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College of the Arts

Fred Kinney
Assistant professor of theatre and dance
M.F.A. design, Yale University
B.A. art, University of Texas at Austin

College of Communications

Assaf Avni
Assistant professor of communications
Ph.D. candidate, advertising, University of Texas, Austin
M.A. advertising, University of Texas, Austin
B.A. advertising, Michigan State University
Research interests: Organizational creativity, advertising creativity, managing for creativity and innovation
Language spoken other than English: Hebrew
Fun fact: Licensed paraglider and wannabe magician
Favorite book: "This Book Will Change Your Life" by Benrik

Tenzin Dorjee
Assistant professor of human communication studies
Ph.D. candidate, communication, UC Santa Barbara
M.A. and B.A. communications, Cal State Long Beach
Research interests: Intergroup and intercultural communication
Languages spoken other than English: Tibetan and Hindi
Fun fact: Translated for the Dalai Lama and many eminent lama scholars from Tibetan into English during their public appearances
Hobbies: Reading good books and hanging out with friends

College of Education

Janet S. Boyce
Assistant professor, elementary and bilingual education
Ph.D. curriculum and instruction, University of Southern Mississippi
M.S. education, University of Southern Mississippi
B.S. education, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville
Research interests: Literacy and educator's dispositions

John L. Hoffman
Assistant professor, educational leadership
Ph.D. educational policy and administration, University of Minnesota
M.A. educational psychology, University of Minnesota
B.S. secondary education, Concordia University, Seward, Neb.
B.A. business leadership, Concordia University, Seward, Neb.

Pablo Jasis
Assistant professor, elementary and bilingual education
Ph.D. education, UC Berkeley
M.A. education, Harvard University
B.A. communications-cinematography, Universidad Autónoma de Mexico
Research interests: Diversity and equity in schools, sociology of Latino schooling, second language acquisition, critical pedagogy and theory, parent and community empowerment and participation in public schools, urban education
Languages spoken other than English: Spanish and Portuguese
Fun fact: Twice expelled from preschool for misbehaving
Hobbies: Playing guitar and soccer
Favorite book: "Rueda del Tiempo/Wheel of Time" by Carlos Castañeda and "Tao-Te Ching" by LaoTse

College of Health and Human Development

Sadeeka Al-Majid
Associate professor of nursing
Ph.D. and M.S.N. nursing, University of Wisconsin, Madison
B.S.N. nursing, College of Health Sciences in Bahrain
Research interests: Cancer-induced fatigue and skeletal muscle wasting

Ioakim Boutakidis
Assistant professor of child and adolescent studies
Ph.D. psychology, UC Riverside
B.A. psychology, UCLA

Nathalie Carrick
Assistant professor of child and adolescent studies
Ph.D. developmental psychology, UC Irvine
M.A. social ecology, UC Irvine
M.S. child development, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
B.A. child development, Tufts University
Research interests: Children's mental representations
Language spoken other than English: French
Favorite book: "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll

Joe Albert Garcia
Assistant professor of human services
Ph.D. and M.A. psychology, UCLA
B.A. psychology, UC Berkeley
Research interests: Cost effectiveness of psychological treatments, reasons children and families leave treatment early, translational research (moving university research to the field)
Fun fact: Professional Frisbee golfer
Hobbies: Avid card player and college football fan
Favorite book: "Aztec" by Gary Jennings

Jasmeet K. Gill
Assistant professor of health science
Ph.D. and M.P.H. epidemiology, UCLA
B.S. biology, UC Riverside

Danny Hyunsoo Kim
Assistant professor of health science
Ph.D. environmental health sciences, UCLA
B.S. chemistry, UC Berkeley
Research interests: Investigating the effects of boron diet in reducing the risk of prostate cancer
Hobbies: Photography, basketball
Favorite book: "The Inner Voice of Love" by Henri Nouwen

Hansung Kim
Assistant professor of social work
Ph.D. social work, USC
M.A. social work, Michigan State University
B.A. social work, Yonsei University, Korea
Research interests: Child welfare services
Language spoken other than English: Korean

Scott K. Lynn
Assistant professor of kinesiology
Ph.D. and M.S. biomechanics, Queen’s University, Canada
B.S. life sciences, Queen’s University, Canada

Melanie Horn Mallers
Assistant professor of human services
Ph.D. and M.A. human development and family studies, family and consumer sciences, University of Arizona
B.A. psychology, UCLA
Research interests: Psychosocial factors impacting adult development and well-being, individual differences in daily stressor exposure and reactivity, parent-child attachment and implications for later life emotional and physical health.
Fun fact: Lived in Japan for a year
Hobbies: Reading, spending time with family and traveling
Favorite book: Too many to list but recently read and loved "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant

James L. Rodriguez
Associate professor in child and adolescent studies
Ph.D. education, Stanford University
B.A. psychology, Pomona College
Research interests: Psychological development and education of Latino children, adolescents and families
Fun fact: Was a tenured associate professor of education at San Diego State from 1997 to 2008

James R. Ruby
Assistant professor of human services
Ph.D. research methods and human development, Loyola University, Chicago
M.A. community and family counseling, Northeastern Illinois University
M.D. pastoral ministry studies, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
B.A. religious studies and broadcasting, Western Kentucky University
Research interests: School counselor effectiveness, constraints to research activity, using acting exercises in counseling processes, methods of supervision
Fun fact: Former radio disc jockey and studio musician
Hobbies: Team sports and making music with friends and family

Elaine M. Rutkowski
Assistant professor of nursing
Ph.D. nursing, University of San Diego
M.S.N. University of Pennsylvania
B.S.N. Villa Marias College, Penn.

Kavin KW Tsang
Assistant professor of kinesiology
Ph.D. motor behavior, Pennsylvania State University
M.S. exercise science, Georgia Southern University
B.Ed. secondary physical education, University of Hawaii
Research interests: Efficacy of therapeutic modalities and manual therapeutic techniques in treatment of musculoskeletal injuries and rehabilitation, specifically primary research focuses on the physiology of cryotherapeutics, compression therapy and elevation in relation to reduced effusion following acute injury.
Languages spoken other than English: Cantonese and Hawaiian “Pidgin”
Fun fact: Avid motorcyclist and certified athletic trainer
Hobbies: Golf, volleyball
Favorite book: "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Brenda J. Bowser
Assistant professor of anthropology
Ph.D. and M.A. anthropology, UC Santa Barbara
B.A. geography/anthropology, University of Southern Maine
Research interests: Amazonian ethnoarchaeology, California archaeology, origins of social inequality, identity and material culture, gender, indigenous responses to colonialism, traditional environmental knowledge, cultural resource management, ceramics research
Languages spoken other than English: Spanish, Quichua, Achuar
Fun fact: Eats insects
Hobbies: Hiking, reading and food
Favorite book: "Wisdom Sits in Places" by Keith Basso

Alison Grace Cliath
Assistant professor of sociology
Ph.D. and M.A. sociology, Washington State University, Pullman
B.A. international affairs, University of Colorado, Boulder
Research interests: Environmental sociology; global inequalities; the social meaning of greening; human rights and ecological citizenship, with a specific focus on how social and environmental improvements co-evolve and where and when they undermine one another
Language spoken other than English: Spanish
Hobbies: Surfing, organic gardening, cooking
Favorite book: "La Invención de Morel" by Adolfo Bioy Casares

Peter J. Fashing
Assistant professor of anthropology
Ph.D. biological anthropology, Columbia University
B.A. anthropology and biology, College of William and Mary
Research interests: primate behavioral ecology and conservation biology and tropical forest ecology
Language spoken other than English: Amharic
Hobbies: Listening to music, watching sports (especially the Oakland Raiders) and reading about and traveling in Africa
Favorite book: "Song of the Dodo" by David Quammen

Tricia Gabany-Guerrero
Assistant professor of anthropology
Ph.D. anthropology, University of Albany
M.A. anthropology, George Washington University
B.S. agronomy, Pennsylvania State University
Language(s) spoken other than English: Spanish and Purépecha (colonial-period Tarascan)

Christine L. Gardiner
Assistant professor of criminal justice
Ph.D. criminology, UC Irvine
M.Phil. criminology, Cambridge University, England
B.A. social ecology and economics, UC Irvine
Research interests: Criminal and juvenile justice policy, offender recidivism, risk and protective factors, sentencing and corrections, juvenile delinquency and crime prevention strategies
Fun fact: Was an avid skydiver and soccer player
Hobbies: Scrapbooking, playing with her kids and hanging out with friends

James A. Hussar
Assistant professor of modern languages and literatures
Ph.D. literature, University of Notre Dame
M.A. Spanish, Millersville University
B.A. Spanish, University of Pittsburgh
Languages spoken other than English: Spanish and Portuguese

Steve Jobbitt
Assistant professor of history
Ph.D. history, University of Toronto
M.A. history, Lakehead University
B.A. history and philosophy, Lakehead University
Research interests: Modern East Central European history, modern European cultural and intellectual history, modern Hungarian history, history of landscape and geography, modern European and North American environmental history, gender and the history of masculinity, modern Jewish history, history of nationalism, the history of war and political extremism in 20th-century Europe, the history and theory of identity and subjectivity, the history and theory of modernity, postmodernity and historiography
Languages spoken other than English: Hungarian, Portuguese, German, French, Finnish and Latin

David G. Kelman
Assistant professor of English, comparative literature and linguistics
Ph.D. comparative literature, Emory University
M.A. Spanish, Middlebury College
M.A. comparative literature, University of Georgia
B.A. political science, Emory University
Research interests: 20th-century Latin American and American literature, literary theory, political theory
Language spoken other than English: Spanish

Karyl E. Ketchum
Assistant professor of women’s studies
Ph.D. and M.A. cultural studies, UC Davis
B.A. art studio, UC Davis
Research interests: Feminist theory, technologies, visual culture, cultural studies, semiotics and structuralist, post-structuralist theories of language

Edward J. Knell
Assitant professor of anthropology
Ph.D. anthropology, Washington State University
M.A. anthropology, University of Wyoming
B.A. anthropology, University of Colorado

Eric A. Lief
Assistant professor of modern languages and literatures
Ph.D. romance linguistics, Cornell University
M.A. Hispanic linguistics, Ohio State University
B.A. Spanish, University of Wisconsin
Reasearch interests: Hispanic and romance linguistics, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, phonetics, phonology, general linguistics, applied linguistics and translation
Languages spoken other than English: Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian

Nancy L. Ryba
Assistant professor of psychology
Ph.D. clinical psychology, University of Alabama
M.A. experimental psychology, Towson University
B.S. psychology, Towson University
Research interests: Criminal forensic assessment, competency to stand trial, maturity and the juvenile offender, reliability and validity of forensic assessment instruments
Fun fact: Once caught 12 passes in a football game
Hobbies: running, football, reading
Favorite book: "I Know This Much is True" by Wally Lamb

Saul Tobias
Assistant professor of liberal studies
Ph.D. liberal arts, Emory University
M.A. philosophy and cultural analysis, University of Amsterdam
B.A. comparative literature, University of Witwatersrand
Research interest: Social and political theory and the history of the social sciences, Friedrich Nietzsche's significance for liberalism, religion and contemporary society, refugees and human rights
Fun fact: Avid theater and classical music fan
Hobbies: Looking forward to hiking in Southern California and exploring the neighborhoods and history of Los Angeles and the region

Berna M. Torr
Assistant professor of sociology
Ph.D. and M.A. sociology, Brown University
B.S. rural sociology, Cornell University
Research interests: Teenage fertility decline

Justin A. Tucker
Assistant professor of political science
Ph.D. and M.A. political science, University of Kansas
B.A. liberal studies, Northern Arizona University
Research interests: comparative politics, environmental science and public policy.
Language spoken other than English: Spanish
Fun fact: Went bald at 25
Hobbies: Playing with his children, riding a bike, listening to 1990s music, watching 1960s television programs and home repair

Jindong Wu
Assistant professor of geography
Ph.D. remote sensing, University of Minnesota
MGIS, geographic information science, University of Minnesota
M.S. applied meteorology, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences
B.S. agricultural meteorology, Nanjing Institute of Meteorology
Research interests: environmental remote sensing and quantitative assessment of natural resources, geospatial analysis of landscape patterns and land use and land cover change, interactions between humans and the natural and disturbed environments, global climate change, terrestrial ecosystem dynamics
Language spoken other than English: Chinese

College of Natural Science and Mathematics

Sam Behseta
Associate professor of mathematics
Ph.D. statistics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
M.S. statistics, San Diego State University
B.S. statistics, National University, Tehran
Research interests: Bayesian statistics, statistics in neuroscience, Bayesian functional data analysis and applied statistics
Language spoken other than English: Persian
Hobbies: Writes about movies and posts on his web page http://math.fullerton.edu/sbehseta/
Favorite book: “In Search of Lost Time” by Marcel Proust

Hope Alisa Johnson
Assistant professor of biological science
Ph.D. and M.S. environmental engineering and science, Stanford University
B.S. civil and environmental engineering, Cornell University
Research interests: Microbial interactions with the environment, specifically metals and manganese
Hobbies: Surfing
Favorite book: “The Sound and the Fury”

Patrick M. Kimani
Assistant professor of mathematics
Ph.D. mathematics, Syracuse University
M.S. mathematics education, Syracuse University
B.S. mathematics, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya

Tara A. Kneeshaw
Assistant professor of geological sciences
Ph.D. geology, Texas A & M
B.A. geology and biology, Albion College
Research interests: Environmental biogeochemistry, hydrogeochemistry
Hobbies: Swimming and triathlons

Alison Miyamoto
Assistant professor of biological science
Ph.D. cancer biology, Stanford University
B.S. biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Research interests: Molecular mechanisms of cell-to-cell signaling as it relates to cell and developmental biology
Hobbies: Day hikes, traveling and reading

Nikolas Nikolaidis
Assistant professor of biological science
Ph.D. and B.S. biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Research interests: Theoretical and experimental approaches to investigate long-term evolution, and functional differentiation of molecules involved in the innate and adaptive immune systems; functional diversification of stress response proteins
Language spoken other than English: Greek

Melanie A. Sacco
Assistant professor of biological science
Ph.D. molecular virology, University of London, England
M.S. plant sciences, University of Western Ontario, Canada
B.S. genetics, University of Western Ontario,Canada
Research interests: Molecular biology with emphasis on proteins involved in plant disease resistance

Karn Sorasaenee
Assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry
Ph.D. chemistry, Texas A & M University
B.S. chemistry, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
Research interests: Inorganic and bioinorganic chemistry; studies and uses of metals in biomedical (molecular imaging and therapy) and environmental sciences; development of metal macrocycles as catalysts for artificial photosynthesis and water-splitting
Language spoken other than English: Thai

Steven G. Mihaylo College of Business and Economics

Ray L. Benedicktus, III
Assistant professor of marketing
Ph.D. marketing, Florida State University
M.B.A. management, Fayetteville State University
B.A. marketing, Fayetteville State University

Ajay Bhootra
Assistant professor of finance
Ph.D. and M.S. finance, Virginia Tech
M.S. industrial and systems engineering, Virginia Tech
B.A. industrial engineering, Indore University (India)

Larry L. Howard
Assistant professor of economics
Ph.D., M.A. and B.A. economics, University of Houston

Wei Jiang
Associate professor of accounting
Ph.D. accounting and information systems, Rutgers University
M.A. economics, Indiana University
B.A. economics, Fudan University, China
Research interests: Earnings quality, corporate governance, internal control, going concern, executive compensation and continuous auditing

Wayne Daniel Jones
Assistant professor of management
Ph.D. international organization and strategy, University of Hawaii
M.B.A. University of Wisconsin, Madison
M.S. international business, University of Wisconsin, Madison
B.S. geology and geophysics, physical geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Sherif Khalifa
Assistant professor of economics
Ph.D. and M.A. economics, Johns Hopkins University
M.SC economics, University of Warwick (UK)
B.A. economics, American University in Cairo

Jose E. Miranda-Lopez
Associate professor of accounting
Ph.D. accounting, Texas Tech University
M.A. finance, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Guadalajara
B.A. accounting, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Guadalajara

Lori A. Muse
Associate professor of management
Ph.D. management, Auburn University
M.S. business administration human resource management, Auburn University
M.B.A. Auburn University
B.S. accounting, University of Akron

Daniel S. Soper
Assistant professor of information systems and decision sciences
Ph.D. information systems, Arizona State University
M.S. and B.S. computer information systems, Colorado State University
B.A. sociology, Colorado State University
Research interests: Information and communication technology impacts in developing societies, interorganizational knowledge sharing, technology-supported decision making
Languages spoken other than English: German, Spanish, French and Italian
Fun fact: Has seen a UFO twice
Hobbies: Traveling, reading, cooking, photography, painting
Favorite book: "Le Comte de Monte-Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas

Pollak Library

J. Michael DeMars
Senior assistant librarian, technical services
M.A. information and library science, San Jose State
B.A. literature, UC Santa Cruz
Research interests: Will work with faculty to embed library technology in Blackboard course shells, then will track usage and effect.
Language spoken other than English: Spanish
Hobbies: Backpacking, basketball, cooking and being with family.

Adolfo G. Prieto
Senior assistant librarian, technical services
M.L.I.S. UCLA
M.S. counseling psychology, Mount St. Mary’s College, L.A.
B.A. Spanish, Loyola Marymount University, L.A.
Research interests: Development of user-centered approach to all aspects with a strong multicultural environment element included
Language spoken other than English: Spanish
Hobbies: Music, travel, travel memorabilia and classic movies