BW welcomes 2022 new faculty, deans

As the new school year begins, BW is introducing new faculty members, a new dean and an associate dean to its community.

Cory Beaumont

Assistant Professor of Exercise Science
Last Degree Earned: Ph.D., The University of Tennessee, 2022

Primary Teaching Focus: Exercise science

Something no one would guess about me: I once traveled to Japan with a friend. Neither of us spoke Japanese, and we did not book a place to sleep prior to landing. It was quite the adventure.

Book I most recently read and liked: I am currently reading "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking" by Susan Cain and "The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning" by Paul Bloom.

Tesia Benson

Associate Professor in Make-up and Costume Construction
Last Degree Earned: MFA, University of Illinois

With extensive experience in her craft, Benson served Opera Cleveland as costume coordinator and designed the costumes for its production of "La Voix Humaine." She also has designed for Cain Park, Apollo's Fire, Cleveland Public Theater, Beck Center for the Arts, Lakeland Civic Theatre, BIOLA University in La Mirada, California, Cleveland State University, Cleveland City School District All City Musical and Laurel School.

Benson is transitioning from term faculty to tenure-track status.

Laura Berg

Assistant Professor of Acting & Directing
Last Degree Earned: MFA, DePaul University, 2013

Berg holds a B.A. from BW. She has spent the last decade in Chicago, as well as working in regional theaters across the country. She serves as the artistic associate at Great Lakes Theater, as well as its sister companies - the Idaho Shakespeare Festival and the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival.

Berg is transitioning from adjunct faculty to tenure-track status.
 

Carolyn Borcherding

Assistant Professor of Music Composition
Last Degree Earned: Doctor of Musical Arts, University of Illinois, 2022

Primary Teaching Focus: Music composition and technology

Something no one would guess about me: I am a fountain pen enthusiast.

Book I most recently read and liked: "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke

Hon Ki Cheung

Assistant Professor of Music Theory
Last Degree Earned: Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 2022

Primary Teaching Focus: Helping students to make good musical and professional decisions in their studies and careers.

Something no one would guess about me: I sprained my ankle while learning a jump in ice skating three weeks before moving to Ohio.

Book I most recently read and liked: "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century" by Timothy Snyder

Jessica Cope Miller

Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre
Last Degree Earned: MFA, Kent State University, 2022

Primary Teaching Focus: Acting

Having earned a BA in music theatre performance from BW, Cope Miller is bringing her expertise back to campus.

Something no one would guess about me: I love all kinds of music!

Book I most recently read and liked: "Letters to a Young Artist" by Anna Deavere Smith

Nathan David

Instructor of Business
Last Degree Earned: MBA, University of Illinois, 2020

Primary Teaching Focus: Digital marketing

Something no one would guess about me: I am an indoor cycling instructor.

Book I most recently read and liked: "Sapiens" by Yuval Noah Harari

Huixin Deng

Assistant Professor of Journalism
Last Degree Earned: M.S., Columbia University, 2017

Primary Teaching Focus: Journalism, news reporting, and media law and ethics

Something no one would guess about me: I speak multiple dialects of Chinese.

Book I most recently read and liked: "Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine" by Robert H. Lustig

David Disabato

Assistant Professor of Psychology
Last Degree Earned: Ph.D., George Mason University, 2019

Primary Teaching Focus: Positive psychology and health psychology

Something no one would guess about me: I once competed in a powerlifting competition.

Book I most recently read and liked: "Open" by Andre Agassi

Steve Dittmore

Dean of the College of Education and Health Sciences
Last Degree Earned: Ph.D., University of Louisville, 2007

Dittmore has charted varied experiences as a higher education administrator and faculty member. He is a nationally recognized thought leader on intercollegiate athletic administration as assistant editor for AthleticDirectorU.

He comes to BW from the University of Arkansas, where he most recently served as associate dean for research, strategy and innovation in the College of Education and Health Professions. Read more

Douglas Droste

Professor and Director of Orchestral Studies
Last Degree Earned: Master of Music, Texas Tech University, 2000

Primary Teaching Focus: Orchestra

Something no one would guess about me: Big Buckeye fan!

Book I most recently read and liked: "Conductor as Leader" by Ramona Wis

Jeff Dusek

Associate Professor of Engineering
Last Degree Earned: Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015

Primary Teaching Focus: Foundational engineering concepts including statics, dynamics, fluid mechanics, hydrodynamics, etc.

Something no one would guess about me: I played trumpet in my college marching band.

Book I most recently read and liked: I have a toddler, so it is all children's books these days. My current favorites are "Bear Came Along" by Richard T. Morris and "Reach for the Stars" by Emily Calandrelli.

Bryan Fredericks

Director of Healthcare Management Programs and Visiting Assistant Professor of Healthcare Management
Last Degree Earned: Master of Public Health, University of Toledo, 1991

Primary Teaching Focus: Healthcare management

Something no one would guess about me: I was a physician assistant on the chest surgical trauma team at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo during President Reagan's visit to the city. We would have been the team to operate on the president if he required chest surgery.

Book I most recently read and liked: "Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: The Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler's Defeat" by Giles Milton

Kara Hodge

Visiting Clinical Faculty, Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders
Last Degree Earned: M.A., The George Washington University, 2010

Hodge earned a bachelor's degree from BW and majored in communication disorders. She was very recently added to faculty. Therefore, information is incomplete at this time.

Sungjin Im

Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion
Last Degree Earned: M.A., Duke University, 2017

Primary Teaching Focus: Asian religions, religion and popular culture

Something no one would guess about me: My left ear does not work.

Book I most recently read and liked: "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" by T.S. Eliot

Lauren Kallevig

Visiting Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders
Last Degree Earned: M.A., Kent State University

Kallevig was very recently added to faculty. Therefore, information is incomplete at this time.

Caitlin Kennedy

Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology
Last Degree Earned: M.S., Cleveland State University, 2022

Primary Teaching Focus: Political sciences, urban studies and criminology

Something no one would guess about me: I am an equestrian, have my own horse and compete once a month.

Book I most recently read and liked: "Believing in Cleveland" by J. Mark Souther

Blake Petersen

Assistant Professor of Biology
Last Degree Earned: Ph.D., Indiana University, 2022

Primary Teaching Focus: Microbiology

Something no one would guess about me: I love to homebrew things, including beer, coffee and computers.

Book I most recently read and liked: "Life at the Edge of Sight" by Scott Chimileski and Roberto Kolter

Ricardo Quintana

Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre & Dance
Last Degree Earned: MFA, Arizona State University, 2020

Primary Teaching Focus: Contemporary acting styles and physical theatre/movement

Something no one would guess about me: I have now lived in 5 different states - Illinois, New York, Arizona, New Mexico and now Ohio!

Book I most recently read and liked: "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron

Sergio Robles

Assistant Professor of Marketing
Last Degree Earned: Ph.D., The University of Texas, 2019

Primary Teaching Focus: Marketing and international business

Something no one would guess about me: I lived in Korea for three years.

Book I most recently read and liked: "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy

Gabriel Swarts

Associate Dean of Education
Last Degree Earned: Ph.D., Kent State University, 2017

Primary Teaching Focus: Education, curriculum and instruction

Swarts earned a B.A. in education from BW in 2003.

Something no one would guess about me: I played guitar and toured in extreme metal bands.

Book I most recently read and liked: "All About Love" by bell hooks, "Hymns of the Republic: The Story of the Final Year of the American Civil War" by S.C. Gwynne and "The Three-Body Problem" by Cixin Liu

Christy Walkuski

Associate Professor and Director of Leadership in Higher Education
Last Degree Earned: Ph.D., Kent State University, 2016

Primary Teaching Focus: Teaching courses on "History and Philosophy of Higher Education, Funding and Finance" and continue teaching service-learning and experiential philanthropy courses.

Having worked eight years as director of BW's Brain Center and as adjunct faculty with BW's Leadership in Higher Education, urban studies and public health programs, Walkuski earned a bachelor's degree in English and creative writing from BW.

Something no one would guess about me: I lived almost a year of my life on a ship working as the service-learning director for Semester at Sea.

Book I most recently read and liked: "Atomic Habits" by James Clear

Matthew Ward

Assistant Professor of Political Science
Last Degree Earned: Ph.D., University of Houston, 2018

Primary Teaching Focus: Comparative politics, political psychology, research design and methods

Something no one would guess about me: I am fluent in Arabic and French. I paint landscapes.

Book I most recently read and liked: "How Civil Wars Start" by Barbara Walter and "If This Is a Man" by Primo Levi