New SMC Faculty for Academic Year 2012-2013
Alice Baldridge joins the Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences as an assistant professor of geology. She received her Ph.D. at Arizona State University and is a NASA postdoctoral program Fellow. Most recently she was a research scientist at the Planetary Science Institute and an adjunct professor of geology at Glendale College. The primary goals of her research activities are to understand the role of water in shaping the surface of Mars, especially in terms of mineralogy and geomorphology in analog environments. She has done field work in Death Valley, the American Southwest, Western Australia, Yellowstone National Park and Iceland. Baldridge has participated in several Mars missions, including Mars Odyssey and the Mars Exploration Rovers. Alice believes in finding balance in her life, especially between gaining and sharing her knowledge of Earth and planetary sciences.
James Berleman is an adjunct professor of biology. He is fascinated by the diversity of life and how biology can be used to promote sustainable solutions for the future. Some of the strangest—and most useful—organisms are bacteria. His research has examined behavior, development and predator-prey relationships in bacteria, with write-ups in Popular Science, the New York Times and many scientific journals. Recent work at UC-Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has focused on imaging bacterial interactions across multiple scales with both visual and chemical mapping techniques. He enjoys writing music for guitar and often performs (quite badly) in Berkeley restaurants. He's an avid believer that new ideas spring from good conversation and would like to say "Hi."
David Benin is a new adjunct faculty member in the Communication Department. A Ph.D. candidate in communication at the University of California, San Diego, he has also earned an M.A. in cinema studies from New York University and a B.A. in education from the University of Georgia. In addition to his written scholarship, which concerns technologies of affect and visual culture, David is also a digital media producer. He previously taught at UCSD and Princeton University and worked extensively in independent film in New York.
Kim Clark has research interests that include international management, institutional impact on multinationals, and strategic international human resources management. She has delivered 10 presentations at academic conferences such as the Academy of Management and Academy of International Business. Her research has been published in the International Journal of Human Resource Management and in Advances in International Management. Clark has taught Comparative International Management and Managing Human Resources. She worked for Pebble Beach Resort prior to her academic career. She received her Ph.D. in business administration from University of Texas-San Antonio, M.S. in hotel management from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and B.A. in English and Literature from Pusan National University, South Korea.
Rebecca Y. Concepcion is an associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and will be delivering courses in the area of health promotion. She obtained her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in exercise and sport science, with a concentration in sport and exercise psychology and public health from Oregon State University. Her research focuses on self-concept, acculturation and health behaviors, resulting in publications in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, and Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, among others. Additionally, she serves on the executive board of the Association of Applied Sport Psychology.
Michael (Mike) Hadani joins Saint Mary’s as an associate professor in the School of Economics & Business Administration. He has more than 15 years of teaching experience in colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. His research interests focus on the complex interaction between firms and government decision makers, specifically firms’ corporate political activities and their impact on legislative and firm outcomes. His research has been published in journals such as the Strategic Management Journal, the Journal of Business Research, and Business & Society, and it has been featured in media outlets such as Reuters, Chicago Tribune and Politico. He has a Ph.D. from Syracuse University.
Kenji Klein is an assistant professor of Business Administration with the School of Economics & Business Administration. He received his Ph.D. in organization and management at the University of California, Irvine. Prior to that, he worked in a variety of industries, including health care, education and manufacturing. His research examines the effects of government and culture on innovation, entrepreneurship and organizations.
Drew Krafcik joins the Kalmanovitz School of Education as an adjunct professor in the Graduate Counseling Program. Previously, he taught at Stanford University. He has worked professionally as a hospice chaplain and coordinator of spiritual care, as a counselor and mentor for adolescents and young adults, as the associate director of youth and family programs, and as a psychotherapist in community nonprofits. He has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto and a master's degree in pastoral care and counseling from the University of San Diego. His research interests include the integration of psychotherapy and spirituality and the development of wisdom across the lifespan. He loves being with his newborn daughter, taking long walks with his wife and playing soccer.
Mark Lingwood joins Saint Mary’s as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry. He recently completed his postdoctoral studies at Virginia Tech, where he studied model polymeric membrane systems with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). He received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he developed new methods to enhance the sensitivity of NMR and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In his spare time, he enjoys traveling and spending time with his family and pets.
Albert Milani joins the Mathematics Department as an adjunct professor. He has taught for 25 years at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, from which he just retired as professor emeritus, and in many other institutions worldwide, including most recently the Pontificia Universidad Catolica in Santiago de Chile as a Fulbright scholar (2006) and the Technische Universitaet Dresden as a Mercator GastDozent (2010). He is the co-author of two books on nonlinear evolution equations (2005 and 2012). He likes travel in faraway countries, biking with his wife, classical music and literature, but he is hopeless when technology of any kind is needed.
Hans de Moor joins the Mathematics Department as an adjunct professor. He has taught algebra, statistics, calculus and linear algebra at Chabot College and Ohlone College. Prior to his teaching career, he held a variety of managerial, engineering, manufacturing and research positions at DuPont and several local manufacturing firms. Hans received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and his masters' degree in mathematics from California State University, East Bay. In his free time he enjoys astronomy, bicycling, playing the guitar and spending family time with his wife and two daughters.
Ani Moughamian is an adjunct faculty member in the Kalmanovitz School of Education, where she was previously a lecturer for the research methods courses. She will continue to teach research methods in education, supporting students through the master’s thesis process in her new role. She received her Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, where her dissertation work focused on language and literacy development in Armenian-American English learner (EL) elementary students. Prior to her work at SMC, Moughamian held research positions at WestEd, the University of Houston and the Los Angeles Unified School District. Her research has centered on examinations of the relationship between language and literacy, attempting to improve our understanding of the best ways to assist EL students in attaining proficiency in the academic language that is necessary for school success. A California native, she was born in San Francisco, raised in Napa, and received her B.A. from Stanford University. In her free time, she loves spending time with her family and friends, enjoys her husband’s home-cooked gourmet meals and is an avid reader.
Kevin Okoeguale is an assistant professor of finance at the School of Economics & Business Administration. His research interests include mergers and acquisitions, corporate control, and corporate governance. He is the recipient of the second-place award for best doctoral student paper at the 2010 Southern Finance Association annual meetings. He has taught corporate finance theory, derivative security markets, survey of investments, and financial management, among other courses. He received his Ph.D. in finance from Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia; M.S. in finance from Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester, and B.Sc. in accounting from the University of Benin, Nigeria. He has worked for Deloitte Consulting and is a Level III Candidate in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program.
Wenting Pan is an assistant professor in the School of Economics & Business Administration, where she primarily teaches business statistics, operations management, and supply chain management. Her research interests include managing supply uncertainty, sourcing strategies, game theory, supply chain management, operations research and decision analysis. Her research work has been published in a top-tier journal in the field of operations. She is the recipient of the Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship and Ray Watson Fellowship at the University of California-Irvine. She received her Ph.D. in operations and decision technologies from the University of California, Irvine; M.A. in management from University of Durham, U.K.; and B.E. in biological engineering from Shanghai Jiaotong University, China.
Laura Taylor is a new adjunct faculty member in the Theology and Religious Studies Department. A Ph.D. candidate in religion at Vanderbilt University, she has also earned an M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School and a B.A. from Fairfield University. Before joining the faculty at Saint Mary’s College, she taught for two years at the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University in Central Minnesota. Her teaching and research interests include contemporary theology, theologies of liberation, feminist theology, and Christology. In her spare time, she enjoys running, cooking and trying new restaurants.
Photos by Nicole Salviejo