Faculty and Staff

Faculty and staff at CGS are listed here by group. You can follow the link from highlighted faculty names for more extensive profiles.

The faculty expectations document for CGS can be read online.

Recent faculty research is also available online.

CGS faculty may request A/V equipment at http://www.bu.edu/cgs/media-requests/av-register.html.

Deans

Linda Wells
Dean of the College; Professor of Humanities
BA, MA (English), Colorado State University; PhD (English), University of Wisconsin-Madison
lwells@bu.edu
Research interests: law, ethics, and literature; 19th- and 20th-century literature, in particular African-American literature

Robert Oresick
Associate Dean of the College
BA, University of Pittsburgh; MA, PhD, Boston University
oresick@bu.edu

Robert Emery
Assistant Dean of the College; Director of the Writing Center; Adjunct Assistant Professor of Rhetoric
BA (English), University of Pennsylvania; MA (English), EdD (humanistic studies), Boston University
remery@bu.edu
Research interests: suspense fiction; composition theory; music composition and publishing

Stacy Godnick
Assistant Dean of the College
BA, Gettysburg; MA, New York University
sgodnick@bu.edu

Humanities Division

Natalie McKnight
Chairman, Division of Humanities; Associate Professor of Humanities
BA (English & drama), Washington College; MA (creative writing), Johns Hopkins University; PhD (English & American literature), University of Delaware
njmck@bu.edu
Research interests: Victorian literature, creative writing, popular culture, gender studies

Cheryl Boots
Assistant Professor of Humanities
BA (honors English), Mount Union College; MA (higher education administration), Michigan State University; MA (American & New England studies), PhD (American and New England studies), Boston University
cboots@bu.edu
Research interests: American literature, American cultural history, sacred and secular music including song writing and performance, sport and American culture

Christopher Coffman
Assistant Professor of Humanities
BA (English & Psychology), Franklin & Marshall College; MA, PhD (English Language & Literature),The Catholic University of America

Christopher Fahy
Assistant Professor of Humanities
BA (English), Bates College; MA (English), PhD (English), Boston University
goodwood@bu.edu
Research interests: 19th-century American literature, religion and literature

John Fawell
Associate Professor of Humanities
BA (general studies in the humanities), MA (comparative literature), PhD (comparative literature), University of Chicago; Dipl A, Universite Paris (France)
jfawell@bu.edu
Research interests: film, Alfred Hitchcock, 19th-century world literature

Neal Leavitt
Assistant Professor of Humanities
leavittn@bu.edu

Joellen Masters
Assistant Professor of Humanities
BA (English literature), Mount Holyoke College; MA (English literature), PhD (English literature), Boston University joellenm@bu.edu
Research interests: Victorian literature and culture; modernism; women’s studies and film criticism

Carrie McGrory
Instructor
BA (English Literature), SUNY Stonybrook Honors College; MA (English Literature), Boston University

Richard Oxenberg
Assistant Professor of Humanities
BA (psychology), Hofstra University; MA (philosophy), Georgia State University; PhD (philosophy), Emory University
oxenberg@bu.edu

Kevin Stoehr
Associate Professor of Humanities
AB (philosophy), Bowdoin College; MA (philosophy), PhD (philosophy), Boston University
kstoehr@bu.edu
http://people.bu.edu/kstoehr/
Research interests: ethics, existentialism, film studies, and philosophy of film

Adam Sweeting
Associate Professor of Humanities
BA (philosophy), Clark University; MA (American studies), PhD (American studies), New York University
sweeting@bu.edu
Research interests: American literature, architectural history, nature writing

Meg Tyler
Assistant Professor of Humanities
BA (English), Kenyon College; PhD (literature), Boston University
mtyler@bu.edu
Research interests: The history of lyric poetry; 20th-century British, Irish, and American poetry; the familiar essay; the elegy; Seamus Heaney

Jeffery Vail
Assistant Professor of Humanities
BA (English literature), Washington College; MA (English literature), University of Delaware; PhD (English literature), University of Delaware
jwvail@bu.edu
http://people.bu.edu/jwvail/
Research interests: British romantic poetry; 18th-century British literature; 19th-century fiction; modern and postmodern poetry

Robert Wexelblatt
Professor of Humanities
BA (English), University of Pennsylvania; MA (English & American literature), University of Michigan; PhD (English and American literature), Brandeis University
wex@bu.edu
Research interests: 20th-century literature, philosophical problems, fiction, poetry, informal essays

James Wilcox
Associate Professor of Humanities
BA (English), University of Rhode Island; MA (English), PhD (English), Northern Illinois University
jiwilcox@bu.edu

Natural Science

Peter Busher
Chairman, Division of Natural Science; Professor of Natural Science
BA (biology), MA (biology), San Francisco State University; PhD (biology), University of Nevada
pbusher@bu.edu
Research interests: population biology, behavioral ecology, population dynamics of beavers

Maria Abate
Assistant Professor of Natural Science
BA (zoology), University of California, Davis; PhD (biology), Northeastern University
mabate@bu.edu
Research interests: marine ecology, fish biology and evolution, animal behavior

Leonard Andres
Assistant Professor of Natural Science
BA, Brown; MS (physiology), Harvard University; PhD (nutritional biochemistry & physiology), Tufts University
landres@bu.edu
Research interests: biology, mammalian physiology, nutritional biochemistry, human neuromuscular adaptation, human aging and health, respiratory physiology, exercise physiology, sarcopenia, ergogenic aids

Millard Baublitz
Associate Professor of Natural Science
BS (physics & astronomy), University of Maryland; PhD (physics), Cornell University
baublitz@bu.edu
Research interests: foundations of quantum mechanics, X-ray diffraction, solids at high pressures

Karina Baum
Assistant Professor of Natural Science
BA (biology), University of Buenos Aires; PhD, Brandeis University
karibaum@bu.edu
Research interests: cancer research, animal models for human diseases, evolution, philosophy and history of science

Michael Clancy
Assistant Professor of Natural Science
BS (zoology), University of Rhode Island; MS, University of Delaware; PhD (biological sciences), University of Rhode Island
mfclancy@bu.edu
Research interests: marine ecology, crustacean biology, fisheries ecology, restoration ecology

Christopher Collumb
Assistant Professor of Natural Science
BA (biology), Trinity University; MA (marine science), College of William and Mary; PhD (marine science), University of Texas
collumb@bu.edu
Research interests: predator-prey interactions of fish & copepods, the effects of hazardous algal blooms on zooplankton survival and reproduction

Samuel Hammer
Associate Professor of Natural Science
BA (anthropology), Grinnell College; MA (counseling), DePaul University; MA (biology), San Francisco State University; PhD (biology), Harvard University
cladonia@bu.edu
Research interests: science and nature, botany, history, arts

Gregg S. Jaeger
Assistant Professor of Natural Science
BS (mathematics, philosophy & physics), University of Wisconsin; PhD (physics), Boston University
jaeger@bu.edu
http://math.bu.edu/people/jaeger/
Research interests: quantum computing, quantum cryptography, and quantum biophysics

Kari Lavalli
Assistant Professor of Natural Science
BA (bio-mathematics), Wells College; PhD (marine biology studies), Boston University
klavalli@bu.edu
Research interests: behavioral ecology of lobsters, predator-prey interactions, animal behavior, inquiry-based science education, community involvement in resource conservation (via The Lobster Conservancy community-based programs)

Melanie K. Rathburn
Assistant Professor of Natural Science
BSc (biology and environmental sciences), Trent University; MSc (ecology), University of Georgia; PhD (biology), Queen’s University, Canada
rathburn@bu.edu

