The Robert E. Cook Honors College

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Faculty

Dr. C. Thomas Ault
Home Department: Theater; Dance
Courses Taught:
Intro & Advanced Theater
Honors Courses Taught: Honors Core 1, 2 & 3; Honors Synthesis

Dr. Ault often teaches both intro and advanced theater courses and a synthesis course that travels to Rome, Italy. A PhD from University of Michigan, Dr. Ault is a theater historian with a strong background in languages. He has also been a recipient of the IUP Distinguished Teaching Award.


11Dr. Matt Baumer
Home Department: Music
Courses Taught:
Music History I & II; Research Techniques in Music
Honors Courses Taught: Music History I & II

Dr. Baumer's interests include 19th-century program music, particularly the orchestral music of Franz Liszt, the representation of gender in instrumental music, and African American gospel music. After graduating with a degree in choral music education from Drake University, he earned the M.M. in piano performance as well as the M.A. and Ph.D. in musicology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to joining the faculty at IUP, he taught music history at Middle Tennessee State University and was the managing editor of The Instrumentalist. He has presented papers at national and regional meetings of the American Musicological Society and at other conferences in the United States and England. Performing interests include collaborative piano and singing in early music ensembles. An avid cyclist, he is married to Jane Potter Baumer, a mezzo soprano and choral music educator, and has two daughters, Haley and Hannah.


1Dr. Sherrill Begres
Home Department: Philosophy, Department Chair
Courses Taught:
Ethics; Philosophy of Art
Honors Courses Taught: Honors Core 1, 2 & 3; Ethics & Public Policy; Honors Thesis Chair

Dr. Begres has been with the Honors College since its inception as part of the Planning Committee back in the early 90's and has taught core annually. A biomedical ethicist with a PhD from Wayne State Univerity, Dr. Begres has also served on the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Consortium Ethics Program. She is a member of the IUP Scholarship Committee, a recipient of the IUP Distinguished Teaching Award, and well known for her recognizable laugh.


2Dr. Lynn Botelho
Home Department: History
Courses Taught: History of England; Renaissance and Reformation; Early Modern Europe; History of Medicine; History of the Body 

Honors Courses Taught:
Honors Core 1, 2 & 3; Renaissance & Reformation; History Department Honors Colloquium; Honors Thesis Chair

Dr. Botelho earned her PhD from Cambridge University and specializes in sixteenth and seventeenth-century English history, particularly the history of old age. An accomplished scholar, Dr. Botelho has written at least five books with the most recent having been published last November. She is also the Director for the American Friends of the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London. She is a member of the IUP Scholarship Committee and a nationally ranked fencer.


3Dr. Barkley Butler
Home Department: Biology
Courses Taught: Principles of Biology I; Cell Biology; Great Ideas in Science 
Honors Courses Taught: Science Core; Honors Seminar

Dr. Butler received his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  His research interests include the role of hormones in breast cancer, mechanism of insulin response and ants.  Along with Drs. Chaiken and Zanich, Dr. Butler co-created the Science Core curriculum. An avid reader, he as been a member of a book club with Drs. Cashdollar, Newell and other IUP faculty for several years.


Dr. Jim Cahalan
Home Department: English
Courses Taught:
Irish Literature; Appalachian and Southwestern Authors
Honors Courses Taught:
Synthesis; Honors Thesis Chair

At least one HC graduate, (Kirk Boyle '01), has followed Dr. Cahalan's path to a PhD attending his alma mater of University of Cincinnati. Dr. Cahalan's interests include modern and contemporary Irish literatures in both English and Gaelic, modern and contemporary American literature.


Dr. Wendy Carse
Home Department: English; Director for B.A. Degree Program
Courses Taught:
Women's Literature; Victorian Literature; Gothic Horror
Honors Courses Taught: Art of the Film; Research Writing; Distinction in English Seminar

Although Dr. Carse's graduate work concentrated on Victorian Gothic fiction, her interests have expanded into the horror genre in contemporary culture, with an emphasis on connections between horror fiction and film. Her work in the latter has added to her current involvement in film studies in general.


