Point Park Value - Faculty Engagement Distinguished Faculty
Point Park's faculty members bring real-life work experience into the classroom. As professional practitioners, they know what it takes to run a business, conduct research, manage a newsroom or direct a stage production. They engage our students and our community, all while remaining committed to professional and scholarly pursuits.
School of Arts and Sciences
Criminal Justice and Intelligence Studies department faculty and Pittsburgh Bureau of Police staff presented the Street Safety Training Conference for more than 80 police officers from Western Pennsylvania communities.
Stanley Denton, Ph.D., associate professor, directed a group of Point Park students in a mentoring and tutoring project with West Mifflin High School. The education undergraduates travelled to West Mifflin High School each week to work with the local high school students as part of a Family and Community Diversity class.
Matthew Opdyke, Ph.D., associate professor, and Laura Frost, Ph.D., associate professor, and biology students Brian Dolney and Joshua Roy published "A Study of Epiphytic Lichen Communities in Urban and Rural Environments in Southwestern Pennsylvania" in the Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science.
Read more School of Arts and Sciences' news.
School of Business
Helena Knorr, Ph.D., associate professor, co-authored two scholarly articles, "Employee Organizational Citizenship Behaviour: The Direct and Indirect Impact of Ethical Leadership," published in the Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, and "From Top Management to Entrepreneurship: Women's Next Move," published in the International Journal of Manpower.
Robert Skertich, Ph.D., assistant professor, continued to encourage public safety professionals across the region to consider pursuing higher education, including Point Park University's 18-credit certificate programs in fire service and emergency medical service administration. In addition to teaching in the School of Business, Skertich is the chief of the Hampton Township Volunteer Fire Department.
Ed Traversari, M.B.A., assistant professor for sport, arts and entertainment management, continues to consult on a wide variety of entertainment projects. His past initiatives include working with HJD Enterprises producing concerts for PBS television and marketing and producing events for Heinz Hall, The Pittsburgh Irish Festival and Seven Springs Resort. Traversari has more than 30 years of live entertainment expertise.
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School of Communication
Steve Hallock, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the School of Communication, authored a new book, The Press March to War, which considers how elite national newspapers set the stage for military intervention in post-World War II America. Peter Lang Publishing released the book in 2012 as part of the "Mediating American History" series.
Tatyana Dumova, Ph.D., associate professor, and graduate students Heather Hanson and Ivan Moore presented research papers at the annual Eastern Communication Association Convention, the oldest such professional association in the United States. The event marked the first time Point Park students presented at a communication convention at this level.
Thom Baggerman, Ph.D., assistant professor, Heather Starr Fiedler, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of faculty, and Tim Hudson, Ph.D., professor, presented at the Broadcast Education Association's annual conference. Baggerman was also inducted as vice-chair of the research division and Fiedler as student competition co-chair for interactive media and emerging technologies division. The BEA is an international academic and professional organization dedicated to multimedia enterprises and electronic media.
Helen Fallon, M.A., professor, and David Fabilli, M.A., professor, led the International Media Class in examining Italian media and culture in 2012. Following a comprehensive course on campus, the faculty and students traveled to Rome, Florence, Naples and Sorrento over 12 days and documented their experiences through blogs, social media, photos and videos.
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Conservatory of Performing Arts
Kiesha Lalama, associate professor, was instrumental in the Public Broadcasting System's decision to produce a three-part documentary series about the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, or Jimmy Awards. The fall 2012 show, Broadway or Bust, tracks America's top high school musical performers competing to be named the nation's best young theatre stars. Lalama serves as choreographer for the national awards.
Jeremy Braverman, associate professor, and John Rice, senior teaching artist, advised students whose film Requited was selected as a 2012 Student Academy Awards finalist by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Braverman worked with Madeline Puzzo, director and production designer, and Rice advised Mark Christian, cinematographer, during the Production 4 senior thesis project.
Judith Leifer, associate professor, served as rehearsal director for Point Park University's performance of Heretic at the Joyce Theater in New York City. The Conservatory of Performing Arts was one of only seven training programs invited to perform under the auspices of the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance.
John Amplas, professor, advised acting majors who were national winners in the August Wilson Monologue Competition in their work assisting high school students in the Pittsburgh competition. Among other work this spring, Amplas also directed the world premiere of MIA: Missing in Action for Point Park University's professional theatre company, The REP.
Read more Conservatory of Performing Arts' news. But first, read more about the proven value of a Point Park education: