2023 Faculty Merit Award Winners

Mr. Wolbach has a long history at the University of the Sciences, and now at Saint Joseph's University, of being a dedicated academic advisor, working with many students to help them understand and complete the many complex requirements of their major. Kevin has tirelessly worked to review pretty much every graduating senior's academic record in the Biology department on the UC campus. He has identified multiple situations where students were "offtrack" for graduation and proposed reasonable solutions that allowed the students to meet their graduation requirements without imposing an undue burden on them. Kevin has also worked closely with the Advising Support Center staff to develop the "check lists" for the legacy majors in Biology. Kevin has handled a great deal of advising work, not just for the Biology Department, but for the entire school, making calls for transfer courses, helping with transfer student schedules, developing articulation agreements with other schools and working closely with the Registrar and professional advising staff. Kevin has been integral in helping the department look at how to merge the existing undergraduate majors with an eye towards ensuring that the student experience is not harmed as a result. He has advised multiple students seeking to return to their undergraduate studies through the new academic forgiveness program, as well as students using the grade replacement policy. He is selfless, tireless, enthusiastic, and always, always thinking about the students. He truly exemplifies cura personalis.

Joseph Ragan, Professor of Accounting and Sutula Chair of Accounting, has been a faculty member at Saint Joseph’s for over 45 years. During that time, he has advised an untold number of students as both a faculty member and Chair of the Department of Accounting on questions concerning schedules, specific classes and degree requirements. More importantly, he is known by his current and former students for the time he spends providing critical advice on career opportunities and the directions these students should take in order to succeed after graduating from SJU. Based upon his in depth understanding of the business segment of our society and especially the accounting profession, and his incredible number of well-developed contacts in the Philadelphia region, he is able to not only offer advice to our students but also connect them to former graduates and other acquaintances in the city and surrounding counties resulting in internships and eventual job offers. Professor Ragan deserves recognition for his advising efforts on behalf of our students and would receive support for this recognition by a large group of successful former students.

Dr. Moran has demonstrated outstanding qualities of effective student advising as outlined in the Faculty Handbook in her role as an academic advisor for undergraduate students in teacher education and special education,advising coordinator for Early Childhood & PK4 and Child and Family Studies, department representative at Open House and Admitted Students Day, member of SESD Social Justice and the Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions Committee, and advisor to the Hunan cohort of students. In addition, Dr. Moran has established herself as a research guide and mentor to the Philadelphia School District and several local educational partners. Dr. Moran has established an exemplary record of undergraduate academic student advising that builds upon a strong advisee-advisor relationship grounded in mutual respect and trust that no doubt contributes to students’ academic success and career goals, therefore, student retention and positive college experience. Dr. Moran has developed an academic advising program for the department of teacher education and special education and continues to work on and off campus to promote and practice effective advising and mentoring. As a department, we respect and admire Dr. Moran’s work as faculty and advisor, her personal and professional commitment to student development, and her achievement and success at doing so across complex constituencies.

Dr. Sullivan demonstrates high quality and excellence in teaching and advising. Dr. Sullivan’s style of mentorship and advising is energetic, creative, and engaging. Students feel welcome in her office and classroom. She contributes to the Health Sciences student success with advising that facilitates professional growth, independence, and admission into highly-sought clinical and graduate school programs. The department is very fortunate to have such an incredible and dedicated colleague as Dr. Sullivan.

Dr. Sullivan’s attitude exudes respect for all persons, but she clearly holds students in high regard and with special esteem. She prioritizes the student’s agency in decision making, while making sure she is available to provide appropriate support, information, and scaffolding in service of student-led decisions. The qualitative comments on student evaluations highlight student experiences with Dr. Sullivan’s approach and show how much they appreciate her respectful attitude.

Dr. Sullivan’s behavior and attitude towards students and colleagues provides a foundation of trust and respect. She coordinates the department advising sessions and all internal communication tools for faculty and students. She works hard to understand the needs of all her students with caring and compassion, and is keenly aware that students often have need for both academic and interpersonal support.