Robert Schoch
Associate Professor of Natural Science
BA (anthropology), BS (geology), George Washington University; MS (geology & geophysics), MPhil (geology & geophysics), PhD (geology & geophysics), Yale University
schoch@bu.edu
http://www.robertschoch.com/
Research interests: geology, paleontology, evolution, environmental science, ancient Egypt, geoarchaeology, prehistoric/ancient cultures around the world

Sally Sommers Smith
Associate Professor of Natural Science
BA (biology), Grinnell College; PhD (anatomy & cellular biology), Tufts University
ssommers@bu.edu
Research interests: pulmonary cell biology, traditional Irish music

Hendrik van Gorsel
Assistant Professor of Natural Science
BS (horticulture), MSc (horticulture), Wageningen Agricultural University; PhD (plant physiology), University of California, Davis
rvgorsel@bu.edu

Rhetoric

Matthew Parfitt
Chairman, Division of Rhetoric; Associate Professor of Rhetoric
BA (English), MA (English), University of Toronto; PhD (English), Boston College
parfitt@bu.edu
Research interests: composition, literary theory, British literature 1880–1930, gender studies, World War I, Robert Frost

Rick Cole
Instructor
BA, MA (English), University of Massachusetts, Boston
rickcole@bu.edu

D. Lynn O’Brien Hallstein
Assistant Professor of Rhetoric
BA (speech communication), University of Pittsburgh; MA (speech communication), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; PhD (communication), Ohio State University
lhallst@bu.edu
Research interests: Rhetoric, cultural studies, feminist theory, and contemporary understandings of motherhood and mothering.

Regina Hansen
Assistant Professor of Rhetoric
BA (English/anthropology), Tufts University; PhD (English/Victorian studies), Boston College
rhansen@bu.edu
Research interests: Victorian literature, children’s fiction, composition studies

Charles Henebry
Assistant Professor of Rhetoric
AB (science and literature), Harvard College; MA (development of English); PhD (English), New York University
henebry@bu.edu
Research interests: rhetorical practices and visual culture in the Renaissance

Christopher Pearce
Assistant Professor of Rhetoric
BA (classics and English), Vanderbilt University; MA (English), PhD (English), The University of Texas at Austin
617-358-3204
cpearce@bu.edu
Research interests: 18th-century British literature, linguistics and lexicography, Samuel Johnson

Gillian Pierce
Assistant Professor of Rhetoric
BA (French and English history and literature), Harvard College; MA (comparative literature), University of Michigan; PhD (comparative literature), University of Michigan
gpierce@bu.edu
Research interests: Comparative literature, eighteenth-century French literature and salons, literary and aesthetic theory, literature and the visual arts, Agnès Varda

Davida Pines
Associate Professor of Rhetoric
BA (English), Yale University; MA (English & American literature), New York University; MPhil (English romantic poetry), Oxford University; PhD (English & American literature), Brandeis University
dpines@bu.edu
Research interests: 20th-century British and American literature, marriage and the modern novel, romanticism

John Regan
Assistant Professor of Rhetoric
BA (English), Central Connecticut State University; MA (English), Southern Connecticut State University; PhD (English), University of Rhode Island
jregan@bu.edu
Research interests: American literature, composition and rhetoric; computers and writing instruction

Rachel Smith
Assistant Professor of Rhetoric
BA (Literature & Political Theory), Sarah Lawrence College; MA, PhD (English), Rutgers University

Matthew Stewart
Associate Professor of Rhetoric
BA (English), Coe College; HDip (Anglo-Irish literature), Trinity College; PhD (English), Emory University
mstewart@bu.edu
Research interests: war literature, modern literature, Ernest Hemingway

Megan Sullivan
Associate Professor of Rhetoric
BA (English), Albertus Magnus College; MA (English), Southern Connecticut State University; PhD (British literature), University of Rhode Island
msullvan@bu.edu
Research interests: education, writing, literature, film, women’s studies, Irish studies

Allan Taylor
Instructor of Rhetoric
BA (English & philosophy), Samford University; MA (English), University of Oregon; PhD (English), Boston University
actaylor@bu.edu
Research interests: 19th-century America

Kathleen Vandenberg
Assistant Professor of Rhetoric
BA (Biology), Belmont Abey College; MA (English Language & Literature) Winthrop University; PhD (Rhetoric & Composition), The Catholic University of America

Aaron Worth
Assistant Professor of Rhetoric
BA (English & theater), Bates College; MA, PhD (English & American literature), Brandeis University
worth@bu.edu
Research interests: English and American literature

Social Science

Jay Corrin
Chairman, Division of Social Science; Professor of Social Science
BA (history), Michigan State University; MA (Asian history), University of Hawaii; PhD (Modern European & British history), Boston University
jckuch@bu.edu
Research interests: religion and politics, especially the influence of Catholicism on political thought and actions

Jean Dunlavy
Instructor of Social Science
BA (American language and literature and studio art), Wellesley College; MA (history), Smith College; PhD (history), Boston University
Research interests: history of American women; immigration and ethnicity in the United States

June Grasso
Associate Professor of Social Science
BA (Asian studies), Wellesley College; MA (Asian studies), PhD (modern China, Japan & international relations), Tufts University
jgrasso@bu.edu
Research interests: U.S.–China policy; modern Chinese history

Shelley Hawks
Assistant Professor of Social Science
BA (history), Dartmouth College; AM (regional studies-East Asia), Harvard University; PhD (cultural, political and social history of the 20th-century China; traditional China; visual art), Brown University
sdhawks@bu.edu
Research interests: Chinese history and culture

Stephanie D. Kermes
Assistant Professor of Social Science
MA (early modern & modern European history), Ludwig Maximilian, Germany; PhD (colonial & early national American history)
skermes@bu.edu

Michael Kort
Professor of Social Science
BA (history), Johns Hopkins University; MA (Russian history), PhD (Russian, economic & modern European history), New York University
mkckektk@bu.edu
Research interests: Soviet Union, cold war, history of freedom, the end of World War II in the Asian/Pacifc theater and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Susan Lee
Assistant Professor of Social Science
AB (American civilization), Brown University; MDiv (divinity), Harvard University; PhD (sociology), Boston University
susanlee@bu.edu
Research interests: gender and development, third-world women, family violence, sociology of women, Cambodia, widows

John Mackey
Assistant Professor of Social Science
BA (history), Dickinson College; MA (history), Boston College; PhD (history), Boston College
jmackey@bu.edu
Research interests: the relationship between Christian missionary movements, clothing, and the body in Britain and the British Empire in the nineteenth century; fashionable dress and childrearing in the nineteenth century

Kathleen Martin
Assistant Professor of Social Science
BA (sociology), Dickinson College; MA (sociology), Ohio State University; PhD (comparative history), Brandeis University
martinkc@bu.edu
Research interests: the social science of poverty, the relationship between religion and other social factors, and comparative study of European and East Asian culture

John McGrath
Associate Professor of Social Science
BA (economics), Harvard University; MA (writing & publishing), Emerson College; MA (modern European history), PhD (modern European history), Boston University
eldraque@bu.edu
Research interests: early modern Europe, colonial America, political theory

Edward Rafferty
Assistant Professor of Social Science
BA (history), Washington University in St. Louis; MA (history), Brown University; PhD (history), Brown University
edwardc@bu.edu
Research interests: history of social science; history of American liberalism; political history; American intellectual history

Polly Rizova
Assistant Professor of Social Science
BA (economics), MA (economics), Higher Institute of Economics; Diploma, International Statistics Program Center; MA (organizational and cross-cultural communication), State University of New York; PhD (sociology), Boston University
prizova@bu.edu
Research interests: formal organizations and social studies of science and technology, management of technological innovation

William Tilchin
Associate Professor of Social Science
BA (social science, French, secondary education), MA (history), Michigan State University; PhD (history), Brown University
wnt@bu.edu
Research interests: history of U.S. foreign relations, presidential leadership