Dr. CashdollarDr. Charles Cashdollar
Home Department: History, retired

In an interesting sidenote to HC history, Dr. Cashdollar and Bob Cook attended IUP at roughly the same time as undergraduates. Dr. Cashdollar even lived in Whitmyre Hall (room 301!) Dr. Cashdollar was part of the Planning Committee that worked to create the HC, taught in the Humanities sections of the Core Course and mentored dozens of history majors through theses and graduation. Although retired, Dr. Cashdollar still conducts the exit interviews among graduates & we're happy to have him around.


5Stephanie Caulder
Home Department: Music
Courses Taught:
Oboe; Class Woodwinds
Honors Courses Taught: Honors Core 1, 2 & 3; Honors Special Topics (Vienna fin de Siecle Music); Music History

Dr. Caulder earned the D.M. in oboe performance from The Florida State University where she studied with Eric Ohlsson. She has performed frequently with the Keystone Winds, Tallahassee Symphony, Pensacola Symphony, Southeastern Chamber Orchestra, Opera a la carte, Durham Symphony, Charlotte Philharmonic and the Wilmington Symphony Orchestras. Most recently, Dr. Caulder can be heard on a recent Koch International release performing as principal oboist with The Florida State University Orchestra. She also has a pretty hot golf game, typically shooting in the mid 80's.


Dr. Miriam Chaiken
Home Department: Anthropology
Courses Taught:
Cultural Anthropology; Anthropology of Foods
Honors courses taught: Science Core; Honors Thesis Chair

Dr. Chaiken began her anthropology field work in a small, Kenyan village. Her main research interests are colonialism, medical anthropology, applied anthropology, rural development. Research and consulting experience in Philippines, Kenya, and Indonesia. Current research focuses on contemporary nutritional patterns and food security. Together with Drs. Butler & Zanich, Dr. Chaiken developed the Science Core curriculum and regularly teaches the course.


6Dr. Rich Ciganko
Home Department: Art, Department Chair
Courses Taught:
Art Education
Honors Courses Taught: Honors Core 1, 2 & 3

Dr. Ciganko earned his EdD at Illinios State University. His areas of reserach involve art education and his teaching is primarilty in this capacity. He has taught both freshman and juniors in the Core Course.


Dr. Chauna Craig
Home Department: English
Courses Taught:
Contemporary Fiction;, Creative Writing, Pedagogy
Honors Courses Taught: Creative Writing

Dr. Bob Curey
Home Department: English, retired

Dr. Tony DeFurio
Home Department: Art, retired

Dr. DeFurio earned his PhD from PSU and also held a master's degree in philosphy. A painter by trade, he was also a football player in his youth. Dr. DeFurio was "recruited" to teach Honors Core by his friend, Dr. Bob Curey. He taught the fine art sections of core for several years prior to his retirement and often said his final years teaching in the HC were the best of his career.


Dr. Ian Duckles
Home Department: Philosophy
Courses Taught:
Exestentialism; Phenomenology; Ethics; Philosophy of Film 
Honors Courses Taught: Honors Core 1, 2, & 3

Originally torn between becoming a philosophy or a math major, he chose philosophy after receiving a B+ in his first math course and an A in his first philosophy course. After graduating from Berkeley, he went to the University of California, Irvine to pursue his PhD, which he completed in 2004. Dr. Duckles has been at IUP since then.


7Dr. Ron Emerick
Home Department: English
Courses Taught:
American Fiction; Southern Writers; Technical Writing
Honors Courses Taught: Honors Core 1 & 3

Dr. Emerick earned his PhD from Pitt in 1975. An avid traveller, he frequently makes trips around the country on Amtrak. Dr. Emerick is also a lover of games: cards, board-games and the like.


Dr. GoebelDr. Janet Goebel
Home Department: English
Courses Taught:
Freshman Composition; Lit Analysis; Critical Theory; and German 3
Honors Courses Taught: Honors Core 1, 2, & 3; Synthesis; Honors College Director

Dr. Goebel graduated with her PhD from Nebraska-Lincoln and promptly drove across the United States in her Honda Civic with her dog, Pookie. Dr. Goebel has lived and worked in DC, taught high school and spent a year in Austria as a Fulbright Scholar. She is the author/editor of several books and articles focusing on her specialty of medieval literature and is currently writing a book based on the fall of Troy. Dr. Goebel loves gardening, her family, the LOTR trilogy and can sing like Janice Joplin.


Dr. Becky Knickelbein
Home Department: Educational Psychology
Courses Taught:
Learning;, Educational Psychology
Honors Courses Taught: Learning

Dr. Knickelbein was part of the team to help create the College of Education and Technology's honors program. She has taught 'Learning' as an honors section for several semesters. Her professional interests include Assessment of students with severe disabilities, Social Inclusion of students with disabilities, and Assessment of Distance Learning Courses.


8Dr. Jim Jozephowicz
Home Department: Economics
Courses Taught:
Various intro and upper level economics courses
Honors
Courses Taught: Macroeconomics, Econometrics, Honors thesis chair

Dr. "J" might be best known for his course in Econometrics that culminates in students presenting their research through poster presentations and publications.


9Dr. Stephanie Jozephowicz
Home Department: Economics
Courses Taught: Public Economics, International Trade, Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
Honors
Courses Taught: Macroeconomics

After majoring in Mathematics, Dr. Jozephowicz went on to earn her PhD at Indiana Bloomington. Her specialties are public economics, international econcomics and game theory & exerimental methods. She is very active within the IUP community and has mentored several students through their thesis and subsequent graduate school applications.


10Dr. John Marsden
Home Department: English, Department Assistant Chair
Courses Taught: British & American Literature from 1900, Modern British Literature, Contemporary British Literature, Special Topics in British Literature
Honors
Courses Taught: Honors Core 1, 2, & 3; Research Writing

Dr. Marsden earned a first-class honors degree from the University of Wales and subsequently moved to the U.S., where he earned his PhD from Ohio University. He focuses his study in the areas of the Modernist, Postmodernist, and contemporary British novels, and on issues of historiography and postcoloniality. He is also an excellent snooker player, and enjoys what Americans call “soccer”!


12Dr. Cate McClenahan
Home Department: English
Courses Taught: British Literature; College Writing; Research Writing; Literary Analysis; Romanticism
Honors
Courses Taught: Honors Core 1, 2 & 3

Dr. McClenahan has interests in British Literature, Women's Studies and Speculative Fiction. Her specialty is the illuminated poetry of William Blake; her latest scholarly project investigates the way working class women are represented or ignored in Romantic-period literature. She also teaches a women’s studies course on science fiction and fantasy literature by women, from Mary Shelley to the present. Dr. McClenahan earned her PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and spent two years in the Peace Corps in Kenya, East Africa.


Dr. Scott Moore
Home Department: History
Courses Taught: Greece, Rome, Medieval and Byzantine
Honors Courses Taught: Honors Core 2 & 3

Dr. Moore earned his PhD from Ohio State University and specializes in the history of Late Antiquity. His main area of research is on trade and commerce in the Roman Empire. Dr. Moore is the director of the Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological Project, an archaeological survey of the southern coast of Cyprus that is investigating the role of coastal settlements in the eastern Mediterranean trading network. In addition to his doctorate in ancient history, he also has a degree in Underwater Archaeology. 


Dr. Sarah Neusius
Home Department: Anthropology
Courses Taught:
Biological Anthropology; North American Anthropology; Evolution and Creation Science
Honors Courses Taught: Contemporary Anthropology; The Mysterius Maya; Science Core

Dr. Neusius is an archaeologist who is most interested in archaeozoology, and subsistence and settlement systems. Her current research includes an experimental study of cut marks on bone, investigation of Late Prehistoric Adaptations in southwestern New York State, predictive modeling of prehistoric settlement locations on the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau and study of large and small game exploitation in southwestern Colorado. Dr. Neusius also is active in Pennsylvania's archaeological and historic preservation communities.


