Loyola celebrates the attainments of its faculty members who were recently tenured and/or promoted, one of the most important career milestones in a faculty member's career.

During the 2017-18 academic year, 26 Loyola faculty members were tenured and/or promoted. Their accomplishments will continue to strengthen student learning experiences, and their scholarly contributions will continue to enrich human and universal understanding and experience.

The profiles of these distinguished faculty members, which follow, describe the faculty members' areas of expertise and give insight into their most significant and rewarding career dimensions.

• Mary Beth Akre, MFA
• Amy B. Becker, Ph.D.
• Masudul Biswas, Ph.D.
• Remi Chiu, Ph.D.
• Mary Jo Coiro, Ph.D.
• Jeffrey Cummings, Ph.D.
• Rebekah Eklund, Th.D.
• Andrea Erdas, Ph.D.
• Sally Gallena
• Melissa Girard, Ph.D.
• Rachel Grover, Ph.D.
• Fuat Gürsözlü, Ph.D.
• Robert Helfenbein, Ph.D.
• David Hoe, Ph.D.
• Sibren Isaacman, Ph.D.
• Armina Kazi, Ph.D.
• Amanda Konradi, Ph.D.
• John Peter Krahel, Ph.D.
• Tasha Lewis, Ph.D.
• Peter Litchka, Ed.D.
• Giuseppina Iacono Lobo, Ph.D.
• Ronald Pearl
• Daniel Schlapbach, MFA
• Ravikanth Srinivasan, Ph.D.
• Kerria Tan, Ph.D.
• Jeffrey Witt, Ph.D.

Mary Beth Akre, MFA

Promoted

Professor of Fine Arts

Research Interests

I paint landscapes on site around northern Baltimore County and Southern York County, Pennsylvania.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• Drawing with Color
• Two Dimensional Design

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• 2017 Juried Exhibition. Susquehanna Center for the Creative Arts. Juror: Liu, Jun-cheng, Professor of Art, Franklin and Marshall College.  June/July 2017.
• Laurel Art Guild 48th Annual Open Juried Exhibition. Montpelier Arts Center. Laurel, Maryland. Juror: Mr. Walter Bartman, founder, Yellow Barn Studio. March 2017.   Second place award.
• 2017 Cumberland Valley National Juried Exhibition. Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. Hagerstown, Maryland. Juror: Ms. Hollis Koons McCullough, Executive Director of the Arlington Arts Center. 324 entries, 66 accepted. January- March 2017.

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Chef, Last Sunday with Beans and Bread
• Freshmen Core Advisor, RoadTrip “Compass” 

What is Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

It has been a pleasure and honor to be a faculty member in the Loyola community. My most rewarding moments have been in collaboration with my students, whether in the classroom, or serving the Loyola or Baltimore communities. Every day is fresh when teaching; my students provide much excitement, humor, and adventure while learning about the visual arts and how to be a person with and for others. I could not imagine doing anything else!

Amy B. Becker, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Communication

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• CM 203 Messina: Introduction to Communication: Quantitative Communication 
• CM 342D: Media, Culture, & Society
• CM/PS 368: Entertainment, Media, & Politics

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Becker, A.B., & Bode, L. (2018). Satire as a source for learning? The differential impact of news vs. satire exposure on net neutrality knowledge gain. Information, Communication & Society, 21(4), 612-625. doi:10.1080/1369118X.2017.1301517
• Becker, A.B. (2018). Live from New York, it's Trump on Twitter! The effect of
  engaging with Saturday Night Live on perceptions of authenticity and the saliency of trait ratings. International Journal of Communication, 12, 1736-1757.
• Becker, A.B., & Copeland, L. (2016). Networked publics: How connective social media use facilitates political consumerism among LGBT Americans. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 13(1), 22-36. 
  doi: 10.1080/19331681.2015.1131655

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Chair, Department of Communication, Caulfield Annual Lecture Committee (2016)
• Member, Loyola University IRB (2015-present)
• Head/Chair, Political Communication Interest Group, Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• Summer Research Grant, Research and Sabbatical Committee of Loyola University Maryland ($4,000 for Summer 2017 for a project entitled, “Engaging with Saturday Night Live: Donald Trump, Twitter, and Political Comedy “)
• Team Teaching Grant, Loyola University Maryland Center for the Humanities ($2,000 for a Spring 2018 course with Celia Paris entitled, “Entertainment, Media & Politics,”) 
• Summer Research Grant, Research and Sabbatical Committee of Loyola University Maryland ($4,000 for Summer 2015 for a project entitled, “The President as Comedian in Chief? Source Credibility, Argument Scrutiny, Message Elaboration and Differential Perceptions of Serious vs. Humorous Political Speech”)

What is Most Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

Being on the faculty at Loyola means being part of a passionate community that is committed to pursuing social justice, excellence in scholarship and teaching, and sustained commitment through meaningful service. My ability to pursue these values in the classroom through creative, applied writing assignments, in my research on public opinion, political engagement, and the effects of exposure to non-traditional media content, and in my service to my department, the broader university, my field, and my local community has made Loyola feel like not just a valuable place to work, but a true place to call my academic home.

