Craig Martin

Craig Martin Associate professor

Department of History

Craig Martin, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of History. Specializing in the Italian Renaissance and Early Modern history of science, Dr. Martin has conducted research in various cities throughout Italy, including Florence, Bologna, Venice, Rome and Padua. Since joining Oakland in 2006, Dr. Martin has earned several prestigious honors. The American Academy in Rome awarded him the 2011-2012 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Post-Doctoral Rome Prize in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies, and he also earned a Dibner Fellowship in the History of Science at the Huntington Library in San Marino, Calif. In addition, he has received two OU research fellowships and also won the New Investigator Research Award. Along with serving as the department’s undergraduate advisor, Dr. Martin has taught courses in Early Modern Europe, Italian Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, Black Death, and introductory classes in the history of science and in European History. With a Ph.D. from Harvard University, Dr. Martin has authored two books while at Oakland. The first book,Renaissance Meteorology: Pomponazzi to Descartes, explains scientific theories about the weather during the Renaissance, including topics such as the causes of natural disasters and the use of alchemy to understand the weather. The second book, Subverting Aristotle: Philosophy, History, and Religion in Early Modern Science is due in the spring of 2014. It discusses how scholars used history to determine whether Aristotle's philosophy could be reconciled with Christianity.

Dennis Condron

Dennis  Condron  Assistant  professor,  sociology  

Department  of  Sociology,  Anthropology,  Social  Work  and  Criminal  Justice  

Dennis Condron, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of sociology specializing in social stratification/inequality and the sociology of education. Since joining OU in 2011, Dr. Condron has taught Introduction to Sociology, Introduction to Methods of Social Research, Social Statistics with Computer Applications and Social Stratification. His research addresses the sources and consequences of unequal educational opportunities and outcomes, especially as they pertain to social class and race/ethnicity. His studies have focused on issues such as unequal school funding, the black/white achievement gap, social class disparities in children's social and cultural capital, and the role of socioeconomic inequality in international comparisons of achievement. In 2012, Dr. Condron was recognized with the New Investigator Research Excellence Award from Oakland University and also received a Faculty Fellowship Award from the University Research Committee. Additionally, Dr. Condron has served on the Provost’s Student Research Awards selection committee and collaborated with colleagues on various departmental projects, including a mentoring program for faculty, a program to boost student success in a required statistics course and a collective implementation of writing-improvement strategies used in the classroom. Dr. Condron earned a B.A. in sociology from the University of Michigan-Flint and holds master’s and doctoral degrees from Ohio State University.

Henri Gooren

Henri Gooren Associate professor, anthropology

Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work and Criminal Justice

Since joining Oakland University in 2007, Dr. Henri Gooren has kept up a busy schedule. During the past six years, the associate professor of anthropology has published 14 articles, as well as the book, Religious Conversion and Disaffiliation: Tracing Patterns of Change in Faith Practices. Dr. Gooren’s specialties include the anthropology of religion, conversion models, and Pentecostalism, Protestantism, Mormonism and Roman Catholicism in Latin America. A recognized leader across campus, Dr. Gooren has served on numerous committees, organized sessions and presented talks at the American Anthropological Association and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. He is editor of the Religion in the Americas book series for Brill Publishers and has also given talks at OU and at Rochester area events. He helped organize OU’s 2009-2010 College of Arts and Sciences Celebrating the Liberal Arts Theme, “Religion and Society” and has served as the adviser for OU’s anthropology program since 2011. He has also mentored 15 OU students in preparation for graduate school and is currently supervising two outside Ph.D. students. Along with his research and mentoring activities, Dr. Gooren has taught courses in the anthropology and international studies programs at OU. They include Culture and Human Nature; Magic, Witchcraft and Religion; Anthropological Research Methods; Peoples and Cultures of Mexico and Central America; Religious Conversion and Globalization; and Introduction to Latin America. Dr. Gooren earned an OU Research Fellowship and was awarded a $100,000 individual grant from the Pentecostal-Charismatic Research Initiative, which is funded by the John Temple Foundation and administered by the University of Southern California. These awards helped support Dr. Gooren’s research project entitled "The Pentecostalization of Religion and Society in Paraguay and Chile.” The project involved fieldwork research in Asuncion, Paraguay, in the summers of 2010 and 2012, and in Santiago de Chile in 2011. Dr. Gooren earned a master’s degree and doctorate in anthropology from Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Annette Gilson

Annette Gilson Associate professor

Department of English

Annette Gilson, Ph.D., is an associate professor in Oakland University’s Department of English. She teaches an introductory course in modern literature, a 300-level course in 20th-century Postcolonial Literature, intermediate and advanced fiction writing workshops and various seminars on topics such as the contemporary novel, and literature that deals with the sacred and profane in the secular world. She has been nominated for the OU Teaching Excellence Award for the past six years.

Since joining OU in 1999, Dr. Gilson has received two research fellowships, an award from the Judd Endowment for the Oakland University/Absinthe European Festival of Film and Literature, and a grant from the OU Career Center to support the English Alumni Mentoring Program and expansion of student internship programs. During summer 2013, she supervised a creative writing workshop conducted by two OU student interns at the Baldwin Center in Pontiac.

