Men and teaches choral conducting and choral repertoire courses. He is the artistic director of the annual Stetson Christmas Candlelight Concerts and coordinates campus choral events and tours. He is involved in the National Collegiate Choral Organization and the American Choral Directors Association, having held positions as the divisional chair for repertoire and standards for college and universities and the state and divisional chair for men’s choirs. He is a native of Minnesota, received his undergraduate degree from Luther College and completed his doctorate of musical arts degree at the University of Arizona. Before coming to Stetson University, he was professor of music at Luther College and served as the head of the music department. He has been a high school choral director and church musician in Minnesota, Iowa and Arizona.

Tara Schuwerk – Tenured and Promoted to Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies

Tara Schuwerk, Ph.D., has developed/taught at least 12 different courses at Stetson including, Are We What We Eat? Food, Health, & Controversy, Intercultural Communication, Organizational Communication, Food and Nutrition in the Media, Health Communication, and Qualitative Theory and Methodology, as well as Senior Research. Schuwerk’s research focuses on the intersections of communication, culture, health and identity using qualitative research methods. Her projects have a focus on food within those intersections, such as hunger-relief, media representations of food and nutrition and public discourse of food issues. Schuwerk earned her interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Human Communication from the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University.

Rajni Shankar-Brown – Tenured as Associate Professor of Education

Rajni Shankar-Brown, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor, Director of Education Graduate Programs, Co-Coordinator of the Master’s in Educating for Social Justice Program, member of the Nina B. Hollis Institute for Educational Reform and the Jessie Ball duPont Chair of Social Justice Education in the Department of Education at Stetson University. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate education courses. She is the Founder and Director of the Poverty and Homelessness Conference (PHC) and the Co-PI for the Volusia Center for Excellence in Education. She also serves as the faculty advisor for Stetson’s Student Homeless Coalition, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Nontraditional Student Organization. Shankar-Brown is an internationally recognized scholar in the areas of social justice education, poverty and homelessness, diversity and inclusion and transformative literacy and arts integration. She is a regularly sought after expert on Capitol Hill and by international/national organizations dedicated to inclusive educational excellence and working towards the elimination of poverty and homelessness. She is committed to advancing equity and inclusion through culturally responsive curriculum and instructional practices in K-12 schools and in higher education, as well as within community organizations serving youth and in carceral spaces. Shankar-Brown is widely published, including in top tier education journals and she has presented around the globe. She is a member of numerous university committees including Stetson’s Faculty Senate and Values Day Planning Committee, as well as the president of Stetson’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors. She also serves on several editorial and advisory boards and is actively involved with professional organizations at the international, national, state and local levels. Most recently, she has been nominated to serve on the Board of The National Coalition for the Homeless and elected as the chair of the Equity and Social Justice SIG for the International Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education. She is consistently recognized for her innovative leadership and longstanding commitment to service. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from George Mason University and a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Through her research, scholarship and service, Shankar-Brown is deeply committed to advancing social justice through community and civic engagement. In addition to being a passionate teacher-scholar, she is a dedicated mother, multi-media artist, and social activist.

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy – Tenured as Associate Professor of Law

Associate Professor Ciara Torres-Spelliscy teaches courses in Election Law, Corporate Governance, Business Entities, and Constitutional Law. Prior to joining Stetson’s faculty, Torres-Spelliscy was counsel in the Democracy Program of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law where she provided guidance on the issues of money in politics and the judiciary to state and federal lawmakers. She was an associate at Arnold & Porter LLP and a staffer for Senator Richard Durbin.

Professor Torres-Spelliscy has testified before Congress, and state and local legislative bodies as an expert on campaign finance reform. She has also helped draft legislation and Supreme Court briefs.  She is the editor of the 2010 edition of the Brennan Center’s campaign finance treatise, “Writing Reform: A Guide to Drafting State and Local Campaign Finance Laws.”

She researches and speaks publicly on campaign finance law as well as judicial selection. She has spoken at symposia at 22 universities around the nation. She presented at the 2013 and the 2015 Annual Conventions of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) and at the 2014 Annual Convention of the American Constitution Society, and the 2011 and the 2014 Annual Conventions of the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL).

As well as publishing in law reviews, such as the NYU Law Review, the University of San Francisco Law Review, the Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy, and the Montana Law Review,  Professor Torres-Spelliscy has been published in the New York Times, New York Law Journal, Slate, L.A. Times, U.S. News and World Report, Boston Review, Roll Call, Business Week, Forbes, The Atlantic, USA Today, Business Ethics Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, The Hill, Huffington Post, The Root.com, Judicature, The Nation, Salon.com, Tampa Bay Times, The Progressive, CNN.com, Medium, and the ABA Judges Journal. She has also been quoted by the media in The Economist, The New York Times, Mother Jones, Newsweek on Air, SCOTUS Blog, Politico, Slate, The National Journal, USA Today, L.A. Times, Boston Globe, NBC.com, WMNF, Sirius Radio, National Public Radio, Fox, Voice America, CSPAN, DNA TV, and NY1.

In 2014, Stetson University College of Law awarded Professor Torres-Spelliscy the Dickerson-Brown award for Excellence in Faculty Scholarship. In 2013, Professor Torres-Spelliscy was named as a member of the Lawyers of Color’s “50 Under 50” list of minority law professors making an impact in legal education. In 2012, Professor Torres-Spelliscy was named as a Top Wonk by the website TopWonks.org.

Professor Torres-Spelliscy is a Brennan Center Fellow, a member of the Scholars Strategy Network, a member of the Board of Directors of the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, a member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute on Money in State Politics which was awarded the 2015 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.

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Eleven members of Stetson University’s faculty have earned tenure and/or promotion. The new status for these faculty will be effective August 2017 with the start of the 2017-2018 academic year.

“I am extraordinarily proud of the accomplishments of these newly-promoted and tenured faculty,” said Provost Noel Painter.  “Their unwavering commitment to teaching excellence, dedication to advancing the work of their discipline through scholarship and creative activity, and their leadership at the university are excellent examples of Stetson’s mission in action — a wonderful education, a transformational experience, values-oriented learning, and preparation to lead lives of significance.”

Wendy Anderson – Tenured as Professor of Environmental Science and Studies

Wendy Anderson, Ph.D., joined the Stetson faculty as a Professor and Chair of Environmental Science and Studies in 2014 after serving for 16 years at another institution as a faculty member, department chair and campus sustainability director.  She teaches Introduction to Environmental Science, Sustainability Studies, Water and Society, and supervises numerous students in undergraduate research.  Dr. Anderson earned her B.S. and M.S. in Biology from Baylor University and her Ph.D. in Biology from Vanderbilt University, where she developed specialties in plant ecology and ecosystem ecology.  She studies various physical and biological movements of materials across ecosystem boundaries, particularly land-water interfaces.  Since 1995, she has focused her research questions on the marine impacts on terrestrial soils, plants, and animals on islands, working in systems from the Gulf of California, Mexico, to the San Juan Islands of Washington state, and more recently on spoil islands in the Indian River Lagoon in Florida.  In all of these places, she includes teams of student researchers who pursue their own related projects. These studies have led to numerous presentations and publications in Ecology, Ecology Letters, Oikos, Oecologia, Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, Journal of Biogeography, and more. She also co-edited a book published by Oxford University Press in 2011, Seabird Islands: Ecology, Invasion and Restoration. In addition to her specific field research interests, her other scholarly interests include climate change, sustainability management in business, and nature writing.  When she is not teaching, writing, in the field, or working with students, she bicycles, kayaks, and spends time with her daughter and German Shorthair Pointer.

