FACULTY & STAFF
Amanda Kloo Associate Professor of Education Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh M.A., Teachers College - Columbia University B.A. (Theatre and Education), Chatham College The College community’s hospitality, prayerfulness, and genuine collegiality inspired me. It was “love at first phone call.”
What drew you to teaching at the Abbey? I wholeheartedly believe that God called me to the Abbey. A coincidental (but fortuitous) phone conversation with Dr. Sara Powell in December 2011 sparked my interest in the outstanding work of the Department of Education. The program’s track record for exemplary teacher preparation impressed me. Belmont Abbey’s mission of promoting academic excellence, ingenuity of thought, and Catholic stewardship energized me.
What are your areas of expertise within your field of study? My research and professional interests focus on early literacy practices, effective intervention strategies, and data-driven instruction/ assessment practices for students with disabilities and those at-risk for academic failure. I am also personally passionate and professionally committed to exploring the academic and social-emotional benefits of integrating The Arts into educational and therapeutic experiences for individuals with exceptionalities. What are your passions or hobbies outside of the classroom?
I devour every opportunity to learn, discover, and play with my three-yearold twin boys Isaac and Elliot. Also, my husband Rob and I are proud members of the “Steelers Nation” and look forward to a fun-filled, emotionally wrenching football season every year. I am a ravenous reader, a Broadway musical fanatic, a gluten-free cook, and Beagle-lover. What have you discovered about the Abbey that surprises you the most? I have always loved what I do but I am surprised by how much more I love to do it now that I am here at BAC. Every person who has crossed my path since joining the faculty has brought joy to my life and my work. It amazes me how much fun it is to come to work each day—the Department of Education is an absolute blast!
Farrell O’Gorman Professor of English Ph.D. (English), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill M.A. (English), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill B.A. (Liberal Studies), University of Notre Dame
What drew you to teaching at the Abbey? My father is an Abbey alumnus (class of 1959), and I was born in Belmont when he returned here as basketball coach for several years in the late 1960s. I grew up hearing great things about his time at the Abbey, especially about Father John Oetgen, who took him aside as a freshman and
60 CROSSROADS
introduced him to the novel concept of studying. The monks taught him both the faith and the value of the whole person. “Mind, Body, and Spirit” was something he learned here more than fifty years ago. My own experience as an undergraduate at Notre Dame convinced me that my vocation is to teach at a Catholic liberals arts institution, and I have always wanted to
The Magazine of Belmont Abbey College
Winter 2013