In addition, Dr. Gilson has been honored with a Faculty Recognition Award and a Best Faculty Sponsor Award for her work with Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society. She has also served on the OU Faculty Senate.

Dr. Gilson holds a B.A. from Bard College and a Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. She published her first novel, New Light, in 200 6.

Cristian Cantir

Cristian Cantir Assistant professor

Department of Political Science

Cristian Cantir joined Oakland’s Department of Political Science in September 2011 after earning his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. Since then, he has been busy teaching and mentoring students, while serving on numerous departmental committees. In his first year, he served as the department library coordinator and received a faculty fellowship award to conduct research on executive-legislative conflict in countries that participated in the “coalition of the willing” during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

In his time at Oakland, he has taught four courses: Introduction to International Relations, Theories of International Relations, U.S. Foreign Policy and Comparative Foreign Policy. The latter is a new course Dr. Cantir developed that focuses on the foreign policies of major countries outside of the United States. He hopes to turn it into a permanent course offering, and he also has an interest in teaching other relevant topics, such as the history of international relations.

This past year, Dr. Cantir was honored with an Inspiration Award from Oakland’s Honors College for mentoring a student who presented a paper at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference. The event drew more than 5,700 presenters from the United States and 55 other countries.

Dr. Cantir is an active member of the International Studies Association and regularly attends the organization’s annual conference.

Adolfo Campoy-Cubillo

Adolfo Campoy-Cubillo Assistant professor

Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

Adolfo Campoy-Cubillo, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of Spanish in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. He joined OU in fall 2010 after graduating from the University of Chicago with a doctorate in Spanish Literature. Earlier, he received a Fullbright Scholarship to complete his M.A. at Wayne State University.

Dr. Campoy-Cubillo’s research interests include postcolonial studies, feminism, Spanish cultural studies and comparative literature. In October 2012, he published his book, Memories of the Maghreb: Transnational Identities in Spanish Cultural Production, an in-depth study of cultural representations of the Spanish colonization of North Africa. Despite the crucial role that the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco played in the radicalization of the colonial officers – which eventually led to the Spanish Civil War – this chapter of Spanish history has only recently begun to be analyzed.

Memories of the Maghreb explores how the Spanish colonization of North Africa at the turn of the twentieth century continues to haunt Spain's efforts to articulate a national identity that can accommodate both the country's diversity brought about by immigration from its old colonies, and the post-national demands of its integration in the European Union. The book is available at bookstores and online retailers.

Dr. Campoy-Cubillo is especially interested in analyzing the material conditions that have contributed to the development of Spanish colonial discourse and its re-articulation in contemporary Spain. His most recent projects focus on the representation of Spanish colonial presence in North Africa in contemporary Spanish novels and documentaries.

Terri Towner

Terri Towner Assistant professor

Department of Political Science

Since joining OU in fall 2007, Dr. Towner has taught a number of courses, including Introduction to American Politics, Research Methods and Statistics, Elections and Voting Behavior, Public Opinion, and Politics and the Internet. The latter course is a new offering that examines issues involving privacy, e-government, blog power and social media in campaigning. The course draws on cutting-edge research in multiple disciplines, including political science, communication, psychology and computer technology.

Dr. Towner has won numerous honorariums and grants, including two from the Oakland University Research Committee. She was nominated for Oakland’s 2013 Teaching Excellence Award and has received other university and departmental honors, such as the Faculty Service Award and Merit prizes for scholarship and teaching.

In addition to her teaching activities, Dr. Towner serves on several committees at the college and departmental level and is the faculty advisor to OU’s award-winning Pi Sigma Alpha (National Political Science Honor Society) chapter. This talented student group was named “Best Chapter” by the national office for two years in a row and has also earned awards from Oakland’s Center for Student Activities and Leadership Development, for Outstanding Political/Social Awareness Program and Student Organization of the Year. The chapter won the Outstanding Political/Social Awareness Program for its grant-funded film series, which featured four films about policy topics: Thank You for Smoking, Hot Coffee, Our Brand is Crisis and La Haine.

This year, the group won a national contest to bring the Pi Sigma Alpha Undergraduate Journal of Politics to Oakland University. The journal publishes outstanding undergraduate research from around the United States on a bi-annual basis and is completely operated by undergraduate students who review, edit and publish material. OU will host the journal for a three-year term, which will begin in fall 2013.

On the research front, Dr. Towner is finishing her latest book, Frames and Counterframes: An Analysis of Affirmative Action Discourse, which examines how the issue of affirmative action is framed and counter-framed before the U.S. Supreme Court, and then traces how these frames are disseminated through the media and ultimately end up being articulated in U.S. Supreme Court opinions.

She also continues to pursue research exploring social media's influence on political attitudes and behaviors. She conducted a large survey panel of OU students during the 2012 presidential election and is currently analyzing the data. This April, she presented some of the empirical findings at the Midwest Political Science Association annual conference.

Dr. Towner holds a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in political science, all from Purdue University.

