Alvernia University
WELCOME YOU TO THE
2026 Faculty Recognition Ceremony
May 1, 2026 | 2:00 PM
Francis Hall Theatre | Alvernia University, Reading, PA
Welcome to Alvernia University’s 3rd annual Faculty Recognition Ceremony, and thank you for joining us as we honor our colleagues for their various achievements and accomplishments.
Please silence your electronic devices during the program.
You are invited to attend a reception following the ceremony.
Tenure and Promotion
Tenure and Promotion
Salem Elsaiah, Ph.D.
Granted tenure and promotion to Associate Professor of Engineering
Promotion
Thomas Franek, Ph.D.
Granted promotion to Professor of Athletic Training
Josh Hayes, Ph.D.
Granted promotion to Professor of Philosophy
Joseph Mahoney, Ph.D.
Granted promotion to Professor of Engineering
Peter Rampson, MID
Granted promotion to Professor of Art
Faculty Awards
Lindback Foundation Award
The Lindback Foundation Award for excellence in teaching is awarded to a full-time tenured faculty member with at least 10 years of full-time teaching at Alvernia. Factors considered include excellence performance in teaching, service, and scholarship/research.
Justice, Equality, & Diversity Faculty Award
This award recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates and advances the ideals of justice, equity, and diversity in teaching, service, or research and a deep commitment to Catholic social teaching and its emphasis on protecting human dignity.
Saint Bernardine Adjunct Faculty Award
This award recognizes excellence and/or innovation in teaching. The selections could come from staff, students, and/or full-time faculty members within the department for college discussion.
Faculty Retirees
Joseph Birli, Ed.D., Assistant Progressor of Clinical Counseling
Cynthia Corbin, MSW, Instructor of Social Work
Scott Davidson, M.A., Instructor of Theology
Catherine Emenheiser, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy
Kevin Godfrey, Ph.D., Professor of Theology
Tom Porrazzo, Ph.D., Professor of Healthcare Science
Ana Ruiz, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Karen Thacker, Ph.D., Professor of Nursing
Alvernia University Faculty Scholarship
Today, as we honor faculty with annual awards, we also recognize faculty members who have authored scholarly works, presented findings and new ideas (both locally and abroad), performed time-honors musical pieces to enthralled audiences, or received awards and grants in the past year.
Alvernia University’s commitment to academic excellence is reflected in its faculty’s wide-ranging scholarship – from several years’ worth of research culminating in well-written to creative analysis presented at national and internation conferences.
Faculty Scholarship activity at Alvernia is complementary to courses of study offered to our students, which allows professors to accord interesting and timely information related to a variety of chosen fields.
Awards, Grants & Installations
Jeremy Kettering, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Economics
Excellence Grant: “The Dynamics of Performance Pay and Career Concerns”
Excellence Grant: “Information and Incentive Design in Oligopoly Competition”
Farah Mneimneh, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Engineering
Excellence Grant: “Sustainable Cooling Solutions: Evaluating the Performance of Biodegradable Cooling Vests Compared to Conventional Alternatives”
Jodi Radosh, Ph.D.
Professor of Communication and Digital Media
Excellence Grant: “Community News in Action: A One-Week Summer Journalism Camp for High School Students”
Stephen Vandenerg, PT, DPT, NCS
Assistant Professor of DPT
Excellence Grant: “Tumarkin-Like Phenomenon Following Resolution of Horizontal Semicircular Canal Apogeotropic BPPV: A Case Report”
Robin Zappin, PT, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor of DPT
Excellence Grant: “Community Based Global Learning Program in Belize”
Presentations & Panels
Kushal Adhikari, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Engineering
Presenting at EWRI - ASCE 2026 World Environmental & Water Resources Congress in Mobile, Alabama, Aprill 2026.
Julie Axelrod, DPT
Assistant Professor of DPT
Poster accepted for research in Belize at the CSM – APTA combines Sections Meetings in Anaheim, California, February 2026.
Brad Bauer, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Presenting at Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Hershey, Pennsylvania, May 2026.
Jane Brooker, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Business
Presented at NBEA Convention and BERC Research Conference (National Business Education Association) - Business Education Research Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, October 2025.
Kathryn Davis, Ph.D.,
Visiting Professor of Theology
Presented and Panel participation at the American Academy of Religion Annual Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, November 2025.
Mary Ann Durant, DNP, MSN, RN, M.Ed.
Associate Professor of Nursing
Presenting at ITLC - AI and the Future of Evidence-Based Teaching in Higher Education in Austin, Texas, May 2026.
Michael Durant, Ed.D., MS, BS, CC
Professional Specialist in Computer Science
Presenting at ITLC - AI and the Future of Evidence-Based Teaching in Higher Education in Austin, Texas, May 2026.
Ashley Gray-Reed, DAT, LAT, ATC
Assistant Professor of Athletic Training
Presenting at PATS Annual Conference - on the "Highlights and Challenges of Digital Mental Health" in Harrisburg/Hershey, Pennsylvania, June 2026.
Genevieve Karki, DMA
Professional Specialist of Music
Presenting at 37th ISME World Conference: Unity in Music Education: Building Bridges for All in Montreal, Canada, July 2026.