In summary, I believe Dr. Sullivan demonstrates high quality and excellence in advising and is a worthy candidate for this award. The department and college is exceptionally lucky to count her among our faculty, and the students benefit greatly from her efforts.

Dr. Ramos has shown an extraordinary commitment to SJU’s undergraduate students and mission since his arrival on Hawk Hill, continuing and expanding on his service portfolio at University of the Sciences prior to the merger. His main focus has been on encouraging interest in Physics and STEM in both SJU Undergraduates and underserved students in the larger community.

Most recently, Dr. Ramos has served as Co-Director of the Center for Undergraduate Research since joining SJU in 2022. As Co-Director of the SJU Summer Scholars Program, he obtained grants to fund ten Janssen STEM Equity Summer Research Scholars, and to implement the Bristol-Myers Squibb STEM Summer Equity Research Scholars Program. Further, he serves as Faculty Advisor for the SJU chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) and Sigma Pi Sigma Physics Honor Society.

Dr. Ramos extends his service to young scholars into the wider community by organizing Summer High School STEM Internships in collaboration with the Snider Hockey Foundation and the Franklin Institute, and supporting the Physics Wonder Girls (a program he founded twelve years ago at University of the Sciences for academically talented middle-school girls). Last year, he also conducted STEM outreach at a rural agricultural high school in the Philippines, training a team of twelve teachers and students on hands-on projects.

He shares his enthusiasm for promoting physics with his undergraduates by engaging the SPS members with K-12 students in the community, and has had Physics majors serve as counselors at Physics Wonder Girl Camp.

Finally, Dr. Ramos involves students in exploring diversity and inclusion of women and minorities in physics and STEM, in general, through classroom student presentations and out-of-classroom initiatives including a Storytelling Poster Showcase: Women & Minorities in Physics. His service to the University and community furthers SJU’s mission and the development of its students.

Dr. Monica Belfatti is a member of the Department of Teacher Education and joined SJU five years ago. In her time here, Dr. Belfatti has demonstrated excellence in teaching, advising, mentoring students, and curriculum development. As her colleagues attest, students regularly evaluate Dr. Belfatti as “the best teacher I’ve ever had.” She spends an extraordinary amount of time working with her students and guiding them through the creation of literacy plans. One student wrote, “Dr. Belfatti taught me that literature should be a reflection of the reader’s story and cultural identity. At times I felt that teaching was not the career path for me but with her feedback, she assured me I belong in the classroom.” Dr. Belfatti’s passion for teaching and student learning is legendary in the department. She is also deeply committed to the mission of the University—in particular, social justice and equity in education. This passion led her to the creation of a college-wide social justice committee that focuses annually on a different topic related to social justice and education through speakers, book clubs and films. Saint Joseph’s University is extremely fortunate to have Dr. Belfatti as a member of our community. Congratulations, Dr. Belfatti!

Since coming to SJU in the Fall of 2019, Dr. Bulthuis has taught a wide variety of courses, many of which he reimagined de novo and some of which he created. One course he created, Personhood in Islamic Philosophy, has been certified as a Non-Western Course for the DNWG overlay. He also created Young Minds, an FYS that is also a Service Learning Course.

Dr. Bulthuis has a gift for making abstract material accessible. Without sacrificing rigor, he engages students from a wide variety of backgrounds. He has received uniformly excellent peer reviews, many of which mention the extent to which his students are engaged with the material. He has taught in a variety of modalities (in-person, on-line and hy-flex), and the transitions to the new format were very smooth. In fact, has assisted other faculty members in making the transition to on-line teaching. In all of his courses, Dr. Bulthuis has received glowing feedback and comments from students. Here is one typical comment: “Amazing way of teaching! At first I thought I would be bored and not enjoy the course but I actually loved this class and thought it was very interesting!!” Please join me in congratulating Dr. Bulthuis for this well-deserved award.

