Introducing Our New Faculty

This academic year, Catholic University welcomes 36 new full-time faculty members, some in tenure-track positions and some as visiting professors. A few, like Associate Professor of Music Sharon Christman and Assistant Professor of Nursing Janet Merritt, have taught at CUA for at least one year as a lecturer or visiting professor, but are now assuming a tenure-track position.

Ten of the new faculty members were born and/or raised abroad  — in Canada, China, Cuba, Germany, Greece, India, Malta, South Korea, Sri Lanka or Taiwan.  At the other end of the spectrum, three of the new faculty members earned their Ph.D.s right here at Catholic University. 

Please extend your welcome to them all:

Denise Puricelli Assistant Professor of Music M.M., State University of New York at Stony Brook, plus further studies in conducting at the Mannes School (now Mannes College The New School for Music) in New York City Birthplace/Hometown: born in Washington, D.C.; lives in New York City for much of the year Research Interests: continuing to work as a musician, conductor and music director for Broadway plays and for symphony orchestras Hobbies: alternative music and improvisation, scuba diving, bicycling, being a wife and mother of two children in middle school and high school

David Searle Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Activities and Conducting Studies M.M., Northwestern University; diploma in conducting from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland Birthplace/Hometown: Knoxville, Tenn. Research Interests: pursuing his ongoing international conducting career Hobbies: reading, playing rock 'n' roll on bass guitar, hiking

Columbus School of Law

Tamara F. Lawson Visiting Associate Professor of Law L.L.M., Georgetown University Hometown: Las Vegas Research Interests: criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence, international criminal law Hobbies: skiing, cooking, wine tasting, salsa dancing

School of Architecture and Planning

Raj Barr-Kumar Associate Professor of Architecture and Planning Arch.D., University of Hawaii Birthplace: Colombo, Sri Lanka Hometown: Potomac, Md. Research Interests: sustainable design, "green" architecture, eco development, environmental technology, stewardship Hobbies: travel photography, cricket, theater

Hazel R. Edwards Associate Professor of Architecture and Planning Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Birthplace/Hometown: Greensboro, N.C./Washington, D.C.              Research Interests: livable communities, quality of life, historical campus planning              Hobbies: cooking, gardening, golfing, cycling, swimming, reading mystery novels

Chris Grech Associate Professor of Architecture and Planning B.Arch. (i.e., the British equivalent of an M.Arch.), University of Liverpool Birthplace/Hometown: Malta Research Interests: sustainable technologies, building envelopes (i.e., the façades of a building) Hobbies: cooking, Maltese history, collecting autograph letters

Temple Washington Associate Professor of Practice M.Arch., Virginia Tech University Birthplace: Washington, D.C. Research Interests: urbanism and architecture, architecture and culture, making excellent design affordable Hobbies: cycling, reading, painting/serigraphs/sketching

School of Arts and Sciences

Joy Banks Assistant Professor of Education Ph.D., University of Connecticut Birthplace: Youngstown, Ohio Research Interests: diagnosis and placement of students with special needs, reading instruction for students with special needs, culturally responsive instruction Hobbies: hiking, rock climbing, reading

Claudia Bornholdt Assistant Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures Ph.D., Indiana University Birthplace/Hometown: Kisdorf, Germany Research Interests: medieval German and Scandinavian language, literature and culture; comparative literature and literary transfer; the rise of vernacular literature; vernacular saints' lives; bridal-quest narrative; heroic literature; medieval literature in modern culture Hobbies: photography, hiking and biking, enjoying fine arts and music, travel

Steven J. Brust Visiting Professor of Politics Ph.D., The Catholic University of America Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii Research Interests: natural rights and natural law, church and state relations, law and morality and the common good, Catholic social teaching Hobbies: bodysurfing, natural scenery, reading, photography

Biprodas Dutta Associate Professor of Physics and Senior Scientist at the Vitreous State Laboratory Ph.D., Vanderbilt University Birthplace/Hometown: Burdwan, India Research Interests: quantum confined nanostructures for thermoelectric devices, novel ceramic thermoelectric materials, nano-structured magnetic storage devices, ceramic-matrix composites, nuclear waste vitrification, fundamental studies on the electronic processes in non-crystalline materials Hobbies: table tennis, long walks, literature, elocution

Anna Fournier Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University Birthplace/Hometown: Montreal, Canada Research Interests: cultural anthropology, identity and ethnicity, education and political anthropology, Ukraine, the United States Hobbies: Chinese brush painting

Rebecca L.M. Fuller Assistant Professor of Psychology Ph.D., University of London Birthplace/Hometown: Louisville, Ky. Research Interests: attention, memory, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease Hobbies: hiking, cycling, swimming, reading

Tobias B. Gregory Assistant Professor of English Ph.D., University of Michigan Birthplace/Hometown: Northampton, Mass. Research Interests: Renaissance literature; epic poetry, especially English and Italian; Milton Hobbies: reading, hiking, poker, the Red Sox

Jennifer Horne Assistant Professor of Media Studies Ph.D., University of Minnesota Birthplace/Hometown: Washington, D.C./Alexandria, Va.   Research Interests: film history, silent film, film exhibition history, film preservation              Hobbies: running, swimming, travel

Chisup Kim Assistant Professor of Mathematics Ph.D., Texas A&M University Birthplace/Hometown: Seoul, South Korea Research Interests: numerical solution of partial differential equations, finite element methods Hobbies: hiking, theater-going

Sandra R. Leavitt Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics Ph.D., Georgetown University (ABD, her dissertation was scheduled to take place in November) Hometown: Eugene, Ore. Research Interests: contentious politics, state-minority relations, Muslim minorities, Southeast Asia Hobbies: mountain and road cycling, gardening, photography, sewing, scuba diving, hiking

Mark S. Leson Visiting Assistant Professor of Semitics Ph.D., The Catholic University of America Birthplace/Hometown:  Fort Leavenworth, Kan. (birthplace), Fairfax Station, Va. (hometown) Research Interests: Hebrew, Aramaic and northwest Semitic philology; comparative Semitic linguistics; linguistic, literary/critical and anthropological approaches to the Hebrew Bible; ancient Near Eastern history Hobbies: reading, travel, music, radio

John Philip Assistant Professor of Physics Ph.D., Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India Birthplace/Hometown: Gudalur, India Research Interests: spin dependent transport properties in semiconductor nanostructures, magnetic semiconductors, nanoelectronics, transport properties of nanowires/nanotubes and magnetic thin films Hobbies: photography, reading

Enrique S. Pumar Associate Professor of Sociology Ph.D., American University Birthplace/Hometown: Havana, Cuba Research Interests: race and ethnic relations, law and transnational crime, knowledge and ideology, comparative national development Hobbies: reading, museums and cultural institutions, movies, walking, gardening, travel

Caroline R. Sherman Assistant Professor of History Ph.D. candidate, Princeton University Hometown: Oberlin, Ohio Research Interests: Early Modern intellectual history, Early Modern France                        Hobbies: reading, travel, classical music, going to the library

School of Canon Law

Very Rev. John J.M. Foster, J.C.L. Assistant Professor of Canon Law J.C.D., The Catholic University of America Birthplace/Hometown: Escalon, Calif. Research Interests: ecclesial structures, sacramental/liturgical law                                 Hobbies: classical music, bridge, classic movies

School of Engineering

Lin-Ching Chang Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science D.Sc., George Washington University Birthplace/Hometown: Kaohsiung, Taiwan    Research Interests: medical image analysis, modeling and simulation, pattern recognition, combinatorial design, information retrieval, database systems Hobbies: reading, cooking, movies, photography, tennis, tai chi

George P. Mavroeidis Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering Ph.D., State University of New York at Buffalo Birthplace/Hometown: Athens, Greece Research Interests: engineering seismology, earthquake engineering, structural dynamics, structural mechanics Hobbies: music, movies, travel, reading

School of Library and Information Science

Kimberly B. Kelley Dean and Professor Ad Interim of Library and Information Science Ph.D., University of Maryland Birthplace/Hometown: Cedar Rapids, Iowa Research Interests: intellectual property, distance-education pedagogy, academic libraries and leadership, information literacy Hobbies: cooking, movies, swimming, reading

School of Nursing

School of Philosophy

Christopher Kaczor Director of the University Honors Program, Associate Professor of Philosophy Ph.D., University of Notre Dame Birthplace/Hometown: Born in Spokane, Wash., raised in Seattle Research Interests: bioethics, Thomistic ethics, the Catholic intellectual tradition                Hobbies: running, taking care of my seven children

Michael Pakaluk Visiting Associate Professor of Philosophy Ph.D., Harvard University Birthplace/Hometown: Mineola, N.Y. Research Interests: Aristotle, Plato, ancient philosophy, Hume and Scottish philosophy, medieval philosophy, history of moral philosophy, history of modern philosophy, early analytic philosophy, Quine, Rawls, philosophy of religion Hobbies: hiking, biking, skiing, tennis, golf, music (French horn)

School of Theology and Religious Studies

Rev. Romuald Meogrossi, O.F.M. Conv. Clinical Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies Ph.D., Loyola College, Baltimore  Birthplace/Hometown: New York City Research Interests: significance of the therapist's and/or client's religious affiliation in the psychotherapeutic process Hobbies: martial arts, theater, foreign cinema

Rev. Michael G. Witczak Assistant Professor of Liturgy and Religious Studies S.L.D., Pontifical Liturgical Institute, Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm, Rome, Italy Birthplace/Hometown: Milwaukee Research Interests: history of medieval liturgy, sacramental liturgy (theology and celebration), liturgical development Hobbies: classical music, opera, Shakespeare and drama, U.S. history, cooking (and eating!), baseball (go Brewers!)

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