Mark G. Chupp, PhD, MSW, is an Assistant Professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, CWRU, and he serves as the Chair for Community Practice for Social Change. He teaches community development and directs the East Cleveland Partnership, a multi-institutional initiative to support the revitalization of East Cleveland. Dr. Chupp is also an international consultant and trainer and has worked in Northern Ireland, Egypt, Columbia, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and El Salvador. He provided leadership in the establishment of the Culture of Peace Program as part of an effort to create a UN Local Zone of Peace in post-war El Salvador. Dr. Chupp completed his bachelor’s degree at Goshen College, his master’s degree in social work at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and his doctoral degree in social welfare at Case Western Reserve University.
Annie Pécastaings, Ph.D., is a native of France and a SAGES Fellow affiliated with CWRU's Department of English. Since completing her doctorate degree at Tufts University, she has taught both English and French at Clark University (Worcester, MA), the Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA), and Ohio University (Athens, OH). She has also held positions within the French educational system. At CWRU, she teaches writing-intensive seminars on a wide range of topics, such as "Coffee and Civilization," "To Everest and Back: The Politics and Culture of Mountaineering," "Paris in the Arts," and "Travel Literature in the Age of Discovery." Her main interests include literature, history, and the visual arts.
Daniela Schlatzer, BA, has over 15 years of analytical chemistry experience in both clinical and research environments. At Magellan Laboratories and GlaxoSmithKline, Ms. Schlatzer developed and managed both small molecule (SRM, MRM analysis) and large molecule (protein/peptide analysis) biomarker discovery efforts in clinical studies. Prior to her position in the Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics, Ms. Schlatzer was a Senior Research Scientist at GlaxoSmithKline for seven years conducting proteomic research in disease and biomarker discovery. In Ms. Schlatzer's current position, she has implemented a label free protein expression analysis platform for biomarker discovery in support of clinical proteomic studies. She provides project management and consulting services regarding experimental design for discovery and verification analysis as well as project plan development to research clinicians within the university and external collaborators.
Dennis Harris, BS, is the National Youth Sports Program Project (NYSP) Administrator and State Coordinator at CWRU. He assumed leadership of the NYSP program in 1996. After his appointment, Coach Harris introduced an academic component to the program, including mathematics, chemistry and biology. In addition, he incorporated the “P.R.I.C.E” (Prevention, Research, Intervention, Compassion and Education) model to ensure the success and growth of the youth and the program. Coach Harris also serves as the NYSP state coordinator for Ohio, working with the programs at the University of Toledo, the University of Akron and Cleveland State University. He earned his undergraduate degree in history from The Ohio State University.
Dennis Rupert, is the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs for Operations and Planning. He is an experienced student affairs professional providing visionary leadership for over 20 years in small and medium, public and private, liberal arts and comprehensive research educational settings. He has a proven history of success in facilities management, financial oversight, student and staff development and supervision. Over the course of his career, he has led strategic planning and assessment projects and gained significant experience in grant development and oversight, fundraising, and policy and process.
Elizabeth Tracy, PhD, MSW, BA, is the Grace Longwell Coyle Professor in Social Work at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. She teaches courses in direct social work practice theory and methods in the master level program and a seminar in social work education and teaching in the doctoral program. She has also directed the school social work program that leads to licensure through the Ohio Department of Education for master level and post master level students. Reflecting her interest in schools and families, she has served on the advisory board to the Center for Math and Science Education, UCITE. Dr. Tracy received her doctoral degree and masters in social work from the University of Washington, and her bachelor’s degree from Radcliffe College.
Sana Loue, PhD, JD, MSSA, MA, is a Professor in the Department of Bioethics and serves as the Vice Dean for Faculty Development and Diversity in the School of Medicine. She has secondary appointments in the Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Psychiatry, Global Health, and at the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. Dr. Loue holds graduate degrees in law (J.D.), epidemiology (Ph.D.), medical anthropology (Ph.D.), social work (M.S.S.A.) and secondary education (M.A.). She is also ordained as an interfaith minister. Dr. Loue’s primary research focus is on HIV risk and prevention and family violence in marginalized communities. She has authored and edited over 70 peer-reviewed articles, 58 book chapters and 27 books. With a long history of effectively advocating for students and other groups in our society, she is an avid supporter of the Provost Scholars Program.
