Faculty Focus
Dominican faculty help build awareness and boost the reputation of the university. We’re pleased to highlight some of their recent accomplishments.
Borra College of Health Sciences
Shemeka Irby, interim director of the Physician Assistant Program, participated in the Physician Assistant Education Association’s inaugural Policy Summit in Washington, D.C., in July. She was among physician assistant educators advocating for legislation supporting scholarships and loan repayment for students.
Brennan School of Business
Dr. Loreto Peter Alonzi, professor emeritus of economics, was awarded the Collegium Visionary Award. The award recognizes summer colloquy participants who have engaged in leadership to promote the Catholic mission, scholarship advancing Catholic intellectual tradition, and innovative teaching.
Dr. Anjali Chaudhry, professor of management, is the recipient of the 2023 Faculty Recognition Award for Excellence in Sustainable Development Goals Integration from the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), a United Nations-supported initiative advocating sustainability and developing responsible decision-makers.
Dr. Brooke Reavey, associate professor of marketing, co-published the marketing case study Longevity Wines: Fermenting Inclusion for Black Wine Entrepreneurs with Ivey Publishing.
Dr. Richard Walstra, assistant professor of accounting, is the recipient of the American Accounting Association’s Diversity Section Innovation in Research Award for his paper “Inclusion of Disability Within the Spectrum of Diversity and the Implications for Accounting Education,” which he co-authored with Emilia A. Chukwuma.
Rosary College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. José Blanco F., professor of fashion, is the recipient of the 2023 Sr. Mary Clemente Davlin, OP, Diversity Leadership Award. The award recognizes a faculty or staff member who demonstrates a commitment to diversity, inclusion and equitable practices at Dominican.
The work of Jeffery Cote de Luna, professor of painting and discipline director of art history, was featured in an exhibit displayed in Dominican University’s O’Connor Art Gallery that showcased his drawings. The exhibit featured several figure drawings and portraits dating back 30 years—when Cote De Luna began teaching at the Dominican, then Rosary College. He calls the first 10 years of his teaching career here “a highly inspirational and creative period.”
Dr. Persis Driver, associate professor of psychology, is the co-author of the newly published book Black and Brown Education in America: Integration in Schools, Neighborhoods and Communities, a decade-long ethnographic study of Maywood, Illinois.
Dr. Ben Freville, assistant professor of education and interim dean of the College of Applied Social Sciences, and Dr. Colleen Reardon, professor emerita of education, co-authored the article “DESCRIBE: An Instructional Approach to Support Students with Disabilities as They Engage with Primary Sources” in Paedagogia: Journal of Teacher Action Research. Freville also co-authored the article “Teaching and Supporting Students with Disabilities: An Investigation of the Attitudes and Practices of Catholic High School Teachers in the United States” in EducA: International Catholic Journal of Education.
Dr. Claudia Herrera-Montero, assistant professor of theology, was re-elected secretary of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States. She has served the academy since 2018. She also co-presented a V Encuentro United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Panel on Higher Education in July and gave the opening keynote during the ¡El Futuro is Here! 2023 Conference at Dominican University in August.
Dr. Jane Hseu, professor of English, presented the paper “What is an English Department at a Hispanic-Serving Institution?” at the Annual Conference of the Society for the Study of Multi- Ethnic Literature of the United States in Indianapolis.
Dr. Timothy Milinovich, associate professor of theology, presented “In Paul We Trust, But Why? The Politics of Interpreting the Apostle After the Reformation,” during the Catholic Biblical Association of America’s 85th international meeting at Creighton University. He was also lead editor of the book God in Paul's Letters, which was published in July, and authored the chapter, “The Story of God in Romans.”
Dr. Penny Silvers, professor of education, published My Grandma Rocks, a children’s book that deconstructs stereotypes of grandmothers and older women commonly seen in literature.
Dr. Clodagh Weldon, professor and chair of theology, was appointed to the Strategic Advisory Board of the Centre for Catholic Education, Research and Religious Literacy at St. Mary’s University in Twickenham, England.
School of Information Studies
Dr. Bill Crowley, professor in the School of Information Studies, published “Allies, Cobelligerents, and the Political Realities of Pursuing Social Justice Librarianship in Conservative Republican Communities” in Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal).