Experts
Allegheny College faculty and staff with expertise in a wide range of areas are available for media interview requests. Browse or search for an expert below, and please contact the Office of College Relations at (814) 332-2746 or news@allegheny.edu for assistance with finding an expert or scheduling an interview.
Experts with last names starting with A
Experts with last names starting with B
Courtney Bailey
Associate Professor
Department(s): communication arts
Expertise: Current Events, Disability Studies, Feminism, LGBTQ Issues, News Media, Politics, Race in the Media, Sexuality in Media, Social Movements, Visual Culture
Terry Bensel
Associate Provost and Director of the Allegheny Gateway, Professor of Environmental Science
Department(s): Administration, Environmental Science & Sustainability
Expertise: Co-curricular Experiences, Environmental Issues

Andrew Bloeser
Assistant Professor
Department(s): Political Science
Expertise: Economic Inequality, Political Participation, Politics, Politics and Media, Public Opinion

Kelly Boulton
Sustainability Coordinator
Department(s): Sustainability
Expertise: Climate Neutrality, Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Resilience, Sustainability, Waste Minimization

Richard Bowden
Professor
Department(s): Environmental Science & Sustainability
Expertise: Acid Rain, Biofuels, Climate Change, Ecotourism, Forest Ecology, Forest Management, Global Warming, Hands-on Environmental Education, Sustainability, Sustainable Forestry, Switchgrass

Laura Branby
Pittsburgh Field Educator & Camp Director
Department(s): Creek Connections
Expertise: Environmental Education, Watershed Studies

Jim Bulman
Emeritus Henry B. and Patricia Bush Tippie Professor
Department(s): english
Expertise: Shakespeare
Experts with last names starting with C

M Soledad Caballero
Professor of English
Department(s): english, Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies
Expertise: British Romanticism, Interdisciplinary connections between sciences/arts/humanities, Poetry, Travel Writing, Undergraduate education in the Humanities

Beth Choate
Assistant Professor
Department(s): environmental science
Expertise: Insect Biology and Ecology, Sustainable Agriculture

Rodney Clark
Professor
Department(s): Neuroscience, Psychology
Expertise: Drug Use, Social Issues

Catharina Coenen
Professor, Director of Faculty Development
Department(s): biochemistry, biology
Expertise: Plant Biology

Ron Cole
Provost and Dean and Professor
Department(s): geology
Expertise: Earthquakes, Volcanoes

Sarah Conklin
Associate Professor
Department(s): Global Health Studies, Neuroscience, Psychology
Expertise: Sleep, Stress, Women in the workplace

Mark Cosdon
Professor
Department(s): Communication Arts and Theater
Expertise: Broadway musicals, Italian Travel, Popular Entertainment, The American Stage
Experts with last names starting with D

Becky Dawson
Assistant Professor
Department(s): biology, Global Health Studies
Expertise: Community Health, Disease Outbreaks, Emerging Infections

Amelia B. Finaret
Assistant Professor
Department(s): Global Health Studies
Expertise: Child Nutrition, Food and Nutrition Economics
Experts with last names starting with E
Experts with last names starting with F

James Fadden
Associate Chief Information Officer
Department(s): Library and Information Technology Services (LITS)
Expertise: Communications Information Technology, Higher Education Information Technology, Project Management Information Technology

Lauren French
Associate Professor/Chair of Biology
Department(s): biology, Neuroscience
Expertise:
Experts with last names starting with G

Amara Geffen
Eila V. Bush Endowed Professor of Art (Emeritus)
Department(s): art
Expertise: Community-based Art, Contemporary Art, Ecological Art, Environmental Art, Public Art
Experts with last names starting with H

D. Alexis Hart
Associate Professor of English, Director of Writing, Director of First Year Experience
Department(s): english, The Learning Commons
Expertise: Peer Tutoring, Undergraduate Research, Veteran Studies, Writing Centers, Writing Studies

Benjamin Haywood
Assistant Professor
Department(s): Environmental Science & Sustainability
Expertise:
Jonathan Helmreich
Emeritus Professor and College Historian
Department(s): history
Expertise: Allegheny History, Meadville History, Small Power Diplomacy

Wilfredo Hernandez
Associate Professor of Spanish
Department(s): Modern and Classical Languages
Expertise: Hispanic Cinema, Latin American Gender and Sexuality Issues, Spanish-American Poetry, Venezuelan Culture

Juvia Heuchert
Professor Emerita
Department(s): Psychology
Expertise: Educational Travel, Psychopathology/Abnormal Behavior, South Africa
Experts with last names starting with K

Wendy Kedzierski
Director
Department(s): Creek Connections
Expertise: Aquatic Ecology, Citizen Science, Creek Connections, Water Quality

