FACULTY & STAFF

ADMINISTRATIVE
Director:
Yi-Chun Tricia Lin (林怡君), Ph.D.
liny4@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6864
Administrative Assistant/Secretary:
Caroline Chamberlain
chamberlaic1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6133, (203) 392-7050
The Women's Studies Steering Committee (2012-)
Rosalyn Amenta
Brandon hutchinson
SobEIra Latorre
Yi-Chun Tricia Lin
Annette madlock gatison
Jane McGinn
VIRGINIA Metaxas
Jessie Whitehead
FACULTY
AMENTA, ROSALYN, Adjunct Professor, Women's Studies; B.A., Southern Connecticut State University; M.A.R., Yale Divinity School; Ph.D., Fordham University
amentar1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5864
Rosalyn Amenta received her Ph.D. in the history of religions at Fordham University, and her Master of Arts in Religion at Yale Divinity School. Her area of specialization is comparative religious philosophy with an emphasis on the image, status and role of women in world religions.
Dr. Amenta has taught numerous courses in Women's Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, Religious Studies and Philosophy at Southern including the team-taught interdisciplinary institutes, Woman, Heal Thyself and Women and Professional Ethics. She served as Co-Coordinator of the Women's Studies Program 1989-2002 and Graduate Coordinator of Women's Studies 1999-2002.
ANTHIS, KRISTINE, Associate Professor, Psychology; B.A., St. Xavier University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Nebraska
anthisk1@southernct.edu
Kristine Anthis earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Nebraska in 2000. She has been an assistant professor of psychology at SCSU since 2001. Her publications concern the role that stressful life events play in adolescent and adult identity development. She teaches the Women's Studies graduate course Psychology of Women. She was the Graduate Coordinator for Women's Studies during the Spring 2003 semester.
APPLEBY, GEORGE A., Professor, Health and Human Services; B.A., University of Connecticut; M.S.W., University of North Carolina; D.S.W., Columbia University
applebyg1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6567
APPLEWHITE, HARRIET B., CSU Professor, Professor, Political Science; B.A., Smith College; M.A., Ph.D., Stanford University
applewhiteh1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5659
ARBOLEDA, CARLOS A., Professor, Foreign Languages; B.A., Universidad de Santiago De Cali, Colombia; M.A., Ph.D., Syracuse University
arboledac1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6754
BEALS, POLLY, Associate Professor, History; B.A., College of Wooster, Ohio; M.A., University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D., Rutgers University
bealsp1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5610
Polly Beals received her Ph.D. from Rutgers University where she concentrated in comparative women's history, British history, and modern European history. She is engaged in a study of a British socialist feminist organization, the Fabian Women's Group, from its origins in the late 19th century up through its contributions to the second wave of feminism in the 1960s. She has been a member of the SCSU Women's Studies program since 1992. She has taught in the graduate Women's Studies program (History of Feminist Thought and Research Methods) and supervised graduate Women's Studies teaching internships in her undergraduate Women in Modern Europe course. She is currently a member of the Women's Studies Steering Committee.
BENNETT, THERESE, Professor, Mathematics; B.A., Temple University, M.A., Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
bennettt1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6997
Terri Bennett is an associate professor of mathematics at Southern. She earned her Ph. D. in applied mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh , where she wrote her dissertation on a mathematical model of the optical finishing process for telescope lenses. Since then, she spent a year's sabbatical reviewing the literature on women's issues in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), has written a review essay on bibliographic materials in this area, and has given a talk on gender differences in spatial visualization skills. She is currently working on an annotated bibliography and on the development of a course on gender issues in mathematics and science.
BESSENOFF, GAYLE, Associate Professor, Psychology; B.A., Brandeis University; M.A., Ph.D., Northwestern University
bessenoffg1@southernct.edu
Gayle Bessenoff earned her Ph.D. in Social Psychology at Northwestern University in 2001. She joined the Psychology department at Southern in 2007. Her research interests include internalization of social norms, body image, self-concept, and social stigma. Much of her current research focuses on the negative effects of the Western cultural norm of weight and appearance, or that of the thin-ideal. She teaches the Women's Studies undergraduate course "Psychology of Women."
