Etown Experts
Elizabethtown College's experts can lend their expertise to a variety of topics. You can search for sources by name or by area of expertise. From Amish Culture to Women in Religion and dozens of topics in between, our Experts are ready to answer questions related to their unique areas of expertise. Whether it is a timely news story or an in-depth feature, our experts can add value to your story. If you know the name of the expert you are trying to reach, search their name below. If you would rather sort by topic, select your topic from the list.
College Leadership Team
Email: Request the President
President Betty Rider was named President of Elizabethtown College on November 2, 2022. Prior to being appointed President, President Rider most recently served as the College’s Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs. As Provost and SVPAA, President Rider specifically restructured academic programs, formed the creation of Schools at the institution, established a new five-year program in Physician Assistant (PA) Studies, and expanded the College’s renowned Occupational Therapy (OT) program.
Betty has had a long career at Elizabethtown College, spending the first half as a faculty member in the Department of Psychology and the second half in various administrative positions. Her teaching included courses on Developmental Psychology, Applied Developmental Psychology, Exceptional Children, Educational Psychology, Research in Developmental, and Psychology of Women. Her early research focused on young children's spatial orientation and abilities as well as the construction of gender. She published a textbook on the psychology of women, Women's Voices , with both Brooks/Cole (1st ed) and Wiley (2nd ed). With her colleague Carol Sigelman (The George Washington University), she has also written multiple editions of a popular Life-Span Human Development text, now going into its 10th edition with Cengage Learning.
Email: falckb@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1460
Brian Falck serves as the Vice President for Institutional Advancement. Falck has had a career in higher education for 25 years. He has served in multiple capacities in administrative leadership positions as well as within the classroom for Otterbein University and Ithaca College in arts management. He further developed his fundraising career and campaign experience in developing major and planned giving programs at Ithaca College, Gettysburg College, and Dickinson College. Most recently at Dickinson as Associate Vice President, Falck helped to restructure the Advancement team and strengthen or launch several initiatives including the implementation of a signature donor engagement process for an adaptive campaign. He is honored to be serving his alma mater as Vice President for Institutional Advancement and looks forward to a new era of sustainable growth for Etown. He and his spouse Kelly Calnon Falck ’97, who serves as the Executive Director of The Lion Foundation in Camp Hill, live in Dillsburg and have three daughters ranging from middle school to college-age, where his family is active in serving the community and school activities.
Falck earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Elizabethtown College and his Master of Science degree in arts administration from Drexel University while completing his thesis at Lehigh University's Zoellner Arts Center.
Email: gonzaleznichole@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1179
Nichole Gonzalez joined the College in August of 2020 as Director of Title IX, Compliance Programs and Intercultural Affairs. With more than 25 years of experience in the field, she has worked to strengthen the College’s student life culture, programming, and Civil Rights, Opportunities and Access initiatives. Prior to coming to Elizabethtown College, Gonzalez served in the Student Affairs Division at St. Bonaventure University, a small private institution in Western New York. Gonzalez comes with extensive experience in Residence Life and Housing, Student Conduct, Title IX, and Diversity, Equity and Belonging.
Gonzalez holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English from the State University of New York, College at Fredonia, and a Master in Business Administration from St. Bonaventure University.
Email: kerinr@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1220
Bob Kerin joined Elizabethtown College in 2021 and brings a wealth of experience and background in overseeing operations including infrastructure and process efficiency, customer relations, and revenue generation and containment. Prior to joining Etown, Kerin served as the Mobilization and Solution Design Director at Sodexo where he oversaw senior care facilities.
Kerin received his MBA at West Chester University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Grove City College.
Email: stahla@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1184
Amanda Stahl was appointed Vice President of Finance at Elizabethtown College in July 2024. Prior to her current appointment, Stahl served as the Assistant Vice President for Finance since joining the College in 2022. Working in collaboration with the Senior Leadership Team, she leads the College's budget and financial operation. Prior to joining Etown, Stahl served as Controller at Albright College.
Stahl holds a Bachelor of Business in Financial Services from The Pennsylvania State University.
