New Faculty 2009-2010 (Permanent, Full-Time)
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
New Faculty 2009-2010 (permanent, full-time) College of Architecture & the Arts College of Arts & Sciences College of Business Administration College of Education College of Engineering & Computer Sciences School of Journalism & Mass Communication School of Hospitality & Tourism Management College of Law Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine College of Nursing & Health Sciences Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work University Libraries College of Architecture & the Arts Malik Benjamin – Instructor School of Architecture Malik Benjamin holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University and Masters in Architecture degrees in Urban Design and Computing and Design from the University of Miami. During the last four years, Benjamin has served as Assistant to the Director and Special Projects Manager at FIU’s School of Architecture. He was also an Adjunct Instructor at FIU, and served as a member of the Board of Directors of Dance Now! Barry Bernhardt – Instructor and Associate Program Director School of Music Barry Bernhardt, Associate Director of Bands and Director of Marching Bands, has worked as a University Band Director for nearly three decades at universities around the country including California State University-Long Beach, Stephen F. Austin State University, and Southeast Missouri State University. He has served on the production staff for Bowl Games of America since 1990, and annually writes the halftime shows for the Orange, Gator, Sugar, Alamo, Champs Sports, Liberty, and Holiday Bowls for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Maria Marino – Instructor Department of Communication Arts Maria Marino earned a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Education at Northwestern State University of Louisiana, and completed an M.S. in Mass Communication at Florida International University. Over the last five years, she held positions including Instructional Designer/E-Consultant and Coordinator of Education Media/Communication at FIU. She also teaches speech communication and cultural communication courses to FIU undergraduates. 1 New Faculty 2009-2010 (permanent, full-time) Daniel Mitan – Instructor Department of Theatre A former walk-on quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes football team, Daniel Mitan holds a B.S. in Communication from the University of Miami, along with an M.F.A. in Theatre Performance from the University of Florida and a M.S Ed. from the University of Southern California, where he focused on teaching and curriculum. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Miami, and developed and teaches the FIU online courses Theatre Appreciation and Introduction to Filmmaking. Grzegorz Nowak – Assistant Professor School of Music Grzegorz Nowak comes to FIU from London, where he is the Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. His recordings with this orchestra include symphonies of Mendelssohn and Schumann, and the upcoming releases include symphonies of Dvorak and Shostakovich as well as complete symphonies of Brahms and Tchaikovsky. He began his international conducting career by winning the first prize at the Ernest Ansermet Conducting Competition in Geneva and all the special prizes, including the Grand Prix Patek Philippe, Rolex Prize, Swiss Prize, and the American Patronage Prize. He received the Europäische Förderpreis für Musik for the European Musician of the Year in Basel, and was honored with the Distinguished Teacher Award during his tenure as Professor at the Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and the University of Alberta bestowed the title of Honorary Professor upon him. Mr. Nowak has conducted some of the world’s finest orchestras, and has performed with many of the most widely respected soloists of our time. Larry Ousley - Instructor School of Music Larry “Jamie” Ousley has been one of the most in-demand bassists in South Florida since he moved to Miami in 1998 to attend graduate school at the University of Miami. He subsequently completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Jazz Bass Performance, and continues to perform and teach both locally and internationally. Mr. Ousley has performed with numerous renowned artists and at a variety of international jazz festivals and locations, as well as for many celebrities, dignitaries, and heads of state. Eric Peterson – Instructor School of Architecture Eric Peterson graduated from Middlebury College with a B.A. in Sociology/Anthropology, and went on to earn a Master of Architecture at the University of Florida. He received numerous fellowships and awards from that institution, including the Delores Auzenne Graduate Scholars Fellowship, the SOA Graduate Teaching Fellowship, the Academic Excellence Prize, and the NCARB First Prize. His work has been published in leading magazines and journals in his field, and he has served as Curator at several exhibitions. 2 New Faculty 2009-2010 (permanent, full-time) Kristopher Willis – Instructor Department of Communication Arts Kristopher Willis earned his B.A. from Arkansas State University in Speech Communication and Theater Arts and his M.A. in Public Communication from California State University—Chico. He comes to FIU from Appalachian State University (North Carolina) where he was the Co-Director of Debate for the past four years. Willis has a distinguished record as a national award-winning debater, including debating for Team USA (1998). The teams he has coached have won numerous national awards. His research interests lie in the areas of argumentation, political communication, social movements, rhetorical theory, and mass media. Mariam Willis – Instructor Department of Communication Arts Mariam Willis earned her B.A. and M.A. from Arkansas State University in Speech Communication & Theatre Arts, with a minor in general business. She has taught at the high school, community college, college, and university levels. Most recently, she was Co-Director of Debate Appalachian State University, where she conducted faculty workshops on strategies for promoting critical discussions through curriculum design and pedagogy. Willis is interested in international/intercultural communication, interdisciplinary curriculum design, and community building through the arts. College of Arts & Sciences Melissa Baralt - Assistant Professor Department of Modern Languages Melissa Baralt comes to FIU from Georgetown University, where she completed her doctorate in Spanish Applied Linguistics. Her areas of specialization are second language acquisition, task-based language teaching, and ways to incorporate technology in language learning. Dr. Baralt’s current research focuses on how increases in the cognitive complexity of tasks differentially affect face-to face learning and learning via the computer, how correctional feedback is provided and perceived in the face-to- face mode versus the computer, and on social functions of Spanish and English in bilingual elementary immersion contexts. Eric Bishop von Wettberg – Assistant Professor Department of Biological Sciences Dr. Eric Bishop von Wettberg is an evolutionary ecologist and conservation geneticist who studies the adaptations of rare species and wild relatives of crop plants to stressful soils, such as soils with excess levels of salt, heavy metals, or low levels of nutrients, water, and light. With support from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes 3 New Faculty 2009-2010 (permanent, full-time) of Health, Environmental Protection Agency, and a Fulbright Fellowship, he is examining salt tolerance in wild alfalfa from Tunisia, nitrogen uptake in wild relatives of chickpea, and population genetic processes in several rare species in Florida and the Caribbean. Kristin Bishop von Wettberg – Professor Department of Biological Sciences Dr. Kristin Bishop von Wettberg is an evolutionary functional morphologist who studies the biomechanics of locomotion in mammals. Her current work explores evolutionary tradeoffs between energetic efficiency and other functional priorities that drive divergence in walking mechanics in different groups of mammals. She holds a Ph.D. from Brown University, where she received a Graduate Research Fellowship and Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant from the National Science Foundation, and completed her postdoctoral training at Duke University and the University of California, Davis, where she obtained an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biological Informatics. Maya Botaghou – Assistant Professor Department of Modern Languages Dr. Botaghou was an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California Los Angeles in Women's Studies and Comparative Literature from 2008- 2010. She completed her dissertation in Comparative Literature at the University of Limoges (France). She is working on a book, A Poetics of the Transcultural Subject, which focuses on the first women writers in Egypt, India, Mauritius, and Algeria. Dr. Botaghou’s primary research and teaching areas include cultural and cross-cultural theory, nineteenth and twentieth century literatures and cultures (in Arabic, English, French, Spanish), gender studies, and postcolonial women writers in French, English, and Arabic. Erica Coles – Assistant Scholar and Director Department of Psychology Dr. Coles received her B.A. and M.S. in Psychology, as well as her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, from SUNY Buffalo. She is the Clinical Director for the Center for Children and Families at Florida International University. Her research focuses on behavioral and combined treatment for ADHD, parent training, and