Ami Harbin

Ami Harbin Assistant professor

Women and Gender Studies

Dr. Ami Harbin brings expertise to a variety of disciplines, teaching in the Department of Philosophy and in the Women and Gender Studies Program. A new face on campus, the assistant professor arrived at Oakland in August 2012 and teaches Bioethics, Feminist Theory, Introduction to Ethics and Introduction to Women and Gender Studies. She has also taught courses in Introductory Feminist Philosophy and Philosophy of Sex and Love.

Dr. Harbin’s research examines questions in moral psychology about how experiences motivate action. She has received doctoral and postdoctoral awards from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and was further supported in postdoctoral work by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) through a grant at Novel Tech Ethics Institute. In bioethics, her postdoctoral work focused on mental health ethics and health care for queer and transgender individuals. Dr. Harbin's postdoctoral research in social philosophy focused on collective agency in working against North American colonialism. In 2012, she received a national grant from CIHR to organize a public symposium on the topic of mental illness and social isolation.

Active in several professional organizations in the U.S. and Canada, Dr. Harbin is currently serving on the executive boards of two international professional organizations: the International Network on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics (FAB) and the Society for Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture (EPTC). She also co-edited a special journal issue of “PhaenEx” on phenomenology, affect and emotion, which was published in January 2013.

Additionally, she was on a panel organized in January by the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine about the 2007 film “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” and is also participating in the executive committee of Women and Gender Studies at OU. She was recently selected to receive an OU University Research Committee Faculty Research Fellowship for the summer of 2013, to support research into experiences of disorientation and moral psychology.

Dr. Harbin received an Honors degree in Philosophy from Dalhousie University, a Master of Arts in Philosophy from Concordia University, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Dalhousie University.

Mark Navin

Mark Navin Assistant professor

Department of Philosophy

Mark Navin, Ph.D, arrived at Oakland University in 2008 after completing his graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Since then, the assistant professor of philosophy has made significant contributions on campus as a leader and educator.

A member of the Women and Gender Studies (WGS) Executive Committee, Dr. Navin helped to establish a new joint position for WGS and the Philosophy Department. He is currently working with WGS on a project to raise awareness about sexual harassment on campus.

In addition, Dr. Navin has been a member of the College Assembly, the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Executive Committee and the Academic Conduct Committee. He has also managed the Department of Philosophy's speaker series and is presently serving as a faculty adviser for a student organization.

With an interest in social and political philosophy, Dr. Navin’s current research is centered on the ethical and epistemological issues surrounding the decision of many parents not to vaccinate their children. He is the recipient of an OU Faculty Research Fellowship.

Dr. Navin has taught courses on global justice, the philosophy of law, and political philosophy, as well as courses in The Honors College and in the WGS program. He is currently a faculty fellow with the Office of Academic Service Learning and is working to integrate service projects into his ethics courses. During the past two years, Dr. Navin has secured $14,000 in grant funding for full-time summer research internships in the Philosophy department.

Edward Haworth Hoeppner

Edward Haworth Hoeppner Professor, Director of Creative Writing

Department of English

By the time Ed Hoeppner joined Oakland University’s Department of English in 1988, he was already a prolific writer and poet.

Since 1975, Dr. Hoeppner has published nearly 300 poems, as well as poetry collections, Rain through High Windows and Ancestral Radio. He has also published a critical study, “Echoes and Moving Fields: Structure and Subjectivity in the Poetry of W.S. Merwin and John Ashbery.” In 2010, his talents were recognized nationally when he won the Ohio State Press Award in Poetry for his latest collection, Blood Prism. The manuscript was selected from roughly 500 entries, all vying for the competition’s $3,000 prize. Dr. Hoeppner has also won poetry contests at the University of Michigan-Flint and Schoolcraft College.

Dr. Hoeppner teaches courses in American Literature from 1920-1950, modern and contemporary American poetry and introductory and advanced poetry writing workshops, as well as graduate-level courses. His tenure at Oakland has included hosting two poet laureates for the university’s annual Maurice Brown Memorial Poetry Reading. He is currently the director of Oakland’s new B.A. program in creative writing.

Dr. Hoeppner received a B.A. from St. Mary’s University in Minnesota and went on to earn his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa.

Matthew Fails

Matthew Fails Assistant professor

Department of Political Science

Matthew Fails, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science. Specializing in comparative politics, much of Dr. Fails’ scholarship is focused on the interaction between economic and political phenomena. His current research spotlights the impact of European colonialism on global development, examining how different patterns of colonial conquest and colonization have influenced whether countries are wealthy or poor today.

In addition, he has published work on how differences between countries can affect their ability to attract outside investment. Some of Dr. Fails’ research has been sponsored by a Faculty Research Fellowship Award from the University Research Committee, and he is also a recipient of the Marian P. Wilson Award for outstanding scholarship.

Since joining Oakland in 2009, Dr. Fails has taught courses in comparative politics, the politics of development and African politics. He is currently developing a new capstone course, "Blood Diamonds and Petro-Politics," which will explore how an abundance of natural resource wealth is associated with a variety of negative outcomes, from slow economic growth, increased likelihood of civil wars and the prevention of democratic government.

Along with his teaching duties, Dr. Fails serves on several committees in the Department of Political Science and has spearheaded other efforts, such as bringing in a distinguished speaker in support of the College of Arts and Sciences’ 2010 theme, “Frontiers and Borders.” He also organizes the Political Science Research Forum, a monthly seminar series in which members of the Political Science department present their research to colleagues and students. Plans are underway to broaden the program by featuring other OU social scientists, as well as experts from neighboring institutions.

Dr. Fails completed his undergraduate education at Truman State University and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri.

Derek Hastings

Derek Hastings Associate professor

Department of History

Derek Hastings, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of History. A member of the Oakland University community since 2003, Dr. Hastings’ specialties include modern European history, nationalism, gender studies, and the relationship between religion and politics.

The author of numerous scholarly articles and book reviews, Dr. Hastings regularly travels to Germany to conduct archival research. In 2010, his first book, Catholicism and the Roots of Nazism, was published by Oxford University Press. His current book project focuses on Nazi ideals of masculinity. While at OU, Dr. Hastings has been awarded three grants from the University Research Committee and received a Faculty Recognition Award for research.

In addition to seminars and capstone courses, Dr. Hastings teaches classes in European history, Nazi Germany, nationalism in modern Europe, the culture of the Weimar Republic, and Germany since 1740. Two of his undergraduate courses were selected as exemplary "Best Practices" courses in a national study organized by the College Board Advanced Placement history program. He also has co-edited a western civilization textbook published by Pearson-Prentice Hall.

Dr. Hastings holds a B.A. in history from Stony Brook University, as well as an M.A. and Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago. He studied at the University of Munich for one year.

Kuniko Nielsen

Kuniko Nielsen Assistant professor

Linguistics Department

Kuniko Nielsen is an assistant professor in Oakland University’s Linguistics Department. Dr. Nielsen’s research is focused on the areas of phonetics and psycholinguistics. By conducting behavioral experiments and acoustics analysis, she explores questions such as how linguistic sound structures are represented in memory and how those representations are accessed and reflected in speech production and perception.

A member of the OU community since 2008, Dr. Nielsen has served on the College of Arts and Sciences Assembly and Graduate Studies Committee and has supervised graduate and undergraduate student research projects, including presentations for the annual Meeting of the Minds conference.

She recently presented the results of her research on the effects of autism traits on phonetic imitation at the 13th Conference on Laboratory Phonology in Stuttgart, Germany, and is currently organizing a special session on phonetic imitation for the 165th annual meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Montreal.

Dr. Nielsen holds a Ph.D. in linguistics from UCLA and received an OU Faculty Fellowship Award in 2010. She teaches courses in general linguistics, phonology, phonetics theory, and language development in children.

Vagner Whitehead

Vagner Whitehead Associate professor

Department of Art and Art History

Vagner Whitehead is an accomplished artist who brings a wealth of knowledge to his position as an associate professor in the Department of Art and Art History. Whitehead was hired in 2005 to develop the new media specialization in the studio art program, which has become one of the most popular areas of the department.

Since joining OU, Whitehead has taught a range of courses, including Video Art, Advanced New Media, Advanced Photography and New Media, and Internet Art. He has also acted as a department adviser for one year and served on various committees at the department, college and university level. He is on the National Board of Directors for the New Media Caucus and has volunteered for other community organizations, including the Michigan AIDS Coalition’s Artworks Detroit committee, Paint Creek Center for the Arts’ Exhibitions committee and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs’ Mini-grant Review committee.

He was awarded a Faculty Research Fellowship from OU and a partial scholarship to attend the Santa Fe Art Institute as an artist-in-residence this past summer. Recently, he was one of 35 artists selected to create media installations for Detroit’s inaugural DLECTRICITY electronic art festival, which attracted 75,000 attendees. His commissioned work, which can be viewed here, (http://vimeo.com/51567995) is called “white code: VIEW” and was installed at the façade of the N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art.

This October, his solo exhibition, “Argentum,” was displayed at the Hammes Gallery in Notre Dame, IN. Inspired by Whitehead’s 2010 art residency in La Plata, Argentina, the collection features eight large-scale triptych paintings, one silver point drawing, one mural drawing with video projection and two single-channel videos.

In addition, Whitehead was a part of this fall’s ArtPrize competition in Grand Rapids, where his single-channel video “Golden” was projected in the window of the city’s police department. The piece was originally shown in a solo exhibit at the Org Contemporary Art Gallery in Detroit and was later featured in a video and film series in Germany. Other exhibitions his work has appeared in this year include “Behind the Mask: Women, Men and Masculinities,” which was shown at the University of Detroit Mercy Art and Architecture Gallery and at the University of Windsor’s SoVA Projects Gallery. He also participated in a faculty art exhibition shown at the Anton Art Center in Mount Clemens, as well as the “Nude or Naked” exhibition at Northend Studios in Detroit and the “Arts on Division” festival in Somerville, NJ.

Whitehead holds a BFA in Photography from Savannah College of Art and Design and received his MFA in Creative Photography and Electronic Intermedia from the University of Florida.

