July 2025

The University of Scranton recently honored 11 faculty members whose distinction in teaching, scholarship and service earned them various awards presented at an on-campus event.

Ten faculty members earned Provost Faculty Enhancement Awards. An additional honoree received a Faculty Senate award. The awards, presented annually, are intended to encourage, support, promote and recognize the efforts of faculty who strive for and achieve excellence in numerous areas benefiting the University.

Billie Tadros, Ph.D., associate professor of English and theatre, received the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award. The award recognizes the efforts of faculty who strive for excellence in teaching and practice teaching as a form of scholarship.

A University faculty member since 2018, Dr. Tadros’ efforts are evidenced by her work with the University Honors Program, the Slattery Center and the Faculty Student Research Program. She is also moderator of Sigma Tau Delta, the national honor society in English. During the 2024-25 academic year, Dr. Tadros participated in the orientation of students in the Dallas Prison Program, instructed a Community Health Humanities Workshop and continued working with students on their convention submissions and presentations. The author of three poetry books, Dr. Tadros’ expertise bridges medicine and humanities and perfectly aligns with the University’s values. 

Recipients of the Scholarly Publication Award were Nathaniel Frissell, Ph.D., associate professor of physics and engineering, and Roy Domenico, Ph.D., professor of history. The award recognizes the special efforts of faculty who have strived for, and attained, distinction in scholarship and creative activity.

Dr. Frissell has been an active researcher since arriving six years ago at the University, earning $4 million in research grants to support his work. In addition to serving as a role model for his research efforts, Dr. Frissell has provided unparalleled support to other faculty members in preparation of their own grant applications to the National Science Foundation. He has involved his campus colleagues in collaborative research efforts while also mentoring and supporting students at all stages of their academic journeys.

Dr. Domenico, who arrived at the University in 1997, has built an admirable record of scholarly work in Italian history. Dr. Domenico has authored several books, including “Italian Fascists on Trial, 1943-1948,” “The Regions of Italy: A Reference Guide to History and Culture” and “The Devil and Dolce Vita.” He has received many accolades, including a Fulbright Senior Research Award for Italy, and the Howard and Helen Marraro Prize from the Society for Italian Historical Studies for “Italian Fascists on Trial: 1943-1948.”

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Teresa Grettano, Ph.D., associate professor of English and theatre, received the University Service and Leadership Award. The award recognizes a faculty member who strives for excellence in service to the University, the profession and the community. The awardee must demonstrate academic leadership by effective mentoring of junior colleagues.

Since joining the University in 2009, Dr. Grettano’s record of service has been both sustained and impactful. Dr. Grettano has been a leader in campus initiatives related to the University’s mission. She’s also been a leader in Faculty Senate, serving in 2023 as its president-elect and assuming the role of president in 2024. Dr. Grettano began working in 2010 with the Faculty Senate and was instrumental in developing the Eloquentia Perfecta component of Scranton’s general education (GE) curriculum. In 2020, she was elected as the College of Arts and Sciences faculty representative to the newly formed GE Review Committee. As president, she helped shepherd the new GE curriculum through the Faculty Senate with Board of Trustees approval.

Cyrus P. Olsen III, Ph.D., associate professor of theology/religious studies, received the Advancing Global Learning Award. The award recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates noteworthy academic leadership in integrating international issues and perspectives into the curriculum. Through the awardee’s efforts, their students have acquired the attributes and insight required to meaningfully and successfully participate in an increasingly interdependent world.

Dr. Olsen, who joined the University in 2006, instructs a course, T/RS 295: Christianity in Africa, which has significantly contributed to integrating diversity into the curriculum and enriching students’ learning in profound ways. Dr. Olsen’s course is an immersive travel experience during which students engage the Baganda people of the Kampala region, visiting schools, churches and healthcare facilities before traveling to Southwest Uganda to interact with the Batwa tribe. At both locations, students learn about sustainable farming while exploring the Queen Elizabeth National Park and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Dr. Olsen has taught the course since 2016.

Recipients of the Advancing Interdisciplinary Study Award were Marleen Cloutier, associate professor at the Weinberg Memorial Library, and Sylvia Orner, associate professor, library. The award recognizes faculty members who demonstrate noteworthy academic leadership in promoting and strengthening cross-disciplinary or interdepartmental teaching and learning endeavors. Awardees work across disciplines and departmental boundaries to enhance students’ learning experiences.

Profs. Cloutier and Orner have been instrumental in transforming access to scholarly resources for faculty, students and researchers across all disciplines, directly impacting the University’s mission to promote innovative teaching and integrative scholarship. Together, they modernized the University’s Library Services Platform and Discovery Layer, a transformation that has significantly improved accessibility to information resources across campus. Since the initial integration, additional research tools have been added to further improve the user experience. Their work, which streamlines access to books, journals, databases and digital collections, has enabled faculty to better integrate library resources into their coursework and research.

Jessica Nolan, Ph.D., professor of psychology, received the Community-Based Learning Award. The award recognizes a faculty member who incorporates and advocates for community-based learning (CBL) and enhances the University’s contribution to the common good.

Dr. Nolan, a faculty member since 2008, has been an avid and active CBL faculty member for 10-plus years, focused on providing opportunities for students to realize Scranton’s Jesuit mission by providing transformational learning experiences in three courses. The three unique courses — PSYC 236, Industrial/Organizational Psychology; PSYC 239, Environmental and Conversation Psychology; PSYC 364, Psychology of Diversity — creatively challenge students to go beyond their comfort zones, forcing them to look at the reality of the others in an authentic, respectful way. The courses encourage the education of the whole person — cura personalis.

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Will Cohen, Ph.D., professor of theology/religious studies, received the Integrating Mission and Justice into the Curriculum Award. The award recognizes a faculty member whose special efforts ensure that students have a keen understanding and appreciation of the realities of the world, including pressing justice issues in a local, national and global context. It also recognizes efforts dedicated to the service of faith and promotion of justice as it relates to their teaching.

Having joined the University in 2009, Dr. Cohen’s curricular work forwards the mission of the University, instilling in students a desire to pursue the service of faith and the promotion of justice while equipping them with the competency and skills to critically reflect on prevailing social, political, economic and cultural issues. Dr. Cohen assumed the leadership role as co-chair of the General Education (GE) Review Committee at a pivotal time, helping the Ignatian Core Curriculum pass an all-faculty vote before being approved by the Board of Trustees. Dr. Cohen previously served as co-director of the Peace and Justice concentration, building and supervising the curriculum, eliciting new courses and recruiting, advising and mentoring students. He has also spent the past nine years co-directing Christians for the Common Good, a campus organization, with colleague and friend Christian Krokus.

Donna Witek, professor at the Weinberg Memorial Library, received the Magis Award. The award recognizes a faculty member who makes specific, sustained and creative efforts to adapt classic principles of Jesuit pedagogy in their own courses.

Prof. Witek, who joined the University in 2008, is also an information literacy coordinator and research and instruction librarian for the humanities and Ignatian pedagogy. Prof. Witek was pivotal in Scranton’s adoption of the Ignatian core curriculum, a transformative initiative that ensures students’ education is rooted in Jesuit values. Her leadership and coordination in this effort have shaped the academic experiences of future generations of Scranton students, emphasizing reflection, discernment and action as integral components of their education. She has also directly influenced the structure of the University’s curriculum, reinforcing a commitment to holistic and mission-driven education, while developing information literacy as a cornerstone of Jesuit education.

Additionally, Wesam Alramadeen, assistant professor of operations and analytics, earned the Faculty Senate Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award. The award recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates dedication to teaching graduate students in an encouraging and intellectually stimulating environment that promotes critical thinking and learning.

Dr. Alramadeen, who’s been a member of the University faculty since 2021, teaches across both undergraduate and graduate programs. He regularly incorporates advanced tools into his teaching, equipping students not only with technical knowledge but also leadership, communication and real-world problem-solving skills via experiential learning. Dr. Alramadeen has traveled extensively for international research, consulting, training and collaborating for mission work in Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy, France, Austria, Greece, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey the United Kingston, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt and Dubai. In his 25-plus years of international experience, Dr. Alramadeen has made significant contributions to academic, strategy, telecommunications and business development.

The University also presented plaques to a group of distinguished professors, recognizing their contributions to and legacies at Scranton. Those acknowledged, as they transition into continued scholarly pursuits, personal projects or retirement, among other things, include:

Andrew Berger, Ph.D., professor and chair of physics and engineering

Ann Culp, faculty specialist in nursing

Marian Farrell, Ph.D., professor of nursing

Richard Klonoski, Ph.D., professor of philosophy

Charles Pinches, Ph.D., professor of theology/religious studies

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Research indicates that people grow and change through four main areas: their bodies, their minds, their relationships and their emotions.

“As a developmental psychologist, I always want to understand how the four domains of development — physical, cognitive, social and psychological — intersect and together shape how people can thrive,” said Carolyn McNamara Barry, Ph.D., dean of The University of Scranton’s College of Arts and Sciences. “Understanding the historical effect of COVID on young people and how best to support them now within college contexts has been a burning question for me since I became an associate dean in 2019-2020 when COVID hit.”

Armed with her own curiosity and expertise, as well as help from a Scranton undergraduate student, Dr. Barry delved deeper into the topic at the recent Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood (SSEA) conference in Charleston, South Carolina.

Dr. Barry was not just an attendee or lecturer at the event; instead, she was the president.

After serving two years as president-elect, Dr. Barry in June officially stepped into the role of president of the SSEA. It is an international organization with about 450 members, focusing on theory and research related to emerging adults (ages 18-29).

Dr. Barry’s presidential address, “The New Normal of Emerging Adulthood in a Post-Pandemic World: Challenges, Opportunities and Recommendation,” was given at the SSEA’s annual conference, held June 4-6.

My Kim Dang ’24, who graduated in December with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, was a key contributor in Dr. Barry’s presentation. Dang assisted in the project by gathering literature and other resources during the fall semester as part of the University’s Faculty Student Research Program. Dr. Barry and Dang are now working to turn the address into a manuscript they will submit to the Society’s journal, “Emerging Adulthood."

Dr. Barry’s term as SSEA president runs for two years, ending in June 2027 at its next conference in Montreal, Canada. SSEA membership is open to anyone actively engaged in research, teaching, practice or policy relating to emerging adulthood.

Dr. Barry, who was a professor of psychology and later an associate dean at Loyola University Maryland before joining The University of Scranton in 2024 as the College of Arts and Sciences dean, earned her Ph.D. in human development with a specialization in education psychology from the University of Maryland.

The University of Scranton awarded faculty development grants for the summer of 2025 to nine faculty members.

Mehmet Bastug, Ph.D., assistant professor of criminal justice, cybersecurity and sociology, received a grant to research “Cyber-Threats and Cyber-Attacks: What Everyone Needs to Know (book project).” Dr. Bastug has worked at the University since 2020. Dr. Bastug earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Turkish National Police University, a Bachelor of Science degree from Akdeniz University and master’s and doctorate degrees from Rutgers University.

Melanie Caughey, Ph.D., assistant professor of education, received a grant to research “Suitability of Information About Gifted Education in Special Education Textbooks.” Dr. Caughey has worked at the University since 2023. Dr. Caughey earned a bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University, a master’s degree from Duquesne University and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

John Deak, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry, received a grant to research “Development of Evaporation Rate Measurements for the Determination of Soft Molecular Aggregate Structure and Inter-Aggregate Interactions in Liquid Solution.” Dr. Deak has worked at the University since 2002. Dr. Deak earned a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester.

JoyAnna Hopper, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, received a grant to research “The Effects of COVID-19 on Combined State-Level Environmental Agencies.” Dr. Hopper has worked at the University since 2020. Dr. Hopper earned a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University and master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Missouri.

Geng Liu, Ph.D., assistant professor of physics and engineering, received a grant to research “Hydrodynamic Effects of Seal Whiskers’ Bending and Tapering Features on Flow Sensing.” Dr. Liu has worked at the University since 2024. Dr. Liu earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Science and Technology of China and a Ph.D. from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Farshad Merrikh-Bayat, Ph.D., assistant professor of physics and engineering, received a grant to research “Design, Construction and Data-Driven Control of a Lab-Scale Wind Turbine with a New Algorithm.” Dr. Merrikh-Bayat has worked at the University since 2023. Dr. Merrikh-Bayat earned a BSc., K.N., from Toosi University of Technology and a MSc., Ph.D., from Sharif University of Technology.

Marc Shapiro, Ph.D., professor of theology/religious studies, received a grant to research “Rabbi Saul Berlin and His Forged Work of Jewish Law.” Dr. Shapiro has worked at the University since 1996. Dr. Shapiro earned a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Janice Voltzow, Ph.D., professor and chair of biology, received a grant to research “Mechanical Properties of the Shells of Mussels.” Dr. Voltzow has worked at the University since 1996. Dr. Voltzow earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a Ph.D. from Duke University.

Hank Willenbrink, Ph.D., associate professor of English and theatre, received a grant to research “Performance Crime and Performance Justice on January 6, 2021, and Beyond.” Dr. Willenbrink has worked at the University since 2009. Dr. Willenbrink earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tulsa and master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of California, Santa Barbara.