Mr. Todd Erkis enjoys teaching and cares deeply for his students. His creativity and commitment to teaching have been particularly commendable, and have led to the development and enhancement of two courses, Personal Finance and Excel Competence.

In the Fall 2019 semester, representatives from the Saint Joseph's Student Senate approached faculty in the Finance Department asking for instruction on personal finance topics. Seeing students' interest, Mr. Erkis approached The Hawk school newspaper and from October 2019 until April 2021, co-wrote a regular column in the paper called "Money Matters." Inspired by the student questions, Mr. Erkis wrote a book titled "Everything a College Student Needs to Know About Personal Finance – But Doesn't Want to Ask." Subsequently, he co-developed the Personal Finance FIN 100 class that covers personal finance topics.

In 2016, business majors were required to take a one-credit course, Excel Competence, that consisted primarily of online videos. Mr. Erkis proposed that student-to-student (peer-to-peer) tutoring may be a more effective way for students to learn Excel. He created a pilot program, starting with two of his FIN 200 classes, to test the efficiency and practicality of providing individualized instruction to help students learn Excel. The pilot program was successful and led to changes in the teaching of Excel in the Business School.

Mr. Erkis is an exceptional teacher, and has made important contributions to the curriculum of the business school. We are fortunate to have a teacher of his caliber.

We are thrilled to honor Dr. Kristen Grimes, an Associate Professor of Italian in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages with a faculty merit award for teaching. Dr. Grimes is an excellent teacher who is deeply committed to student learning and engagement. As her colleagues attest, Dr. Grimes is a master teacher who creates an extraordinary level of student engagement in her courses through her warmth and poise. She teaches at every level of the Italian curriculum and her colleagues note her excellence in creating a learning environment where students are comfortable asking questions, working in small groups, interacting with each other and discussing sophisticated topics in Italian. Dr. Grimes brings an innovative, technology enhanced approach that is learner-centered to reduce student anxiety and increase comprehension and speaking proficiency. Dr. Grimes has taught at all levels of Italian languages and literature and her courses are known for her innovation in the classroom as well as educational trips to the Barnes and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Following a peer evaluation in the classroom, Dr. Marsilio notes, “I left the classroom smiling as did every other student in class.” Congratulations, Dr. Grimes, on this well-deserved honor!

Dr. Julia Lee-Soety has taught many challenging and popular courses in Biology at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including Cells, Immunology, Wormy Genes, and Molecular Genetics. She co-developed the inquiry-based Phage Safari laboratory course at Saint Joseph’s over 10 years ago. In this innovative lab, students isolate viral phages, characterize them, and publish the genomic sequence in publicly-available systems for use by other scientists. She has been instrumental in merging this program with Phage Hunters, a similar program offered by the former University of the Sciences, in preparation for next year when all first-year students will be on the Hawk Hill campus.

Dr. Lee-Soety’s colleagues note that her lectures are clear and well planned, and that she has an engaging and interactive teaching style. She constantly seeks to improve her teaching by participating in pedagogy workshops offered by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for the Science Education Alliance program and the Allied Genetics Conference. She is also a frequent presenter at Saint Joseph’s University’s Annual Teaching and Learning Forum and other workshops offered by the Office of Teaching and Learning. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Lee-Soety for her exceptional achievement in teaching!