Michael Keeley
Professor
Department(s): communication arts
Expertise: Documentary, Film, Television

Shanna Kirschner
Associate Professor
Department(s): Political Science
Expertise: Civil Wars (Syria, South Sudan, etc.), Middle East Affairs, Political Science>Global Conflict

Aimee Knupsky
Associate Professor
Department(s): Psychology
Expertise: Bilingualism, Emotion Expression, Emotion Regulation, Interdiscipline Programs, Technology, Undergraduate Research
Experts with last names starting with L

Jesse Lavery
Assistant Vice President of College Relations & Digital Strategy
Department(s): College Relations
Expertise: Online User Experience, Social Media, Website Design and Development

Cornell B. LeSane II
Vice President for Enrollment, Dean of Admissions
Department(s): Admissions, Enrollment, financial aid
Expertise: Admissions, Enrollment, financial aid
Experts with last names starting with M

Kerstin Martin
Garden Manager
Department(s): Environmental Science & Sustainability
Expertise: Agriculture, Food Preparation, Gardening

Shannan Mattiace
Professor
Department(s): international studies, Political Science
Expertise: Latin American Politics, Mexican Politics, Social Movements, U.S. Immigration Policy

Melissa Mencotti
Director of Gift Planning
Department(s): alumni affairs
Expertise: Charity Giving, Gifts, Philanthropy

Jim Mullen
President Emeritus
Department(s): Administration
Expertise: American Presidency, Higher Education Policy, U.S. Politics
Experts with last names starting with N

Jane Ellen Nickell
Chaplain
Department(s): Religious Studies, Spiritual & Religious Life
Expertise: LGBTQ Inclusion in the United Methodist Church, Religion and Ecology, Religious Diversity in Higher Education

Tomas Nonnenmacher
Professor
Department(s): economics
Expertise: Economic History, New Institutional Economics, Telegraph
Experts with last names starting with P

Eric Pallant
Department Chair, Professor, Christine Nelson Endowed Chair
Department(s): Environmental Science & Sustainability
Expertise: Bread, Bread History, Bread Science, Environmental Education, Green Initiatives, Sourdough Bread, Sourdough Bread History, Sourdough Bread Science, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Development, Water Resources

Kirsten Peterson
Director of Pre-Professional Studies and FS Instructor
Department(s): gateway, Global Health Studies
Expertise: Health Professions, Public Health
Experts with last names starting with R

Laura Reeck
Professor of French and International Studies
Department(s): Modern and Classical Languages
Expertise: Contemporary French Society and Culture, Francophone Postcolonial Studies, Global Learning, Internationalization

Barbara Riess
Professor of Spanish
Department(s): Modern and Classical Languages
Expertise: Cuba, English/Spanish in U.S., Feminism, Spanish Language Learning, Translation
Experts with last names starting with S

Joshua Searle-White
Professor Emeritus
Department(s): Psychology
Expertise: Clinical Psychology, Cross-cultural Psychology, Nationalism, Psychology of Happiness, Storytelling
Barbara Shaw
Assistant Professor
Department(s): Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies
Expertise: Gender & Sexuality Studies, Gendered Violence, Global Women's Health, Reproductive Politics, U.S. and Transnational Social Movements

Vesta Silva
Associate Professor & Chair
Department(s): communication arts, Global Health Studies
Expertise: Issues of White Privilege in American Culture, Media Coverage of Health and Illness

Ben Slote
Professor
Department(s): english
Expertise: 19th and 20th Century American Literature an Culture, Journalism and Democracy, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Toni Morrison, Wendell Berry
Experts with last names starting with T

Joe Tompkins
Assistant Professor
Department(s): communication arts
Expertise: Hollywood, Media and Communication Policy, Media and Social Change, Media Economics, Media History
Experts with last names starting with W

Caryl Waggett
Chair, Global Health Studies; Associate Professor of Environmental Science
Department(s): environmental science, Global Health Studies
Expertise: Black Health Disparities, Children's Health, Environmental Health, Lead Poisoning

Sharon Wesoky
Professor
Department(s): Political Science
Expertise: Chinese Politics, Chinese Society, Women and Gender in China
Linda Wetsell
CFO, Vice President of Finance and Administration
Department(s): Financial Services
Expertise: Annual Financial Reporting, Auditing, Budget, Debt, Insurance

Lisa Whitenack
Associate Professor
Department(s): biology, geology
Expertise: Paleontology, Sharks

Daniel Willey
Professor
Department(s): Physics
Expertise: Science and Art Common Processes, Science and Religion (esp. from History Perspective)

Julie Wilson
Associate Professor
Department(s): Communication Arts and Theater, Community and Justice Studies, Integrative Informatics
Expertise: Celebrity Culture, Community Organizing, Cooperatives, Digital Media, Neoliberalism