14Dr. Sandy Newell
Home Department: Biology
Courses Taught:
Cell Biology; Principles of Biology
Honors Courses Taught: Science Core

A postdoctorate of Harvard University, Dr. Newell's research interests are in plant population biology, plant-animal interactions, and carnivorous plants. Her current research focuses on temperate and tropical pitcher plants. Her past research involved geographic variation in leaf morphology of cycads in Florida and Puerto Rico and demography in clonal violets.


13Dr. Chris Orchard
Home Department: English
Courses Taught:
Shakespeare; British Literature
Honors Courses Taught: Honors Core 1, 2, & 3; Reserach Writing, DIE Seminar

Dr. Orchard earned his D.Phil from the University of Oxford in 1994. His main interests lie in early modern British literature, but he has taught a variety of honors courses over the years.


Dr. Tom Slater
Home Department: English
Courses Taught:
Introductory English courses; Film electives
Honors Courses Taught: Art of the Film; Synthesis: Film and Philosophy

Film and Literature, Film Theory and Language and American Silent Film are listed among the specializations for Dr. Slater. In addition, he has served as the faculty advisor for the English Department Film Journal, film club, and has congenially hosted several guest speakers from the film industry.


15Dr. Jim Staples
Home Department: Music
Courses Taught:
Piano; Music Theory; Composition
Honors Courses Taught: Synthesis: Goethe and Friends

James Staples is a pianist, who holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in performance from Florida State University and a Doctor of Music Arts in Performance from the Eastman School of Music. He has also studied privately in New York City for two years with the late Irwin Freundlich. His other teachers have included Carlisle Floyd and Maria Luisa Faini. Dr. Staples has appeared with orchestras in Fredonia and Rochester, New York as well as in Tallahassee and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and in Indiana, Pennsylvania. He has participated in chamber recitals in virtually every state in the Northeast, as well as in Colorado as a faculty member of the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park.


Dr. Robert Sweeney
Home Department: Art
Courses Taught:
Art Education
Honors Courses Taught: Honors Core 1 & 2

Dr. Sweeny is Assistant Professor of Art and Art Education in the Department of Art, where he serves as Coordinator of Art Education. He publishes widely in national and international journals, most recently completing a chapter for Educating Artists in a Digital Age, to be published in 2007 by Intellect Press. His research deals with pedagogical issues surrounding the use of digital technologies in art classrooms; specifically addressing issues of surveillance, performativity, and visual cultural studies. He has taught at both the middle and high school level, and is also a practicing artist and musician, often mixing the two in large scale installations.


16Dr. Lorraine Wilson
Home Department: Music, Department Chair
Courses Taught:
Music Education; Music Administration
Honors Courses Taught: Synthesis: New Orelans

Dr. Wilson earned a Doctor of Arts Degree in Music Education (secondary cognate, teacher education) from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Prior to her tenure at IUP, Dr. Wilson was Supervisor of Music for New Orleans Public Schools. Among her responsibilities at IUP has been the supervision of student teachers. Her published essays and articles have appeared in the International Dictionary of African American Composers, the Talking Drum Journal (Editor-in-Chief), the Journal of the Society for General Music, Opera for Youth Journal and the Journal of the Association of Caribbean Studies.


Dr. Mary Lou Zanich
Home Department: Psychology, Department Chair
Courses Taught:
Psychological Inquiry; Dreams and Nightmares; Psychology of Death and Dying
Honors Courses Taught: Science Core; Thesis Chair

Dr. Zanich graduated from the Univerisity of Pittsburgh with a PhD in experimental psychology. She has been recognized with the Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching and has published exensively in areas of women's development, human experience and gender differences. Dr. Zanich also serves as the Faculty Coordinator for the Goldwater Scholarship as well as serves on the IUP Scholarship Committee. She is also active in Hospice.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania