Our Faculty

Engaging, dynamic faculty members are the heart of Alvernia University.

More than two-thirds of our faculty hold the highest degree available in their field. Outside of the classroom many regularly publish books and articles, present scholarly works at national and international conferences, and serve as field experts to the mass media — through newspaper, broadcast, and online outlets. See below for work completed by our faculty outside of the classroom.

 

DECEMBER 2011

Vera Brancato, Ed.D. MSN, RN
Professor of Nursing
Dr. Brancato's article "Benefits of District Participation in a Professional Association" was published in the December 2011 edition of Pennsylvania Nurse.

 

Roxana Delbene, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Languages
Roxana Delbene's article, "Patients' ways of speaking about antiretroviral medications and possible implications for adherence" was accepted for publication at Critical Inquiry in Language Studies.

Diane Kraft
Instructor, Biology
Kraft served as a content reviewer for the BIO 216 Nutrition and Diet Therapy text (Whitney E., et al. Nutrition for Health and Healthcare, 4th ed. Belmont, CA; 2011).

James Siburt
Adjunct, Humanities
James Siburt presented a workshop on December 1, for the afternoon session of the December meeting of Leadership Berks. The workshop, titled "An Introduction to Servant Leadership" was based on the work of Robert Greenleaf, and covered issues of power, 'followership,' and community service.

Elizabeth Kirk Matteo, Ph. D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Di You, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Drs. Elizabeth Matteo and Di You recently presented research at the Association of Moral Education "Cultivating Morality: Human Beings, Nature and the World" Conference in Nanjing, China. Dr. Matteo presented "The Value in Assessing Moral Education: Aligning Institutional Mission with Practice"and Dr. You presented "The Impact of Taking Theology and Philosophy Classes as well as Engaging in Community Service on Undergraduates’ Moral Reasoning."

Jim Siburt
Adjunct, Humanities
James Siburt presented a lecture: ”An Introduction to Servant Leadership” to 30 professionals enrolled in Alvernia’s 2012 Leadership Berks Core Program on December 3, 2011, at ViVA Bistro & Lounge, Wyomissing. The program’s mission is to develop, support, and connect community leaders for Berks County.

Liang Ding
Assistant Professor of Business
Dr. Ding co-authored "Market Linkage and Information Spillover: Evidence from Pre-crisis, Crisis, and Recovery Periods" with Xiaoling Pu from Kent State University. It was accepted for publication in the Journal of Economics and Business.

Vera Brancato, Ed.D. MSN, RN
Professor of Nursing
Dr. Vera Brancato presented a poster "Developing an Educational Clinical Practicum to Assist in Translating Evidence-Based Research into Practice to Improve Patient Care" at the Pennsylvania State Nurses' Association Summit on October 28, 2011.

Bongrae Seok
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Dr. Seok published several articles on moral philosophy and decision theory: "Moral Reasoning," "Prisoner's Dilemma," "Collective Decision Problem," "Virtue Ethics," "Confucianism," "Xunzi," and "Laozi" in the Encyclopedia of Global Justice, published October 2011. In addition, he was invited by the Columbia Society for Comparative Philosophy at Columbia University to give a lecture on Confucian moral psychology ("Embodied Moral Psychology of Confucian Heart") on November 11, 2011.

Thomas Butler, MBA, SPHR
Adjunct, Business
Thomas H. Butler and Beth A. Berret, Ed.D., SPHR co-authored “A generation lost: The reality of age discrimination in today’s hiring practices,” which was accepted for publication in the Journal of Management and Marketing Research.

Jodi Radosh, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Communication
Associate Director of the Holleran Center for Community Engagement
Dr. Radosh was one of 25 community faculty members selected to attend media workshops sponsored by the International Radio and Television Society. She met with and heard presentations from executives at ESPN, ABC, NBC, Facebook, Nielsen, USA Network, Oxygen, etc., on the topic "Reaching Consumers in the Digital Age: Marketing, Ad Sales, & Promotion at Today's Media Companies."

 

NOVEMBER 2011

Kathleen Muzevich, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor of Education
Dr. Muzevich was elected to serve as a school board member on the Exeter School District Board of Directors. She will be sworn into office on Dec. 6, 2011 and will serve a four-year term.

Kathleen Muzevich, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor of Education
Dr. Muzevich presented "Evaluating the Writing of Kindergarten and First Grade Children: An Assessment Tool for Early Childhood Teachers" at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) 2011 Annual Conference and Expo in Orlando, Fla, on Nov. 5, 2011.

Kathleen Muzevich, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor of Education
Dr. Muzevich presented "Phonics is NOT Hot: Implications for Teacher Preparation Programs and Preservice Teachers," at the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers(ALER) 55th Annual Conference in Richmond, Va on Nov. 4, 2011.

Scott Ballantyne, Ed.D., PRSBA
Associate Professor of Business
Beth Berret, Ed.D., SPHR
Associate Professor of Business
Mary Ellen Wells, JD, LLM
Associate Professor of Business
Drs. Ballantyne, Berret, and Wells co-authored "Comparing the intensity of student attitude and perception changes from short-term travel courses," with Robert Gannon, doctoral student at Pace University. It was accepted for publication in the Journal of International Business and Cultural Studies.

Neil H. Penny, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor of Athletic Training
Di You, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Drs. Penny and You published "Preparing Occupational Therapy Students to Make Moral Decisions" in Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 25(2-3), 150-163.

Di You, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Dr. You co-authored "Gender Differences in Moral Sensitivity: A Meta-Analysis" with Yukiko Maeda from Purdue University and Muriel J. Bebeau from University of Minnesota. The article appeared in Ethics & Behavior, 21(4), 263-282.

OCTOBER 2011

 

Carrie Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of English, Communication, and CIS
Dr. Fitzpatrick and Ph.D. student Sean Cullen presented "The Use of Media for Social Advocacy," at the Laurel Highlands Communications Conference held in Indiana, Pa, in October.

Travis Berger, M.Ed.
Instructor of Business
Travis A. Berger presented “Purposefully Controlling Organizational Culture Through the Art of Leadership: Exploring the Problems Associated with a Modernist Interpretation of Organizational Culture” at the 61st Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Sociological Society, held at Seton Hill University, Oct. 1, 2011.

Di You, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Judith Warchal, Ph.D.
Professor of Counselor Education/Psychology
Ana Ruiz, Ph.D.Professor of Psychology
Drs. You, Warchal, and Ruiz published an article titled "A Review of Ethics from Project Syllabus" in the Psychology Journal, 8(2), 82-86.

Di You, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Dr. You presented a paper titled "The Impact of Taking Theology and Philosophy Classes as well as Engaging in Community Service on Undergraduates' Moral Reasoning" at the annual conference for the Association for Moral Education held in Nanjing, China during October.

Mary Ellen Symanski, Ph.D., RN
Associate Professor and Nursing Department Chair
Elizabeth R. Matteo, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Drs. Symanski and Matteo and doctoral student Rebecca Hartman presented “A Collaborative Approach to Women’s Health Research in a Leadership Focused PhD Program” at the 25th Annual “Women in Educational Leadership Conference” at the University of Nebraska on Oct. 3, 2011.

Mary Ellen Symanski, Ph.D., RN

Associate Professor of Nursing

Elizabeth Matteo, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychology
Drs. Symanski and Matteo presented “A Collaborative Approach to Women’s Health Research in a Leadership Focused PhD Program” with doctoral student Rebecca Hartman at the 25th Annual “Women in Educational Leadership Conference” at the University of Nebraska on Oct. 3, 2011.

Ana Ruiz, Ph.D.

Professor of Pychology

Dr. Ruiz participated in the Fourth International Symposium on Service-Learning, Ningbo, China, in September 2011. She was a co-author on two presentations: "Will Participation in a Service-learning Course Have an Effect on Volunteer Service Later in Life?" and "Long Term Impact of Service-learning on Alumni Volunteer Service Activities, and Reflections on Connections."

Jodi Radosh, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Communications
Associate Director of the Holleran Center for Community Engagement
Dr. Radosh moderated two debates on BCTV — one for Reading mayoral candidates and another with the Berks County Commissioners. Her co-moderator was Kevin Murphy, president of the Berks County Community Foundation. The pair will also co-host election night coverage.

Spencer S. Stober, Ed.D.
Professor of Biology
Donna Yarri, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Theology

Interdisciplinary Teaching: Confessions of a "Biologian" was accepted for publication in the The International Journal of Science and Society, Common Ground Publishing, 2011.

SEPTEMBER 2011

 

Ana Ruiz, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology

Judith Warchal, Ph.D.