Email: straubk@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-6412
Keri Straub is the Vice President for Enrollment Management, Marketing, and Communications at Elizabethtown College. In this role, she oversees the institution's enrollment management division, which includes admissions, financial aid, marketing and communications, and strategic partnerships. With more than 15 years of experience spanning both the education and broadcast journalism industries, Straub brings deep expertise in public relations, media relations, marketing, digital strategy, and strategic and crisis communications. A former news reporter and producer, she has an extensive background in media and currently serves as the College’s spokesperson—managing media inquiries, story pitches, and editorial content. She also serves as the executive editor of the College’s magazine, ETOWN. Straub works closely with the College’s Board of Trustees in her capacity as Liaison to the Board, providing guidance on governance best practices, board bylaws, and long-term strategic planning. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with a minor in Communication, Arts & Sciences from The Pennsylvania State University, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in Strategic Leadership from Elizabethtown College. Additionally, she has earned an Advanced Public Information Officer (PIO) certification from FEMA. Straub currently serves on the Board of The High Center for Family Business and the nonprofit organization Attollo Prep.
Email: lancasterj@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1325
As the chief academic program officer of the College, Dr. Lancaster reports directly to the President, serves as a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), and as liaison to the Academic Mission and Student Experience Committee of the Board of Trustees. She works closely with the School Deans and other academic leaders and Center Directors to provide strategic direction and oversight of the College's academic and co-curricular programs. She is responsible for educational personnel issues, including faculty appointments and tenure and promotion reviews, and for advising the President on all major matters of resource allocation within the academic areas of the College, including construction and other capital projects, space allocation, and distribution of new positions within the faculty.
Dr. Lancaster earned her Ph.D. in Immunobiology from The Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Lebanon Valley College.
Faculty and Staff Experts
Email: allenp@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1713
Patrick S. Allen is an Americanist literary scholar who specializes in African American and multiethnic American literature and cultures. He holds a Ph.D. in English from Pennsylvania State University and is Vice President of Organizational Matters for the Society for the Study of American Women Writers (SSAWW). Before teaching at the college level, he was a high school English and Spanish teacher while completing a master's degree in education at Providence College. Allen's current teaching and scholarship focus on American literature and the medical humanities, graphic medicine, intersectionality, Black print cultures, Black medical writing, and the work of author Toni Morrison.
Email: atwoods@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1434
Sara Atwood teaches primarily mechanical engineering courses. Her research involves experimental, computational and failure analysis of materials and designs used in orthopedic devices. Also, she researches engineering education methods to improve the confidence and performance of underrepresented students in engineering, creativity as a factor in the recruitment and retention of engineering students and how engineers with a liberal education can positively impact society. Atwood earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering sciences from Dartmouth College and a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.
Email: benowitzj@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1110
Jean-Paul Benowitz teaches first-year and Honors seminars and courses in the History and Religious Studies departments. He earned a bachelor's degree in history at Eastern Mennonite University and a master's in history at Millersville University where he wrote his MA thesis on the history of the Horse and Buggy Mennonites of Pennsylvania. He served as a scholar in residence at the College's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. Benowitz is a Ph.D. candidate at Temple University. His dissertation is a biography of U.S. Congressman James Wadsworth Symington (D-MO).
Email: beckfieldb@etown.edu
Phone: 717-756-6601
Brett Beckfield has spent his career in business and supply chain, serving in several senior executive roles as well as running his consulting firm. Beckfield's focus has been on engineering, manufacturing, operations, and supply chain, as well as process design, systems implementation, supply chain strategy, leadership, and people development.
Email: bowned@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1317
David Bowne is an interdisciplinary ecologist and writer in the Department of Biology. He earned his doctoral degree in environmental science from the University of Virginia, his master's degree in conservation ecology and sustainable development from the University of Georgia, and a bachelor's degree in natural resource management from Rutgers University. He teaches a variety of courses including General Ecology, Conservation Biology, Geographic Information Systems, and Ecology in Short Fiction. Bowne conducts research on how land use impacts ecological processes in a variety of systems. He is a founding member of the Ecological Research as Education Network, an organization devoted to improving ecological research and education by building collaborations. In addition to his ecological research, he also publishes works of fiction and creative non-fiction.
Email: brownds@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1249
David Brown is the author of several books on U.S. thought and culture including The Last American Aristocrat (Scribner, 2020), Paradise Lost: A Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald (Harvard, 2017), and Richard Hofstadter: An Intellectual Biography (Chicago, 2006); the latter was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. His work has been reviewed in a number of outlets including the New York Times, New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, the Times Literary Supplement, the Wall Street Journal, The Irish Times, and the Australian Times.
Email: brownmaureen@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1204
As the Director of the Career Development Center at Elizabethtown College, Maureen Brown spearheads a strategic vision of fostering a dynamic career ecosystem. Maureen's commitment to education extends to the classroom, where she teaches in Widener University's Master of Education (MEd) program, teaching courses in career theory, career counseling, and career development. She also teaches at Elizabethtown College's School of Graduate and Professional Studies (SGPS), facilitating courses in Human Services. Additionally, Maureen helps clients achieve their career goals through private career counseling. Brown holds a master's degree in Higher Education Counseling & Student Affairs from West Chester University. She has the following certifications: Certified Career Counselor (CCC), Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Certification (MBTI Certified), and the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Virtual Coaching for Diverse Populations certification.
Email: ciocirlanc@etown.edu
Phone: 717-421-9438
Cristina Ciocirlan is the 2015 recipient of a U.S. Fulbright Scholar Award in the U.K. where she studied environmental behaviors in organizations at Durham University. Ciocirlan worked with local and international banks and consulted with several small and medium-sized businesses. As a graduate student, she received full scholarships to study in Prague, the Czech Republic, Budapest, Hungary, and Colchester, U.K. Ciocirlan presented several papers at national and state conferences (several of which won 'The Best Paper Award') and published her research in peer-reviewed journals. At Etown, Ciocirlan teaches Management and Organizational Behavior, Talent Management, and People Analytics.
Email: omc@etown.edu
John B. Craig’s select appointments and accomplishments include: US Ambassador to Oman, Special Assistant to President George W. Bush, Scholar in Residence at Elizabethtown College, Ambassador in Residence at the Center for Global Understanding and Peacebuilding, Ambassador in Residence at Elizabethtown College, Director of the Center for Global Understanding and Peacebuilding and the Executive Director of the International Working Group on the Plight of Christians and Religious Pluralism in the Middle East.
Email: daltone@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1332
Dr. Dalton is a clinical psychologist with research interests in stress, mood, and physical health behaviors and outcomes. Dr. Dalton completed her graduate training at UCLA, where she studied how stress and depression influence health behaviors like eating, sleeping, exercise, and substance use among young adults. As part of her clinical training, Dr. Dalton has worked in community mental health centers and hospitals, and completed her clinical internship year at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Dalton works with Elizabethtown College students on various research projects examining the effects of stress and mood on physical health.
Email: degoedek@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1380
Kurt DeGoede's research interests are in the areas of clinical and sport biomechanics. He has been developing low cost systems for movement assessment and therapy in occupational therapy and physical therapy clinics. DeGoede also has published biomechanics papers on falls and fall injury. These seven papers have been cited more than 340 times. Prior to teaching, DeGoede worked several years as a project manager at Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn, Michigan. He has developed a study abroad program in West Africa in which the program connects Etown engineering and business students with students at the University of The Gambia to develop technologies and social business plans. His pedagogical work has most recently focused on implementing mastery-based-grading systems in engineering science courses. DeGoede earned his doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.
Email: dennehyt@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-4753
Dennehy, who joined the Etown faculty in 2013, has more than 25 years of occupational therapy experience as a trained and certified occupational therapy assistant, therapist, educator, and researcher. She has worked in the areas of regional trauma, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, community practice, home health, and long-term care while specializing in adult neurology, low vision, and education.
Email: dursuno@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-4749
A doctoral graduate of University of Texas at Austin, Oya Dursun-Ozkanca's research interests include Turkish foreign policy, South East Europe, transatlantic security, European Union and peace operations. She is the author of two books -- The European Union as an Actor in Security Sector Reform (Routledge 2013) and External Interventions in Civil Wars (co-edited with Stefan Wolff, Routledge in 2014) as well as a number of scholarly articles in leading peer-reviewed journals, such as Foreign Policy Analysis, Civil Wars, European Security, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, French Politics, Perspectives on European Politics and Society, and Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, and various edited volumes. Dursun-Özkanca served as a LSEE Research on South Eastern Europe Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics in Summer 2013. During the 2015-2016 academic year, she was on sabbatical leave through a sabbatical research grant received from the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University to work on a book manuscript on Turkish foreign policy in the Western Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean.
Email: mizes@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-3702
Shannon Haley-Mize completed doctoral study in special education with an emphasis in emotional and behavioral disorders at The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Past experience includes work with students in a psychiatric day and inpatient treatment setting, federal grant administration, and service-learning program development. She also completed a graduate degree in early childhood education and served an educator, early interventionist and administrator in an inclusive early childhood education setting. Her research interests include new literacy studies, technology integration in P-16 education and use of technology to support successful teaching and learning.
Email: hamplek@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1172
Hample who joined the Etown faculty in 2009, is a clinical expert providing occupational therapy services for children and their families in early intervention, schools, aquatic programs, and outpatient clinics. Her specialty focus is on feeding and eating, childhood nutrition, sensory processing as it relates to feeding and sleep, and aquatics.
Email: johnsonka@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1258
Kirsten Johnson's research interests include citizen journalism, perceived credibility on websites and user-generated content, and she teaches courses primarily on video production and broadcast news writing. Johnson has presented nationally and internationally on citizen journalism, authored several papers on citizen journalism and user-generated content, and has written a chapter titled Citizen Journalism in the Community and the Classroom for the book Public Journalism 2.0: The Promise and Reality of a Citizen-Engaged Press. Also, she co-edited the book News With a View: Journalism Beyond Objectivity. Prior to teaching, Johnson worked for nearly a decade in local radio and television. She began her media career at KRNT and KIOA radio in Des Moines as an on-air personality and board operator. She then worked as a news producer at WOI-TV (the ABC affiliate in Des Moines), and at WGAL-TV (the NBC affiliate in Lancaster). She has a bachelor's degree in broadcast news from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa., a master's degree in telecommunications from Kutztown (Pa.) University, and a Ph.D. in information science and technology from Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Email: lip@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-4761
Peilong Li's research interests include Machine Learning, Big Data Analytics, Cybersecurity, and High-Performance Computing. He has received research grants from funding agencies including the National Science Foundation, Intel, and Google. Li received Google Cloud Research and Teaching Awards in 2022. He has also established the Advanced Data Analytics Lab (ADAL) for undergraduate student research at Etown.
Email: longjd@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1507
Jeffery D. Long has been teaching at Elizabethtown College since 2000. He has expertise in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, as well as other topics related to meditation, spirituality and interfaith dialogue. He also teaches a course on the religious significance of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Long is the author of three books (A Vision for Hinduism, Jainism: An Introduction and The Historical Dictionary of Hinduism), as well as numerous articles, papers, and book reviews. He has presented in a variety of national and international venues and speaks regularly in India and Japan. He earned his doctoral degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School.
Email: mapps@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-3766
Susan Mapp has written a book on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking and two books in the area of human rights: Human rights and social justice in a global perspective: An introduction to international social work (currently in press for a second edition) and Global child welfare and well-being. She is the author of numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed articles on a variety of topics, including the impact of war on children, violations of women's human rights, law enforcement awareness of human trafficking, as well as issues relating to the child welfare system. She has presented her work at national and international conferences.
Email: mitchellm@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1352
Mike Mitchell is the executive director of The High Center at Elizabethtown College. Prior to joining the High Center, he was an owner of Amelia's Grocery Outlets and served as president and CEO of the company from 1997- 2012. He oversaw all aspects of the grocery chain's $50 million dollar business and a 100,000 square foot warehouse in Leola, Pa. Mike, his father, Melvin, and his brother-in-law Jeff, grew the business and expanded the concept from a couple of small Weaver Chicken Outlets into a full line grocery outlet chain. Mitchell is a graduate of Elizabethtown College and has an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. Prior to joining Amelia's in 1996, he worked as a marketing manager for several packaged goods companies including Heinz, General Mills, and Unilever.
Email: mooret@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1250
Tara Moore is a regional coordinator for the Jane Austen Society of North America. She has written books about Christmas history and Victorian publishing trends. She has published pieces about young adult literature, Jane Austen film adaptations, and Charles Dickens' connection to both Christmas culture and the economics of nineteenth-century sugar plantations.
Email: nolts@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1459
The author or coauthor of 14 books on Amish, Mennonite and Pennsylvania German history and contemporary life, Steve Nolt is widely recognized for his scholarship on Anabaptist groups across North America. He holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Notre Dame. His Amish-related research has taken him into several dozen settlements across seven states and Ontario and has focused on community formation and history, economic and social change and the role of technology in Amish life. He also has published articles on topics such as mental health care programs reaching Amish clients and on Amish involvement with international aid organizations. Nolt’s publications include The Amish: A Concise Introduction (2016); A History of the Amish (3rd ed., 2015); Seeking Places of Peace: A Global Mennonite History (2012, with Royden Loewen); and Amish Grace (2007, with Donald Kraybill and David Weaver-Zercher). With Donald Kraybill and Karen Johnson-Weiner, he wrote The Amish (2013), the definitive study of Amish society and cultural diversity.
Email: pretzj@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1267
Jean Pretz focuses her research on creativity and intuition. She is interested in the relationship between creativity and critical thinking and success in college. She also studies decision making with an aim to understand when intuition is insightful and when it is irrational. Participants in her studies have included engineers, nurses, military leaders and soccer players. Pretz has published in many peer-reviewed scholarly journals including Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts and Journal of Behavioral Decision Making. At Elizabethtown, Pretz teaches courses in neuroscience, decision making and a seminar on intelligence and creativity. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology and music from Wittenberg University and her master's degrees and doctoral degree in psychology from Yale University.
Email: readb@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1348
Brenda Read-Daily teaches courses in the Engineering Department. Her research interests include biological nitrogen removal in agricultural and wastewater treatment systems. She is currently working to develop a passive, low-cost biological treatment system for improving nitrogen removal rates in agricultural drainage. Additionally, she investigates environmental engineering education methods. Read-Daily earned her doctoral degree in environmental engineering at the University of Notre Dame.
Email: silbermd@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1253
Michael Silberstein's primary research interests are foundations of physics, foundations of cognitive science and foundations of complexity theory respectively. He is especially interested in how these branches of philosophy and science bear on more general questions of reduction, emergence and explanation. He also loves film and writing about film whenever possible. Silberstein is eclectic as a teacher. His regular course offerings include: philosophy of science, foundations of physics, introduction to cognitive science, philosophy of mind, philosophy and film, and science and values. He also is a founding member of the Cognitive Science program and permanent adjunct in the Philosophy Department at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he is also a faculty member in the Foundations of Physics Program and a Fellow on the Committee for Philosophy and the Sciences.
Email: varaminih@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1278
Hossein Varamini joined the College in the Fall of 2000 as the Director of the International Business Program after holding a similar position at a different institution for over ten years. His primary teaching areas are International Business and Finance. In addition to his individual research publications in the fields of foreign direct investment and foreign exchange markets, Dr. Varamini has published articles with other colleagues and with his students. Some of his articles have been published in the American Journal of Business, Journal of East-West Business, Journal of Global Business, Journal of International Business and Economy, Journal of Economics, Journal of Applied Economics and the Journal of Current Research in Global Business. He is a member of the Academy of International Business, Academy of Finance and the Association for Global Business.
Email: walterda@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-1173
Debbie Waltermire joined Etown’s Occupational Therapy department in 1997. Her primary clinical background is in adult psychiatry, especially adults with schizophrenia and other severe and persistent mental illnesses. She also has worked as a consultant and manager in an acute care medical center with a physical rehabilitation program. Her experience also includes coordinating clinical fieldwork programs for OT students as well as supervising many fieldwork students.
Email: wangjingwen@etown.edu
Phone: 717-361-4760
Jingwen Wang's research interests include Natural Language Processing, Text Mining, and Computational Linguistics. She received Google Cloud Research and Teaching Award in 2022.
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