Benjamin E. Varat
Assistant Professor of Social Science
BA (biology), Trinity College; MA (history), Boston University; PhD (modern international relations/modern French history), Boston University
bvarat@bu.edu

Thomas Whalen
Associate Professor of Social Science
BA (history), Bates College; MA (American history), PhD (American history), Boston College
tjw64@bu.edu
Research interests: modern American politics and culture, American foreign policy and the American presidency

Academic Advising

Dr. Alyse Bithavas
Academic Advisor
BA, EdM, PhD, Boston University
bithavas@bu.edu

Linda Bondy-Ives
Academic Advisor
BS, University of Maryland; MS, Johns Hopkins University
lbi@bu.edu

Dr. Maureen Foley-Reese
Academic Advisor
BA, Boston College; EdM, EdD, Harvard University
mreese@bu.edu

Stacy Godnick
Assistant Dean of the College
BA, Gettysburg; MA New York University
sgodnick@bu.edu

John Lyons
Academic Advisor
BA (American history and civilization), Boston University; MS (environmental education), Southern Connecticut State University
jlyons@bu.edu

Louis Mayhew
Academic Advisor
BA, University of Massachusetts; MSW, Boston University
ljmayhew@bu.edu

Dr. Miriam Miranda Albert
Academic Advisor
BS, MS, PhD (rehabilitation counseling), Boston University
miranda1@bu.edu

Dr. Robert Oresick
Associate Dean of the College
BA, University of Pittsburgh; MA, PhD, Boston University
oresick@bu.edu

Katzenberg Center

Robert Emery
Director of the CGS Writing Center
Assistant Dean of the College; Adjunct Assistant Professor of Rhetoric
BA (English), University of Pennsylvania; MA (English), EdD (humanistic studies), Boston University
remery@bu.edu
Research interests: suspense fiction; composition theory; music composition and publishing

Matt Dursin
Audio-Visual Coordinator
BA, Emerson College
dursin@bu.edu

Matt Hallgren
IT Systems Support Specialist
BS, Boston University
hallgren@bu.edu
Information Technology, engineering and science

Naomi Lomba-Gomes
Manager, Judson Rea Butler Study Center
BA, University of Massachusetts, Boston; MLA (bi-lingual & cultural studies), Boston University
naomilg@bu.edu
Writing essays, creative non-fiction, biography, and poetry

Paul Thur
Academic Specialist
BA, MA, Rutgers University
pthur@bu.edu

Development & Alumni Relations

Peri Onipede
Director of Development & Alumni Relations
BS, Bentley College; MBA, IMD Lausanne, Switzerland
oonipede@bu.edu
617 358-3207

Kirsten Lundeen
Development & Alumni Officer
BA, Boston University (CGS'01, CAS'03)
lundeenk@bu.edu
617 353-2891
2001 Judson Rae Butler Award Recipient

Administrative Staff

Heidi Chase
Administrative Coordinator
BA (art and social action, women’s studies) George Mason University
hchase@bu.edu

Rayhme Cleary
Administrative Secretary, CGS Natural Science
clearys@bu.edu

Yelizaveta Dimant
Administrative Coordinator
BA (psychology), SUNY Stony Brook
dimant2@bu.edu

Carol Donovan
Senior Technician, Laboratory, CGS Science
caroldon@bu.edu

Mary Ducharme
Administrative Secretary, CGS Social Science
mducharm@bu.edu

Patricia Mullane
Senior Secretary, CGS Science
pmullane@bu.edu
Winner of the Perkins Award for outstanding service to BU

Tracey Nickerson
BA, Boston University
tnick@bu.edu

Dorothy Scott
Administrative Secretary, CGS Rhetoric
dascott@bu.edu

Barbara Storella
Administrative Assistant
BA (art history), Boston University
bstorell@bu.edu
Winner of the Perkins Award for outstanding service to BU

Brian Doyle "leaping"

Boston University College of General Studies