Jon Carrick – Tenured and Promoted to Associate Professor of Management

Jon Carrick, Ph.D., received his B.B.A and B.S. from Stetson University, Master of International Business from the University of Florida, and Ph.D. from the University of Glasgow. He has published and presented numerous papers on the early financial and operational strategies of globally competitive small to medium size enterprises (SMEs).  In addition, he has been an editorial board member for the Journal of Applied Business and Economics. He has a passion for international travel, and for the purposes of school, work, and pleasure has been to 68 countries.

Valrie Chambers – Tenured as Associate Professor of Accounting

Valrie Chambers, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Accounting at Stetson University.  Prior to receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Houston, concentrating in taxation in 2000, she had over a decade of public accounting experience as owner/partner-in-charge of a CPA firm in Houston that had a concentration in accounting issues for small business owners.  Dr. Chambers has published articles in such journals as Journal of Accountancy, Journal of Legal Tax Research, Tax Notes and Tax Adviser, and made presentations to the IRS Research Conference, American Accounting Association and the Florida Institute of CPAs. Her work was cited in Goeller v. United States (–Fed.Cl. –, 2013 WL 1143321 (Fed.Cl.), 111 A.F.T.R.2d 2013-1255, 2013-1 USTC P 50,238). She has also done extensive volunteer work for the American Institute of CPAs and the IRS’ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance in Corpus Christi, Texas, program. In 2012, she received the Texas Society of CPAs Outstanding Accounting Educator Award for middle-sized Texas universities.

Jason Evans – Tenured and Promoted to Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Studies

Jason Evans, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Studies and a faculty affiliate within the Institute of Water and Environmental Resilience at Stetson University. His teaching and research interests include spatial modeling using geographic information systems (GIS), socio-ecological impacts of accelerating sea-level rise, and adaptive management of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in this time of global climate change. He has published over two dozen peer-reviewed articles and technical reports over the course of his academic career. He co-authored a 2016 article about sea-level rise impacts in the United States, published in the highly prestigious journal Nature Climate Change, received international media attention, including a live interview on the nationally broadcast radio show “Science Friday.” Primarily through funding and collaborations with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Sea Grant College Program, Evans is actively engaged with the sea-level rise adaptation planning processes for numerous coastal communities in the southeastern United States. Some of these communities include Satellite Beach, Monroe County, and Village of Islamorada, FL; Tybee Island and St. Marys, GA; Nags Head and Hyde County, NC; and Beaufort, SC. Evans is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Environmental Management and was the 2016 recipient of Stetson’s Hand Award for Distinguished Faculty Achievement in Research, Creative, and Professional Activity. He holds his B.A. in Philosophy from New College of Florida and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Ecology from the University of Florida.

Alan Green – Tenured and Promoted to Associate Professor of Economics

Alan Green, Ph.D., is the Chair of the Economics Department at Stetson University.  A research economist and teacher, his work focuses on international development, trade and poverty. His academic research on economic development has recently been published in the Journal of Development Studies and the Journal of Institutional Economics. As a teacher, Green focuses on engaging students with an interactive approach that encourages critical thinking. He conducts research on effective pedagogy and has recent publications in The Journal of Economic Education and the International Review of Economics Education.  Dr. Green currently has three working papers with Stetson students on persistence in STEM education, stages of economic growth and the impact of ideology on votes for redistribution.  He is continuing pedagogical research on the effectiveness of team-based learning and how simulations both in and out of class can promote higher level learning.  Dr. Green is committed to effective education in the classroom as well as practical applications of economics for effective policies in our communities.  He has written op-ed articles on health care markets and fiscal policy in recent months for The Tampa Bay Times.  In coming years, he plans to conduct research on energy markets and microcredit with colleagues in the economics department.

