Academics

Maria Teresa de Gordon
Assistant Professor, English and Spanish
B.A., University of Delaware
M.A., University of Delaware

Ed.D., Wilmington University
(610)-361-5388
degordom@neumann.edu

Dina De Luca
Associate Professor of Spanish
B.A., Southwest Missouri State University
B.S., Southwest Missouri State University
M. A., University Colorado-Boulder
Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia
(610)-361-5267
DELUCAD@neumann.edu

Few faculty can claim such a diversity of experiences. He has practiced biology from various perspectives: the chemical structure of enzymes, the environmental fate of pesticides, the metabolism of drugs in race horses, the biochemistry of insecticide resistance. He also has familiarity in bionomics of grouse, cancer research, environmental analysis, laboratory management.

"The moving power of mathematical invention is not reasoning but imagination"
Augustus De Morgan

"The teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil to learn is hammering on cold iron" Horace Mann

Tragicomic drama guy seeks enthusiastic students for theater productions. No experience necessary. Commitment required. For a good time, call or e-mail: x5606, tgleeson@neumann.edu. Serious inquiries only. And funny ones.

Founder of the Neumann University Criminal Justice Program, this retired Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) brings reality to the classroom through his law enforcement experiences and knowledge of the subject areas taught. He considers his most important job to be preparing Neumann University students for their chosen careers in criminal justice.

"The main ingredients of an environmental ethic are caring about the Earth and all it's inhabitants, allowing unselfishness to control the immediate self-interest that harms others, and living each day so as to leave the lightest footprint on the planet."
Robert Cahn

This Erie, Pennsylvania, native has shown his paintings and photographs locally and nationally. In 2003 he received Neumann University's Growth in Scholarship Award.

An internationally known coloratura soprano who has performed in the Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, "Dr. Yuki" shares international teaching techniques with Neumann students as a result of her involvement with the International Chamber Music Festival in Evian, France, and her lectures in Japan. Dr. Yuki is also director of the Neumann University Concert Chorale. Her joy in music inspires both beginning and experienced singers at Neumann University, and her professional achievements as a soloist and lecturer enrich the learning experience for her students. According to Dr. Yuki, "Singing offers a challenge to all singers: How do we express our feelings with our voices? My role is to help voice students convert their internal feelings into external expressions via their voices. Everyone who has a voice can polish their instrument and create music if they wish to."

Dr. Johnson's teaching and research interests are wide-ranging, from Russian grammar to Peircean semiotics and historical linguistics to aesthetics. He has presented academic papers on these subjects from Salt Lake to Scotland. His outside interests are just as varied and when not at work, he can be found on the golf course, painting in his studio at home, hanging out with his wife and two dogs, or at the gym trying in vain to stave off the ravages of time.

An instructor of mathematics and statistics, this specialist in statistics is a member of the American Statistical Association. He has taught Korean to children in his local community.

Professor of English and French, and former dean of the Division of Arts and Sciences, this current president of the Delta Epsilon Sigma National Honor Society Executive Board also serves as co-editor of the Delta Epsilon Sigma Journal. She has published and presented internationally on writers such as Isabel Allende, Margery Kemp, Voltaire, and Amy Tan; she accords special attention to the medieval (and timeless) Tristan legend and its possibilities in tandem with contemporary literary theory. Her avocations include Chinese folk dance, competitive figure skating and ice dancing, and Tang Soo Do karate.

A dedicated advisor to the pre-medical students, Dr. McCoy received in 2002 the Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award.

This developmental psychologist is interested in language and cognitive development in infancy and early childhood. Though she is no longer officially a student, she is still learning about language and cognitive development from her son, Dylan, who was born in September of 2005.

This admitted political junkie invites students to take a course with him if they want to discuss important issues of our time including war and peace, freedom, political scandals, the economy, technological changes, and social problems facing America. His primary goal as an educator is to promote independent thinking among students in preparation for graduate school or the workforce.

This multidimensional teacher sees mathematics, like music, as a creation. It is not found or discovered, but created. It is not a creation that we can hold or see, but it is there--like music. The difference: music is fed through feeling, through the heart; mathematics, instead, is music of the mind.

A specialist in moral and environmental philosophy, this semi-professional musician teaches a wide range of philosophy courses as well as philosophy with music. He has over twenty publications and has made over forty paper presentations. He believes that some popular songs are helpful in showing that philosophy lives outside the classroom.

This instructor of Spanish and American Sign Language once lived in Valencia, Spain, studying Spanish and the Spanish culture. She also formerly taught Spanish in the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District at both the high school and middle school levels. She developed, implemented and taught the elementary foreign language program before joining the Neumann University faculty.

