Lycoming College Experts Resource Guide

The Lycoming College Office of College Relations has compiled this Experts Resource Guide to assist the media and community organizations in identifying speakers from the College who can provide insight on a variety of topics.

Members of the media interested in arranging an interview with a Lycoming expert are asked to contact Jerry Rashid, director of college relations, at (570) 321-4137 or rashid@lycoming.edu. Community organizations interested in scheduling a guest speaker should contact Casey Spencer, college relations specialist, at (570) 321-4037 or spencerc@lycoming.edu.

 

Special Topic: Professors Kolb and Williamson conduct first Marcellus shale housing study

LeRoy L. Baer
Head Men's and Women's Tennis Coach
Retired Deputy Superintendent of Facilities Management at The State Correctional Institution at Muncy
Areas of expertise: gang behavior and structure, corrections, high school and college tennis coaching

Neil Boyd, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Associate Professor of Management
Areas of expertise: business issues, managing businesses, corporate social responsibility, sustainable business practices, organization development, strategic management, human resource management, non-profit management, and organizational behavior issues (leadership, motivation, team-based workplaces, planning)

Michelle Briggs, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology
Areas of expertise: plant science, poisonous plants, traditional and modern medicinal plant use

David Broussard, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology
Areas of expertise: birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians

Mary Broussard
Instructional Services Librarian
Coordinator of Reference and Assessment
Areas of expertise: librarianship and related information issues, as well as social media and other Web technologies

Len Cagle, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Foreign Languages
Areas of expertise: German language, literature and film and the history and culture of Berlin

Raymond V. Carman, Jr.
Visiting Instructor of Political Science
Areas of expertise: appellate courts, civil rights and liberties, judges, judicial politics, and judicial decision-making

Cullen J. Chandler, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of History
Areas of expertise: ancient Greece and Rome, medieval Europe, Islam and the Middle East, and Crusades

William Ciabattari, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Music
Director of Bands
Areas of expertise: music education, conducting and music performance

William G. Dever, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of Biblical Archaeology
Areas of expertise: world-renowned expert in archaeology of Israel and the Bible


Richard R. Erickson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Astronomy and Physics
Areas of expertise: astronomy and astrophysics; also physics, geology, paleontology, climatology, railroad history and technology, and dam engineering

Lynn Estomin
Associate Professor of Art
Areas of expertise: documentary film, video and photography, web art, art & war veterans, peace issues, women's issues and art for social justice

Sascha Feinstein, Ph.D.
Professor of English
Areas of expertise: poetry, memoir and jazz

David G. Fisher, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Areas of expertise: physics, space flight, planetary science and paleontology

Pamela Gaber, Ph.D.
Professor of Archaeology and Judaic Studies
Areas of expertise: authority on ancient art and archaeology of Cyprus and the ancient Mediterranean world

Amy Golahny, Ph.D.
Professor of Art History and Chair, Art Department
Area of expertise: visual art, Italian Renaissance, art in Williamsport, Pa., and Dutch art, especially Rembrandt

Seth Goodman
Assistant Professor of Art
Areas of expertise: painting, drawing, two-dimensional design, contemporary art theory and practice

Jerry Hammaker
Men’s and Women’s Swimming Head Coach
Assistant Athletic Director
Assistant Director of Recreation for Aquatics and Intramural Sports
Areas of expertise: swimming, pool design, aquatics and NCAA compliance

Claude Hardy
Assistant Professor
Technical Director/Lighting Designer
Areas of expertise: stage design and Russian theatre

David B. Heffner
Chief Information Officer
Areas of expertise: technical, financial and planning leadership for all aspects of technology including: business and instructional computing, telecommunications, cable TV, Web development, and related technologies in security and facilities

Richard Hughes, Ph.D.
Professor of Religion
Areas of expertise: Civil Rights Movement/Martin Luther King, Jr. and other movement leaders, the ecumenical movement and religious exemption clauses

Bonita Kolb, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Business
Areas of expertise: marketing of arts and culture, management of nonprofit organizations, tourism marketing and small town economic development

Christopher Kulp, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Areas of expertise: general physics, astronomy, chaos theory and nonlinear dynamics

Anne Landon
The Institute for Management Studies Assistant Director/Internship Coordinator
Areas of expertise: Academy Certified Resume Writer (ACRW), Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW), career communications - resumes and cover letters


Bob Larson, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Professor of History
Areas of expertise: military affairs and past wars

Andrew B. Leiter, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of English
Areas of expertise: American literature, southern literature, African-American literature, literature about race and race relations during the segregation era