Kayta Kudryavtseva – Tenured and Promoted to Associate Professor of Art History

Katya Kudryavtseva, Ph.D., specializes in art of the twentieth century with a focus on the intersecting trajectories of art history, politics, art institutions and business and their role in the development of the canon of modern and contemporary art. Her book,“The Metamorphoses of Kazimir Malevich’s Black Square,” (NLO, Moscow, 2017), analyzes the artistic practice of a major figure of modernism, Russian painter Kazimir Malevich, through transformations of his seminal painting, the Black Square (from the easel painting to a revolutionary emblem, to a signature, and, finally, to a commodity). The book provides detailed analysis of both the artist’s changing attitudes towards politics, revolution and authority, and the way Suprematism was reinvested with different meanings and adapted to ideological purposes first by the artist himself, his students, and subsequently by scholars, collectors, dealers and art institutions. Kudryavtseva holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Russian State University for the Humanities, and a Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Southern California.

Dejan Magoc – Tenured and Promoted to Associate Professor of Health Sciences

Dejan Magoc, Ph.D., joined Stetson in 2014 and teaches in the Department of Health Sciences. While at Stetson, he developed and taught a variety of courses, including Theories and Methods of Health Behavior Change, Introduction to Public Health, Research Methods in the Health Sciences, Senior Research Proposal/Project, and Cross-Cultural Aspects of Health Behavior. In his teaching, Dr. Magoc applies Team-Based Learning — an application-oriented teaching method that involves individual and group work and enhances active learning in classroom and helps students develop lifelong learning skills. In addition, he promotes the use of MindTap — a digital learning solution that helps transform students into critical thinkers. Dr. Magoc is a developer of a faculty-led study abroad program that takes place in Serbia during the summer months with a goal to provide students with an inspirational learning environment that is very often described as “life-changing.”

In his research, Dr. Magoc focuses on physical activity and promotion of healthy behaviors. Of particular interest to him is determining the most important constructs from behavioral theories and applying them in helping individuals change their behaviors toward a healthier lifestyle. His approach uses an interdisciplinary framework that has a potential to benefit many fields including psychology, sociology, kinesiology, health promotion, and nursing and rehabilitation. Dr. Magoc has built and maintained a strong relationship with the YMCA of DeLand and Halifax Health as well as K-12 schools, which allowed him to use his disciplinary practice to engage Stetson students in collaborative, community-based experiences that allow them to gain new knowledge and abilities as well as draw strong connections between the university and the community while working on and promoting health behavior projects.

Dr. Magoc is a native of Serbia where he received his undergraduate degree from the University of Novi Sad – Faculty of Sport and Physical Education. He received his Master of Science in Kinesiology and his Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences from the University of Texas at El Paso. Before coming to Stetson University, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Health Studies at Eastern Illinois University.

Greg Sapp – Promoted to Professor of Religious Studies

Greg Sapp, Ph.D., is Hal S. Marchman Chair of Civic and Social Responsibility and teaches in the Department of Religious Studies. He is interested in the history of Christian thought, philosophical theology, and religion and culture. He has recently co-authored the book, “Understanding Sport as a Religious Phenomenon: An Introduction.” He is series co-editor of SpringerBriefs in Religion and Sport. As Marchman Chair, he directs the Certificate of Community Engagement and serves as the faculty advisor to the Bonner Program. Each summer, he co-facilitates the civil rights travel experience with Stetson’s College of Law. He completed his undergraduate degree in Religion at Stetson, his Master of Divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. at the University of Virginia.

Leander Seah – Tenured and Promoted to Associate Professor of History

Leander Seah, Ph.D.,  is the founding director of the Asian Studies Program at Stetson University. He holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in History from the National University of Singapore, and a B.A. with Honours in History from the National University of Singapore. Since joining Stetson in 2011, he has taught courses on East Asia, Southeast Asia, and world history, and has also received two First Year Student Advocate Awards. As an ethnic Chinese native of Singapore, he is particularly interested in the issue of ethnic Chinese identity, which is the subject of a current book project, “Conceptualizing Chinese Identity: China, the Nanyang, and Trans-Regionalism.” This monograph is related to his broader research interests, which include China-Southeast Asia connections, modern China, East Asian relations, migration and diasporas, modern Japan, trans-regionalism and transnationalism, and world and global history. He has published various peer-reviewed journal articles, and has presented his work at conferences in the U.S., Singapore, mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. His scholarly accolades include 18 fellowships, research grants, and awards from the Association for Asian Studies, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the Center for Chinese Studies in Taiwan, the National Library Board of Singapore, the National University of Singapore, the University of Pennsylvania, and Stetson University.

Debra Touchton – Promoted to Professor of Education

Debra J. Touchton, Ph.D., is the Program Director for the Ed. Leadership Graduate Program in the Department of Education. She joined Stetson in 2000 and was the first faculty in residence at the Stetson Center in Celebration. Working in education for forty-plus years, Dr. Touchton has educational and administrative experiences at the school, district, regional, and state levels. Her research interests are in the areas of leadership and organizational development, women in leadership, and the effects of poverty on teaching and learning. She earned a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Organizational Development from the University of South Florida. She teaches graduate courses in communication, leadership, and systems planning.

She has been active in her state professional association, the Florida Association of Professors of Ed. Leadership (FAPEL) for 17 years, and served as president-elect, president and past-president, and continues to be an active member. During her time with FAPEL, she facilitated change in the state organization, participated in developing the vision and mission, and strategic planning. Dr. Touchton is also an active member of American Association of University Women (AAUW), and American Educational Research Association (AERA).

Dr. Touchton’s passion is teaching and leadership development/advocacy for women and girls. She states, “I believe quality education is the true equalizer and levels the playing field for all, and that is why I have dedicated my life work to it.”

Nathan Wolek – Promoted to Professor of Digital Arts

Nathan Wolek, Ph.D.,  is an audio artist and researcher whose work encompasses advanced signal processing techniques, multimedia performance, and electronic music history. Wolek completed his Ph.D. in Music Technology at Northwestern University, and is currently an Associate Professor of Digital Arts and Chair of the Creative Arts Department at Stetson. He is a contributor to Jamoma, an open-source software platform for interactive performance systems. His music features rapid edits, gradually changing textures, and environmental recordings of personal significance. Wolek has performed as a laptop instrumentalist and presented his creative work across the United States, in addition to engagements in Germany, Norway, Canada and Brazil. His research has been featured at the ICMC, SEAMUS, CMS, ATMI and SMPC conferences. In 2012, Wolek helped organize the first ever Symposium for Laptop Ensembles and Orchestras (SLEO) at Louisiana State University. The same year, Wolek was named a Fulbright Scholar to Norway and worked primarily at the Bergen Center for Electronic Arts on significant enhancements and extensions to Jamoma.

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Nine members of Stetson University’s faculty have recently earned tenure and/or promotion. The new status for these faculty will be effective August 2018 with the start of the 2018-19 academic year.

“I am extraordinarily proud of the accomplishments of these newly-promoted and tenured faculty,” said Provost Noel Painter, Ph.D. “Their unwavering commitment to teaching excellence, dedication to advancing the work of their discipline through scholarship and creative activity, and their leadership at the university are excellent examples of Stetson’s mission in action – a wonderful education, a transformational experience, values-oriented learning and preparation to lead lives of significance.”

The nine faculty members are:

Jason R. Bent, Promoted to Professor, College of Law

Bent graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School and earned his bachelor’s degree in economics, with honors, from Grinnell College. Bent focuses his work on employment law, employment discrimination law and civil procedure.  He co-authors a leading treatise on the use of statistics in employment cases, “The Statistics of Discrimination:  Using Statistical Evidence in Discrimination Cases.” He is also a co-author of “An Illustrated Guide to Civil Procedure.”  Prior to joining the faculty at Stetson, Bent was a Shughart Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at the Penn State University Dickinson School of Law.

