Faculty Fellows

On behalf of the University of Missouri Difficult Dialogues Initiative, and the Office of the Chancellor's Diversity Initiative, please join us in congratulating the following individuals who were selected as 2007-2008 MU Difficult Dialogue Faculty Fellows:

Fall Semester '07

	Nancy Knipping, Learning Teaching and Curriculum Nancy Knipping is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education in the Department of Learning Teaching and Curriculum. She currently coordinates the early childhood education undergraduate teacher preparation program and advises all graduate students in early childhood education. Her research and teaching both focus on early childhood curriculum.
	Abdullahi Ali Ibrahim, African and Islam history Abdullahi Ali Ibrahim, Ph.D (1978), in folklore and anthropology, Indiana University, is an Associate Professor of African and Islam history at the University of Missouri. He taught before at the University of Khartoum in Sudan. He published extensively, in both Arabic and English, on culture history of Sudan including The Mahdi-Ulema Conflict (1968); Assaulting with Words: Popular Discourse and the Bridle of Shari'ah (Islam) (1994); Culture and Democracy in Sudan (1996). His forthcoming book, Manichaean Delirium: Decolonizing the Judiciary and Islamic Revival in Sudan, 1898-1985 is in press with Brill. He contributes articles to al-Ray al-'Amm, a leading national daily in Sudan.
	María Len-Ríos, Strategic Communication, Journalism María Len-Ríos teaches courses in cross-cultural journalism, public relations, and mass communication. She conducts research in the areas of health communication for underserved populations and public relations. Her professional experience includes working in government, agency and corporate public relations and marketing, as well as consulting. Previously, Len-Ríos taught at The University of Kansas and at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro.
	Miriam Golomb, Biological Sciences
	Rebecca Martinez, Psychological Sciences Rebecca Martinez is Visiting Assistant Professor in Psychological Sciences. She is also director of the Multicultural Certificate Program for the College of Arts and Sciences. She is currently a Co-Facilitator/Instructor for the Multicultural FIG Pro-Seminar course for incoming freshmen. She earned her doctorate from the Program for Social Relations at the University of California, Irvine. Her academic interests include: the psychology of women; the social construction of health and illness, particularly as this relates to medical/scientific discourses on the female/feminine body; the intersections of race/culture/gender/class in reproductive diseases; and the Mexicana/Centro-Americana immigrant experience in the U.S.
	Elizabeth Brixey, Newspaper Journalism Elizabeth Brixey is an assistant professor on the print and digital news faculty in the Missouri School of Journalism. As a teaching editor at the Columbia Missourian, she oversees coverage of the arts and K-12 education. She is part of a team of editors looking at what journalists do, why we do it and how we can be more meaningful. She is a 1985 graduate of the journalism school and, until 2003, worked as a reporter and editor at the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison.
	Enid Schatz, Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science Enid Schatz is an Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy in the School of Health Professions and a Core Faculty member of the Women's and Gender Studies Department. She earned her PhD in Sociology and Demography from the University of Pennsylvania in 2002. She teaches courses on Research Methods and Women's Empowerment. Her interests include reproductive health, research methods, and the intersections among gender, AIDS, and aging. Her current research focuses on the social and structural impacts of HIV/AIDS, particularly the gendered and generational effects on households and communities in rural South Africa. She explores the ways in which HIV/AIDS, and other changes in South African society, are impacting the everyday lives of people in rural households, and how gender and age mediate these impacts.
	Shawna Strickland, Respiratory Therapy Shawna Strickland is a clinical assistant professor and director of clinical education in the Respiratory Therapy Program. She is a registered respiratory therapist, neonatal-pediatric specialist and certified asthma educator. She received her master's degree in adult and higher education from UMSL and is pursuing her doctorate of philosophy in educational leadership and policy studies at UMSL. In addition to respiratory therapy program core courses, Shawna teaches an undergraduate, pre-health care professional clinical ethics course. She is also a member of the University of Missouri Health Care Clinical Ethics Committee. Her research endeavors include home oxygen delivery systems, the advancement of education for respiratory therapists, and access to health education for asthmatic persons living in rural areas.
	Mary-Jeanette Smythe, Communication Mary-Jeanette Smythe is an associate professor in the Department of Communication. In her courses, particularly Comm 3470, Communication and Culture, and Comm 4412, Gender, Language, and Communication, she challenges students to explore the intersections of identity, gender, race, and culture and the impact of these forces on their interactions with others
	Dan Cohen, Religious Studies Dan Cohen is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies and a research associate at the MU Pew Center on Religion & the Professions. An anthropology Ph.D. and scholar of South Asian religions, Dr. Cohen's interests include the intersection between religion, culture, and systems of healing. Dr. Cohen has conducted research on the use of religious narratives in Indian healing rituals and is involved at MU in research on the relationship between religion, spirituality, and physical and mental health.
	Anthony Thomas, Philosophy Anthony Thomas is a doctoral student in Philosophy. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, he has earned degrees in Philosophy from Utah State University (BA, 2001) and Northern Illinois University (MA, 2003). He participated as a fellow in the Preparing Future Faculty program at the University of Missouri. His primary philosophical interests lie in ethics, social philosophy, and the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein. As a teacher of philosophy, he often encounters "difficult dialogue" situations, making him committed to working toward effective, educational resolutions of these issues through the Difficult Dialogues Initiative.
	Julie Wagner, Counseling Psychology Julie Wagner is a Doctoral student in Counseling Psychology. She is the associate director for MU's A Way With Words and Numbers literacy and math tutoring program. She received an undergraduate in Philosophy. Her research interests include career development of women, and multicultural issues as they relate to addiction recovery.
	Kendra Yoder, Sociology and Women & Gender Studies Kendra Yoder is a graduate student in Sociology and Women's and Gender Studies. Her content areas include social inequalities, as well as culture and identity with a particular focus on studying religious identities and violence against women through an intersectional analysis. Her current graduate assistantships include teaching a cross listed SOC/ WGST intro course called Women's Experiences: Body, Identity & Culture, as well as working as one of the four coordinators in the MSA/GPC Rape Education Office. Kendra is also a licensed clinical social worker and has worked for the last five years in campus and community forums to address issues of social justice, most specifically around domestic violence and sexual assault.
	Jennifer A. Schlosser, Sociology Jennifer A. Schlosser is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology. She received her B.S. from Missouri State University in 2004 and her M.A. from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2006. She is currently finishing her last year of coursework in the Ph.D. program. Her research interests include criminology, inequalities and social control; she is particularly interested in how inmate identity is shaped by prison institutional rhetoric and how policy can be better designed in an effort to reduce recidivism. Jennifer is also a volunteer for the Boone County Offender Transition Network, a community based organization dedicated to facilitating offender reentry.
	Sacheen Mobley, Communication Sacheen Mobley is a 3rd year PhD student in the Department of Communication. Though she teaches public speaking, her main research interests are in culture and communication as well as interpersonal communication. She studies the narratives that people use to form the basis of interpersonal identity and how culture intersects with those narratives to change individuals and societies alike. She is interested in exploring culture from multiple perspectives and using her research to effect open dialog and activism in the classroom and community.
	Phil Groeschel, Theatre Phil, a PhD student in theatre at the University of Missouri, holds an MFA in scenic design from the University of Houston and a MEd in counseling in higher education from the University of North Texas. He is a graduate instructor in scenic design construction and in acting for non-theatre majors. Although Phil's primary research focus is the work of scenic designer John Conklin, his interests also include the scenographic works of other theatre practitioners. As an actor, Phil is beginning his second year with the MU Interactive Theatre troupe.
	Aaron Bunker, Biomedical Science Aaron Bunker is a graduate student in the Biomedical Sciences Department at the College of Veterinary Medicine. While working in Harold Laughlin's laboratory as a research assistant he examines the effects of exercise on the cardiovascular system in a Type II diabetic model of obesity. More specifically, he mechanistically examines how Type II diabetes results in endothelial dysfunction at the level of a whole vessel's ability to dilate/contract and at the biochemical/cellular level as it pertains to the angiotensin II signaling pathways. Aaron is also a fellow in the nationally recognized Preparing Future Faculty program designed to inform graduate students about the expectations of faculty regarding teaching, research, service and what it is like to be a faculty member at a variety of types of institutions.