BIER, LISA, Social Sciences Reference Librarian
bierl1@southernct.edu
Lisa Bier is an associate librarian at SCSU's Buley Library. She is the librarian liaison for the departments of Anthropology, Sociology, Social Work, Political Science, and Marriage and Family Therapy. Her book, American Indian and African American People, Communities, and Interactions: An Annotated Bibliography, was published in 2004 by Greenwood/Praeger Press.
BLACKMER, CORINNE, Associate Professor, English; B.A., M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
blackmerc1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6715
Corinne E. Blackmer received her B.A. in English, her M.A. in Ancient and Modern Rhetoric and, in 1991, her Ph.D. in American literature and language from UCLA. She worked with Lillian Faderman and Paula Gunn Allen and, appointed a Visiting Assistant Professor at UCLA for two years, piloted a seminar in pre-Stonewall Lesbian Literature and Culture as well as another course in Culture, Ethics, and Sexuality. She was also actively engaged in ACT-UP and is currently a speaker for Love Makes a Family, the non-profit Connecticut organization dedicated to the legalization of same-sex marriage. At Southern, she teaches American literature, "Gay and Lesbian Literature and Film," "Queer Theory," and two university-wide literature requirements: "Sexuality and Ethics in Contemporary Culture" and "Jewish American Literature." In addition, she teaches "The Literature of the Hebrew Bible." Her course offerings and her research emerge from her identities as a Jewish lesbian feminist. She has published numerous articles on queer representations and authorship in American and, on occasion, British literature, and her book "Sapphists, Suffragists, and Streetwalkers" is under submission to U Mass Press. She has recently completed the second draft of an ambitious project, tentatively titled, "The Exiled Word: Meditations on Post-Holocaust Feminist Biblical Interpretation."
BLOCH, JON, Professor, Sociology; Ph.D., Indiana University
blochj1@southernct.edu;(203) 392-5685
BRENY, JEAN M., Professor, Public Health; B.A., Western Connecticut State University; MPH, San Jose State University; Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health
brenyj1@southernct.edu
Jean M. Breny received her BA in Communications from Western Connecticut State University in 1986, her MPH in Community Health Education from San Jose State University in 1994, and her PhD in Health Behavior/Health Education from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health in 2000. She joined the Department of Public Health as an Assistant Professor in 2000 and currently teaches undergraduate and graduate-level community health education courses. Dr. Breny's dissertation research was an exploration into social and cultural factors that affect low-income African American women's ability to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases. Her work with HIV/AIDS includes program planning and evaluation, HIV behavior modification, and HIV medication adherence research. Dr. Breny's current efforts focus on eliminating health disparities through research and practice efforts that are participatory, community-based, and culturally sensitive. In addition to teaching and doing research, Dr. Breny was the first Director of the Graduate Minority Student Scholars Program in Public Health at SCSU and recently traveled to Istanbul, Turkey with other SOPHE members to present at the First International Symposium of Health Promotion and Communications.
BUZZELL, JUDITH, Professor Emerita, Education; M.A., University of Wisconsin; 6th Year, Columbia University.
buzzellj2@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6431
CARDONE, RESHA, Assistant Professor, World Languages and Literature; B.A., Humboldt State University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Kansas
cardoner1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6758
CARTER-DAVID, SIOBHAN D., Assistant Professor, History; B.A., Morgan State University; M.A. City College/CUNY; Ph.D., Indiana University
carter-davis1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5858
Dr. Siobhan Carter-David is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History, teaching in the areas of fashion/beauty studies, American culture and identity politics, and African American, urban, and recent United States history. Her research explores the "new" politics of racial uplift as represented in the fashion instruction of post-Civil Rights African American print media, as well as more broadly, American fashion, beauty culture, and the politics of presentation. She has written and given numerous talks on hip-hop music, black nationalism, youth culture, culture and clothing, and urban style. She also curated an exhibit, "Strong Shoulder: Revisiting the Women's Power Suit," which explored the meaning of "power dressing," its position within third-wave feminism and corporate culture, and the evolution of women's professional fashions in the 1980s. Carter-David received a B.A. in English from Morgan State University, an M.A. in History from City College/CUNY, and in December 2011, received a dual Ph.D. in History and American Studies from Indiana University.
CONFORTI, ROSEMARIE, Associate Professor, Media Studies; B.S., Southern Connecticut State University; M.A., Ph.D., New York University
confortir1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5379
CRAWFORD, ILENE, Professor, English; B.S.S., Cornell College; M.A., State University of New York at Binghamton; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee crawfordI1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-7051
Ilene Crawford is a Professor of English and Women's Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in English with a specialization in rhetoric and composition studies from the University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee, an MA in English from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and a Bachelor of Special Studies in Classical Studies from Cornell College. Dr. Crawford teaches courses that examine histories of race, class, gender, nation, and sexuality and their effects on the material lives of individuals and groups. As a teacher and a writer she is particularly interested in questioning traditional definitions of research and scholarly writing. Her publications include articles and chapters on feminist rhetoric and feminist rhetorical methodology. Her most recent work examines the effects of globalization on Vietnamese women's literacy practices.
DISANO, CYNTHIA L., Director Emeritus of Student Activities
and Special Events; Adjunct Professor, Sociology and Women's Studies;
Ph.D., University of Connecticut
disanoc2@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6168
Cynthia L. DiSano has been employed at Southern Connecticut State
University since September 1970. She teaches Gender and the Law in
Women's Studies, Juvenile Delinquency and Introduction to Sociology in
the Sociology Department. She is currently a full time administrator at
Southern Connecticut State University as the director of the John Lyman
Center for the Performing Arts. She also does risk management for the
university.
She received her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership with a Concentration
in School and University Law from the University of Connecticut, her
M.A. in Student Personnel Services in Higher Education from New York
University, and her B.A. in Social Sciences/Secondary Education from
Rhode Island College. She was appointed by Governor Rowland to the
State Insurance and Risk Management Board for the State of Connecticut
and served eight years. Additionally, for the past four years she has
been a member of the Board of Directors of CWEALF (Connecticut Women's
Education And Legal Fund), which advocates development of women and
girls in the state of Connecticut.
EICH-KROHM, ASTRID, Associate Professor, Sociology; B.A., M.A., Ph.D., State University of New York, Albany
eichkrohma2@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5683
MATTEI FERRARO, MONIQUE, Adjunct Professor, Women's Studies Program; B.S., Western Connecticut State University; M.S., Northeastern University; J.D., University of Connecticut
moniqueferraro@optonline.net
Monique Mattei Ferraro is an attorney, Certified Information Systems
Security Professional and a Digital Forensics Certified Practitioner.
Ferraro worked for the State of Connecticut Department of Emergency
Services and Public Protection for eighteen years. She was a founding
member of Connecticut's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and
the Computer Crimes and Electronic Evidence Lab. During her time at
DESPP, she worked to design and implement a statewide criminal
intelligence network as an Intelligence Analyst. She also worked as a
Research Analyst in the Crimes Analysis Unit, where she compiled
statistics and conducted research on domestic violence, sex crimes, bias
and gang related crimes.
Ferraro has published one book and is under contract to write another.
She has written a number of scholarly articles and book chapters on
digital forensics. She has taught and designed courses in legal studies,
criminal justice, digital forensics and information technology security
at the undergraduate and graduate levels and given many talks on the
subjects.
garveys1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6102
GARVEY, SHEILA, Professor, Theatre; M.A., Northwestern University; Ph.D., Indiana University .
garveys1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6102
GORNIAK-KOCIKOWSKA, KRYSTYNA, Professor, Philosophy; Ph.D., Temple University .
gorniakk1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6784
GUARINO, JENNIFER, Adjunct Professor, English
guarinoj1@southernct.edu
HAYMES, ELAYNE B., Associate Professor, Social Work; B.A., Hunter College; M.S.W., Adelphi University; Ph.D., Fordham University
haymese1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5685
HOLBROOK, SUE ELLEN, Professor, English; A.B., M.S., Ph.D., University of California-Los Angeles
holbrooks1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6740
HUDSON, JENNIFER A., Faculty Development Associate, Adjust Faculty, Women's Studies Program; Advanced Graduate Certificate, Southern Connecticut State University; M.A., Southern Connecticut State University
hudsonj1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5357
Jennifer A. Hudson received her M.A. in English and Advanced Graduate
Certificate in Women's Studies from Southern Connecticut State
University. Her papers, articles, fiction and poetry have appeared in
several international and national journals and literary magazines. Ms.