"If Music be the food of love, play on" Shakespeare

If she ever lived nine lives (like a cat), this gifted pianist insists that she would still keep enjoying the gift and the pleasure of making music. Music is the most universal language; it allows us to express ourselves and to reach and touch people in unimaginable ways. As a musician and a music teacher, she loves to see and to feel the power of music to transform people. Like Shirley Trusty Corey, she believes "The arts [and especially music] must be considered an essential element of education... They are tools for living life reflectively, joyfully, and with the ability to shape the future."

This leader of the literature/humanities group and educator of the imagination (a phrase drawn from critic Northrop Frye) has special interests in Emily Dickinson, poetry in general, Shakespeare, 19th-century novels, interdisciplinary women's studies, conferencing with students, and lifelong learning.

This mathematics and statistics instructor follows the philosophy that curriculum and pedagogical methods should always be student-focused. In his spare time, Ryan can be found running, cycling, swimming, and watching Law and Order on TV.

Jazz band conductor, musician, and teacher extraordinaire, Dr. Sayers thinks that learning about unfamiliar music is a little like taking a morning swim: It's a shock to the system at first, but the longer you are in, the more you enjoy it.

Mr. Severine has a B.S. majoring in biology and a minor in chemistry, a M.S. in Biology from Villanova University specializing in the biochemistry of tissue determination, and a M.S. in Pastoral Counseling from Neumann University specializing in the counseling of adolescents and young adults. He recently retired from Cardinal O'Hara High School where he was a chemistry teacher and guidance counselor for 34 years. He was the Guidance Director at Cardinal O'Hara from 2002 to 2008. He began teaching at Neumann University in 1978 as an adjunct instructor in science, and has also taught at Delaware County Community College. One of David’s qualities is his versatility; he teaches courses in biology, chemistry and physical science.

Mr. Steinbrecher’s academic career began when his employment at a Fortune 500 company was terminated and he enrolled as an undergraduate at Framingham State College in Massachusetts. There, he discovered his interest in Sociology and after quickly completing his degree began graduate studies at the University of Delaware. His main academic interests are Organizational Deviance and White Collar Crime. His research involves a historical look at the Pure Food Laws of 1906, and the crimes committed by corporations that led to the passing of those laws. Other interests include Criminal Justice, the Sociology of Food, Race as a Sociological Study, and Sociology of Music and Art. He currently lives in Delaware with his two dogs and looks forward to finishing his Ph.D.

Dr. Fallest-Strobl believes that a major benefit of teaching science courses comes from the opportunity to further explore certain topics within the laboratory setting. Because science is everywhere to explore, she strives to share her views with her students. It also gives her a chance to get to know her students better and everyday to learn something new from them.

Dr. Maria G. Traub is Assistant Professor of French and Italian in the Division of Arts and Sciences. In the fall of 2005, she was named Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques by the French Government for services rendered in the domain of French culture. A frequent traveler abroad, she strongly advocates speaking more than one language in today's world. In addition, she has studied voice in France and Italy and enjoys sharing her expertise with arts majors.

On the Neumann University faculty for over 20 years, this microbiologist teaches courses such as microbiology, molecular biology and plant biology in addition to introductory biology courses. In 2004, she received the Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award. Besides teaching, she maintains an active plant tissue culture research program and encourages student participation for credit.

Dancer, choreographer, educator, and biology teacher, this clinical laboratory specialist received the Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award in 2005. Before coming to Neumann, she worked in the highly technological field of laboratory medicine. Her major research interests have been in the areas of hematology and immunology. She has given numerous presentations on such topics such as leukemia, coagulation disorders, and the immune response. Integrating technology into her teaching practice is a special area of interest and she continues to give presentations in innovative uses of technology in the classroom. In the past, she designed self-paced instructional units and instructional videotapes for microscopic work.

Mr. Yönten received his BA and MA degrees from Bogazici University (Istanbul/Turkey) in 1999 and 2002 respectively, and expects to receive his Ph.D. degree from University of Delaware by the end of this academic year. His research interests include international migration, multilateralism, and the European Union. He is writing his doctoral dissertation on multilateralism in international migration. Since 2003, Mr. Yönten has been involved in a large scale project aiming to build a dataset of all multilateral treaties since the establishment of the modern nation-state system. The dataset will be useful to examine distributional aspects of institutionalized cooperation over time and space, and hegemony and leadership in institutionalized cooperation. Both in Turkey and at the University of Delaware, Mr. Yönten has taught a number of courses including Politics of Developing Nations, Problems in International Relations, and Statistics for Social Sciences.