Professor of Counselor Education/Psychology

Drs. Ruiz and Warchal presented "Long-term impact of service-learning on alumni volunteer service activities" at the Fourth International Symposium on Service-Learning: Connecting the Global to the Local, at the Ningbo Institute of Technology,  Zhejiang University, China, in September. Dr. Warchal also presented "Reflections on connections" at the symposium.

John A. Rochowicz, Jr., Ed.D.

Professor of Mathematics
Dr. Rochowicz published the research paper Bootstrapping Analysis, Inferential Statistics, and EXCEL in the international peer-reviewed electronic journal Spreadsheets in Education (eJSiE, Vol. 4, issue 3, article 4, July 2011).

 

Bryan Dreibelbis, CMA, CFM

Professor of Business
Prof. Dreibelbis recently participated in the annual "Accounting Educator Idea Exchange" conference in Hershey. The event was sponsored by PICPA.

 

 

 

AUGUST 2011

Spencer S. Stober, Ed.D.

Professor of Biology

Donna Yarri, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Theology
Drs.Stober and Yarri presented a paper entitled "Interdisciplinary Teaching: Confessions of a 'Biologian'" at The Third International Science in Society Conference, held at Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., August 5, 2011.

 

JUNE 2011

Faculty Excellence Grants  

Alvernia University has announced 23 new Faculty Excellence Grants

James Siburt

Adjunct, Humanities
James Siburt presented a lecture on "The Mythological key To Cultural Change: Understanding the Importance of Cultural Ideology in Leadership" at the 48th Annual meeting of the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ at Silver Bay, N.Y., on June 4 2011.

Dolores Bertoti, MS, PT
Associate Professor Allied Health
Bertoti presented “Learning through Discovery: Student-driven Participatory Learning: Approaches to Capstone Work” at the Lilly Conference of College and University Teaching, Washington, DC June 2-4, 2011. This presentation described integrating varying instructional strategies in teaching capstone coursework. Socratic pedagogy in combination with evidence based inquiry, engaged informed teaching, and the fluid, integrated use of tools from several methodologies creates an atmosphere of teaching by discovery, focusing the learner’s attention on concrete application and critical reasoning.

 

MAY 2011

Rosemarie Chinni, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Chemistry
Rosemarie Chinni was part of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy National Speaker Tour and presented a talk entitled “Applications of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) for Uranium Detection and Field Portable Instrumentation” at Bruker Daltonics in Boston, MA, and Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho, in April/May 2011.

 

Anne M. Fink, MSN RN

Assistant Professor of Nursing
Anne M. Fink was the keynote speaker at The Reading Hospital and Medical Center on May 24, 2011. Her presentation was entitled Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Nursing Care of “The Wolf.” The presentation was for The Alumni Association of The Reading Hospital School of Nursing and was also open to members of the Berks County community.

Travis A. Berger, M.Ed.

Instructor of Business
Travis A. Berger presented a paper, "Laying the Foundations: Three Experiential Learning Opportunities that Engage Students, Develop Leaders and Build Relationships with Alumni and Business Professionals," at the Business Professor Teaching Summit at Drexel University on May 20, 2011.

Spencer S. Stober

 Professor of Biology
"Environmental Memes: Form, Function, and Reasons for Optimism” by Dr. Spencer S. Stober has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability, published by Common Ground.

Spencer S. Stober, Ed.D.

Professor of Biology
Dr. Stober presented a lecture entitled "God, Genes, and Spirituality" for the Reading Spirit on Tap meeting held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on May 24, 2011.

Rosemary McFee, M.Ed.

Instructor, Criminal Justice
Ms. McFee moderated a workshop session entitled, "Federal Incentives: Myths and Facts," at the Eastern Regional Interstate Child Support Association's annual conference on May 23, 2011, in Atlantic City, NJ.
 

Thomas Patrick Burke

Adjunct, Humanities
Thomas Patrick Burke recently published The Concept of Justice: Is Social Justice Just? Burke teaches theology and philosophy at Alvernia's Philadelphia campus, and serves as President of the Wynnewood Institute.

Kathleen Muzevich, Ed.D.

Assistant Professor of Education
Dr. Kathleen Muzevich presented her research "Evaluating the Writing of Our Youngest Learners: An Assessment Tool for Early Childhood Teachers," on May 10, 2011, at the International Reading Association's 56th Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. More than 150 educators attended her session.

