Meet Your Faculty and Staff
While faculty and staff represent a wide range of academic backgrounds and personal interests, they share a common element — the dedication to your Honors College education. Get to know the individuals you'll be working and learning with during your academic career.
Administration | Teaching Faculty
Administration
Peter Starkweather, Ph.D., Biology, Dean
View Peter's Bio (PDF)
(peter.starkweather@unlv.edu)
Dr. Peter Starkweather is the Dean of the Honors College and is a professor in the School of Life Sciences. He received his Ph.D. at Dartmouth College in 1976. His main area of study is in aquatic ecology, studying zooplankton population genetics and freshwater community ecology, behavior, feeding, and energetics of rotifers.
Associate Dean
Position Vacant
Lisa Chastain, Director of Advising
(lisa.chastain@unlv.edu)
A native to Las Vegas, Lisa earned her B.A. in Communication Studies in August
2003. Lisa joined the Honors College in April 2006 as an Academic Advisor. She
assists students with application to the college, course planning, time management,
goal setting and career planning. She is a member of the National Academic
Advising Association (NACADA) and the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC).
Tiffany Schmier, Senior Academic Advisor
(tiffany.schmier@unlv.edu)
Although Tiffany was born in Southern California, she spent most of her childhood in Las Vegas. Tiffany earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees at UNLV, most recently completing a Masters of Education in December 2006.She is a member of the National Academic Advising Council (NACADA) and she is also active in many ways on the UNLV campus. She is currently serving as a Content Review Panel member for an upcoming NACADA monograph and is chair of the School and College Academic Advising Council s Technology commission. She is happy to be a part of the Honors College and enjoys assisting students with admission to the college, course planning, career exploration and goal setting.
Beverly Sabedra, Executive Assistant
(bev.sabedra@unlv.edu)
Bev Sabedra has been with the Honors College since July of 1987 and has provided
valuable service to both the Honors faculty and students. Within the Honors College,
she manages the day-to-day operations of the department, plans and oversees the
college's functions and events, makes sure the office runs smoothly, and assists
incoming students with questions about the program. She always greets everyone
with a warm and welcoming smile and offers some of the best advice found anywhere
on campus.
Angela Stone-Guidry, Office Manager
(angela.stone-guidry@unlv.edu)
Angela retired from the United States Air Force after 21 years of service. She
now manages the day to day operations of the front office, oversees university
and department honors application processes, assists parents and incoming
students with questions about the program. Angela is always ready to assist with
a smile.
Teaching Faculty
A committed team of UNLV faculty members — experts in their fields — teach Honors College courses throughout the academic year. Get acquainted with your professors before the first day of class.
Satish Bhatnagar, Ph.D., Mathematics
(bhatnaga@unlv.nevada.edu)
Dr. Satish Bhatnagar is associate dean of the College of Sciences and professor
of Mathematical Sciences. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Indiana
in applied math and his M.A. from the University of Punjab. He has received numerous
teaching awards at UNLV.
Jay Coughtry, Ph.D., History
(jay.coughtry@unlv.edu)
Dr. Jay Coughtry is an associate professor in history. His primary areas of teaching
and research are Colonial and early national U.S., American social and labor
history, film, and African American history. His publications include The
Notorious Triangle: Rhode Island and the African Slave Trade, 1700-1807 (Philadelphia,
1981).
Ron Cronovich, Ph.D., Economics
(roncron@unlv.nevada.edu)
Dr. Ron Cronovich is an associate professor in economics. He received his Ph.D.
from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. His research interests include
macroeconomics and regional trade impacts.
Douglas Ferraro, Ph.D., Psychology
(douglas.ferraro@unlv.edu)
Dr. Douglas Ferraro came to UNLV from Western Michigan University, where he had
served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He was UNLV's provost from
1996-2000. His primary areas of teaching and research include psychopharmacology,
forensic psychology, behavioral medicine and health psychology. Professor Ferraro
is a licensed psychologist and a qualified expert in forensic psychopharmacology.
David Fott, Ph.D., Political Science
(david.fott@unlv.edu
Dr. David Fott is an associate professor in political science. He received his
B.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1983 and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University
in 1986-1993. Dr. Fott is the author of John Dewey: America's Philosopher
of Democracy. His research focuses on the ancient Roman philosopher Marcus
Tullius Cicero and currently he is translating Cicero's On the Republic and
on the Laws into English.
Joseph A. Fry, Ph.D., History
(joseph.fry@unlv.edu)
Dr. Joseph A. (Andy) Fry, distinguished professor of history, has taught at UNLV
since 1975. His primary areas of teaching and research are U.S. foreign relations,
U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and the American South.
Russell Gollard, M.D.
(rgollard@hotmail.com)
Russell P. Gollard, M.D., F.A.C.P. has taught at UNLV since 1998, both in the
English department and the Honors College. Dr. Gollard is interested in the depiction
of illness in literature as well as in works chronicling the "training" of
health care providers. He is interested in perceptions of illness on the part
of both the patient and the practitioner. Dr. Gollard has a full-time practice
specializing in adult hematology and medical oncology.
Michael Green, Ph.D., History
(greenm1@nevada.edu)
Dr. Michael Green is the author of Freedom, Union, and Power: Lincoln and
His Party During the Civil War; Nevada: A Journey of Discovery;
and two other books about Las Vegas, in addition to serving as editor and interviewer
of the oral history A Liberal Conscience: Ralph Denton, Nevadan.
David Hassenzahl, Ph.D., Environmental Studies
(david.hassenzahl@unlv.edu)
Dr. David Hassenzahl is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental
Studies. He received his B.A. at the University of California at Berkeley and
his Ph.D. at Princeton University. His research focuses on information, expertise
and uncertainty in risk-taking.
