Faculty & Staff Spotlight

Dr. Christine O’Neil, professor of pharmacy practice, was awarded the Geriatrics Teacher of the Year Award from the Pennsylvania Geriatrics Society – Western Division. Each year the award is presented to two teachers for their dedication and commitment to geriatrics education. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Dr. O’Neil serves as the residency program director of PGY1 Pharmacy Residency in a long-term care facility.

Dr. Mai-Ly Nguyen Steers, assistant professor in the School of Nursing, was selected to present at a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism webinar on Dec. 13 titled Harnessing Technology and Social Media to Address Alcohol Misuse in Adolescents and Emerging Adults. Steers’ presentation focused on social media use and its effects on college drinking.

Duquesne School of Nursing Professor, Dr. Pamela Spigelmyer has been selected to present at the Sigma Global Nursing Excellence 47^th Biennial Convention, Nov. 11-15 in San Antonio, Tx. Spiglemyer’s research focuses on social isolation and its impact in two vulnerable populations: school age children and older adults. She will present her findings with Dr. Angela Karakachian, assistant professor at Duquesne to an anticipated audience of over 2,000 attendees and global nursing leaders.

Kevin Henderson joined Duquesne in July in a new hybrid position: associate director of the Honors College and coordinator of student fellowships. As the lead in the Office of Student Fellowships, this new position is three-pronged: increase student awareness of national and international scholarship/fellowship programs; work with faculty to identify potential candidates; and prepare candidates for submission and the exploration of other opportunities. His office is G11 Assumption Hall, and he can't wait to meet the students you send his way.

Dr. Jeffrey Evanseck, professor and the Lambert F. Minucci Endowed Chair in Engineering and Computational Sciences and John V. Crable Chair of Undergraduate Research in the School of Science and Engineering, received the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Research for his scientific and academic contributions in the field of theoretical organic and biophysical chemistry. 

Tom Dugas, assistant vice president and chief information security officer, will be presented with The Community Leadership Award at the EDUCAUSE annual conference in Chicago, Ill., this week. The prestigious award recognizes EDUCAUSE members for their roles as community leaders and active volunteers in professional service to the broader higher education information technology community.  

Bill Generett, senior vice president for civic engagement and external relations, and Dr. Gretchen Givens Generett, professor and dean of the School of Education and the Noble J. Dick Endowed Chair in Community Outreach, will be the first couple to be honored as part of the annual Iota Phi Achievement Dinner on Saturday, Nov. 18, in Pittsburgh. The event is coordinated by the Iota Phi Foundation in partnership with the Iota Phi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. 

 Dr. Christine O’Neil, Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Received a national teaching award, Post-Graduate Educator of the Year from the American Society of Consultant pharmacists. The nomination was made by past students and pharmacy residents. This award makes one eligible for Educator of the Year Award which is voted on by the organization membership and is announced in late October 2023.   

Dr. Kathy Sekula, the Noble J. Dick Endowed Chair in Academic Leadership and professor in the School of Nursing, has been named a Cameos of Caring® awardee in the research and scholarship category. These awards recognize nurses who 

• Demonstrate that they have a program of impactful research and scholarship 
• Provide evidence of being a Principal Investigator for at least one project and a team member of at least one other project 
• Encourage and motivate others; set a standard of excellence for colleagues to emulate; be recognized as a role model and mentor 
• Demonstrate active membership in professional organization(s). 

Eliseo Rael, adjunct professor and area coordinator of percussion in the Mary Pappert School of Music, won an Emmy Award for his quartet’s recording of Alex Stopais Spiral at the June 17 National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Pacific Southwest Award Ceremony in Palm Springs, Calif.

Dr. Paul Miller, assistant professor of musicianship in the Mary Pappert School of Music, recently recorded the album The Undiscovered Viola d'Amore, which includes several pieces from the 17th and 19th centuries. It will be released on the Centaur label later in 2023.

Eric Holmes, chief of police and director of public safety, was elected to serve a three-year term on the Pittsburgh Action Against Rape (PAAR) Board of Directors, which works to ensure PAAR’s mission to respond, educate and advocate to end sexual violence.

Amber Kolesar, instructor and director of the School of Nursing’s Second-Degree BSN Program, has been named a 2023 Cameos of Caring awardee in recognition for her excellent teaching, community service, dedication to eradicating food insecurity and student mentorship. She will be recognized at the Cameos of Caring award program Saturday, Nov. 4.

Carolina Frantz, director of diversity and inclusion and School of Nursing BSN-AID program, received the 40 Under 40 Award from the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) which recognizes younger members of the organization who are helping to fulfill NAHN’s mission to engage the community and provide critical volunteer assistance at the chapter and national level.

Tyler Benninger, video production specialist in the Small Business Development Center, recently received the Game Changer Western Region award during the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center’s Growth Conference. The award recognizes a vital individual with incomparable achievements for their organization. In addition, Lisa Walker, manager of business/client services and Assistant to the director in the Small Business Development Center, received the Everyday Hero award at the same conference, which honors an individual that goes above and beyond to help others within the workplace.

Dr. John Mitcham, chair and professor of history, presented the keynote address, Imperial Westminster: Colonial Statesmen and British Parliamentary Politics, 1880-1920, at an international conference hosted by the Office of the History of Parliament at the U.K. Houses of Parliament on April 12.

Dr. Elizabeth Deluliis, clinical associate professor of occupational therapy and director of the occupational therapy MS and OTD programs in the John G. Rangos Sr. School of Health Sciences, was inducted as a distinguished fellow in the Occupational Therapy Academy of the National Academies of Practice (NAP) on April 1. Fellowship in the NAP is an honor extended to those who have excelled in their profession and are dedicated to furthering interprofessional practice, scholarship and policy in support of interprofessional care.

Dr. Lucia Osa-Melero, associate professor of modern languages and literatures in the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts, co-authored the article L2 Vocabulary Learning in a Mixed-proficiency Community-engaged Program: Designing Vocabulary Instruction for College Students, which was recently published in the journal Language Teaching Research.

Dr. Elizabeth DeIuliis, clinical associate professor and occupational therapy program director in the John G. Rangos Sr. School of Health Sciences, recently published two new books designed to serve as a progressive resource for occupational therapy educators. This marks four published books for Dr. DeIuliis in the past five years.

Dr. Jim Schreiber, nursing professor, and Dr. Melanie Turk, associate professor in the School of Nursing, have released Statistics and Data Analysis Literacy for Nurses. This essential text, published by Springer, was written as a pathway for DNP professionals to enhance their statistical literacy and engage in quantitative research. 

Dr. Mary Ellen Glasgow, dean of the School of Nursing and vice provost for research, has been elected into the National Academies of Practice (NAP) as a Distinguished Nursing Fellow. NAP Fellowship is an honor presented to those who have excelled in their profession and are devoted to furthering leadership in practice, scholarship, and policy in support of interprofessional care. 

Dr. Linda Kinnahan, professor of English in the Department of English and Theater Arts, has been named co-winner of the Modern Language Association Prize for Collaborative, Bibliographical, or Archival Scholarship for her innovative, co-authored digital project, Mina Loy: Navigating the Avante Garde (https://mina-loy.com/).

Janine Macklin, associate director of Corporate Relations, was selected to be on Pennsylvania Governor-Elect Josh Shapiro’s transition team. She will serve on the Higher Education Transition Advisory Committee.

Dr. Denise Lucas, clinical associate professor and chair of advanced practice nursing in the School of Nursing, was honored with a 2022 Cameos of Caring Award in the nursing educator category at the Nov. 12 Cameos of Caring Awards gala. The award was established in 1999 by the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing to recognize the work nurses perform at multiple levels of practice, including education, hospitals and more.

Dr. Ronald Arnett, professor emeritus in the Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies, received the single-authored book of the year award from the communication ethics division of the National Communication Association. In addition, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Religious Communication Association and was named Administrator of the Year by the National States Advisory Council.

Margaret Patterson, professor of journalism, and Dr. Pamela Walck, associate professor of multiplatform journalism in the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts, presented on decision-making practices that ethical journalists employ in pursuit of a reliable story Oct. 25 as part of the Saint Jude Parish Speaker Series, Sharing the Light.

Dr. Lucía Osa-Melero, associate professor of modern languages and literatures in the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts, received the Outstanding World Language Educator in Post-Secondary Education Award from the Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association. The award recognizes the consistent and impactful work of language educators.

Dr. Deborah Dillon, clinical associate professor and director of the adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner program at the School of Nursing, has been selected as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing for her outstanding contributions and impact on health and health care. The academy recognizes nursing's most accomplished leaders in policy, research, practice, administration and academia.

Dr. Tiffany Hatcher, assistant professor and coordinator for diversity and inclusion initiatives at the School of Pharmacy, was recognized Oct. 1 by the Alpha Omicron Lambda (Pittsburgh) chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. with the Annie C. Singleton Award, the highest honor the fraternity gives to a woman. Alpha Phi Alpha, founded in 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., is the oldest historically black fraternity in the country, Just some of the famous members are Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall and Paul Robeson.

Robert Healy, teaching assistant professor in the media department of the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts, has been named to the 40 Under 40 Class of 2022. Sponsored by Pittsburgh Magazine and PUMP, the annual class comprises individuals under the age of 40 whose creativity, vision and passion enrich the Pittsburgh region.

Dr. Anne Burrows, professor of physical therapy in the Rangos School of Health Sciences, was elected as a fellow in the American Association for Anatomy, a rank that distinguishes members who have demonstrated excellence in science and in their contributions to the anatomical sciences.

Dr. Deborah Dillon, clinical associate professor in the School of Nursing, has been selected as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing for her outstanding contributions and impact on health and health care.  

Dr. Yvonne Weideman, clinical associate professor in the School of Nursing, was inducted into the Global Academy of Holistic Nursing (GAHN), making her just the second GAHN Scholar from Duquesne University. Selection into GAHN is based on the demonstration of social justice, trustworthiness, caring-healing and associated scholarship related to these values. 

Dr. Lucia Osa-Melero, associate professor of modern languages and literatures in the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts, had her article How My Midwestern Neighborhood Became 'Me Barrio' in the March issue of The Language Magazine on April 1. The article is about transforming a Midwestern neighborhood into a more culturally and linguistically inclusive and diverse space.

Wes Oliver, professor and director of the criminal justice program in the School of Law, has studied the historical context of the Miranda rights at length and is a faculty expert on the topic. He recently submitted an amicus brief about his findings that was argued April 20 in the United States Supreme Court case Vega v. Tekoh.

Dr. Lucía Osa-Melero, associate professor of modern languages and literatures in the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts, recently received a $200 mini-grant from the Environmental Charter School in Pittsburgh (ECS) to continue the community-engaged program Niños y Niñas Bilingües.

The program was developed to counteract monolingualism within campus and nearby neighborhoods; to involve college students in meaningful second-language (or L2) cultural learning; and to connect college students with their immediate community. Osa-Melero's research and creativity-including the Niños y Niñas Bilingües program-makes her classroom and learning environment an exciting place to be for Duquesne students.

Dr. Sarah Manspeaker, associate professor of athletic training in the Rangos School of Health Sciences, has been elected as a distinguished scholar fellow by the National Academies of Practice.

Manspeaker was recognized with the fellowship for excellence in her profession and dedication to furthering interprofessional practice, scholarship and policy. The honor reflects the commitment of Duquesne faculty to providing a horizon-expanding education while enhancing their professional fields.

Dr. Mark Haas, political science professor and the Raymond J. Kelley Endowed Chair in International Relations in the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts, recently had his book Frenemies: When Ideological Enemies Ally published by the Security Affairs Series at Cornell University Press.

The book identifies the conditions when ideologically disparate states are and are not likely to ally against shared material threats.

Dr. Jelena Janjic, associate professor in the School of Pharmacy, and her co-principal investigator on a joint project in diabetic neuropathy published a precedent-setting manuscript in the Journal of Neuroinflammation.

Their research, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, marks the first report of live imaging of immune cells interacting with nerves driving the pain using nanoparticles in diabetic neuropathy. According to Janjic, it opens the doors to further research into mechanisms of the disease that affects millions of people in the United States.

Research and creativity from faculty like Haas and Janjic make classrooms and learning environments exciting for Duquesne students.

April Barton, professor and dean of the School of Law; Ashley London, director of bar studies and assistant professor of legal skills; Emile Loza de Siles and Marissa Meredith, assistant law professors; Jane Moriarty, professor and the Carol Los Mansmann Chair in Faculty Scholarship; and Seth Oranburg, associate law professor, recently presented at the Association of American Law Schools' annual meeting.

The AALS meeting, titled Freedom, Equality, and the Common Good, was held virtually from Jan. 5-9, 2022. The meeting considered the impact of a post-pandemic world on legal systems.

The faculty and staff in the School of Law believe in a horizon expanding education that moves them to a new vantage point-both in the classroom and in the larger world.

Dr. Melissa Kalarchian, professor and associate dean for research in the School of Nursing and associate provost for interdisciplinary research and strategic initiatives at the University, has been recognized as an Expertscape World Expert in Obesity. Over the past 10 years, Kalarchian has risen to the top 0.1% of scholars due to her extensive research and writings about obesity.

Research and creativity from faculty like Kalarchian emphasizes the need to cultivate a learning environment that helps students realize their boldest goals by learning alongside them.