James Siburt

Adjunct, Humanities
James Siburt, adjunct professor and Ph.D. student, recently published a book review on the text Toying With God: The World of Religious Toys and Games, in the Spring 2011 issue of the Journal of Religion and Popular Culture.

Roxana Delbene

Assistant Professor of Spanish
Roxana Delbene’s article, “Patients’ narratives of chronic illnesses and the notion of biographical disruption” has been accepted for publication in the journal Communication & Medicine from Equinox.

APRIL 2011

Anne M. Fink, MSN, RN

Assistant Professor of Nursing

Anne Fink recently published "Early hospital discharge in maternal and newborn care" in the peer reviewed Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing. She was also appointed as a National League for Nursing Ambassador.

Bryan Dreibelbis, CMA, CFM

Associate Professor of Business
Prof. Bryan Dreibelbis was recently reappointed as Director of Academic Relations on the Reading Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) Board of Directors. He has served as a member of the Reading IMA Board for the past 21 years.

Several Alvernia faculty members received awards during this year's Honors Convocation, April 10, 2011:

Beth Berret, Ed.D.

Associate Professor of Business
Lindback Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching
Awarded to a full-time tenured faculty member with at least 10 years of full-time teaching at Alvernia. Factors considered for the recipient include excellent performance in teaching, service, and scholarship/research. 

 

Mary Ann Durant

Adjunct, College of Professional Programs

Michele Kulp

Adjunct, College of Arts and Sciences
Saint Bernardine Faculty Award for Excellence in Part-Time Teaching
The St. Bernardine award is presented to an adjunct instructor.

Jodi Radosh, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Communication
Sister Mary Donatilla Faculty Award
Awarded to a full-time faculty member who has given long service to the University in teaching, advising, service, and support. The Honors and Awards Committee selects the recipient.

Theresa Adams, MSN, RN, CSN

Assistant Professor of Nursing
Faculty Award for Exemplary Service-Learning
Presented by the Holleran Center for Community Engagement, this new annual ward is given to a full-time faculty member who demonstrates excellence for incorporating service-learning pedagogy into their curriculum. The recipient uses service-learning practices as an innovative teaching tool to engage students in civic learning while creating opportunities for community benefits. This faculty member helps build institutional commitments to service-learning and civic engagement by fostering reciprocal community partnerships and enhancing Alvernia’s contributions to the public good.

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Kathleen Muzevich, Ed.D.

Assistant Professor of Education
Dr. Kathleen Muzevich, co-presented "Making Academic Language Accessible to English Learners: Implications for Teacher Education Programs," at the AACTE 63rd Annual Meeting and Exhibits in San Diego, CA, with Dr. Judith K. Wenrich, professor of education at Millersville University.

Roxana Delbene, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Languages
Roxana Delbene attended the American Association for Applied Linguistics that was held in Chicago, March 26-30. She presented her paper, “'How Are You Feeling?' in the Healthcare Context: An Analysis of the Screenplay Wit.”

 

MARCH 2011

Rosemary McFee, M.Ed.

Instructor of Criminal Justice
Presented a paper, "Impact of Collaborative Efforts with Kiwanis International, Juvenile Probation and the Court", at the 48th Annual Meeting of the Association of Criminal Justice Sciences in Toronto, Canada on March 5, 2011.

 

 

Edgar J. Hartung, M.A., JD

Associate Professor and Criminal Justice Department Chair
Ed Hartung presented "Crime and Violence on College and University Campuses:  How Safe are You?" at the 48th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in Toronto, Ontario Canada, in March. He also chaired a panel "Putting Advanced Features of Online Educational Technology to Work" at the conference.

Spencer S. Stober, Ed.D.

Professor of Biology
Spencer S. Stober served as Chair for an "Author Meets the Critics" session at the annual meeting of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE), Debra J. H. Mathews, Author, Personal Identity and Fractured Selves: Perspectives from Philosophy, Ethics and Neuroscience, Cincinnati, Ohio, March 4, 2011.

Peggy Bowen-Hartung, Ph.D., CTS

Associate Professor of Criminal Justice
Peggy Bowen-Hartung was a focus group member for "Introduction to Criminology," McGraw-Hill Higher Education Publishers, Toronto, Canada, March 4, 2011.

Spencer S. Stober, Ph.D.

Director, Center for Ethics and Leadership
Professor of Biology
Spencer S. Stober served as a judge for the National Ethics Bowl, March 3, 2011, Cincinnati, Ohio. The competition was sponsored by Siemens and the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE). Stober also served as Chair for an "Author Meets the Critics" session at the annual meeting of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE), Debra J. H. Mathews, Author, Personal Identity and Fractured Selves: Perspectives from Philosophy, Ethics and Neuroscience, Cincinnati, Ohio, March 4, 2011.

Peggy Bowen-Hartung, Ph.D., CTS

Associate Professor of Criminal Justice
Peggy Bowen-Hartung chaired a session, "Utilizing Qualitative Methods to Provide Insight into Guarded Lives," at the 48th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in Toronto, Canada on March 3, 2011. She also presented a paper, "The Institutional Review Board: Friend or Foe," at the meeting.

 

 

FEBRUARY 2011

 

Kathleen Muzevich, Ed.D.

Assistant Professor of Education
Kathleen Muzevich, co-presented with Dr. Judith K. Wenrich, Professor of Education at Millersville University, at the AACTE 63rd Annual Meeting and Exhibits in San Diego, CA on Friday, February 25, 2011. Their presentation was entitled "Making Academic Language Accessible to English Learners: Implications for Teacher Education Programs."

Jessica Warchal-King, MFA

Adjunct of Dance, Theater
Jessica Warchal-King performed with internationally renown modern dance company Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers at the Painted Bride Arts Center in Philadelphia February 10-12. She also performed with the contemporary ballet company the Nora Gibson Performance Project February 26 at the Community Education Center, Philadelphia.

 

JANUARY 2011

 

Rosemarie Chinni

Associate Professor of Chemistry
Rosemarie Chinni co-authored a paper entitled “Comparative Study of Femtosecond and Nanosecond Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy of Depleted Uranium.” It was published in Applied Optics in January 2011. The full reference is L.A. Emmert, R.C. Chinni, D.A. Cremers, C.R. Jones, W. Rudolph, Appl. Opt., 2011, Vol. 50, pgs 313-317.

Judith Warchal, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology and Counseling

Ana Ruiz, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology and Counseling
Dr. Ana Ruiz and Dr. Judith Warchal presented a Participant Idea Exchange at the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology (NITOP 2011) titled "Teaching Ethics to the Undergraduates: Should We Do It?" in January, at St. Pete Beach, Florida.

Bryan Dreibelbis, CMA, CFM

Associate Professor of Business
Bryan Dreibelbis recently participated in the annual Accounting and Auditing Regional Conference sponsored by the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).

Jim Siburt

Adjunct, Humanities
Jim Siburt was interviewed by a theology and popular culture website about his current research and a paper he presented at the regional American Academy of Religion meeting and Semiotic Society of America conference last year. Click here to read TheoFantastique online.

Thomas Bierowski, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of English
Tom Bierowski has a new book coming out this spring called Kerouac in Ecstasy: Shamanic Expression in the Writings. Published by McFarland, the text will consider Jack Kerouac as writer-shaman, exploring the content and ecstatic technique of the novels and two experimental volumes that represent critical phases of his development.

Tim Blessing, Ph.D.

Professor of History
Tim Blessing presented a paper on “The Theoretical Implications of Partisanship and Ideology Among Expert Raters of United States Presidents” to the American Politics Group in Oxford (UK) at the Rothermere American Institute, St. Anne’s College. The paper was written by Blessing, Anne Skleder, and Di You, assistant professor of psychology.

Spencer S. Stober, Ph.D.

Professor of Biology
Dr. Spencer S. Stober was a plenary session speaker by invitation at the International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, from January 5 to 7, 2011. His paper presentation was entitled “Environmental Memes: Form, Function, and Reasons for Optimis.

 

James Siburt

Adjunct — Humanities
James Siburt, director of educational technology at Lancaster Theological Seminary, discussed "The Wired Podium: Visual Culture and the Signs of our Time" during a meeting of Theology with a Twist at the Kutztown Tavern. His discussion involved how far a church can go as a virtual community and what responsibilities must be considered when using enhanced methods of communication.

Donna Yarri, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Theology
Dr. Donna Yarri has written two encyclopedia articles for a volume to be published in February 2011 by ABC-CLIO Press entitled, The Encyclopedia of Religion and Film. She did the entries on two directors: “Woody Allen” and “Lars Von Trier.”

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