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APSCUF WCU On-line Elections |
Introduction
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The nominees for Special Election for At-Large Search Committee Members, Assistant VP for International Programs are:
Nominations close Oct 10, 2010. All Regular Faculty may be nominated. |
Maria J Cabrera
Department: Languages and Cultures
Virginia DaCosta
Department: Art
Since beginning my tenure at WCU, I have diligently worked to incorporate a multicultural approach to the courses that I teach through my participation in NEH institutes, an NEH seminar to Hawaii to study the Politics of Pacific Islanders, Fulbright Hays seminars to Morocco/Tunisia (2001) and Egypt/Israel (2007). A grant application to travel to Brazil (2011) is being submitted. I was the recipient of a traditional Fulbright research award to Egypt (2009/2010) as well as separate WCU Multicultural Faculty Commission university grants for study abroad to Cambodia, Egypt and Greece for curriculum development. Bringing my global experiences to the classroom has been pivotal in enlivening discussions of the cultures which I present. I incorporate my documentation to engage students and have them respond to diversity in a thoughtful manner. I have spent significant time in Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Syria and Jordan since 1990 mainly during the summer months and have led many student trips to Europe and Egypt from 1999 to the present. The countries we have explored so far include Italy, Greece, France, Egypt, Spain and England. With a recent winter session grant, I will be looking at Oaxaca, Mexico this spring as the site for a condensed format art history course on Global Art and Culture (ARH 320). Students have had wonderful experiences through international study abroad programs. Additionally, I have advised students traveling on their own to Europe and/or choosing countries to spend a semester or year abroad through WCU’s International Studies Program.
Valerian Desousa
Department: Anthropology and Sociology
I am an international faculty member whose research interests include issues of development and globalization, and currently direct the Institute for International Development. The Institute is committed to promoting a broad understanding of other cultures and the social issues facing the world. In order to promote these goals at West Chester University, we taken students to Ghana, Jamaica, and India to participate in ongoing development projects, and to meet and engage with students in those countries.
William Lalicker
Department: English
Lalicker has a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington (Seattle) and a scholarly focus on intercultural rhetoric. He has taught at WCU since 1995, administering general education writing programs for much of that period, and served as Service-Learning Faculty Associate. He has taught one course in England, nine courses in China, and has done research and presentations in Poland, the Netherlands, and Costa Rica. He co-directed the Knowledge Crossing Borders conference co-sponsored with the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica in March, 2010. He recently completed a two-year term as Director of WCU’s Global Development Collaborative, and served in 2009-2010 on WCU’s Internationalization Task Force.
Christina McCawley
Department: Library
I have been interested in the international program at West Chester University for some time. For four years I served as faculty advisor to the International Students Organization (2000-2004). I have also lived abroad. I lived in England (Stoke on Trent) for a year in 1995-1996 and had a job exchange working at Staffordshire University. I am very interested in this search committee.
Stephen Ng
Department: Applied Music
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Dr. Stephen Ng is currently Assistant Professor of Voice at the School of Music. His experience in performing as a tenor soloist in operas, oratorios, recitals, and new music has brought him to many international stages, notably in Germany, Switzerland, France, The Netherlands, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mexico, as well as the US. Before his appointment at West Chester University, Dr. Ng was Associate Professor of Voice at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. During his 8-year tenure in Florida, he was invited twice to represent Stetson as “Short-Term Exchange Professor” at the Pädagogische Hochschule in Freiburg, Germany. He has also served on committee in International Programs in reviewing proposals for study-aboard programs. In 2009 Dr. Ng spent his sabbatical semester in Berlin, Germany, singing with groups such as RIAS-Kammerchor and Vocalconsort Berlin
Daria L Nikitina
Department: Geology and Astronomy
As an international faculty I am very interested in working with international students and expanding learning experience for WCU students through study abroad programs. I would like to see a strong leadership in developing new and strengthening existing international relationship between WCU and different worldwide educational institutions. Any international experience is educational for students and enhancive for faculty professional development Within the last couple of years I worked on establishing partnership between WCU and Moscow State University (MSU), Russia. While the official agreement between the universities is still in development, working in collaboration with ACEER foundation and colleagues from MSU I was able to organize several educational field trips and participation in international conferences for WCU and Moscow State University students and faculty in Peru, Russia and the USA. These experiences open new opportunities for future collaboration in research and educational programs which I would like to pursue in the future. With the above goals in mind I would like to contribute my experience in search for a strong leadership to move WCU forward developing strong International programs.
Charles Shorten
Department: Health
Charles V. Shorten is professor and director of undergraduate and graduate Environmental Health programs in the Department of Health. He held a 6-month senior Fulbright Scholarship at the Delhi College of Engineering in Delhi, India in 2006. There he taught courses in Environmental Health and Soil & Water Conservation Engineering and lectured on various environmental health topics. While in Delhi, he lived on campus and worked with 3rd and 4th year students as well as graduate students. Within India he traveled broadly, interacting with different cultures, climates, landscapes and people. In 2008 he led two different student study abroad programs: 10 days to Costa Rica and 14 days to China. In Costa Rica, as the sole faculty member, he led students to different regions of the country highlighting biodiversity, water and waste management and education. In China, along with faculty colleagues Wei Wei Cai and Gopal Sankaran, he examined energy and air pollution as well as water pollution control. Dr. Shorten returned to Costa Rica in 2009 with faculty colleague Ana Sanchez to co-lead a 3-week study abroad experience involving language and culture immersion (Sanchez) and environmental science (Shorten). Students resided with local families in homes near Heredia, Costa Rica and studied at the National University. Dr. Shorten and Prof. Sanchez taught regular classes and jointly led local field trips to visit social, political, educational and environmental sites. Students and faculty worked with leaders at a recycling center, a geothermal power plant and a wastewater treatment plant. WCU students shared environmental science lessons in both English and Spanish with local elementary school children. Dr. Shorten pledges to work hard to ensure that the successful candidate has the right mix of cultural sensitivity, awareness of faculty concerns and focus on student needs to make sure that international experiences for all individuals are safe, rewarding and productive.
Robyn Spragins
Department: Student Affairs
Robyn Spragins serves as the Assistant Director of Student Health and Wellness at West Chester University. Robyn attended Wake Forest University, received a BSN with Honors from the University of Maryland School of Nursing, and an MSN in Public Health Nursing from West Chester University. As a registered nurse, she has worked in a variety of settings including public health, pediatric oncology, maternal and child care, and school health. Robyn has been employed at West Chester University for 11 years. She is a member of the nursing honorary society - Sigma Theta Tau, the Southeastern Pennsylvania College Health Nurses Association, and the American College Health Association. Robyn and her husband reside in West Chester with three grown children living outside the area.
Xiaowei Zhu
Department: Management
Xiaowei Zhu is an Assistant Professor of Management at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. She received her PhD in Production Operations Management from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and MA in Management Information Systems from the University of Iowa. Her research interests include supply chain management, outsourcing, mixed channel and quality management. She has several papers published in leading journals, including Journal of Business Research, Production and Operations Management and International Journal of Production Economics. She is a member of the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science, Decision Science Institute.
Created and copyrighted by Clifford Johnston, 2000-12