Dr. Alfredo Mauri, Professor of Management, is an outstanding teacher by all measures of teaching performance. His peer evaluations are uniformly strong. His colleagues admire and respect his commitment to teaching and learning, his emphasis on Jesuit mission and Ignatian Pedagogy, his effective use of technology, his subject matter expertise, and his warm and respectful rapport with students and advisees. Alfredo is an innovator in the classroom and shares his ideas willingly and generously with his colleagues. One of the innovations introduced by Alfredo into the Business Policy course, the capstone course for the business school, is an electronic student feedback system that encourages individual and team reflection. The feedback process is structured so that students provide live, in-class feedback of their classmates’ presentations. Alfredo designed the system using a feedback Master Spreadsheet created on Google sheets. His research paper on the feedback system and its relationship to Ignatian Pedagogy will be published this summer.Alfredo is also a versatile teacher who is equally effective at the undergraduate, graduate and executive levels of education, and in the online and traditional classroom formats. Alfredo is respected and appreciated by students and colleagues alike. We are pleased to honor him with this teaching award.

Dr. Usha Rao is an accomplished teacher of Chemistry, with a reputation for rigorous and engaging teaching. She is a recipient of the Zenith Award for lifetime achievement from the Association for Women in Science. She has also received the Distinguished Research Lectureship from the Association for Women Geoscientists. She was invited by Governor Tom Wolf to participate in the Pennsylvania Women in STEM video series.

Dr. Rao has served as the first Associate Director of the John P. McNulty Leadership program for gifted women in STEM, and as Founding Director of the Office of Teaching and Learning. Her success as a mentor of students and faculty was recognized with the Bingham Mentorship Award from the Philadelphia Chapter of the Association for Women in Science. Dr. Rao’s approach to teaching is firmly grounded in our Jesuit mission. A graduate of St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai, India, she knows from experience that we must meet each student where they are, facilitate their growth, and challenge them to realize their full potential. She received the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2022.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Rao for this well-deserved award.

Dr. Sit has successfully taught a wide variety of classes, ranging from introductory classes through research-level seminars. He does an excellent job in all of these, successfully adapting his classroom technique to diverse audiences. His peer evaluations are all glowing, mentioning his classroom management skills and remarking on how engaged his students were. His student feedback numbers were near perfect, and he received high praise in the qualitative feedback. Dr. Sit describes one of his teaching goals as follows: “Students come to college with various levels of preparation due to the disparities in the K—12 system. My responsibility is to meet students where they are.”

He is mentoring an independent-study student in a project that promises to result in a publication. He has pioneered the use of the online platform Mobius in MAT 155, and he plans to do the same for MAT 123. In the case of MAT 123, this will necessitate the complete redesigning of the course. He participated actively on two departmental committees that proposed ways to improve the teaching of precalculus and calculus. He also revised the numerical analysis course. He has attended several teaching/pedagogy workshops at SJU.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Sit for this well-deserved award.

Kaitlin Moran has been extremely productive. On an annual basis, she attaches her name to at least twice as many publications as the average faculty member in the Department of Teacher Education. Her scholarly achievements for the AY 2022-2023 alone include a co-authored book (forthcoming), two articles, three conference presentations, and a community-engaged technical report for the School District of Philadelphia. In addition, she has two co-authored manuscripts under review. The quality of her work is as impressive as the quantity. Dr. Moran’s publications have appeared in top-tier journals in her field, such as Topics in Early Childhood Education (Impact Factor 2.3; 5 yr. 3.25), Journal of Early Intervention (Impact Factor 1.9; 5 yr. 2.8), and Urban Education (Impact Factor 2.7; 5 yr. 3.7). Her book entitled Connecting Equity, Literacy, and Language: Pathways Toward Advocacy-Focused Teaching will be published this summer by Teachers College Press, a prestigious publisher of educational scholarship. Not only has she far exceeded expectations in terms of scholarship in her department. Her accomplishments also fit with SJU’s social justice mission: Dr. Moran offers her research expertise to the School District of Philadelphia with important benefits for young children and their families in culturally marginalized communities.

Konstantinos Nikoloutsos is a prolific researcher specializing in the afterlife of the classical world in modern popular culture. In the last three years, he has published a co-edited volume under the title Greeks and Romans on the Latin American Stage (Bloomsbury Academic, 2020), an edited book entitled Companion to Ancient Greek and Roman Warfare on Film (Brill, 2023), and a solicited theoretical essay for Reception Studies: New Challenges in a Changing World (De Gruyter, 2023). His scholarship has been universally praised for its outstanding quality and cutting-edge approaches. Three reviewers have respectively described his 2020 anthology as a work “that brings to light little-known adaptations from a variety of countries in the region addressing many of its present conflicts and past turmoil” and as such it makes a “seminal contribution” that is “recommended for anyone interested in postcolonial and twentieth-century Latin America.” His 2023 tome is the largest publication on celluloid antiquity to date and has been lauded as a study that exhibits complete mastery of cinematic history and contains incisive cultural criticism…. Nikoloutsos expertly martials facts and makes penetrating observations. He is sensitive to sources, but always depicts reception as a dynamic process that is mediated and inflected by previous incarnations and understandings.”

Philip Schatz has maintained an extraordinary level of scholarly productivity. His research output rivals top-level researchers at R1 universities. His record over the last 5 years includes 30 peer-reviewed manuscripts (single-authored/co-authored), 21 conference poster presentations, and 21 published abstracts, all focusing on the assessment and management of sports-related concussion. These publications have appeared in the top journals for Sports Medicine (e.g., Journal of Sports Rehabilitation, American Journal of Sports Medicine, Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine), Neuropsychology (Developmental Neuropsychology, Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology), Athletic Training (Journal of Athletic Training), and Medicine (Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, Journal of Clinical Neuroscience). The impact of Dr. Schatz’s research is truly far-reaching. As a leading member of several research collaborations, he and his collaborators answer some of the most pivotal questions about the manner in which sports-related concussion is diagnosed, how treatment should be managed, and how the recovery process unfolds. The importance of this research is exemplified by the attention paid to it by other researchers in his field. Over the past 5 years alone, Dr. Schatz’s research has been cited 3,770 times, with an h-index of 33 and an i10-index of 38.

Sangcheol Song has far exceeded expectations in the area of scholarship in the Department of Management. His most productive colleagues tend to publish an average of one peer-reviewed journal article per year. He averages more than three. In the last three years, he has published 11 articles in top journals in the field of Strategic Management. Some of these journals include Long Range Planning, Journal of Business Research, International Business Review, Journal of World Business, Management International Review, Global Strategy Journal, and Journal of Business Ethics. Dr. Song has studied multinational corporations, foreign direct investment, international subsidiaries, and international joint ventures. His expertise in International Business informs his teaching, since he is a core member of the International Business teaching team. Specifically, Dr. Song’s scholarship directly contributed to his development of IBU 310 (Global & Multinational Firms), a course now required for the International Business major. The quality of Dr. Song’s scholarship is also demonstrated by citation rates. The number of citations of his work has grown steadily in each of the last five years, resulting in 155 citations of his work in 2022. Nineteen articles have been cited at least ten times in each of the past five years.

Lia Vas’ productivity rate and quality of publications is outstanding even by the standards of R1 universities, especially given her area of specialization, pure mathematics, in which most papers are without coauthors. Dr. Vas specializes in an area of pure mathematics related to operator theory and algebra, namely the study of C* algebras. Although this subfield of mathematics arose as a tool to describe observables in quantum mechanics, it is at the very pure end of the spectrum from pure mathematics to applied mathematics. It is a very difficult field that takes many years to absorb. Dr. Vas’ work is extremely impressive. She has received international recognition and has been published in top journals. Her publication rate of about two papers per year is phenomenal. Lat year alone, Dr. Vas published two refereed papers in highly selective journals. She completed and submitted two additional research papers, both of which have already been accepted by selective journals. She presented at a national and an international research conference and also taught a minicourse in Brazil remotely. Additionally, Dr. Vas serves as the editor of two journals, reviewed 6 research papers and wrote 10 paper reviews in 2022, all of which made an important contribution to her field.

We are delighted to celebrate Dr. Roberto Ramos as a recipient of the Faculty Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award. Dr. Ramos is very committed to promoting and honoring diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work in his role at Saint Joseph’s University. His mission-centric accomplishments include leading DEI activities in education, research, and outreach in the academic discipline of Physics. Particularly noticeable and of high value is his use of integrated pedagogy to endure inclusive teaching practices. He intentionally employs active learning techniques to accommodate a myriad of learning styles. His DEI work extended beyond the classroom evidenced by his successful Physics Wonder Girls Summer Program, a program for highly diverse cohorts of middle school girls, many of whom were top STEM students in their schools. The curriculum of this camp, designed by Dr. Ramos, offered learning modules that promoted the physics of renewable energies. His work with this camp enhanced and sustained the pipeline of women in STEM, a field where only 20% of BS Physics graduates are women. Remarkable is the engagement of the participants in the “Equity-in-Energy” theme. This summer program promoted diversity and inclusion by sustaining interest in physics among middle school girls. In his commitment to DEI, Dr. Ramos is unique and exceptional.

There is no Theresa Rhett-Davis without D–E–I. Given her deep commitment to the value of social justice most notably in teaching and service to the institution, we are excited to honor Prof. Theresa Rhett-Davis, Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy¸ with the Faculty Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award. Prof. Rhett-Davis demonstrates inclusive pedagogy in her courses such as Contextual Approaches and Developmental Interventions, in which the identity of the client is examined and respected from the intersectionality of social and cultural identities. She infuses justice work in all her courses.

In service as Vice Chair of the Occupational Department, Theresa Rhett-Davis is an agent for change on micro, meso, and macro levels. One-on-one, Prof. Rhett-Davis is a role model, mentor, and advisor to students, and colleagues. She is a special magnet to students and colleagues of underrepresented cultures, having the empathy, common ground, and life experiences, to blaze a trail for others.

In summary, Theresa Rhett Davis, is recognized by her students and colleagues as the epitome of diversity, equity, and inclusion, grounded in the value of justice. We gratefully acknowledge Prof. Theresa Rhett-Davis as a recipient of the Faculty Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award.

Fr. Peter Clark, S.J. ’75 is the recipient of the Faculty Merit Justice Award for his continued commitment to local and international health care access, and to educating students on just global health care needs and responses. As Director of Clinical Bioethics for the university, he works with his professional staff and student Fellows to arrange partnerships and manage Health Promoter programs in four distinct communities in the Philadelphia area. Their newest Health Promoter program/partnership in Chinatown provides regular health screenings to a strong and vibrant Asian community, along with the ongoing Health Promoters with African immigrants and Hispanic immigrants in partnership with consulates and churches in Philadelphia (St. Cyprian Catholic Church, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Consulate of Guatemala in Philadelphia, Chinese Christian Church). The recent expansion shows his commitment to the citizens of Philadelphia, responding to the needs of the community.

Peter is committed to experiential learning by teaching a Service-Learning course each semester (Just Health Care in Developing Nations and Christian Medical Ethics annually) and partnering with health facilities for students to see just healthcare and dignity in patient care in action. He models the following internalized Ignatian principles to his ICB Fellows: Care for the Whole Person by providing medical and dental screenings at each Health Promoter, a Contemplative in Action with a continuous adaptation of work and responding to new needs. The Health Promoter programs allow for ICB Fellows to put Jesuit principles into action, such as being students with and for others. He holds his students and Fellows to the highest standards, understanding they are directly offering care to vulnerable communities, and ensuring the dignity of all people will be a pillar of their future careers.

Additionally, Peter serves as the Bioethicist for a number of Philadelphia hospitals (Mercy Health System of Philadelphia, Shriners Hospital for Children and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia) and consults for hospitals in Philadelphia and surrounding states, as well as international work as Bioethicist for Caritas Baby Hospital in Bethlehem, Palestine and arranges eyeglass clinics in El Salvador. He truly lives out a faith that does justice.