Heather Keperling, Ed.D., RN
Assistant Professor of Nursing
Presenting at American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) 40th Annual Conference - in Phoenix, Arizona, October 1017.
Jeremy Kettering, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Business
Presenting at the 2026 Pennsylvania Economic Association Conference in Indiana, Pennsylvania, May 2026.
Kayla Landers, M.A.
Woosoon Kim, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Business
Presenting at the 2026 Pennsylvania Economic Association Conference in Indiana, Pennsylvania, May 2026.
Professional Specialist of Communication and Digital Media, Writing Program Director
Presented at the 2026 Conference on College Composition and Communication: Conference and our Conversations in Cleveland, Ohio, March 2026.
Ryan Lange, Ph.D.
Professor of Communication and Digital Media, Department Chair
Co-presented with Dr. Jodi Radosh, Dr. Caroline Fitzpatrick, and Dr. Kris Lowrey on a panel at the 85th Annual Conference of the Pennsylvania Communication Association in Loretto, Pennsylvania, September 2025.
Kris Lowrey, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Communication and Digital Media
Co-presented with Dr. Ryan Lange, Dr. Caroline Fitzpatrick, and Dr. Jodi Radosh on a panel at the 85th Annual Conference of the Pennsylvania Communication Association in Loretto, Pennsylvania, September 2025.
Presented at the North Eat Popular Culture Association (NEPCA) Conference, October 2025.
Presented at the Annual Conference of Mid-Atlantic Popular and American Culture Association (MAPACA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 2025.
Farah Mneimneh, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Engineering
Presented at ASME 2025 Summer Heat Transfer Conference in Westminster, Colorado, July 2025.
Santosh Neupane, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Physics
Presented at American Physical Society March Meeting in Denver, Colorado, March 2026.
James O’Donohue, PT, DPT, OCS, ATC, FAFS
Associate Professor of DPT
"Exploring Community Perspectives Following an Interprofessional Community-Based Global Learning Program: A Mixed-Methods Study,"
Presented at American Physical Therapy Association- Combined Sections Meeting in Anaheim, California, February 2026.
Arielle Phillips-Law, M.A.
Instructor of Education
Presented at the ASHE: Association for the Study of Higher Education in Denver, Colorado, November 2025.
Teri Price, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Physics
Presenting at the 57th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics in Providence, Rhode Island, June 2026.
Jodi Radosh, Ph.D.
Professor of Communication and Digital Media
Presented at the Annual Conference of Mid-Atlantic Popular and American Culture Association (MAPACA), July 2025.
Co-presented with Dr. Ryan Lange, Dr. Caroline Fitzpatrick, and Dr. Kris Lowrey on a panel at the 85th Annual Conference of the Pennsylvania Communication Association in Loretto, Pennsylvania, September 2025.
Participated in the International Radio Television Society Faculty/Industry Seminar - Media Insiders 2025: Today's Opportunities and Tomorrow's Challenges in New York City, New York, November 2025.
Bongrae Seok, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy
Ana Ruiz, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Presented on a panel at the Engagement Scholarship Consortium International Conference - Bridging Resources to Build Stronger Communities in Roanoke, Virginia, October 2025.
"Confucian Moral Agent and AI from the perspective of Role Ethics and Relationalism of Artificial Moral Agent"
Presented at the APA Central Division Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, February 2026.
“Unique Moral Psychological Characteristics of Desire (yu) in Classical Chinese Philosophy”
Presented at the APA Eastern Division Annual Conference (American Philosophical Association) in Baltimore, Maryland, January 2026.
"Ecology, Embodiment, and Aesthetics of Confucian Moral Psychology for Moral Development and Artificial Intelligence"
Presented at the Maryland Philosophy Conference at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, October 2025
Janae Sholtz, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy
“Artisanal Thought: The Importance of Style in Deleuze’s Onto-Epistemological Project”
Presented at the Philosophical Society of Southern Africa Annual Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, January 2026.
Soo Sun, PT, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of DPT
Poster accepted for research in Belize at the CSM – APTA combines Sections Meetings in Anaheim, California, February 2026.
Karen Thacker, Ph.D.
Professor of Nursing
Presenting at ITLC - AI and the Future of Evidence-Based Teaching in Higher Education in Austin, Texas, May 2026.
Tufan Tiglioglu, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Business
Presenting at the Pennsylvania Economic Association (PEA) Board of Directors Meeting in Indiana, Pennsylvania, May 2026.
Pamela Unger, PT, DPT, FAPTA, CWS
Associate Professor of DPT
DPT Department Chair
Poster accepted for research in Belize at the CSM – APTA combines Sections Meetings in Anaheim, California, February 2026.
Stephen Vandenberg, PT, DPT, NCS
Assistant Professor of DPT
Presented at the APTA Combined Sections Meeting in Anaheim, California, February 2026
Presented at the APTA Move PA Conference in Harrisburg, PA, October 2025.
Presented at Academy Optometry in Boston, Massachusetts, October 2025.
Zhimin Yu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Accounting
Presented at National Association of Business, Economics and Technology Annual Conference at Penn State University in University Park, Pennsylvania, October 2025.
Research Expedition
Jamie Becker, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biology
Creating sustainable conservation-based income for rural Indigenous communities at a regional scale in the Sucusari region of the Peruvian Amazon, May-June 2026.