Ken Elder

Ken Elder Professor

Department of Physics

Ken Elder, Ph.D., is a professor in Oakland University’s Department of Physics. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Guelph and earned his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto.

With an extensive background in research, Dr. Elder has received awards from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate work. As an OU faculty member, his research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and Research Corporation.

Much of his work is focused on understanding the complex spatial structures that appear following a phase change, such as when a liquid turns into a solid or when a metal transitions from a non-magnetic to a magnetic state. Additionally, Dr. Elder’s work on a method that models atomic scale features on long time scales has received dozens of citations and has been utilized around the world.

More recently, Dr. Elder has been investigating phenomena in which elasticity plays a key role, such as in the growth of ultrathin epitaxial films. These films are critical to many processes, including surface catalysis, which is involved in the production of more than 90 percent of all chemical products.

Dr. Elder joined OU in 1995 and teaches introductory and advanced courses, such as general physics, nuclear physics, electricity and magnetism, theoretic physics and quantum mechanics.

Bradley Roth

Bradley Roth Professor

Department of Physics

OU physics professor Bradley Roth’s career is noted for leadership in both research and teaching. Dr. Roth spent seven years at the Maryland-based National Institutes of Health, where he helped develop transcranial magnetic stimulation of the brain, a method to activate the brain painlessly and non-invasively. He also has contributed to the use of the bidomain model to describe the electrical properties of cardiac tissue. This model has become the state-of-the-art for simulating defibrillation of the heart.

Dr. Roth’s research has been supported by grants from renowned institutions, such as the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, American Heart Association and Whittaker Foundation.

Since Joining OU in 1998, Dr. Roth has taught a variety of courses, including biological physics and medical physics. He is co-author of the fourth edition of the textbook Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology.

Dr. Roth holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Kansas and a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University .

Lakshmi Raman

Lakshmi Raman Assistant professor

Department of Psychology

Lakshmi Raman, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of psychology at Oakland University. A cognitive developmental psychologist, Dr. Raman’s research examines folk theories concerning biological and psychological processes such as the origins of common contagious illnesses and the effect of nutrition on growth and mood states. Moreover, Dr. Raman seeks to uncover misconceptions that children and adults have about these processes, with the goal of improving intervention techniques. Since joining OU in 2006, Dr. Raman has taught courses in developmental psychology, child development, life-span human development, and introduction to statistics and research methods. After receiving her doctorate in psychology from Ohio State University, Dr. Raman went on to earn a National Research Service Award postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan. Dr. Raman has also gained a $220,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to support her research efforts at OU. In 2011, she was honored with the university’s New Faculty Investigator Salary Award.  

David Dulio

David Dulio Associate professor and chair

Department of Political Science

David A. Dulio is Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at Oakland University where he teaches courses on campaigns and elections, Congress, political parties, interest groups, and other areas of American politics generally. Dulio has published nine books, including Campaigns from the Ground Up (Paradigm Publishers 2015), Cases in Congressional Campaigns: Riding the Wave (Routledge 2011), and For Better or Worse? How Professional Political Consultants are Changing Elections in the United States (SUNY Press 2004). He has written dozens articles and book chapters on subjects ranging from the role of professional consultants in US elections to campaign finance. Dulio is also a former American Political Science Congressional Fellow on Capitol Hill where he worked in the U.S. House of Representatives Republican Conference for former US Rep. J.C. Watts, Jr. (R-OK).

John-Paul White

John-Paul White is professor of music and voice in Oakland University’s Department of Music, Theatre and Dance. His decades-long professional singing career has spawned many highlights, including international and domestic performances with notable opera companies, such as the San Francisco Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, the New Orleans Opera, the Michigan Opera Theatre and Frankfurt, Germany’s Alte Opera. One of his most memorable performances was before a crowd that included family members and Oakland colleagues, as White made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2001 with the New England Symphony as the bass soloist in a performance of Mozart’s Requiem and Beethoven Mass in C. After singing professionally overseas, White joined the OU community in 1984 and was named the first Travis Professor of Music. White also has received a grant from the Corbett Foundation for young singers pursuing a professional career, and he was a winner in the District Metropolitan Opera Auditions, which seek to find the most promising singers in the country. White is the head of Oakland’s voice faculty and teaches all levels of applied voice, from introductory to advanced courses. He also leads a course in vocal techniques offering non-majors the chance to receive professional voice training. Along with teaching and performing, White is an expert in vocal health and rehabilitation. Over the years, he has worked with laryngologists and speech pathologists to help people dealing with voice-related problems. White earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature from Baylor University and holds the Diploma in Opera from the renowned Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

John-Paul White Professor of Music and Voice

Department of Music, Theatre and Dance  

John Seeley

Oakland University Professor John Seeley's scholarly pursuits have led to advances in both industry and academia. As a 14-year faculty member in the Department of Chemistry, he has guided students through multiple areas of the subject, from courses in general chemistry, physical chemistry and organic chemistry, to an advanced course in chemical separations.

Born in Davison, MI, Dr. Seeley received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Central Michigan University and went on to complete a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 2001, he earned a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. The honor came with grant funding, which Dr. Seeley used to create an outreach program with local high schools and to develop technologies that help scientists better characterize complex chemical mixtures.

Dr. Seeley’s inventions include a two-dimensional gas chromatography technique that allows researchers to study complex mixtures, such as air and gasoline. He holds several patents and has successfully marketed his devices for use in private industry.

For his latest enterprise, Dr. Seeley is part of a team of researchers that will study air composition in northern Michigan. This NSF-supported project is an effort to gauge the environmental impact that changes in the region’s forests will have on the surrounding climate and ecosystems. The group will conduct research at the University of Michigan Biological Station in Pellston, MI.

Libin Rong

Libin Rong, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, came to Oakland in January 2010. He brings a wealth of expertise in infectious disease modeling and has developed mathematical models and data analysis methods to study within-host dynamics of virus infections and immune responses. He also utilizes models to investigate the transmission and control of infectious diseases between hosts.

Dr. Rong holds bachelors and masters degrees in mathematics from Fudan University, in Shanghai. He earned his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Purdue University. His research efforts are currently funded by the National Institutes of Health, and he has used mathematical models to investigate drug therapies of diseases, such as Hepatitis C Virus and HIV. Portions of his findings were published in Science Translational Medicine in 2010.

Two clinical scientists from the University of California-San Diego highlighted his research in "Rong's Numbers: Accelerating progress in HCV Therapeutic Research" and noted that his modeling experiments provide a basis on which to create additional HCV treatment regimens.

Additionally, Dr. Rong has developed mathematical models that help explain why certain HIV therapies have failed to eradicate the disease. One of his proposed explanations was directly confirmed by an independent experiment result published in Nature Medicine, the premier journal for biomedical research.

Starting in 2012, Dr. Rong will teach courses in differential equations and math analysis for engineers. He will also teach a new course in infectious disease modeling for senior undergraduate and graduate students.

Amy Banes-Berceli

Amy Banes-Berceli, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in Oakland University's Department of Biological Sciences. Since joining OU in 2009, she has taught courses in human physiology, clinical anatomy and physiology, and general physiology. She holds a B.S. in Biology from Oakland University and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from Michigan State University. Throughout her career, Dr. Banes-Berceli has earned multiple awards and grants. She received the American Heart Association Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, Sigma Xi Graduate Student Research Grant, American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Travel Award, Merck Young Investigator Award, Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine Travel Award, New Investigator Travel Award for US Fellows, American Heart Association Kidney Council New Investigator Award and Oakland University New Faculty Investigator Salary Award. Dr. Banes-Berceli has conducted research on the development of disease complications in the vasculature and kidneys relating to diabetes and hypertension. Most recently, she was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health that will support her efforts to investigate the role of the JAK2 protein in the development of hypertension. JAK2 has attracted scientific inquiry worldwide, as it has been linked to numerous other diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. Along with teaching and research activities, Dr. Banes-Berceli is active in several professional organizations. She currently sits on the Membership Committee of the American Physiological Society and is an editorial assistant for the Journal of Experimental and Pharmacological Therapeutics and Frontiers in Vascular Biology. She also has served on grant review panels for the American Heart Association.

Gregory Patterson

Gregory Patterson is associate professor and director of Oakland University's dance program. A faculty member since 1989, he teaches courses in jazz and modern dance technique, dance conditioning, dance for musical theater, dance history and dance production. In addition to being a certified Pilates instructor, Patterson is also founder and artistic director of Patterson Rhythm Pace Dance Company. The group performed its debut concert in 2010 at Ailey City Bank Theater in New York.

With a Master of Fine Arts in Dance Performance from the University of Michigan, Patterson has developed a noteworthy career performing, teaching and choreographing. He has more than 25 years of professional dance experience and has been a member of Harbinger Dance Company, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, Ann Arbor Dance Works, and Rigmarole Dance Company. He has also performed as a guest artist with both the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and the Doug Elkins Dance Company of New York.

Throughout his career, Patterson has taught at numerous college dance festivals and workshops, and has choreographed for universities, high schools, studios and dance companies. His work has been performed by dance companies from Western Michigan University, Bowling Green State University and Alma College, as well as the Michigan Opera Theatre, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble and Bal-Chi Dance Company.

He also regularly travels to Greece to teach, choreograph and perform in the Detroit Mercy/Oakland University Classical Greek Theatre Summer Study Program, which is the only American university-sponsored program of its kind.

In 2008, Patterson received a Travis Professorship. The award, named in honor of OU supporters Doris and Paul Travis, recognizes faculty members from the departments of Art and Art History and Music Theatre and Dance for outstanding achievements in teaching, research and professional services.

Patterson was recognized in 2002 with the Maggie Allesee Choreography Award and his work has been chosen for the Leo Choreography competition at the Jazz Dance World Congress. He has also received three faculty fellowships through Oakland University's Office of Research Administration, and was most recently honored with a Faculty Recognition Award.

Andrea Eis

Andrea Eis is associate professor and chair of Oakland University’s Department of Art and Art History. She came to OU in 1983 and spent nine years teaching photography before leaving to become a curator at the Creative Arts Center in Pontiac.