Christopher Heavey, Ph.D., Psychology
(heavey@unlv.nevada.edu)
Dr. Chris Heavey is an associate professor in the psychology department at UNLV.
He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1991.
His primary interests are sampling inner experience, the inner experience of
psychopathology including depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and the
relationship of inner experience to mental health.
Clemens Heske, Ph.D., Chemistry
(heske@unlv.nevada.edu)
Dr. Clemens Heske is an associate professor in materials chemistry. He was born
in Darmstadt, Germany, and received his doctorate at University of Würzburg,
Germany.
Deborah Hoshizaki, Ph.D., Biology
(deborah.hoshizaki@unlv.edu)
Dr. Deborah Hoshizaki is an associate professor in the biological sciences department.
Her research program focuses on understanding the mechanisms by which cells choose
a particular cell fate and how they are realized. She offers undergraduate research
to those who are interested in attending medical or graduate school.
Maria Jerinic, Ph.D., Honors College
(mjerinic@yahoo.com)
Dr. Maria Jerinic is editor for Topics for Victorian Literature and Culture published
by Cambridge University Press. She has served as the co-director for a Victorian
studies conference, "The Formative Years: The Construction of Victorian
Class and National Identities" and published essays on 18th and 19th century
British literature.
Todd Jones, Ph.D., Philosophy
(todd.jones@unlv.edu)
Dr. Todd Jones is an associate professor in the philosophy department. He has
broad interests in all aspects of explaining human behavior. Besides his doctorate
in philosophy, Dr. Jones has a Ph.D. in cognitive science, and an M.A. in anthropology,
after doing fieldwork in Nepal. He is the former director of the cultural studies
program at UNLV.
Joanna Kepka, Ph.D., Political Geography
(jmkepka@lycos.com)
Dr. Joanna M. Kepka was born and grew up in Poland and studied in France and
the United States. She has professional experience working for Le Rassemblement
Pour La Republique in Paris and the Polish Embassy in Washington, D.C. Dr. Kepka
holds master's and doctorate degrees in political geography from the University
of Oregon.
Julian Kilker, Ph.D., Media Studies
(kilker@unlv.nevada.edu)
Dr. Julian Kilker is an associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies. He received his B.A. at Reed College and his Ph.D. at Cornell University, and has taught Physics in the Peace Corps. His research focuses on social and ethical aspects of information technologies, and their life cycles from development to obsolescence.
Daniel McAllister, Ph.D., Management
(mcallister@unlv.edu)
Dr. Daniel McAllister is a professor of management at UNLV. He has taught management
excellence to thousands of managers and leaders across the country and around
the world. Some of his best-known client organizations include Rockwell International,
The Tropicana Resort, Chrysler Corp., A & W Restaurants, The U.S. Department
of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Department. He has won numerous awards for
excellence in teaching, including the highest awards that the students and faculty
can give at UNLV. He has published articles in the leading management and educational
journals.
Joseph McCullough, Ph.D., English
(joseph.mccullough@unlv.edu)
Dr. Joe McCullough is a distinguished professor of English at UNLV. A Mark Twain
scholar, he has appeared as a "featured expert" on an A&E Biography
of Mark Twain, co-edited The Bible According to Mark Twain and Mark
Twain at the Buffalo Express. A two-time Fulbright Professor of American
literature (once at the University of Helsinki, another at the University of
Athens), he is also past-president of the American Humor Studies Association.
Michael Pravica, Ph.D., Physics
(pravica@physics.unlv.edu)
Dr. Michael Pravica is an assistant professor in physics and a member of
HiPSEC (High Pressure and Engineering Center). He received his Ph.D. in experimental
condensed matter physics in 1998 from Harvard University and a B.S. in physics
and applied mathematics in 1988 with honors from the California Institute
of Technology (Caltech).
William Robinson, Ph.D., Economics
(underdog@unlv.nevada.edu)
Dr. William Robinson is an assistant professor in economics. He received
his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder. His research interests
include urban and regional economics particularly in the state of Nevada
and in Las Vegas.
Stephen E. Rosenbaum, Ph.D., Philosophy
(stephen.rosenbaum@unlv.edu)
Stephen Rosenbaum is a professor of philosophy at UNLV. As a nationally known
scholar on Epicurean ethics and thanatology, he writes and teaches seminars
about ancient Greek ethics and the history of ethics. A national leader in
honors education, he is on the Executive Committee of the National Collegiate
Honors Council (the national organization of honors colleges and programs),
and regularly advises professionals beginning work in honors educational
administration.
Stephen Rowland, Ph.D., Geology
(steve.rowland@unlv.edu)
Dr. Stephen Rowland is a professor in the Department of Geology. He received
his Ph.D. at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1978. Professor
Rowland's primary studies are in the areas of paleontology, paleoecology,
stratigraphy, and the history of geology.
Satish Sharma, Ph.D., Social Work
(satish.sharma@unlv.edu)
Dr. Satish Sharma is a professor in the Department of Social Work. His studies
include research methods and statistics; foundations of social work and welfare;
mutlicultural, international, and minority social work practice; social development
and community organization; and Gandhian welfare thought.
Daniel Villanueva, Ph.D., Foreign Languages
(daniel.villanueva@unlv.edu)
Dr. Daniel Villanueva teaches German language, translation, film and drama classes
for the Department of Foreign Languages. He has also taught two previous Honors
seminars on contemporary Germany. He has directed three senior Honors theses
dealing with German culture as well. Before coming to UNLV in 1999, he was employed
at the Aspen Institute Berlin, a think tank for German-European-American affairs.
Dr. Villanueva directs the SAGE program for the Honors College.