Hudson's research interests include women writers and women's writing,
feminist theories, sexualities and genders and women and spirituality.
She has presented her research at several regional, national, and
international conferences. She also serves as editorial assistant to Goddess Thealogy: An International Journal for the Study of the Divine Feminine.
HUTCHINSON, BRANDON, Associate Professor, English; B.A., Hobart and William Smith College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst
hutchinsonb1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-7114
Brandon L.A. Hutchinson is an Associate Professor in the Department of English. She teaches courses in the area of African American Literature, with a special focus on Black women writers. Her scholarship which is centered on the dramatic works of Black women writers is creative in nature; she has performed in local performances of for colored girls, 365 days/365 plays and has directed an on-campus staged reading of Come Down Burning. Her most current passion is to create, to use Anna DeVeare Smith's phrase, a "homeplace" for Black women's theater here on campus.
JACKSON, SHIRLEY A., Professor, Sociology; B.A., Wayne State University; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara
jacksons1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5676
Shirley Jackson's area of specialization are race/ethnicity, gender, and
social movements. She also does work on African American women's
organizations, race and class in Cuba, the United States, and Brazil.
Dr. Jackson is an active member of several professional sociology
associations. Her most recent research project has been with former SCSU
graduate student, Dina Giovanelli. Their project was a socio-historical
exploration of U.S. and global themes of race/ethnicity and gender in
political cartoons during WWII and the Civil Rights Movement and was
presented at the American Sociological Association and Society for the
Study of Social Problems conferences in August 2004. Her research has
focused on race and class in Cuba since the Cuban Revolution. She is in
the process of developing a project that would permit faculty and
students to travel to Cuba. Additionally, she is working on the
development of affirmative action policies on education in Brazil. In
addition, Dr. Jackson has conducted research on mentoring programs for
African American girls and empowerment in African American women's
organizations.
KERR, AUDREY E., Professor, English; B.A., Rutgers University; M.A.R., Yale University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park
kerra1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5114
Audrey Kerr received a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers, M.A. and
Ph.D. in English Literature from University of Maryland and a MAR in
Religion and the Arts from Yale Divinity School (Gabriel Scholar,
1999-2001). She has been an associate professor of English at SCSU
since 2001, with a specialization in African American Literature. She
is also Chaplain and Spiritual Director at Leeway, Inc.,a skilled
nursing facility for people living with HIV and AIDS. Audrey joined
Women's Studies as Graduate Director in Fall 2004.
Dr. Kerr has published work in African American spirituality, African
American Women's Literature and Literature and AIDS. Her first book is
titled "The Paper Bag Principle: Myth-Making and Rumor in the Growth
and Development of Black Washington, D.C."
LIN, YI-CHUN TRICIA (林怡君), Professor and Director, Women's Studies; B.A., National Taiwan Normal University; M.A., Tamkang University, Taiwan; Ph.D., State University of New York at Stony Brook
liny4@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6864
A 17th-generation daughter of Taiwan, Yi-Chun Tricia Lin (林怡君) is
Director and Professor of Women's Studies Program at Southern
Connecticut State University. She traveled from her native island to
pursue a doctoral degree in continental philosophy and theory. In the
process, she found herself home in ethnic studies and women's studies. Her dissertation, a study of Asian American women's cultural and
literary productions, was her first step away from her "European"
education. Since her doctoral days, her research and teaching have gone
intensely ethnic, feminist, and post-colonial. Among her recent
projects is a comparative cultural studies of Indigenous and diasporic
women's writing from the Caribbean and Pacific islands. Before joining
the Women's Studies faculty at Southern in 2004, Lin taught writing and
literature and Asian American literature at City University of New
York/Borough of Manhattan Community College from 1994-2004, where she
discovered her passion for teaching for liberation of all minds and
found her calling in struggle for peace and justice.
LAROCCO, STEVEN M., Professor, English; B.A., University of Massachusetts; M.A., Ph.D., Rice University
laroccos1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5494
LATORRE, SOBEIRA, Assistant Professor, World Languages and Literatures; B.A., Amherst College; M.A., Ph.D., Stony Brook University
latorres1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6774
MADLOCK GATISON, ANNETTE., Associate Professor, Communication; B.A., M.A., Bethel University; Ph.D., Howard University
madlocka1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5522
Dr. Annette Madlock Gatison, independent scholar and Associate
Professor in the department of Communication at Southern Connecticut
State University, completed doctoral work in Intercultural Communication
and Rhetoric at Howard University in Washington, DC in 2007 and is also
a former Howard University Preparing Future Faculty Fellow. Prior to
teaching, she spent several years in IT as a computer programmer
analyst, database administrator, and project manager. Dr. Madlock
Gatison is currently serving on the Breast Cancer Consortium Advisory
Board which is an international partnership committed to the scientific
and public discourse about breast cancer, and promotes collaborative
initiatives among researchers, advocates, health professionals,
educators, and others who focus on the systemic factors that impact
breast cancer as an individual experience, a social problem, and a
health epidemic. Madlock Gatison has presented over 20 papers at
regional, national, and international professional conferences. She has
recently published multiple entries in the Multimedia Encyclopedia of Women Today's World edited by Strange and Oyster, 2012; an entry on Self-Esteem in the
Encyclopedia of Identity edited by Ronald L. Jackson, II; a chapter,
"Playing the Game Communicative Practices for Negotiating Politics and
Preparing for Tenure" in the edited volume, Still Searching for Our Mother's Garden (Niles and Gordon, 2011). Dr. Madlock Gatison's current research and
writing, The Pink and The Black Project® focuses on the negotiation of
identity and the spiral of silence as it relates to women's health; the
communicative practices of breast cancer survivors, their family and
friends. She is a former National Women's Studies Association and
Spelman College 2009 Leadership Institute fellow.
MCGINN, JANE, Professor, Communication; B.S., Howard
University; MLS, University of North Carolina, Greensboro; Ph.D.,
University of Pittsburgh
mcginnj1@southernt.edu; (203) 392-5086
METAXAS, VIRGINIA A., Professor, History/ Women's Studies
metaxasv1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5607
Virginia Metaxas received her B.A. in American Studies/Women's Studies at SUNY Old Westbury in 1977, and her Ph.D. in History at SUNY Stony Brook in 1984. She teaches a variety of courses including U.S. Women's History, Hawaiian History, and Feminist Research Methods. She's been active in the Women's Studies program at SCSU since 1988, serving on various committees and teaching in the undergraduate and graduate programs. She has published books and articles on the history of childbirth in America and the history of occupational therapy in America. In Spring 2003, she participated in a Rockefeller Fellowship Program at the University of Hawai'i titled "Gender and Globalization in Asia and the Pacific." At present, she is working on two writing projects: a biography of Ruth A. Parmelee, an early twentieth century physician who served in Asia Minor and Greece, and a social history of healers and epidemics in nineteenth century Hawai'i.
NEVEROW, VARA, Professor, English; B.A., Nyack College; M.A., Ph. D., New York University
neverowv1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6717
Vara Neverow received her Ph.D. from New York University. Her academic
research includes work on Virginia Woolf, feminist theory, composition
theory and pedagogy. Dr. Neverow is in her second term as President of
the International Virginia Woolf Society and is the editor of the
Virginia Woolf Miscellany. She is currently the chairwoman of the
English Department and teaches classes at the undergraduate and graduate
level.
OVERTON, SUSAN, Adjunct Faculty, Women's Studies
overtons1@southernct.edu
Susan Overton is completing her Ph.D. in Cultural Foundations of
Education at Syracuse University. She earned a Certificate of Advanced
Study in Women's Studies there in 2003, and has a Master's degree in
College Student Development from Ohio State University. Her beloved
undergraduate alma mater is the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. Susan's academic interests include women in higher education,
single sex education for women and girls, pop culture studies, feminist
research methodologies, and feminist pedagogy. Susan teaches Intro to
Women's Studies and Women, Community, and Technology at Southern, and
loves challenging herself and her students to find ways in to critically
understanding gender, race, and class in our everyday lives.
PALMA, GIUSEPPINA, Professor, Foreign Languages; Ph.D., Yale University .
palmag1@southernct.edu (203) 392-6753
RHODES, JAMES F., Professor, English; B.S., Holy Cross College; M.A., University of Rhode Island; Ph.D., Fordham University
rhodesj1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6897
ROFUTH, TODD, Professor, Social Work; B.A., M.S.W., University of Minnesota; D.S.W., University of Pennsylvania
rofutht1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6557
Todd Rofuth has been a professor at Southern since 1990 and was the
director of the Urban Studies Program for 10 years. He has been the
chairperson of the Social Work Department since 2001. Prior to his
current academic job at Southern, Dr. Rofuth served as the Director of
Welfare Employment for the State of Maryland from 1987-1990, and as the
Director of Client Rights for Pennsylvania's Mental Health and Mental
Retardation hospitals. From 2000-2002 he was the Co-Coordinator with
Vara Neverow for Southern's 10-year reaccreditation self study for the
New England Association of Schools and Colleges. He has had 24 years of
post MSW social work practice experience primarily in social welfare
policy analysis, research and supervisory positions in federal and state
government and private consulting. For the last 14 years he has
provided consulting services to state and local governments and
non-profit agencies in the areas of program evaluation, strategic
planning, and the development of goals, objectives and outcome measures.
SELVAGGIO, MARIE, Professor, Anthropology; B.A. Douglass College; M.A., Ph.D., Rutgers University
selvaggiom1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5681
Marie Selvaggio received both her Ph.D. & M.A. in Anthropology from
Rutgers University and B.A. in Anthropology & Archaeology from
Douglass College. Her interest in Women's Studies dates back to her
undergraduate days at Douglass, one of the oldest women's colleges in
the nation. At Douglass, she focused on Native Americans and Women's
Studies. As part of her undergraduate education, she excavated Native
American archaeological sites in the U.S. and in Latin America. Later,
her interest expanded to include African archaeology. Her Ph.D.
research was conducted in East Africa.
She is presently the co-director of SCSU's Tanzania Field School in Anthropology. Her research has been published in Current Anthropology, The Journal of Human Evolution, Archaeological Science and other academic journals. Dr. Selvaggio is currently writing a book about women's role in prehistory. She has been a member of the Women's Studies faculty at SCSU since 1994.
SCHOFIELD, CINDY, Women's Studies Reference Librarian schofiedbc1@southernct.edu
SKOCZEN, KATHLEEN, Professor, Anthropology; B.A., San Diego State University; M.A., Ph.D., Syracuse University
skoczenk1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5679
Kathleen Skoczen received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology with a
certificate in Women's Studies from the Maxwell School of Citizenship at
Syracuse University. Her research focus is women, health, tourism,
development, identity and religion in the Dominican Republic. She has
spent more than five years living in the Dominican Republic since 1985. She has published in several places including The Women's Health
Journal and the American Anthropology News, and presents at regional,
national, and international conferences regularly. She has received a
Fulbright Fellowship, National Science Foundation Award, Rockefeller
Foundation Grant and other grants for her continued research on
Dominican women, health, tourism, development, identity and religion. She teaches Global Women's Issues and the Anthropology of Women and
Health, as well as several courses through the Anthropology Program.
SONNENSCHEIN, DANA L., Professor, English; B.A., University of Iowa; M.A., Johns Hopkins University; M.A., Ph.D., Boston University
sonnensched1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6735
SUCKLE-NELSON, JESSICA, Associate Professor, Psychology; B.A., Syracuse University; M.A., West Chester University; Ph.D., University of Rhode Island
sucklenelsj1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5860
TER-STEPANIAN, ANAHIT, Professor, History; M.A., Yerevan Polytechnic Institute (Armenia); Ph.D., Moscow Architectural Institute (Russia)
Anahit Ter-Stepanian holds a Master's degree in architecture from Yerevan Polytechnic Institute (Armenia) and a Ph.D. in history and theory of architecture from Moscow Architectural Institute (Russia). Since 2003 she is heavily involved in instructional design of online art and architectural history courses and she has designed over twenty online art history courses for Sacred Heart University (Fairfield, CT), Southern Connecticut State University (New Haven, CT), Massachusetts College of Art and Design (Boston, MA), Boston Architectural College (Boston, MA), Albertus Magnus College (New Haven, CT). Dr. Ter-Stepanian contributes to conferences and has publications on problems of distance education and eLearning. She specializes in Russian modernism and Armenian architecture.