Charles H. Mahler, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Assistant Dean
Areas of expertise: inorganic and physical chemistry

Betty L. McCall, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Areas of expertise: aging, community assessment, grant writing, health and medicine, non-profit management, program evaluation, race and ethnicity

Chriss E. McDonald, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Professor of Chemistry
Areas of expertise: synthetic and mechanistic organic chemistry

Mehrdad Madresehee, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Professor of Economics
Areas of expertise: economic development and calculation of loss of earnings

Daniel P. Miller, Ed.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs
Areas of expertise: college student life and college choice and selection

John Mitchell, Psy.D.
Adjunct Psychology Faculty
Areas of expertise: clinical psychology, forensic psychology and crisis negotiations

Mary E. Morrison, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology
Areas of expertise: biology, cell biology, neuroscience, developmental biology, immunology, infectious diseases, science and social policy, animal tracking, bighorn sheep, desert animals and plants; bird watching activities, bird feeding and bird feeders; evolution and intelligent design, including the relevant Supreme Court case history

Richard J. Morris, Ph.D
Professor of History
Areas of expertise: Colonial America, the American Revolution and the writing of the Constitution.

Jeff Newman, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Associate Professor of Biology
Areas of expertise: microbiology, molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, and biotechnology

Caroline L. Payne, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Political Science
Areas of expertise: international relations and comparative politics; more specifically, civil conflict, internal violence, interstate conflict, terrorism, human rights and economic development an inequality

Leah Peterson
Department Chair and Assistant Professor of Digital Media
Areas of expertise: photography, video, installation video, digital media history, film and contemporary art

Peter J. Petokas, Ph.D.
Research Associate in Biology
Areas of expertise: ecology and restoration of streams, rivers, wetlands and watersheds; biology of amphibians and reptiles

John F. Piper Jr., Ph.D.
Professor of History and Dean of the College Emeritus
College Historian
Areas of expertise: local history, Lycoming College history, American religious history and Reformation history (16th century)

Todd Preston, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Assistant Professor of English
Areas of expertise: literature and language of medieval and Renaissance England

Kerry Richmond, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Areas of expertise: gender and crime, prisons and evaluation research

Amy Rogers, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Assistant Professor of Education
Areas of expertise: teacher education and pre-service teachers; certification programs, middle-level and secondary education, literacy across the content areas

Susan Ross, Ph.D.

Professor of Sociology and Department Chair for Sociology-Anthropology and Criminal Justice-Criminology

Areas of expertise: family sociology and military-civilian relations

Kathy Ryan, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Areas of expertise: relationship violence (sexual, physical and psychological aggression), playful aggression and narcissism

N. J. Stanley, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Theatre
Areas of expertise: Western theatre history, women in theatre, contemporary American drama, acting and directing

Arthur Sterngold, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Marketing
Areas of expertise: surveys, opinion polls and focus groups; economic impact studies and feasibility analyses.

C. Townsend Velkoff
Director, Counseling Services, licensed psychologist
Areas of expertise: treatment and evaluation of sexual offenders, Megan’s Law, solution-focused brief therapy, and assessment and treatment of neglected, abused and/or delinquent adolescents

James L. Warren
Adjunct Instructor of Mathematics, Security Officer
Areas of expertise:  Mechanical Engineering, including gas turbine engine design and analysis, fluid flow, robotics, ship design, automation, computer-aided design;  Geology, including geochemistry and mineralogy;  Physics, including complexity theory, string theory, quantum mechanics, relativity, non-linear dynamics and history;  Mathematics, including non-Euclidian geometry, topology, tensors and spinor theory.  Mycology, including historical effects on civilization by fungi, Pennsylvania mushrooms and fungi;  Deep-sea diving and salvage, including history, equipment, techniques and submersible vehicles.

Shanna Wheeler
Assistant Director, Academic Resource Center/Writing Center
Areas of expertise: composition, creative writing, poetry writing and professional writing

John M. Whelan Jr., Ph.D.
Department Chair and Professor of Philosophy
Areas of expertise: contemporary moral and political philosophy, death penalty and insanity defense

Jonathan Williamson, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Assistant Professor of Political Science
Areas of expertise: American electoral politics at the local, state and federal level, congressional and presidential politics, and public opinion and polling

Mel Zimmerman, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology and Director of the Lycoming College Clean Water Institute
Areas of expertise: aquatic biology (stream and lake ecology), use of fish and macro invertebrates for monitoring water quality, riparian buffers, stream restoration, ecology of coral reefs, water quality of the Susquehanna River watershed, sewage treatment, environmental sustainability issues and scuba diving

Updated 11/11/2010