Seventeen new full-time faculty members from various parts of the United States have joined Albright College this year. Record enrollment of traditional students, as well as growth of the Graduate and Professional Division, has prompted the need for additional faculty. Two faculty members also received permanent appointments.

Previously a part-time lecturer at Albright, Carla J. Abodalo, M.S. has become a full-time instructor in sociology and crime & justice. As a member of the United Nations Institute of Arab-American Women, Abodalo was selected as a delegate to travel throughout the Middle East promoting various political and social issues. Women’s issues, particularly those of violence, the Palestinian issue and international terrorism were priorities.

Charles M. Brown, Ph.D. joins Albright as assistant professor of sociology. Brown previously served as an instructor in sociology at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He is a member of the American Sociological Association and specializes in religion and popular culture. He received his Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill.

Karen Butler, M.F.A. has joined Albright’s Digital Media Department as assistant professor. Butler previously served as art director for Hungry Man Productions, HSI Productions and Jam Productions in New York. She designed and conceptualized commercials for companies such as Metropolitan Opera, PeoplePC, Cartoon Network, Reebok and Pontiac. She also served as an assistant professor at the University of Delaware in Newark, Del. Butler received her M.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, R.I..

Anthony Crisafulli, M.F.A. has received a permanent appointment as associate professor of digital media and director of the Johnson Center for Digital Media after serving a one-year appointment in 2000-2001. Crisafulli, along with Associate Professor of Computer Science Dan Falabella, was responsible for acquiring a $277,000 Pennsylvania Link-to-Learn grant for an innovative program in handheld wireless technology. Prior to joining Albright, Crisafulli served as assistant professor and coordinator of interactive design at Sussex County Community College (SCCC) in Newton, N.J.

Marianne S. Engle, Ph.D. is assistant professor of psychology. She previously served as visiting assistant professor at Allegheny College where she taught courses in biopsychology, animal behavior and the roles of animals in society. She is a member of Psi Chi National Honor Society in Psychology and has received numerous fellowships and grants to study animal behavior. She received her Ph.D. from Indiana University.

Sally Dew Farley, Ph.D. joins Albright as assistant professor of psychology in the Accelerated Degree Completion Program (DCP), part of Albright’s Graduate and Professional Division. She is also the coordinator for DCP’s Harrisburg campus. Farley was awarded a competitive merit-based fellowship for the 1999-2000 year. Her research interests include social influence, social cognition, stereotyping, self-fulfilling prophecy and attitudes. She received her Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.

Matthew Garrison, M.F.A., assistant professor of digital media, comes to Albright from Petah Coyne Studios in Brooklyn, N.Y. where he served as director. Garrison, whose specialty areas include digital media production, website production, digital photography and design theory, also served as a digital media consultant for Catherine Lee Studios in New York, N.Y. He received his M.F.A. from Hunter College, City University of New York in New York, N.Y.

Christian S. Hamann, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry, comes to Albright from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. where he served as visiting assistant professor of chemistry. Hamann has also served as a senior research biochemist for Merck Research Laboratories /Kelly Scientific Resources in West Point, Pa. His specialty areas include mechanistic studies of enzyme targets for pharmaceuticals. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pa.

Helen S. Hamlet, Ph.D. will serve as assistant professor of psychology. Hamlet has served as a lecturer and adjunct faculty for the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University and West Chester University. She was a primary research investigator for the St. Laurence School in Philadelphia, Pa. and has served as school psychologist for the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pa. Her specialty areas include student motivation, problem solving and attentional behaviors in the classroom. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pa.

Persida Himmele, Ph.D. joins Albright as assistant professor of education. She previously served as director of the Crosscultural, Language and Academic Development (CLAD) certificate program at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif., where she was an adjunct faculty member. Himmele has also taught bilingual and ESL classes for elementary through adult students. She has been an ESL consultant in Tianjin, China and a teacher of children’s education courses at Katmandu Christian College in Katmandu, Nepal. She received her Ph.D. from the School of Intercultural Studies at Biola University in La Mirada, Calif.

Albright welcomes Adam M. John, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor of Spanish, back to Albright. He served as an instructor in French and Spanish from 1995 to 1996. Prior to his return to Albright, John was at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa. where he served as assistant professor of French and Spanish. A Fulbright scholar, John has studied in Martinique, French West Indies. He received his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University.

Elizabeth W. Kiddy, Ph.D. joins Albright as assistant professor of history and director of the Johnson Center for Latin American Studies. Previously, she was visiting assistant professor in the Department of History at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Her major fields of study include Brazilian history, Latin American history, women, gender and the family in Latin America, ritual studies, myth and folktale and African Diaspora. She is fluent in Portugese and Spanish. She received her Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M.

Jody W. Menon, J.D. has joined Albright’s Graduate and Professional Division as an instructor of philosophy in the Accelerated Degree Completion Program. Prior to joining Albright she practiced law at Neubert, Pepe & Monteith, P.C. in New Haven, Conn. She specialized in areas including health law, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, commercial litigation and transactions, and landlord-tenant law. She received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law.

David T. Osgood, Ph.D. is assistant professor of biology. He comes to Albright from the University of New Haven in West Haven, Conn. where he was assistant professor in environmental studies. During this time he was also an affiliated investigator with the Virginia Coast Reserve Long-term Ecological Research Program at the University of Virginia. His specialty areas include wetlands and marsh ecology. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

Joining Albright’s Graduate and Professional Division as an instructor in accounting in the Accelerated Degree Completion Program is Albright alumna Melinda B. Riccio. Riccio is currently pursuing her M.Ed. in teaching and curriculum at Pennsylvania State University in York, Pa. She most recently worked with the Eastern York School District and has been an instructor at both York Technical Institute and Berks Technical Institute. She has continued to serve as a volunteer accounting and Spanish tutor at Albright.

Albright alumnus John P. Sensenig, M.B.A. will serve as an instructor in business for the Graduate and Professional Division’s Accelerated Degree Completion Program. He will also be co-coordinator of the Harrisburg site. Sensenig was previously vice president-electric operations for Commodore Gas and Electric in Reading, Pa. He worked in various capacities for General Public Utilities Corporation in Reading from 1968 to 1997. His specialties include operations management, strategic direction, project management, facilitation and issues management.

David H. Serlin, Ph.D. is assistant professor of history. He comes to Albright from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. where he was a research historian and project leader. He has also taught at various institutions such as the University of Maryland, City University of New York, College of Staten Island and Pratt Institute. He is co-editor of Policing Public Sex: Queer Politics and the Future of AIDS Activism published in 1996 by South End Press. He has also done consultant work for the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation. He is the recipient of the 2001 Larry J. Hackman Research Residency Award. Serlin received his Ph.D. from New York University.

Barton Thompson, Ph.D. joins Albright as assistant professor of anthropology. He was previously a full-time lecturer in the Interdisciplinary Studies Program at Arizona State University. His research interests include Native North Americans, human territoriality, ethnicity and race, human land-use, environmental ethics and environmental psychology. He has taught high school students and has served as an environmental engineer for the US Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Albright welcomes Lisa A. Wilder, Ph.D. as assistant professor of economics. She joins Albright from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio where she was also assistant professor of economics. Wilder’s fields of specialization include econometrics, economics of transition/international and labor economics. She received her Ph.D. from Virginia Technical Institute.