FYS Faculty Profiles
Dr. Mahfuzul Khondaker
I am a professor of Criminal Justice and have been teaching at Kutztown University since 2006. I received my Ph.D. in 2004 from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The topic of my FYS class is Prison Industrial Complex. I am dedicated to helping our students, especially in their first semester, to integrate in KU community and achieve both academic and non-academic success at our university.
Contact: khondake@kutztown.edu
Location: OM 364/RL 4
Dr. M. Ashraf Adeel
I am Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy and Government. I joined Kutztown University in 2006. Prior to that I held Professorship at University of Peshawar in Pakistan, Senior Visiting Fellowship at Linacre College Oxford, Vice Chancellorship at Hazara University in Pakistan, and teaching positions in several other universities. I have been publishing research in such areas as Philosophy of Language and Science, Islamic Ethics, and Epistemology. I have an abiding interest in poetry as well. I am going to offer a First Year Seminar on SIMPLE LIFE which I equate with a life of reason and virtue.
Contact: adeel@kutztown.edu
Location: OM 305A
Raquel Akillas
I am an alumnus and a professor in the Department of Psychology. I have been teaching at Kutztown University since 2001. In FYS my course focus is The New Adulting. My specialty areas in psychology include Child Development, Adolescent Development, Lifespan Development, Abnormal Psychology, and Psychology of Personality.
Contact: rakillas@kutztown.edu
Location: OM 398
Dr. Hank Alviani
I am Dr. Hank Alviani, associate professor of music. The FYS class I have taught since 2020 is titled Finding Your Voice. It is designed to help students improve their vocal production to become more effective public speakers by learning correct singing techniques. This is NOT a music class, but it USES music. I make one guarantee to my students: You will be better at the end of the semester than you were at the beginning.
Contact: alviani@kutztown.edu
Location: OM 115B
Dr. Daniel E. Blanchard
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Sciences, where I teach courses in organic chemistry. In choosing a subject for a first-year seminar course I was able to combine two of my favorite topics; science and food. We’ll explore how science can explain the changes food undergoes when it is fried, baked, roasted, boiled and/or mixed. In the process you’ll discover tools you already have that will be necessary to a successful start to college. We’ll also explore how you’ll need to refine these skills as you progress in your journey towards a degree.
Contact: blanchar@kutztown.edu
Location: BH 120
Dr. Anthony Bleach
I have been teaching at Kutztown since 2006. I am currently an Associate Professor who teaches courses in composition, film studies, pop music journalism, and comics studies in the English and Professional Writing programs.
Contact: bleach@kutztown.edu
Location: LY 205A
Dr. Moira Conway
I am an Associate Professor of Geography. Fall 2022 is my first semester teaching FYS. I have experience teaching courses at a variety of levels including Cultural Geography, Economic Geography, Transportation Geography, Land Use Planning, and Introduction to GIS. I seek to help students successfully make connections to the “place” of Kutztown University.
Contact: conway@kutztown.edu
Location: GC 108
Dr. Duane Crider
I am a professor of Sport Management and have been teaching at Kutztown University since 1996. I received my Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University. The topic of my FYS class is Stress Management for the College Student. I have been teaching stress management through Personal Health Management and Tai Chi classes for over 20 years. College can be the most stressful time in a person’s life. To that end, this FYS course focuses on learning and developing stress management strategies while providing needed exposure to vital campus resources.
Contact: crider@kutztown.edu
Location: OM 210
Dr. Michael A. Davis
I am a Professor in the Geography Department. I have been at KU since 2011 and I teach physical geography and atmospheric science related courses. I am also interested in gaming geography, or how games can be used to teach geography. My FYS course, entitled Exploring Your World And Others, uses a variety of different gaming methods to learn about the world around you.
Contact: midavis@kutztown.edu
Location: GC 212
Dr. Marlene Fares
I am an Assistant Professor & Academic Advisor in the department of Academic Enrichment where we serve Exploratory Studies (Undeclared) students. I began teaching FYS here at Kutztown University this past summer. I am dedicated to the successful transition of new students to KU by creating connections with students, providing resource, and facilitating learning through diverse experiences, conversations and ideas.
Contact: fares@kutztown.edu
Location: RL 11
Dr. Kyleigh Ivory
I am an Assistant Professor of Special Education and teach the FYS course Differently Abled in Pop Culture. I received my Ph.D. from Lehigh University and previously served as a Transition Coordinator where I assisted students transitioning from high school to college and adult life. My current research focuses on facilitating self-regulatory behaviors, including self-management, to promote long-term independence and success.
Contact: ivory@kutztown.edu
Location: BK 100
Dr. Sue Kong
I am an associate professor in the department of Business Administration. My field of teaching and research are related to project management, business intelligence, data analytics, workflow automation as well as business information technology innovations and adoptions. It will be my first time to teach FYS in Fall 2023. I am passionate to meet and engage the curious young minds and guide them to explore the emerging information technologies used in modern business settings.
Contact: kong@kutztown.edu
Location: OM 437
Heather Hope Kuruvilla
I am an instructor in the Department of Art Education. I am also the program coordinator for the Masters in Arts Administration, where I teach in the areas of legal and ethical issues in the arts and community engagement through arts. My background is in nonprofits, specifically museums and arts organizations, and my work outside of Kutztown focuses mostly on diversity, equity, and justice in the museum field. I am a firm believer in the importance of communities, and my FYS course encourages open conversation and building relationships among students to help them in their transition to college.
Contact: kuruvilla@kutztown.edu
Location: SH 404
Dr. Lynn Kutch
I am Professor of German in the Department of Modern Language Studies and Coordinator of Undergraduate Research and Creativity. I began teaching FYS in spring 2019, and have taken a research-oriented (at the FYS level) and global approach. By introducing students to undergraduate research and global issues, I hope to motivate some of them to consider exploring other cultures, preferably through study abroad experiences.
Location: OM 226
Dr. Steve B. Lem
I am a Professor of Political Science in the Department of Philosophy and Government and have been at Kutztown University since 2008. I began teaching FYS in 2018 under the topic, Poli Sci Fi, which introduces students to political concepts through science fiction television shows and movies. As a first-gen student, I know how challenging the transition to college may be, and so my goal is to help students identify strategies and resources and build skills for career and personal success.
Contact: lem@kutztown.edu
Location: GC 210
Dr. Keith Massie
I currently serve as the Social Media Area Coordinator. I'm a Board Certified Social Media Intelligence Analyst through McAfee Institute. While I usually focused on social media, I actually, as an FYS instructor, teach Deception Theory through the lens of card, coin, and mental magic tricks.
Contact: massie@kutztown.edu
Location: LC 110
Dr. Brenda Muzeta
I am an assistant professor in the department of secondary education at Kutztown University. I hold a Ph.D. in teacher education and curriculum studies from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. I joined Kutztown University in 2018. I have been teaching the first-year seminar (FYS 100 - Teachers in the Movies) since 2018. My goal is to adequately train and prepare teachers by advocating culturally relevant pedagogies for practicing teachers and pre-service teachers.
Contact: muzeta@kutztown.edu
Location: BK 230
Dr. Khori Newlander
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology & Sociology, where I teach a variety of courses in archaeology. I regularly collaborate with students in archaeological research, including offering summer programs that provide students opportunities to participate in archaeological fieldwork in eastern Pennsylvania. I have taught FYS at Kutztown University since Fall 2020, offering courses that draw on my expertise in anthropology and archaeology. In FYS, I start students on a journey of growth and discovery that, I hope, prepares them to engage the world around them in an informed and responsible manner.
Contact: newlander@kutztown.edu
Location: OM 459
Dr. Roseanne Perkins
I am an Associate Professor who teaches in the library science and instructional technology programs for the EMLT department. I have taught FYS courses for the past two years and I have been teaching the first-year intro course for the library science major, so I am familiar with the many transitions our first-year students experience. I love using popular culture (Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, etc.) as a way to connect with each other in the KU community and as a lens to think about and talk about contemporary events and issues.
Contact: rperkins@kutztown.edu
Location: BK 204
Dr. Robert Portada
I am a Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Government. I teach courses in comparative politics and international relations, with focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. My FYS course, entitled Dictators and Despots, examines present-day dictatorships and many notorious dictators of the past to study how authoritarian leaders come to power, stay in power, and fall from power.
Contact: portada@kutztown.edu
Location: OM 308 (A-Wing)
Dr. Qin Geng
I am an Associate Prrofessor in the Department of Business Administration, where I teach business statistics, operations management and supply chain management. I joined Kutztown University in 2010. Fall 2023 is my fist semester teaching FYS with the topic “The Career Habits of Highly Effective Leaders.”
Contact: geng@kutztown.edu
Location: DF 235
Dr. Steven M. Schnell
I am a Professor in the Department of Geography, where I teach courses in cultural geography, globalization, geography of the US and Canada, Pennsylvania and of sub-Saharan Africa, social justice and the food system, and composition for the social sciences. I’ve been teaching at KU since 2002, and FYS since 2019. My FYS class focuses on “The Power of Place,” an exploration of the way we are all impacted by place – the ways that we shape it, and that it shapes us.
Location: GC 103
Dr. Christine Saidi
I am a professor of African history and have taught the FYS class African History through Film since 2018. In this class we learn about the history of Africa through various films, many made by Africans. The study of African history compels students to begin to think critically and analyze what you have learned about Africa in school or from the media. This class challenges the myths of Africa by introducing students to the amazing and significant history of Africa from the origins of humanity to modern times through visual imagery.
Location: LY 154
Dr. Stephen W. Stoeffler
I am a Professor in the Department of Social Work. I have taught FYS F*** NEWS!: Fact, Opinion, or Fabrication? since 2018. The course challenges students to be critical consumers of information in pursuit of a more equitable society and to better engage in the life of the University as well as in their professional and civic communities
Contact: stoeffler@kutztown.edu
Location: OM334
Dr. Juliana Svistova
I am a Professor in the Department of Social Work. I began teaching FYS Global Social Problems and Social Change at Kutztown University in 2018. Teaching is a central part of my identity as a scholar change agent, and I am invested in student growth and success inside and outside of the classroom. I see teaching as a social practice that allows me to help create a more socially just society through aspiring global social change agents.
Contact: svistova@kutztown.edu
Location: OM 327
Dr. Sarah Tindall
I am a Professor of Geology in the Department of Physical Sciences. I’ve been developing my FYS class at Kutztown since 2018. Students in Doomsday: Would You Survive? use the multitude of academic and support resources available at KU, and build student-student connections and friendships, while collaborating to survive their first semester at KU… and the end of the world!
Contact: tindall@kutztown.edu
Location: BH 137
Douglass W. Turrell
I teach in the College of Business and have since December 2020. I began teaching FYS here at Kutztown University Fall of ’21. The focus of my FYS class is: College, Career, Life. The class culture is: engagement, relationship building, responsibility, time management, "we are here to help you succeed - not just today, this class, this term...but the entire year, 4-5 years from now, graduate, get a job, be a productive citizen in society."
Contact: turrell@kutztown.edu
Location: OM 512
Dr. Wing Hong Tony Wong
I am a Professor in the Department of Mathematics, graduated with a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology in 2013. Through this FYS course, I guide students who have an inquisitive mind to explore the labyrinth of mathematics and develop qualities such as persistence and attention to details that are critical to problem-solving.
Location: LY 213