Masudul Biswas, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Communication

Research Interests

I have multiple research interests. My research areas are diversity in journalism and communication education, online news/social media and public affairs, diversity and the media, and communication and development.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

Each course has its own characteristics. Therefore, joy of teaching depends on the level of interest/passion for the subject matter covered in a particular course. Of the courses that I have taught at Loyola thus far, I have very much enjoyed teaching Web I, Stereotypes in U.S. Film and Television, and Special Topics in Communication: Mobile Media.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Biswas, M., Izard, R., and Roshan, S. 2017. What is taught about diversity and how is it taught? A 2015 update of diversity teaching at U.S.journalism and mass communication programs. Teaching Journalism and Mass Communication, 7(1), Winter 2017, pp.1 – 13.  
• Biswas, M. 2014. Mainstream newspapers highlight politics over substance. Newspaper Research Journal, 35(3), 6 – 21.
• Biswas. M. 2013. Health Organizations' Use of Social Media Tools during a Pandemic Situation: An H1N1 Flu Context. Journal of New Communications Research, 5 (1), 46 – 81.

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• My leadership roles, particularly division head, vice-head/program chair and research chair, for Minorities and Communication Division at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) between 2013 – 2016; 
• Serving on the university’s Strategic Planning Working Group on enrollment size and mix from Fall 2015 – Spring 2016;

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• Summer research grant in summer 2015 
• Dean’s professional development fund in fall 2016

What is Most Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

I have found Loyola’s internal grants and support for faculty to grow as a scholar-teacher/teacher-scholar most rewarding. Another most rewarding experience for me at Loyola is my opportunity to work with a great group of very talented, community-conscious students.

Remi Chiu, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Fine Arts

Research Interests

Renaissance music, history of medicine, and disability studies.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• Music and Medicine 
• Opera and Theatre 
• Western Musical Traditions.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Plague and Music in the Renaissance (Cambridge University Press)
• “Music, Pestilence, and Two Settings of O beate Sebastiane.” Early Music History
• “You Have Wounded My Heart! Song of Songs, Motets, and the Wound of Desire.” In The Motet Around 1500: On the Relationship of Imitation and Text Treatment?

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Co-Chair, Committee on Cultural Diversity (American Musicological Society)

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• Wellcome Trust Medical Humanities Research Grant 
• American Musicological Society Paul A. Pisk Prize

What is Most Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

I constantly find inspiration in Loyola’s—and our students’—commitment to social justice.

Mary Jo Coiro, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Psychology

Research Interests

Coping and mental health of college students; effects of parental depression; parent-child relationships; interprofessional graduate education.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• PY418: Special Topics: Parent-Child Relationships
• PY925:  Clinical Applications of Assessment

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Coiro, M. J. & Preis, J. (in press). Addressing student attitudes toward interprofessional practice through a year-long curriculum. Health and Interprofessional Practice.
• Parcover, J., Coiro, M. J., Fineglass, E., & *Barr, E. (in press). Effects of a brief mindfulness based group intervention on college students. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy.
• *Bettis, A., Coiro, M. J., *England, J., Murphy, L. K., Zelkowitz, R. L., Dejardins, L …. Compas, B. E. (2017). Comparison of two approaches to prevention of mental health problems in college students: Enhancing coping and executive function skills. Journal of American College Health, 65, 313-322. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2017.1312411
• Coiro, M. J., *Bettis, A. H., & Compas, B. E. (2017). College students coping with interpersonal stress: Examining a control-based model of coping. Journal of American College Health, 65, 177-186. Doi: 10.1080/07448481.2016.1266641

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Psychology department Doctoral committee (2006  - )
• Emerging Scholars Graduate Student Research Symposium Planning Committee (2009 - 2013 )
• Volunteer, GEDCO CARES Food panty and energy assistance program (2015 - )

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• 2017 Engaged Scholarship grant from the Committee on Engaged Scholarship, to supplement my Kolvenbach grant, ($700)
• 2017 Kolvenbach grant, Development and evaluation of a mental health referral system for GEDCO CARES. Community partner: GEDCO CARES. ($4000)
• 2017 Dean’s Supplemental Funds to upgrade video recording technology in Jenkins basement ($5000)
• 2016 VPAA Ingenuity Challenge Funds to support “Interprofessional Training Supporting Total Population Health,” with Rebecca Zukowksi and Janet Preis.  ($2000)
• 2016 Dean’s Supplemental Funds to attend training, “Interactions in Linear Regression Analyses,” presented by Andrew Hayes, Statistical Horizons, Philadelphia PA ($1500)
• 2014 Summer research grant, Loyola University Maryland. Stress and Coping among College Students:  Development of an open-ended assessment of coping strategies ($4000)

What is Most Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

Although I enjoy teaching, clinical supervision and research, mentoring students is the most regarding aspect of my work at Loyola.  Whether I develop long-term relationships with students as their major advisor or as chair of their dissertation or thesis, or I meet them only briefly in the context of the academic standards committee or a research colloquium, I enjoy supporting their personal, professional and moral development. In addition to these relationships I have developed with students, I am grateful for my colleagues and the lasting friendships I have developed in my 12 years at Loyola.