TWOMEY, TERESA, Professor, Women's Studies
twomeyt1@southernct.edu
Teresa Twomey, J.D., a former litigator and professional mediator, has taught a variety of Women and Gender Studies and Business school classes, including this semester's tech-fluency course: "Women, Community and Technology." Teresa, a Postpartum Support International coordinator for Connecticut and Legal Resources coordinator, combined her advocacy for postpartum women and her avocation as a writer in her book, "Understanding Postpartum Psychosis: A Temporary Madness" (2009 Praeger), which has been called a seminal work in the field. Teresa leads a weekly women's group and is the mother of three wonderful daughters.
VANCOUR, MICHELE L., Associate Professor, Public
Health; B.A., Central Connecticut State University; M.P.H., Southern
Connecticut State University; Ph.D., New York University
vancourm1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-5530
Dr. Michele L. Vancour has been a professor of public health at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) since 1998. She is the co-chair of the Committee on the Status of Women in the Academic Profession (a.k.a. Committee W). She has conducted several studies highlighting academic mothers' and fathers' balancing acts combining multiple, often competing, work-life roles. She has examined challenges to women's breastfeeding, workplace lactation support initiatives, and currently is co-editing a book on best practices in lactation support on university campuses. She teaches courses in maternal and child health at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Vancour is the past president of the College and University Work-Life-Family Association. In this capacity, she has overseen several works that present best practices in the work-life field focusing on higher education. She is a member of the Connecticut Breastfeeding Coalition's Board of Directors, responsible for overseeing research and planning the coalition's annual conference. Additionally, she has been affiliated with the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement as an author and member.
VILLANI, CHRISTINE J., Professor, Education; B.S., Mercy College; M.A., Hofstra University ; Sixth Year Diploma, Southern Connecticut State University; Ed.D., Fordham University
WHITEHEAD, JESSIE L., Associate Professor, Art; B.F.A., M.F.A., Mississippi University for Women; Ph.D., Florida Sate University
whiteheadj3@southernct.edu; (203) 392-8913
WISE WHITEHEAD, KARSONYA, Assistant Professor, Communication; Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Karsonya Wise Whitehead is Assistant Professor of Communication and Affiliate Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies at Loyola University Maryland, where she specializes in race, class, and gender theory. Dr. Whitehead earned her doctorate at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in Language, Literacy and Culture, with specializations in black women's archival history and historical sociolinguistics. A three time New York Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker, Dr. Whitehead's filmography includes the award-winning Twin Towers: A History and The George Washington Bridge. In 2003, Dr. Whitehead received the Gilder Lehrman Preserve America Maryland History Teacher of the Year Award, becoming the first teacher with less than three years teaching experience to receive the Award. In 1997, the Black Faculty Association of Notre Dame recognized her as one of the 50 Distinguished Black Exemplars. She is a recipient of grants and fellowship awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Southern Regional Education Board. Dr. Whitehead is the author of the forthcoming book Emilie Davis, Her Life, In Her Own Words (University of South Carolina Press, 2013), which is based on the 1863-1865 diaries of Emilie Davis, a freeborn black woman from seamstress. She is currently working on a book about the emancipation proclamation and how the release of the document signified a shift in America's social and economic policy. The book, The Emancipation Proclamation: Race Relations on the Eve of Reconstruction (Routledge), is expected in the spring of 2014.
WORDEN, BARBARA, Professor, Social Work; B.A., Pennsylvania State University; M.S. W., University of Connecticut; Ph.D., Columbia University
wordenb1@southernct.edu; (203) 392-6563