Gilbert Doho, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, as well as the Academic Representative in French. He obtained his Ph.D. (1992) from the University of Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris III. His areas of specialization are Twentieth Century French Drama, Francophone Studies, African Performing Arts, and Cinema. He has contributed in writing chapters in The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre Volume 3: Africa (Routledge, 1997), and Le Dictionnaire des ouvres litéraires d'Afrique francophone (Bethesda, ISP, 1996). He is currently working on the censured version of his Au-dela du lac de nénuphars (Beyond the Lily Lake) and on urban theater as a powerful tool of minority empowerment in the U.S.
Jim Sheeler, BA, MA, is the Shirley Wormser Professor of Journalism and Media Writing at Case Western Reserve University. He is the author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper feature on the war in Iraq that led to a book, Final Salute, which was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award in nonfiction. As a young newspaper reporter, he specialized in narrative obituaries of people whose names had never before appeared in the newspaper, but whose stories were often more fascinating than any celebrity or politician. Those lives and the lessons they taught (which were also collected in his first book Obit), largely guided his coverage of the war in Iraq that began in 2003. He followed the first casualty from Colorado and continued by recording the story of a U.S. Marine Casualty Assistance Calls Officer and the families he touched while saddled with one of the most difficult duties in the military.
Janice Eatman-Williams is the Director of the FOCUS Group School-Based Outreach in the CWRU Division of Student Affairs. She has been an advocate and activist for access and excellence in education for young people for more than 25 years. Her services have been shared through the years while employed at Tri-C Metro Campus, Vocational Guidance Services, the (now) Cleveland Metropolitan School District and other institutions. She devotes her time to many organizations and efforts whose mission is the empowerment of community. She is a graduate of Hawken School, received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and is a graduate of the Weatherhead School of Management and the Mandel School at Case Western Reserve University.
Jonathan Gordon, JD, BA, teaches legal writing and professional responsibility to international law students in the school’s LLM program. Gordon has taught various other JD courses over the years, including conflicts resolution, the lawyering process, pretrial practice and professional responsibility. Gordon was one of the founding members of the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Summer Legal Academy for local high school students. Gordon has also served as the faculty liaison for various externships with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and several state Attorney General offices in Ohio and elsewhere. A graduate of Columbia University School of Law, Gordon began his legal career in private practice, focusing on civil rights and employment issues. Prior to joining the law school, he spent several years as a trial attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where he was involved in cases involving race, gender, religion, national origin, age discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation and various class action matters.
Kenneth R. (Ken) Johnson, MBA, BA, has been a Visiting Professor with DeVry University (Cleveland campus), teaching on both the graduate and undergraduate levels, as well as an Adjunct Professor for other regional universities. He has taught for more than a decade, covering subjects including Business & Management, Business Ethics, Economics, Financial Management, Leadership and Organizational Behavior and Mathematics. Mr. Johnson received his B.A. in Economics and Business from Wheaton College (IL) in 1982, and an M.B.A. in Health Systems Management from Case Western Reserve University in 1985. He is currently pursuing a multi-disciplinary Ph.D. in Health Policy and Applied Ethics at Case Western Reserve University, drawing upon the Medical School, Law School, Business School, the Inamori Center for Ethics and Excellence, and the Center for Policy Studies.
Lee Thompson, PhD, MA, is the Chair of the Psychological Sciences department and a Professor at Case Western Reserve University. Her research has explored the development of cognitive skills, temperament, and language from infancy through childhood using siblings, twins, and genetic techniques. She is particularly interested in how the genetic code is translated into complex behavior at the level of brain function. Dr. Thompson has also been the recipient of the McGraw-Hill Excellence in Teaching First-Year Seminars Award and a co-creator of the Seminar Approach to General Education and Scholarship (SAGES) program at Case. Dr. Thompson received her bachelor’s degree from Case Western Reserve University and her master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Mary Assad, PhD, earned her master's and doctorate degrees in English from CWRU, with her doctoral dissertation focusing on medical rhetoric. She also studied history and earned a degree from Baldwin-Wallace University (Strongsville, OH). Her research interests include examining how language is used to help shape the beliefs, attitudes, and actions that are associated with health and illness. As a faculty member, one of her primary goals is to embed research into the classroom and encourage students to examine the various definitions of health that are disseminated among the public, both verbally and visually. Lastly, she challenges students to think about the ways that health can be defined and discussed on the university campus.
Patricia McDonald, PhD, RN, is an associate professor in the Francis Payne Bolton School of Nursing. Her primary research interests include the prevention and treatment of diabetes, particularly for African-Americans, chronic illness and health promotion for caregivers. She was also the principal investigator for the “Teaching Acceptance to Chronically Ill Older Adults,” “The Beauty for Ashes” projects, and co-investigator for the Parent Grant program with Dr. Jaclene Zauzniewski. Dr. McDonald earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Nursing and Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, respectively, from The Ohio State University, and her doctorate in Nursing from Case Western Reserve University. While studying nursing, Dr. McDonald's educational interests were advanced practical nursing and mental health nursing. She has also been a visiting professor at the Department of Nursing, University of Zimbabwe. Finally, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Henry Ford Health Systems in Detroit, Michigan.
Paul Bakaki, MD, PhD, earned his medical degree from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, and his PhD in epidemiology and biostatistics from CWRU in 2013. He practiced medicine in Uganda, specializing in pediatrics; he conducted collaborative research in mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and the epidemiology of some cancer-causing viruses. As a research scientist at CWRU, he has conducted methodological outcomes research about cancer and epilepsy by examining large administrative databases. He is the recipient of several scholarships, including the Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Program Award, the American Epilepsy Society Young Investigator Award, and the American College of Epidemiology Outstanding Research Award. Bakaki is a prolific writer and researcher. Currently, Dr. Bakaki is an instructor in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences.
Rolfe Petschek, Ph.D., is a theoretical physicist and an associate professor in the Physics Department at CWRU. Dr. Petschek is interested in light and heat, and how light can be controlled for practical devices. He thinks mostly about “soft condensed matter.” A prime example of soft condensed matter he has chosen to research is the liquid crystals that are changed by electric fields to make flat panel displays work. Two of his patents are in those displays. He has also expressed interest in pure and applied science – both by understanding how things tick and how we can make practical devices from them. Outside of science, he enjoys languages, food, particularly exploring new ethnic cuisines, and outdoor activities like hiking and picking and eating wild mushrooms with his wife and daughter. Dr. Petschek received his S.B. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his doctoral degree from Harvard University.
Ronald Hickman, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, FAAN, is an associate professor at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, CWRU, and practices as an acute care nurse in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH. Dr. Hickman is a triple alumnus of CWRU, with a bachelor's degree in Biological Science; a certificate in Professional Nursing; a master's degree in acute care practical nursing; and, a doctoral degree in Nursing Science. He received his post-doctoral training in clinical and translational science, cost-effectiveness evaluation, as well as molecular genetics sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His efforts in mentoring students and caring for the critically ill have earned him two university honors for excellence in mentoring: The J. Bruce Jackson Award and the John S. Diekhoff Award.
Shannon E. French, PhD, BA, is the Director of the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence, and a tenured member of the Philosophy Department with a secondary appointment in the law school at Case Western Reserve University. She is also a Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC. Dr. French received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Brown University in 1997. Prior to starting at CWRU in 2008, she taught for eleven years as an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the United States Naval Academy and served as Associate Chair of the Department of Leadership, Ethics, and Law.
Susan McClary, PhD, is a MacArthur Fellow and a Professor of Music at CWRU, where she teaches courses in music history, music theory, and historical performance practices. Her research focuses on the cultural criticism of music, both the European canon and contemporary popular genres. She is best known for her book Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality, which examines cultural constructions of gender, sexuality, and the body in various musical repertoires, ranging from early seventeenth-century opera to the songs of Madonna. She won university-wide teaching awards at the University of Minnesota and the University of California, Los Angeles. She has delivered keynote addresses on six continents.
Valerie Haywood, PhD, is a senior instructor of biology at CWRU. She has been invited to present her research at several national conferences, including the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) Professional Development Conference; the American Association of Plant Biologists (ASPB) Midwest Section Annual Conference; and, the inaugural Gordon Research on Undergraduate Biology Education Research. Dr. Haywood joined the faculty in the Department of Biology at CWRU in 2005. She received her PhD in plant biology from the University of California, Davis, and she completed her post-doctoral studies at the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA. Her graduate work focused on elucidating the mechanisms involved in phloem-mediated translocation of mRNA molecules in angiosperms. While Dr. Haywood’s broad interest in plant biology remains, her main focus is undergraduate biology education, particularly assessment of student performance and retention rates in large introductory biology courses.
Ruqaiijah Yearby, JD, MPH, is the David L. Brennan Professor and Associate Dean of Institutional Diversity and Inclusiveness at CWRU's School of Law. A nationally and internationally recognized scholar, her scholarship focuses on racial disparities in health care, and law, justice, and medical research. Due to her expertise in these areas, she recently presented her work on law and medical research at the Oxford Global Health and Bioethics International Conference in Oxford, England. Based on her expertise, she has served as a book proposal reviewer for Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, England, as well as a grant reviewer for the Wellcome Trust (the United Kingdom's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research). Her scholarship has been used in law and social science classes at New York University, Fordham, the University of California, Berkeley and others.
Amy Zhang, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, CWRU. She teaches a SAGES course on complementary and alternative therapies to undergraduate students. She has been a member of the National Institutes of Health grant review panels and a member of the university's faculty senate and its executive committee. Her research focuses on improving the quality of life of cancer survivors and their families. She has conducted NIH-funded studies to reduce urinary incontinence of African American men with prostate cancer and depression. She is a recipient of a 2017-18 Fulbright Scholar Research Grant where she will continue her research in China.
Scott Wilkes, PhD, JD, MSW, is an assistant professor and the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences (MSASS), CWRU. Before becoming the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs, he joined the Field Education Department in the fall of 2007 as a Field Faculty Advisor and assumed leadership of the department, as Director of the Field Education, in 2011. Dr. Wilkes has more than 15 years of experience working in the area of child welfare. Dr. Wilkes received his master's degree in social work from Columbia University, NY. A graduate of the CWRU School of Law, he received his PhD in Social Welfare from the CWRU School of Graduate Studies. Dr. Scott has provided leadership to the Provost Scholars through its years of development.
Gary Edmunds, BS, is a research assistant at the Department of Bioethics at CWRU's School of Medicine and an Affiliated Staff Member of the Office of Faculty Development and Diversity. For several years, he has been a mentor in the Provost Scholars Program. Gary is a very reliable mentor, seldom misses a mentoring session, and is committed to assisting youths with improving their academic performance. He is an expert dancer and he has taught dance to couples. Gary has worked at CWRU since 2002 and we are appreciative of his services to the Provost Scholars Program.
Scott Fine, MBA, BA, is an Assistant Professor in Banking and Finance at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management. He teaches courses in financial strategy, corporate finance, financial decision making, mergers and acquisitions, valuation and private equity and value creation. Before joining the Weatherhead School, he was a professional strategic consultant, investment banker, public company Chief Finance Officer and private equity business owner. He is an active member of his community, and devotes his time to programs with missions that address sustainability and viability. At the University level, he has been nominated for the J. Bruce Jackson, MD, Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring, the Carl F. Wittke Award for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence and was awarded the USG Undergraduate Teaching Award. Fine has a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, NY, and a master’s degree in business administration from Stanford University, CA.