Jeffrey Cummings, Ph.D.

Promoted

Professor of Management and International Business

Research Interests

My research has flowed along two connected paths, both informed by my prior two decades as a management consultant as I’ve sought to be a practitioner scholar. The first research stream focuses on knowledge transfer and the second stream focuses on strategic alliances. 

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• Business Policy/Strategic Management (MG 402/GB 709/XM 709)
• Global Strategic Alliances (IB 470/GB 795)

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Journal of Engineering and Technology Management (2003), “Transferring R&D knowledge: The key factors affecting knowledge transfer success,” with B-S Teng, Cited over 1,150 times.
• Long Range Planning (2012), “Best-fit Alliance Partners: The Use of Critical Success Factors in a Comprehensive Partner Selection Process,” with S.R. Holmberg, formed basis for several subsequent publications and professional certificates.
• Group and Organization Management (2017) “Decisions at the boundary: Role choice and alliance managers’ behaviors,” with D. Luvison, shifted conceptual perspectives from analytical to behavioral.

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Co-chair & Advisor, Strategic Planning Task Force, Sellinger School of Business (2008-09 and 2015-17)

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• Finalist, Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program (2016), “Risk Management Collaboration between Loyola and Lund Universities.”
• Summer Research Grant, School of Business, Loyola University Maryland (2016), “Pick Your Alliance Decision Maker before You Pick Your Alliance Partner.”
• Summer Research Grant, School of Business, Loyola University Maryland (2013), “Development of a Lean Governance Framework for Managing Strategic Alliances.”

What is Most Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

Almost without exception, we are all passionate about teaching, often get fired up to apply our competent and curious research capabilities to projects leading to top-tier publications, and try our best to share the administrative burdens of our shared-governance environment. Loyola supports this balanced, whole person approach to living a full life of the mind while we all work in service of helping our students learn to lead and serve consistent with Loyola’s mission. The fact that the kids hold the door for each other and are polite is icing on the cake!

Rebekah Eklund, Th.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Theology

Research Interests

My research has flowed along two connected paths, both informed by my prior two decades as a management consultant as I’ve sought to be a practitioner scholar. The first research stream focuses on knowledge transfer and the second stream focuses on strategic alliances. 

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• Hope, Death, and the End of the World (TH362)
• God, Neighbors, and Enemies: An Introduction to Theology (Messina Self and Other theme, with a Service-Learning option)

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Introducing Christian Ethics, second edition, with Samuel Wells and Ben Quash (Oxford, UK: Wiley, 2017)
• Jesus Wept: The Significance of Jesus' Laments in the New Testament, Library of New Testament Studies (London: T&T Clark, 2015).
• "Hot Jesus, Black Messiah, Suffering Son of God: How Jesus Films Shape Our Moral Imagination," Journal of Religion and Film 21 no. 1 (April 2017), Article 33 available to read here.

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Co-Facilitator, Junior Faculty Symposium for Research in the Humanties, Loyola
• Co-Chair, Christian Theology and the Bible section, Society of Biblical Literature

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• Three Summer Research Grants, Loyola

What is Most Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

For me it's hard to choose between my colleagues and interactions with my students as the most rewarding element of life at Loyola. I'm constantly energized by sharing ideas about scholarship and about approaches to teaching with colleagues both in my department and throughout Loyola, especially at the Junior Faculty Symposia. But nothing compares to the joy of a student who deepens in her thinking; or a class who wrestles their way to hard-won consensus on a challenging topic, surprising themselves along the way; or a student whose trajectory in life profoundly shifts because of a course assignment.

Andrea Erdas, Ph.D.

Promoted

Professor of Physics

Research Interests

Theoretical Particle Physics: Casimir effect, Neutrino Physics and Quantum Field Theory.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• Quantum Mechanics
• General Physics 
• Electricity and Magnetism

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• A. Erdas, “Magnetic field corrections to the repulsive Casimir effect at finite temperature”, International Journal of Modern Physics A31, 1650018 (2016)
• A. Erdas and K.P. Seltzer, “Finite temperature Casimir effect for charged massless scalars in a magnetic field”, Physical Review D88, 105007 (2013)
• A. Erdas, “Neutrino self-energy in an external magnetic field”, Physical Review D80, 113004 (2009)

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Physics Department Chair
• Goldwater fellowship coordinator
• Member of the Scientific Council of the Maryland Academy of Sciences and chair of the Outstanding Young Scientist and Outstanding Young Engineer Award committee.

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• Summer Research award, from Loyola University Maryland, for “Magnetic effects on neutrino masses,” (summer 2017)
• Summer Research award, from Loyola University Maryland, for “Temperature and magnetic field corrections to the repulsive Casimir effect,” (summer 2016)
• Senior Sabbatical leave, from Loyola University Maryland, for “Extra dimensions and ultra high-energy cosmic rays,” (AY 2013-14)

What is Most Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

Since the beginning of my academic career in physics, I realized that research in theoretical particle physics was not my only passion, but I equally enjoyed teaching physics at all levels, from the introductory undergraduate courses to the advanced graduate classes. Being a faculty member at an elite liberal arts institution like Loyola University Maryland, that values and promotes the right blend of excellent and attentive teaching and productive and engaged scholarship, is rewarding and fulfilling for a physicist like me, equally passionate about my research as I am about my role in the classroom.

Sally Gallena

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences

Melissa Girard, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of English

Research Interests

I study the history of modern American poetry with a particular attention to overlooked and undervalued poets, and the varied contexts and cultures in which poetry is published and read, including literary magazines, women’s clubs, literary societies, and schools.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• Radicals and Pretenders: Bohemianism in Modern Literature (EN409)
• Modernist Poetry (EN372)
• Poetry in Public (EN377)

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• “J. Saunders Redding and the ‘Surrender’ of African American Women’s Poetry.” PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association. 132.2 (March 2017): 281-297. 
• “Forgiving the Sonnet: Modernist Women’s Love Poetry and the Problem of Sentimentality.” A History of Twentieth-Century American Women’s Poetry. Ed. Linda Kinnahan. Cambridge University Press, 2016. 307-322. 
• “‘Jeweled Bindings’: Modernist Women’s Poetry and the Limits of Sentimentality.” Oxford Handbook of Modern and Contemporary American Poetry. Ed. Cary Nelson. Oxford UP, 2012. 96–119.

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• National Fellowships Advisory Board (2016-present)
• Co-organizer (with Rebekah Eklund) of the Junior Faculty Symposium (2014-present)
• Tenure-Track Faculty Search in English (2016-2017)

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Faculty Fellowship (2015-2016)
• National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Stipend (2014)

What is Most Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

My five and a half years at Loyola have been immensely rewarding. I am most grateful for and sustained by Loyola’s intellectual community, which promotes the open exchange of ideas and values and fosters a spirit of collaboration, trust, hopefulness, and mutual respect between and among students and faculty.

Rachel Grover, Ph.D.

Promoted

Professor of Psychology

Research Interests

friendships and romantic relationships in the adolescent and young adult years, social skills development, assessment of heterosocial skills, and development and treatment of anxiety.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• Introductory Psychology in the Messina program
• Research Methods in Psychology
• Child Development

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Grover, R. L., Assous, K., & Nangle, D. W. (2016). Heterosocial competence. In R.J.R. 
  Levesque (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Adolescence, 2nd ed (pp. 1296-1303). New York: Springer. https//doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_52
• D. W. Nangle, D. Hansen, R. L. Grover, J. N. Kingery & C. Suveg (2016). Treating internalizing disorders in children and adolescents: Core techniques and strategies. New York, NY: Guilford.
• Grover, R. L., Nangle, D.W., Serwik, A., Fales, J., & Prenoveau, J. (2012). The Measure of 
  Heterosocial Competence: Development and psychometric investigation. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 30, 457-481. https//doi.org/10.1177/0265407512458658

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Loyola Conference and Budget Committee, Social Sciences Representative
• Ignatian Colleagues Program, Cohort 7
• Associate Chair of the Psychology Department

What is Most Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

I love working at Loyola University Maryland because of the community. I feel a strong connection to the students, staff, administrators, and other faculty due to our shared commitment to living out the values of St. Ignatius. Loyola is a community of caring, academic and personal growth, and the hopeful optimism that we can all make the world a better place.

Fuat Gürsözlü, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Philosophy

Research Interests

Social and Political Philosophy. My current research explores the possibilities of a more peaceful and inclusive democratic society.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• PL 210: Politics and Society
• PL 343: Philosophy of Human Rights
• PL 334: Justice in Global Perspective

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• 2018 Peace, Culture, and Violence, ed. F. Gursozlu (Brill: Leiden).
• 2018 “The Triumph of Liberal Democratic Peace and the Dangers of Its Success,” in The Routledge Handbook of Pacifism and Nonviolence, ed. Andrew Fiala (London: Routledge, 2018), 213-224. 
• 2017 “Democratic Potential of Creative Political Protest,” Critical Studies: International Journal of Humanities Volume 3 (Fall) (2017): 20-31.

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Member of the Peace and Justice Studies Steering Committee
• Faculty Moderator of Around the World Cooking Club 
• Member of the Concerned Philosophers for Peace Steering Committee

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• Loyola University Senior Sabbatical
• Loyola University Summer Research Grant 2016 and 2017

What is Most Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

As a political philosopher working and teaching courses on issues related to peace, pluralism, and justice, it is very rewarding to be part of an institution where these values are genuinely celebrated and supported. I also deeply appreciate Loyola faculty’s commitment to justice, good teaching, and engaged learning.

Robert Helfenbein, Ph.D.

Promoted

Professor of  Teacher Education

Research Interests

Social and Political Philosophy. My current research explores the possibilities of a more peaceful and inclusive democratic society.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• ED600 - Foundations of Research in Education
• ED424/TE604 - The Teaching of Social Studies
• AD650 - Curriculum, Assessment, & the Instructional Leader

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Helfenbein, R. & Buendia, E. (2017). Critical Geographies of education: Theoretical framework. In Ares, N., Buendia, E., Helfenbein, R. (Eds.). (2017). Deterritorializing/Reterritorializing: Critical geography of educational reform. Sense Publishers, pp.27-39.
• Helfenbein, R. (2015). Toward the concrete: Critical geography and curriculum inquiry in the new materialism. International Journal of Curriculum & Social Justice 1(1), 164-185.
• Helfenbein, R.  (2015). Geographical milieu. He, M.F, Schultz, B. & Schubert, W. (Eds.) The SAGE guide to curriculum in education. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Serving as Interim Chair of Teacher Education in addition to my duties as Associate Dean from 2015-2017.
• Election to the Steward’s Council of the No Boundaries Coalition serving community interests in West Baltimore with a focus on police brutality, food justice, and voter registration.

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• “The Baltimore Police Department’s Juvenile Diversion Program” funded under the Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant through the Maryland Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention “(GOCCP”) Safe Streets Program.

What is Most Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

What is remarkable about Loyola University Maryland is the wonderful group of folks that I have come to know, in faculty, staff, and administrative positions.  There is great talent and compassion here that, I believe, is not always recognized.  Certainly, I have felt largely welcomed here and important friendships have been formed even in the context of financial concerns, faculty politics, and a time of uncertainty.

David Hoe, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Engineering

Research Interests

High-performance computing using reconfigurable logic and graphical processing units (GPUs) for implementing intelligent systems. Also using emerging nanoscale devices for implementing bio-inspired circuit designs.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• EG331 Linear Circuit Analysis
• EG479 FPGA Design
• EG485 Digital Signal Processing

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• D.H.K. Hoe, "Bayesian Inference using Spintronic Technology: A Proposal for an MRAM-based Stochastic Logic Gate," Proceedings of IEEE 60th International Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems, pp. 1521-1525, August 2017
• D.H.K. Hoe and X. Jin, "The Design of Low Noise Amplifiers in Deep Submicron CMOS Processes: A Convex Optimization Approach," VLSI Design, September 2015
• D.H.K. Hoe, J. Rajendran, R. Karri, "Towards Secure Analog Designs: A Secure Sense Amplifier Using Memristors," IEEE Computer Society Annual Symposium on VLSI, July 2014

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Faculty advisor to the Loyola Robotics Club
• Serving on the National Fellowship Committee during the academic year of 2015 - 2016
• Leading a Bible study at Loyola for faculty and students from 2015 - present

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• NVIDIA GPU Grant awarded in 2017
• Development of Electronic Circuits for Brain-inspired Computing, Loyola Summer Research Grant for 2016

What is Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

I find working with the students at Loyola in mentoring relationships to be the most rewarding. This includes advising students in an independent research study course during the semester or for the Hauber fellows program during the summer. Working with students as the faculty advisor to Loyola's Robotics club is also enjoyable. It's great to see students get excited when they learn new things or complete a project, such as building a robot.

Sibren Isaacman, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Computer Science

Research Interests

I am interested in leveraging mobile devices to help tackle the “digital divide.” This entails: understanding human mobility patterns, leveraging existing hardware, and innovating to improve the power and performance of future systems.   

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• CS457: Introduction to Computer Networks 
• CS496: Computer Science Project I
• CS371: Computer engineering I

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• L. Liu, S. Isaacman, A. Bhattacharjee, and U. Kremer, “Exploiting Approximations for Energy/Quality Tradeoffs in Service-Based Applications,” 26th International Conference on Parallel Architectures and Compilation Techniques (PACT), Sept. 2017
• S. Isaacman, V. Frias-Martinez, L. Hong, and E. Frias-Martinez, “Climate Change Induced Migrations From A Cell Phone Perspective,” Conference on the scientific analysis of mobile phone datasets (NetMob), April 2017
• R. Becker, R. Cáceres, K. Hanson, S. Isaacman, J. M. Loh, M. Martonosi, J. Rowland, S. Urbanek, A. Varshavsky, and C. Volinsky. “Human Mobility Characterization from Cellular Network Data.” Communications of the ACM (CACM), Vol. 56, No. 1, January 2013

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Reviewer of over 40 papers
• Major/Core advisor for 3 class years (40 students)
• Critical role in Departmental reaccreditation

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• Loyola University Maryland Summer Grant, 2014

What is Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

Loyola is a unique context in which to teach. Its location in Baltimore and adherence to values of social justice and cura personalis mean that I have been able to infuse my classroom discussions with context that goes beyond Computer Science. I have been able to bring activities into the classroom that demonstrate the interdependence of themselves, their environment, and the community in which they live (both at Loyola and in Baltimore generally). It has been satisfying to see my students grow, not only as Computer Scientists, but as engaged citizens and empathetic human beings.

Armina Kazi, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Biology

Amanda Konradi, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Sociology

Research Interests

I am interested in two somewhat different issues. How is sexual assault prosecuted in the criminal and campus based systems. How do individuals with rare progressive craniofacial bone diseases manage stigma and decisions about surgical interventions.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• Gender and Justice (SC430)
• Qualitative Methods (SC344)
• Self and Society (SC101D)

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Konradi, Amanda. “Treating the ‘Illness’ of Cherubism and Craniofacial Fibrous Dysplasia: Harnessing Human Rights Law, Informed Consent and ‘Legality’ to Address the Stigma of Craniofacial Difference.” Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics. Forthcoming. 
• Graham, Rebecca Dolinsky and Konradi, Amanda. “Contextualizing the 1990 Campus Security Act and Campus Sexual Assault in Intersectional and Historical Terms” Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research: Special Issue Campus Sexual Assault. https://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-05-2017-0284 
• Konradi, Amanda. “Can Justice Be Served on Campus” An Examination of Due Process and Victim Protection Policies in the Campus Adjudication of Sexual Assault in Maryland,” Humanity & Society, June 13: 1-32.

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Director Gender and Sexuality Studies Minor (2014 - present) 
• Institutional Review Board (2017- present)
• Secretary of the Board of Directors (2007-2015) and Acting President (2015-2016), Fibrous Dysplasia Foundation.

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Co-PI, “Bridging Rare Disease Patients and Data through Novel Research Partnerships,” Pipeline to Proposal Tier III grant. ($50,000) with Catherine Fairchild, President, Fibrous Dysplasia Foundation

What is Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

I greatly appreciate the ability to do scholarship that incorporates my sociological interests and my service to the rare disease community. This applied work has the potential to change the way patients and/or their caretakers approach decisions about surgery and improve patient quality of life. I also find it rewarding to be able involve motivated students in my data collection and analysis activities. I appreciate that I have received university funds to support this kind of teaching activity.

John Peter Krahel, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Accounting

Research Interests

I research accounting standards formalization, the intersection of accounting and social media, and textual analysis.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• Introduction to Financial Accounting
• Intermediate Accounting I
• Accounting Information Systems

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Consequences of XBRL standardization on financial statement data (Journal of Information Systems 2012)
• Consequences of big data and formalization on accounting and auditing standards (Accounting Horizons 2015)
• Social technology: An integrated strategy and risk management framework (Journal of Information Systems 2018)

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• I earned my CPA license in 2016;
• I coordinate Loyola’s student participation in Baltimore’s VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program; and
• I’ve helped a student-run group facilitate loans from Loyola to businesses along York Road

What is Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

Loyola is a family, and I’m beyond proud to be a part of it. The lines between scholarship, teaching, and service are pretty blurred here. I’ve taught students who worked with me on service opportunities, used service to inform my research, and used research to make lessons more engaging. I’m rewarded every day I come to work by every enthusiastic student I meet, every faculty member I work alongside, and every staff member who keeps this place humming along. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Tasha Lewis, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures

Research Interests

I am an applied linguist conducting interdisciplinary research that brings together various academic areas in cognitive linguistics. The roots of my research begin with gesture and second language acquisition and much of my research deals with how these two fields interact and what this interaction tells us about cognition and/or foreign language pedagogy.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• SN 325 Spanish Applied Linguistics
• ML 201 Exploring Languages: Introduction to Linguistics
• ML/ED 426/TE 609 The Teaching of Foreign Languages

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Lewis, T. N., & Kirkhart, M. (in press). The effect of iconic gestures on second language vocabulary retention in a naturalistic classroom setting. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching.
• Stickles, E., & Lewis, T. N. (2017). Wednesday’s meeting really is on Friday: A meta-analysis and evaluation of ambiguous spatiotemporal language. Cognitive Science. Advance online publication. doi:10.1111/cogs.12559
• Lewis, T. N., & Stickles, E. (2017). Gestural Modality and Addressee Perspective Influences How We Reason About Time. Cognitive Linguistics, 28, 45-76. doi:10.1515/cog-2015-0137

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• 2013-present Affiliate Professional Development Committee
• 2013-2014 Enhancement of Teaching and Learning Committee
• 2011-2015 Core Spanish-Language Coordinator

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• 2017 Digital Pedagogy and Course Design Fellowship
• 2017 Dean’s Discretionary Funds Grant for a Professional Development Workshop in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
• 2017 OSRP Research Expense Funds

What is Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

Loyola is a community that welcomed me from day one. Within this community I have found colleagues that have become mentors as well as friends. I have connected with students that have left an everlasting impression on me. I actively contribute to this community on a daily basis because of these community members and can see the outcomes of my participation in all areas (scholarship, teaching and service). It is most rewarding to be able to share my accomplishments and successes with the community that gave me a supportive opportunity to be successful.

Peter Litchka, Ed.D.

Promoted

Professor of Education Specialties

Research Interests

Examining exemplary leadership behaviors of school leaders within current educational environment at both the national and international levels.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• AD668 School Law
• AD681 Organizational Development in Education
• AD683 Leadership Theories and Practices

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Litchka, P. (2016). Exemplary leadership practice: learning from the past to enhance future school leadership. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publications.
• Litchka, P., Calzi, and Polka, W. (2014). Living on the horns of dilemmas: Superintendents, politics, and decision-making. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Education.
• Litchka, P. (May 2015). Leading for Learning in the 21st Century-Trends in Theory and Practice. Bar-Ilan University School of Education, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Supporting Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of Baltimore in strategic planning and assisting principals with their development as instructional leaders
• President-elect of the International Society for Educational Planning
• Being an elcted member of the Board on Rank and Tenure at Loyola University Maryland

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• Litchka, P. & Rennert-Ariev, P. (2014-2016). Learning and Leading by Design: A Grant to Implement High Level Curriculum and Professional Development for Five Catholic Schools within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Award: $45,000.
• Hoen Grant Recipient (2013 - 2016). School of Education, Loyola University Maryland. Award: $4,000 per year

What is Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

The mission of Loyola University Maryland states, the University will inspire students to learn, lead, and serve in a diverse and changing world. The most rewarding aspect of my experience at Loyola University Maryland has been that everything we do as an educational community is linked back to this mission. Whether it is teaching a particular course, developing curriculum, doing research or providing service to others, the focus on the mission can be found in every corner of the university, and provides a context in which each of us can, in a collaborative and caring environment, enrich the lives for all members of our community.

Giuseppina Iacono Lobo, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of English

Research Interests

My research interests include seventeenth-century British prose and poetry, with a particular focus on John Milton, prison literature, disability studies, and gender studies.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• EN101: The Body in Writing: Disability Literature
• EN201: Why Satan Matters, Or Sympathy for the Devil 
• EN320: Minds in Revolt: Milton and the Literature of Black Liberation

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Writing Conscience and the Nation in Revolutionary England (University of Toronto Press, 2017)

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• American Shakespeare Center’s Annual Residency 
• JCI (Jessup Correctional Institution) Scholars Program 
• Messina Common Text Panel, Fall 2017

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• Dean’s Supplemental Professional Development Fund Grant, 2015, 2016
• ORSP Research Expense Grant

What is Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

What I find most rewarding about working at Loyola are our students. They are a constant source of inspiration for me both inside and outside of the classroom setting. Being elbow deep in a knotty text with my students helps me to strive for academic excellence alongside them as we question and learn together. Moreover, I find that my classroom experiences at Loyola have increasingly influenced both my research and service interests, allowing me to move toward the Jesuit scholar-teacher/teacher-scholar career model. I hope to continue nurturing these intersections as I find new ways to connect with both our students and our mission.

Ronald Pearl

Promoted

Professor of Fine Arts

Research Interests

Music composition, teaching, concert performance.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• Music Theory
• Art of Listening
• Music in the 20th Century

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Premiere of the composition A Clear, Quiet Night, given by the Sheu-Pettit duo in New York City (11/17/17)
• West Coast premieres (Seattle/Los Angeles) of Four at III, and My Name is Red, by Zane Forshee (3/24-26/18)
• Premiere of No llores, and Violera Cascabelera, by the ADAA Trio (voice, viola, and guitar) at Rutgers University (10/4/17)

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Chair of Fine Arts Dept. 2014-2017
• 15 year director/conductor of the Baltimore Classical Guitar Society guitar ensemble

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• Grant Award from the Engineering Information Foundation.
  The project is titled Integrating Writing into Engineering Labs: Developing Curriculum, Supporting Faculty, and Creating a Writing Fellows Program.

What is Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

Working at Loyola is rewarding to me because of the unique blend of responsibilities in teaching, research, and service. The teaching environment at Loyola is one that is “student centered”. This is in conjunction with an environment that promotes excellence in research and values not only service to the University, but to the community and social justice.

Daniel Schlapbach, MFA

Promoted

Professor of Fine Arts

Research Interests

I am interested in the intersection of 19th and 21st century photographic technologies, and how the use of techniques from these eras can inform and transform the content of photographs. I currently use this confluence of methods to examine the illusive moment when our minds float between two realms of consciousness, such as when our personal, ethereal dreams intermingle with the clarity of our shared, wakeful reality.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• PT270, Introduction to Digital Photography
• PT318, The History of Photography
• PT378, Alternative Photographic Processes

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• 2017 “Susquehanna Center for the Creative Arts 2017 Juried Exhibition” Susquehanna Center for the Creative Arts, Columbia, PA. Juror: Liu, Jun-cheng, Professor of Art, Franklin & Marshall College
• 2016 “Allegany National Photography Competition & Exhibition” The Allegany Arts Council, The Saville Gallery, Cumberland, MD. Juror: Stephen Perloff, founder and editor of The Photo Review.
• 2015 “2015 International Juried Exhibition” The Center for Contemporary Art, Bedminster, New Jersey. Juror: Margaret O’Reilly is the Curator of Fine Art at the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Chair of the Fine Arts Department
• Director of the Photography Program
• Previously Director of the Loyola University Humanities Symposium

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• 2016 Allegany National Photography Competition & Exhibition
  Second place in the Multi-dimensional category for Poultry of Peace (after J.H.). Awarded by the juror, Stephen Perloff, founder and editor of The Photo Review.
• 2012 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award
• 2009 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award

What is Most Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

I continue to be impressed and inspired by the people with whom I work on a daily basis. From students, to faculty, to administration, to staff, I have always felt that we are all working together toward a common goal of not just educating the mind, but also inspiring the soul to reach for a higher communal living experience.

Ravikanth Srinivasan, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Information Systems, Law and Operations

Research Interests

Managing outsourcing engagements; IT impacts on firm’s operations; Innovation; Risk Management

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• Operations Management (OM330)
• Operations Management and Process Strategies (GB701)
• Supply Chain Management (OM334/ GB734)

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Srinivasan R., and Swink M., An investigation of visibility and flexibility as complements to supply chain analytics, Production and Operations Management, Forthcoming
• Srinivasan R., and Swink M., Leveraging supply chain integration through the use of information systems and planning comprehensiveness: An organizational information processing theory perspective, Decision Sciences, 2015, 46(5), 823 - 861
• Narasimhan, R., Narayanan, S., & Srinivasan, R. (2013). An Investigation of Justice in supply chain relationships and their performance impact. Journal of Operations Management, 31(5), 236–247.

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Faculty coordinator, SAP University Alliance (AY 2012/13 – present)
• Reimagining the curriculum Task force (AY 2015-16)
• Subject matter expert on Operations/ Supply Chain Management/ Logistics etc. for Baltimore Sun and Baltimore Business Journal

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• Sellinger summer research grant: AY2015–16; and AY2016-17

What is Most Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

I appreciate the wisdom and guidance of senior faculty members in helping me transition from a “newly minted” Ph.D. student to a productive faculty member. Also, my fellow tenure-track faculty from ISLO, Economics, Marketing, Accounting, Fine Arts and Theology departments constantly engaged in conversations that helped me continuously evaluate and improve my scholarship, teaching and service activities. This, I believe, is unique to Loyola and I am always appreciative of their insights and willingness to help. Finally, the students at Loyola understand the value of a Jesuit, liberal arts education. This makes teaching easy and fun!

Kerria Tan, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Economics

Research Interests

My research interests include industrial organization and applied microeconomics with a particular focus on strategic behavior in the U.S. airline industry.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• EC 102: Microeconomic Principles
• EC 460: Business and Government
• GB 707: Managerial Economics

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Tan, Kerry M. (2016). “Incumbent Response to Entry by Low-Cost Carriers in the U.S. Airline Industry,” Southern Economic Journal 82(3), 874-892.
• Tan, Kerry M. and Andrew Samuel. (2016). “The Effect of De-Hubbing on Airfares,” Journal of Air Transport Management 50, 45-52.
• Dresner, Martin, Cuneyt Eroglu, Christian Hofer, Fabio Mendez, and Kerry Tan. (2015). “The Impact of Gulf Carrier Competition on U.S. Airlines,” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 79, 31-41

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• Loyola: Serving as the major advisor for all Economics majors in the Class of 2016
• Professional: Presenting my research in seminars at both the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice
• Community: Volunteering at races organized by the Baltimore Road Runners Club

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• Digital Pedagogy and Course Design Fellowship, Summer 2016

What is Most Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

I feel so fortunate to work at Loyola University Maryland, where I have the opportunity to work alongside other active researchers in a student-focused setting. Teaching is of fundamental importance to me, both because I enjoy it and because I value it as an academic. I try to fuel my students’ curiosity about economics by connecting the course material to real-world applications. On the other hand, my departmental colleagues fuel my own intellectual curiosity on a daily basis. Indeed, I have enjoyed collaborating with a few of them on some interesting research projects.

Jeffrey Witt, Ph.D.

Tenured and Promoted

Associate Professor of Philosophy

Research Interests

My present work focuses on philosophy an theology in the fourteenth century, but I am also interested in the impact of Scholasticism on the Renaissance, the Reformation, and early modern philosophy. I also have a growing interest in the digital humanities and the process of moving philosophical texts from their original manuscript form to media more accessible to the community of scholars.

Favorite Courses Taught at Loyola

• Philosophy of Law: Medieval and Modern Readings
• Medieval World
• Foundations of Philosophy

Recent/Noteworthy Publications or Presentations

• Robert Holcot, Great Medieval Thinkers Series (Oxford University Press, 2016)
• A Companion to the Theology of John Mair (Brill, 2015)
• "Peter Plaoul's Lecture Commentary on the Sentences: A Canonical Ordered List of Lectures," In Manuscripta, 58:2 (2014); 159-270

Most Significant Service to Loyola, Your Professional, and/or Baltimore Community

• General Editor of the Scholastic Commentaries and Texts Archive (http://scta.info)
• Co-Chair of the International Image Interoperability Framework Manuscript Community Group
• Co-Chair of the Academic Technology Committee at Loyola

Grants/Fellowships Awarded

• 2017 Summa Halensis Digital Edition Preparation Grant, King's College London
• 2016 IIIF Implementation Grant: Webmentions, Stanford University
• 2016 Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies (SIMS) Visiting Research Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, May 2016

What is Most Significant or Rewarding about Loyola

Above all, I enjoy finding ways to become a co-researcher with Loyola students. It is a tremendous joy to share something I love with students whose interest in academics is just beginning to awaken. When I am able to invite students into new research projects, they slowly recognize that they are transitioning from doing mere exercises to doing something genuine and real, something that hasn't been done  before. I love to watch and guide them through this recognition. The world opens up to them as a place to be discovered and I am eager to be a companion on their journey.

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