She returned to OU in 1993 and has taught a variety of courses in Studio Art, Art History and Cinema Studies. Among them are Critical Theory and Practice in Art, Introduction to Film, History of Film, Film and the Visual Arts, Video Art, Senior Thesis in Studio Art and Introduction to Digital Film Production. Additionally, she has taught courses in the Honors College and the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program and assisted in the development of the new majors in Studio Art and Cinema Studies, along with a proposed major in Graphic Design.

Eis earned a BA in Classics and Archeology from Beloit College. She also holds a BFA in Film, Photography and Video from Minneapolis College of Art and Design and an MFA in Photography from Cranbrook Academy of Art. She is particularly interested in photographing and filming at ancient sites in Greece, and spent her 2008 sabbatical living and working in Athens.

Internationally recognized, Eis' artwork has appeared in exhibitions in the United States, Greece, China and Hungary, and she has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Art Education Foundation.

Eis, who has chaired OU’s Department of Art and Art History since 2006, served as the Doris and Paul Travis Endowed Professor in Art from 2007-2010. She also received the Phyllis Law Googasian Award, along with university faculty awards in service and teaching. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer of the National Council for Arts Administrators.

Keith Williams

Keith Williams, Ph.D., is an associate professor of Psychology at Oakland University.

Having arrived at OU in fall 2005, Dr. Williams now teaches a variety of departmental courses, including Foundations of Contemporary Psychology, Physiological Psychology, Animal Behavior and Basic Physiological Processes, a seminar course focused on psychopharmacology.

His research interests include bridging the gap between the behavioral and biological components that influence drug-taking behavior and addiction. He is also interested in the pharmacological and behavioral mechanisms of drug reinforcement and craving, the hormonal influences on drug self-administration, the contribution of food in-take mechanisms on drug consumption and the influence of physical exercise on drug-taking behavior.

In 2004, Dr. Williams received a three-year research grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The $184,175 award led to the publication of a paper titled “Naltrexone Sensitivity During Responding for Ethanol.” In his research, Dr. Williams performed lab experiments to discover how behavioral and environmental factors may enhance or inhibit the effectiveness of Naltrexone as a treatment for alcoholism.

Dr. Williams earned his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Michigan.

Dick Goody

Dick Goody is an associate professor of Art in Oakland University’s Department of Art and Art History. He serves as director of the Oakland University Art Gallery and curator of the Oakland University Art Collection.

An OU faculty member since 1994, Goody has taught courses in painting and drawing, as well as historical painting techniques.

Since becoming director of the OU Art Gallery in 2000, Goody has organized more than 60 curatorial projects and curated more than 30 contemporary art exhibitions, writing and editing their accompanying catalogues. He also has increased the gallery’s community support and made it a key academic unit in Oakland’s Department of Art and Art History. Twice a year, students in the Studio Art program have the special opportunity to display their work in the gallery during Senior Thesis Exhibitions.

Under Goody’s leadership, the OU Art Gallery hosts six exhibitions a year and has displayed art work from renowned institutions, such as the Detroit Institute of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Gallery exhibitions have been reviewed in national journals, such as Art in America and Sculpture magazine. Over the years, the gallery’s diverse exhibitions catalogues and events have helped it secure a special place in the Detroit art community. In 2009, gallery attendance rose more than 20 percent.

In addition to contemporary art, the gallery has showcased important collections, including Between Matter and Spirit: Russian Icon Painting Kotlyarov Collection; A Heritage of Teaching: The African Art Collection of Catherine C. Blackwell, and Seminal Works from the N’Namdi Collection of African American Art. Recently, the gallery showcased Ten Years of Contemporary Art, an exhibition celebrating works from various artists who have shaped the gallery’s programming over the last decade.

Goody is committed to advancing Detroit’s unique cultural identity and sees the region as a vital hub of artistic enrichment. In 2009, along with noted artists Lorna Simpson and Richard Tuttle, Goody was a review panelist for the inaugural Kresge Arts in Detroit Artist Fellowships, which awarded $450,000 to 18 artists from the tri-county area.

Goody earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Slade School of Fine Art in London. He also holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Design Education from Middlesex University. In May, Goody’s own paintings were featured in a solo exhibition, The Decay of Lying, at The Butcher’s Daughter Contemporary Art gallery in Ferndale.

Seigo Nakao

Seigo Nakao, Ph.D. is an associate professor of Japanese in Oakland University’s Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and Center for International Programs.

Since arriving in 1992, Dr. Nakao has taught courses in Japanese literature, cinema, theater, war literature and introductory classes on Japan and Asian literature. He has also taught seminar courses on The Tale of Genji, a classic work of Japanese literature among the first novels ever written.

His interests include Japanese literature and comparative literature between Japanese and European genres. He also enjoys theaters and movies.

While at Oakland, Dr. Nakao helped oversee the development of the Japanese studies program from a non-degree program, to a minor in 1993 and to a major in 2008. He has authored many publications, including the Random House Japanese-English English-Japanese Dictionary and scholarly articles on Japanese writers.