Giovanni Fernandez, Tenured and promoted to Associate Professor

Fernandez, Ph.D., came to Stetson University in 2012 from Florida International University in Miami, where he was born and raised. He was drawn to Stetson University because of the university’s tradition, reputation and faculty-to-student ratio. His love of finance began at a young age, as his father taught finance for 36 years and is also a financial advisor, both areas in which Fernandez has chosen to follow. Fernandez now leads our Financial Planning Finance Concentration and our Graduate Programs.

Deborah Goldring, Tenured and promoted to Associate Professor

Goldring, Ph.D., is an associate professor of marketing in the School of Business Administration. She joined Stetson University in 2012 and teaches courses in digital marketing, brand communications and principles of marketing. Goldring’s research interests include strategic marketing management, content marketing, social media management and corporate branding. Her work has been published in the Journal of Marketing Analytics, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, and Journal of Relationship Marketing. She serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, and is a judge for the America Marketing Association Collegiate Case Competition.

Douglas Phillips, Tenured and promoted to Associate Professor

Phillips, D.M.A., is Director of Bands at Stetson University where he serves as music director and conductor of the Stetson University Symphonic Band, oversees all aspects of the university’s comprehensive band program, serves as an academic advisor, and teaches courses in music education, wind band literature and instrumental conducting. Prior to his appointment at Stetson, Phillips served as Associate Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Music at Western Illinois University, Associate Director of Bands at The University of Virginia and taught public school in the state of Florida. Phillips holds degrees from the University of Miami Frost School of Music (Doctor of Musical Arts, Instrumental Conducting), Western Michigan University (Master of Music, Instrumental Conducting) and Stetson University (Bachelor of Music Education).

Maria Rickling, Tenured and promoted to Associate Professor

Rickling, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor Accounting in the School of Business Administration.  She teaches intermediate and managerial accounting at the undergraduate level and financial accounting at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. An active scholar, she has published several works, and has several works in progress pertaining to various aspects of corporate governance and financial reporting. She is a member of the American Accounting Association, The National Scholars Honor Society and the Golden Key International Honor Society.

Julia Schmitt, Promoted to Professor

Schmitt received her B.A. from Stetson and her Ph.D. in theatre from Bowling Green State University.  After a stint at Lon Morris College in Texas, she accepted an assistant professorship at Stetson in 2004, where she continues to teach theatre and direct theatre productions; in 2010 she was promoted to associate professor.  She teaches a wide range of courses in stagecraft and theatre history.  In addition to directing plays both on and off campus, her research interests include Feminist studies, Renaissance and Jacobean dramatic literature and theatre pedagogy.

Paul Sibbald, Tenured and promoted to Associate Professor

Sibbald, Associate Professor of Chemistry, graduated from Alma College with a B.S. in chemistry and a B.A. in medieval and crusades history, and holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry with an emphasis on reaction development from the University of Washington.  After a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center for Drug Design at the University of Minnesota, he joined the Stetson faculty in 2011. His teaching is focused on Organic Chemistry and his recent scholarship has expanded his previous work on organic chemistry and synthesis, emphasizing reaction development and mechanistic study, with an interest in computational research strategies.

Ram Subramanian, Tenured as Full Professor

Subramanian, Ph.D., is Professor of Leadership in the School of Business Administration.  He teaches the undergraduate capstone strategic management course as well as various management courses in the graduate program. His research interest is in the broad area of organization-external environment interface and his work has been published in journals such as Journal of Management, Journal of Business Research, Management International Review, and Corporate Governance. He has expertise in the case method and served as a Fulbright Specialist Scholar in The Netherlands and India.

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, Promoted to Professor, College of Law

Torres-Spelliscy graduated from Columbia School of Law and earned her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.  Torres-Spelliscy teaches in the areas of Election Law, Corporate Governance, Business Entities and Constitutional Law.  She has testified before Congress, and state and local legislative bodies as an expert of campaign reform.  She is the author of the book, “Corporate Citizen? An Argument for the Separation of Corporation and State.”  In 2013, Torres-Spelliscy was named a member of the Lawyers of Color’s “50 Under 50” list of minority law professors making an impact in legal education.

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