Faculty Focus
Dominican faculty help build awareness and boost the reputation of the university. We’re pleased to highlight some of their recent accomplishments.
Fall 2024
Borra College of Health Sciences
Dr. Tamara Bland, dean, was the recipient of the 2024 Sr. Mary Clemente Davlin, OP, Diversity Leadership Award for her efforts to build equitable opportunities for students of color in healthcare. Bland was also the co-author of “The Role of Nursing Leadership in Dismantling Racism in Nursing: A Call to Action,” published in Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 2024.
Dr. Michel Harris, assistant professor of nutrition sciences and director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics, received the 2024 Excellence in Teaching Award from Borra College of Health Sciences.
Brennan School of Business
Dr. Lisa Amoroso, professor of management, was the recipient of the Sr. Diane Kennedy, OP, Exemplar of Mission Faculty Award recognizing her commitment to upholding the university’s mission as a justice, equity and inclusion leader in the Brennan School of Business.
Dr. Anjali Chaudhry, professor of management, is the author of “Three Ways Managers Can Help Employees Tackle Eco-Anxiety,” published Aug. 5 in Forbes.
Dr. Brooke Reavey, associate professor of marketing, visited Romania as a Fulbright Specialist this summer and led a workshop on digital marketing strategies at the University of Babes-Bolyai in Cluj-Napoca.
Dr. Derek Ruth, associate professor of management, was selected by student vote for the 2024 Brennan Excellence in Teaching Award.
Rosary College of Arts and Sciences
Philip C. Aka, adjunct instructor of political science, is the author of the book Human Rights in Nigeria’s External Relations in the Age of General Muhammadu Buhari and His Successors: Loving the Foreigner as Yourself (2024).
Dr. Sheila Bauer-Gatsos, associate professor of English, received the Professor Emeritus Dr. Hugh “Mac” McElwain President’s Distinguished Service Faculty Award recognizing her strengths as a professor and English Department chair, and her work in the development of DU’s new North Star Core Curriculum.
Dr. Irina Calin-Jageman, professor of biology and neuroscience, was the recipient of the St. Catherine of Siena Outstanding Faculty Scholarship Award recognizing the many research papers she has co-authored with students, and her commitment to increasing participation and retention of underrepresented students in STEM fields.
Dr. Robert Calin-Jageman is the co-author of the book Introduction to the New Statistics, 2nd edition, published in April 2024; the paper “From Significance Testing to Estimation and Open Science: How Esci Can Help,” in International Journal of Psychology, April 28, 2024; and the paper “Registered Replication Report: Study 3 from Trafimow and Hughes (2012),” July 3, 2024, which was accepted for publication at Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science.
Dr. Irina Calin-Jageman, Dr. Robert Calin-Jageman and Theresa Wilsterman ’24 co-authored “Transcriptional Regulation Underlying Long-Term Sensitization in Aplysia,” in Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Neuroscience, 2024.
Dr. Ada Cheng, adjunct professor of sociology and criminology and 2023-24 Lund Gill Chair, was the recipient of a 2024 Public Humanities Award from Illinois Humanities.
Dr. Jennifer C. Dunn, professor of communication arts and sciences, received the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences Excellence in Leadership and Teaching Award for 2024.
Armando Guerrero Estrada, PASOS Network director and adjunct instructor of theology, co-authored with alumna Paulina Delgadillo ’23 the chapter “Recuerda Que Jesús También Fue Niño: An Undocumented Reflection on the Spiritual Exercises,” in the 2024 book Praying for Freedom: Racism and Ignatian Spirituality, by Liturgical Press.
Dr. Claudia Herrera-Montero, assistant professor of theology, presented a lecture on U.S. Latina theology at Albertus Magnus College (a Dominican-Catholic Hispanic Serving Institution) in New Haven, Connecticut, in October 2024. Her presentation was titled “Theologizing Abuelita-mente: Reimagining themes of comunidad/community, la lucha/the struggle, and ‘permítanme hablar/allow me to speak.’”
Dr. Jane Hseu, professor of English, was the moderator and organizer for the panel "Worlds and Words of Chicago: Immigrant Stories," featuring Nestor Gomez, Ugochi Nwaogwugwu, and Lani Montreal, at the American Writers Festival in May 2024 at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago. Hseu was also the co-organizer of the Oak Park Public Library’s celebration for Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month.
Bill Jenkins, professor of theater, gave workshops on victim health, victim rights and victim advocacy at the Parents of Murdered Children conference and the National Organization of Victim Advocacy conference this summer. He also designed lighting for the River City Players’ production of Collected Stories, and lighting and scenery for the HATTheatre production of The Roommate in Richmond, Virginia.
Dr. John Jenks, professor of communication, authored the chapter “Working Their Cover: The CIA’s Forum World Features, Covert Propaganda Strategy, and News Tactics, 1966–1975,” in the book Media Tactics in the Long Twentieth Century.
Dr. Jeanette Mokry, associate professor of mathematics, is the author of the digital textbook College Algebra: Functions and Applications, published by Great River Learning.
School of Information Studies
Dr. Kara Malenfant, assistant professor, is the co-author of “Characteristics of Academic Libraries, Library Instruction and Student Outcomes: A Descriptive Analysis Focusing on Minority-Serving and Rural Institutions,” a chapter published in the book Assessment and Advocacy: Using Project Outcome for Academic Libraries (2024).