Dr. Nakao holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from New York University.

Eddie Cheng

Eddie Cheng, Ph.D., is a professor of mathematics in Oakland University’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics. He has served as chair of the department since May 2010.

Dr. Cheng arrived at Oakland in 1997 after serving a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Rice University that was awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Dr. Cheng’s research interests include combinatorial optimization, integer programming and network analysis. He is an associate editor of Journal of Networks, a peer-reviewed international scientific journal focusing on theories, methods and applications in networks.

Since 2002, Dr. Cheng has served as director of Oakland’s Summer Mathematics Institute, a six-week summer program that allows exceptional high school students in Southeastern Michigan the chance to earn college math credits.

In 2003, Dr. Cheng supervised the NHL Project, the honors thesis of an Oakland undergraduate student who developed a sophisticated formula to compute a professional hockey team’s chances of earning a spot in postseason play. This method proved to be so accurate that it garnered the attention of local media.

Dr. Cheng teaches courses on a variety of topics, including linear algebra, graph theory and applications, design and analysis of algorithms, linear and integer optimization, calculus, number theory and cryptography and operations research.

Throughout his career, Dr. Cheng has earned a number of prestigious honors. In 2007, he received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the Mathematical Association of America. He also received the 2009 Distinguished Professor of the Year Award from the Presidents Council State Universities of Michigan.

In addition to his academic work, Dr. Cheng has used his expertise to help solve the challenges of private industry. He was awarded research contracts from well-known companies such as General Motors and Caterpillar.

Dr. Cheng earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo, in Ontario, Canada.

Andrei Slavin

Andrei Slavin Professor of Physics

Andrei Slavin, Ph.D., is professor and chair of Physics at Oakland University. Dr. Slavin is a fellow of the

American Physical Society, one of the world’s preeminent organizations in the field of physics.

An APS member since 1992, Dr. Slavin specializes in the fields of magnetization dynamics; spintronics; microwave signal processing device; and theory of nonlinear spin waves. His fellowship nomination drew letters of support from several renowned scientists, including 2007 Nobel Prize winner Albert Fert and other leading researchers from around the globe. Each year, no more than one half of one percent of society members become fellows

Dr. Slavin has made immense contributions to his field. In 2006, he co-authored “Bose-Einstein condensation of quasi-equilibrium magnons at room temperature.” The article was later published in Nature, one of the most prestigious scientific journals in the world. In 2008, he published five articles in Physical Review Letters, an internationally recognized physics research journal.

Since arriving at Oakland in 1991, Dr. Slavin has built a reputation as a passionate educator and leader. In the 2008-09 academic year, with Dr. Slavin serving as chair, Oakland's Department of Physics secured more than $1.6 million in external grants, roughly 20 percent of all external grants brought to the university during that time.

Dr. Slavin teaches a wide array of courses, including Introductory Physics; Thermodynamics; Electrodynamics; Introductory Mechanics; and Mathematical Methods in Physics. He received Oakland’s Research Excellence Award in 2009.

Mike Sevilla

Mike Sevilla Distinguished Professor of Physical Chemistry

Department of Chemistry

A California native who earned his Ph.D. at the University of Washington, Sevilla joined the OU faculty in 1970. During his many years on staff, he has served as the chair of the Department of Chemistry and as an acting associate dean for the College of Arts and Sciences; he has also served as president of the Radiation Research Society.

An internationally known radiation chemist, Sevilla has received more than $4 million in research grants since his arrival at OU. With a lab devoted to looking at fundamental properties of DNA and the processes involved in radiation damage to DNA from the molecular standpoint, Sevilla and the students who work in his lab apply physical chemistry techniques to look at biologically important systems.

Sevilla’s research into how radiation damages DNA is funded by the National Cancer Institute, as it holds promise as a process to eradicate tumors. Undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students, in addition to senior staffers, all contribute to the research effort, and Sevilla’s lab is recognized as an environment that is conducive to innovative research and open discussion.

In addition to his research, Sevilla continues to teach courses in chemistry at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

 

Paul Kubicek

Paul Kubicek, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Political Science at Oakland University.

Since arriving in fall 2000, Dr. Kubicek has taught Comparative Politics, Russian Politics, European Politics, Middle Eastern Politics, Politics through Literature and several courses in the Honors College. Since 2008, Dr. Kubicek has coached Oakland University’s award-winning Model United Nations team. The team has participated in conferences in Cleveland and Toronto, competing against Model UN teams from around the world. Several team members have been honored as top delegates, representing the interests of diverse nations, including Israel, Turkey and Russia.

Before coming to Oakland, Dr. Kubicek was a faculty member at Koc University in Istanbul, where he taught International Relations and Comparative Politics. His research interests include Turkish politics, Central Asian politics and the European Union. He is currently working on a paper on Israeli identity as portrayed in film and television.

In 2007, Dr. Kubicek received a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship and spent six months in Slovenia teaching International Relations and conducting research on the European Union. During his career, he has conducted research in many countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Poland, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Belgium, Slovenia and Croatia.

Dr. Kubicek holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan.