Faculty & Staff | Page 5 | College of Arts & Sciences

Assistant Professor of English
314, Center for the Humanities of Bixler Hall
419.289.5199 / ksundber@ashland.edu
Department of English

Kelly Sundberg's memoir Goodbye, Sweet Girl: A Story of Domestic Violence and Survival was released by HarperCollins in June of 2018 and in paperback in June of 2019. Her essay "It Will Look Like a Sunset" was anthologized in Best American Essays 2015 and other essays have been listed as "notables" in Best American Essays 2013, 2016, and 2018. Her essays are published or forthcoming in Alaska Quarterly Review, Denver Quarterly, Guernica, The Los Angeles Review, Gulf Coast, Departures in Critical Qualitative Research, and elsewhere. Other work and commentary has appeared at Good Housekeeping, Glamour, and Psychology Today, among others. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from West Virginia University, a PhD in Creative Writing and English Studies from Ohio University and has been the recipient of grants and fellowships from Vermont Studio Center, A Room of Her Own Foundation, Dickinson House, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Education

Ohio University, Ph.D., Creative Nonfiction
West Virginia University, MFA, Creative Writing

Dr. Gordon Swain

Professor of Mathematics
208, Patterson Instructional Technology Center
419.289.5263 / gswain@ashland.edu
Department of Mathematics & Computer Science

Joined Ashland University faculty in 1994 and areas of mathematical interest include abstract algebra (noncommutative rings), mathematical analysis of games, and undergraduate mathematics in general
In addition to teaching a large variety of mathematics courses, including statistics, calculus, linear and abstract algebra, serves as advisor for the mathematics honorary
Served as chair of the department of mathematics and computer science from 2001-2007, and was also the 2001 recipient of the Taylor Excellence in Teaching Award
Has served the college and university on many committees, including as Faculty Senate vice president, president and past-president.

Education

University of Massachusetts, Ph.D. in Mathematics
University of Vermont, M.S. in Mathematics
Eastern Nazarene College, B.S. in Physics and Mathematics

Dr. Stefan Swanson

Visiting Assistant Professor of Music
207, Center for the Arts
419.289.5648 / sswanso2@ashland.edu
Department of Music

Previously taught film scoring, composition, theory, and songwriting at New York University, California State University, Rutgers University, and the College of Staten Island (CUNY)
Film and concert composer who has scored over 50 films including Gun Hill Road, and his music has been heard on HBO, Cinemax, NBC, and BET, as well the Sundance, Tribeca, and Cannes film festivals
Has written over 60 compositions for the concert hall, including commissions from the Harmonium Choral Society, Lakeland College, and JJ Cooper
Two feature-length films he scored, including the documentary Escaping Fed (Roulez Films) about a woman who was raped by a federal officer and her subsequent struggle to have her story heard, along with the award-winning dark comedy Hard Laughter (TruLight Films), can both be found streaming on Amazon. Another feature Premature, by award-winning director Rashaad Ernesto Green, will sees its theatrical release in February 2020.
Recipient of the Susan and Ford Schumann Award, the Film Music Museum Award, and the Singing City Prize, and has studied with Grawemeyer Award and Charles Ives Living Award winning composer George Tsontakis as well as Pulitzer Prize Runner-Up Charles Fussell
Scholarly work includes a chapter on John Williams’s score to the film A.I.: Artificial Intelligence in the recently released John Williams: Music for Films, Television, and the Concert Stage, along with two presentations at the Music and the Moving Image Conference in New York City

Education

Rutgers University, Ph.D.
New York University, M.A.
Rowan University, B.Mus.

Dr. Christopher Swanson

Professor of Mathematics, Chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
209, Patterson Instructional Technology Center
419.289.5264 / cswanson@ashland.edu
Department of Mathematics & Computer Science

Joined Ashland University faculty in 1999 and serves as professor of Mathematics and chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.
Research interest are combinatorics and probability.
Developer of Ashland University's actuarial science major, advisor to Ashland University's team for the national William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition and organizer of Ashland Univerisy's Problem Solving Group.
Recipient of Ohio Section of the Mathematical Association of America's Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics and national Mathematical Association of America's Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member.

Education

University of Michigan, Ph.D. in Mathematics
University of Michigan, M.S. in Mathematics
Denison University, B.S. in Mathematics

Merrill Tawse

Professional Instructor of Biology
323, Kettering Science Center
419.207.6310 / mtawse@ashland.edu
Department of Biology & Toxicology , Environmental Science Program

Joined Ashland University faculty in 2010 and serves as professional instructor of biology teaching Ecology and the Human Environment; Organisms, Adaptations and Physiology; Labs in Costa Rica; Entomology; Human Anatomy & Physiology for Nursing Students; and Environmental Science Seminar
Work with students in field research focuses on polyploidy in Ambystomid salamanders and projects via radio-telemetry in territoriality and site affinity of the secretive marsh birds, the Virginia Rails
Other student projects have included foraging and roosting behaviors of insectivorous bats in the Mohican Forest
Has conducted numerous Indiana Bat endangered species surveys throughout Ohio and surrounding states for USF&WS and ODNR

Education

University of Nebraska, M.S. in Entomology
Ohio State University, B.S. in Zoology

Dr. Andrew Trimble

Associate Professor of Biology/Toxicology
326, Kettering Science Center
419.289.5267 / atrimble@ashland.edu
Department of Biology & Toxicology , Environmental Science Program

Joined Ashland University faculty in 2009 and serves as associate professor of Biology/Toxicology
Teaches courses such as Drugs, Poisons, Pollutants and the Human Perception of Risk; Principles of Toxicology; and Methods in Toxicology
Research interests include examining the effects of pesticide contaminant mixtures and saline deicing agents to freshwater aquatic organisms in the environment
Has previously been the recipient of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Greater Research Opportunity fellowship and has published his research in a number of peer-reviewed journals

Education

Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Ph.D. in Zoology
Southern Illinois University Carbondale, B.S. in Chemistry

Professor Nancy Udolph

Associate Professor of Social Work, Field Director of Social Work
248, Dwight Schar College of Education
419.289.5372 / nudolph@ashland.edu
Department of Social Work & Family Studies

Joined Ashland University faculty in 1988 and serves as Field Director and Associate Professor of Social Work specializing in micro-practice courses and international social work
Prior to teaching, she was a clinical social worker in the mental health field and still maintains a small counseling practice
Has spoken at state, national and international conferences on a variety of topics including cultural competence, working with indigenous populations and the social construction of difference
Certified Accreditation Site Visitor, Council on Social Work Education
Active member of the National Association of Social Workers, the Council on Social Work Education and the Association of Baccalaureate Program Directors
Active in the community, serving on the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Ashland County, and the Rape Crisis/Domestic Violence Task Force
Received the Ohio NASW Region VIII Outstanding Service Award in 2008 and the Panhellenic Council Faculty Member of the Year Award in 2009

Education

University of Wisconsin-Madison, MSSW
University of Illinois, B.A. in Psychology

Dr. William Vaughan

Professor of Philosophy
208, Center for the Humanities of Bixler Hall
419.289.5654 / wvaughan@ashland.edu
Department of Philosophy

Joined Ashland University faculty in 1995 and serves as professor of Philosophy. Chaired the department at Ashland University from 2001-2014 and also served as university core director from 2009-2016.
Main area of research is in post-Kantian Continental philosophy
Has presented over 40 professional papers at conferences such as the American Philosophical Association, the Ohio Philosophical Association, the West Virginia Philosophical Association, the Great Lakes Philosophy Consortium, the Western Michigan University Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, the Society for the Philosophical Study of Genocide and the Holocaust and the American Simone Weil Society
Has 20 professional publications, book chapters and prefaces, in European Philosophy. His books are Meridian of Thinking: Essays in European Philosophy, published in 2002 by Mellen Press, and Detours in Philosophy in 2007 from Peter Lang in Europe

Education

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Ph.D. in Philosophy
Case Western Reserve University, M.A. in English
Case Western Reserve University, B.A. in English

Dr. Michael Vimont

Associate Professor of Social Work, Director of Social Work and Family Studies
249, Dwight Schar College of Education
419.207.6364 / mvimont@ashland.edu
Department of Social Work & Family Studies

Joined Ashland University faculty in 2010 and serves as associate professor of Social Work and as the Program Director for the Department of Social Work
Diverse practice has taken him to Texas, California and Ohio working in the areas of child welfare, school social work, community development, home health care, domestic violence and substance use
Primary research interest involves concepts related to developmental youth assets and how communities can help foster them. Other areas of research and teaching interests include social policy development, history of social welfare, child welfare issues and domestic poverty programming
Active member of the National Association of Social Work and has been a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers since 1992. Currently serves as a data analysis consultant for Wayne County’s Family and Children First Council

Education

Case Western Reserve University, Ph.D.
University of Texas, M.S.S.W.
University of Texas, B.S.W.

Dr. Jayne Waterman

Associate Professor of English
312, Center for the Humanities of Bixler Hall
419.289.5284 / jwaterma@ashland.edu
Department of English

Joined Ashland University faculty in 2006 and specializes in nineteenth-century, twentieth-century and contemporary American literature and culture with an emphasis on modernism
Teaches courses such as American Literature III: Realism to Modernism; American Literature IV: 1945 to the Present; The American Literary Experience; The Modern Novel; The Modern Drama; the Contemporary American Studies Seminar; Honors course on The Short Story; Great Books; and Composition I & II
Research is focused on regionalism, particularly in relation to race and gender, culture and place and additional research interests include the cultural capital of Modernism and the Middlebrow
Sits on the James Thurber House Literary Committee in Columbus and the Middlebrow Research Network, an Arts and Humanities Research Council (U.K.), and executive officer for the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature
Currently writing a monograph about the literary career of Louis Bromfield, the twentieth-century Ohio author. In 2009, edited and introduced Bromfield's recently reprinted novels Awake and Rehearse: Selected Short Stories by Louis Bromfield and has written the introductions for two of Bromfield's recently reprinted novels The Rains Came (2007) and The Strange Case of Miss Annie Spragg (2006)
Has done work on Paul Laurence Dunbar - "With Myriad Subtleties': Paul Laurence Dunbar's Construction of Social Identity in The Sport of the Gods," in We Wear the Mask: Paul Laurence Dunbar and the Politics of Representative Reality
Has published several articles and presented several national and international conference papers on this topic. A current work in progress includes an essay - "From the Midwest, to New York, Paris, and Back: "Placing" the Middlebrow in Louis Bromfield's Texts"

Education

University of Leeds, England, Ph.D.
University of Leeds, England, M.A.
University of East Anglia, B.A.

Dr. Russell Weaver

Professor of English
310 , Center for the Humanities of Bixler Hall
419.289.5117 / rweaver3@ashland.edu
Department of English

Joined Ashland University faculty in 1986 and teaches courses in Romantic and Victorian British literature; Greek literature; 19th century Russian Novel (War and Peace and The Brothers Karamazov)
Offers a rotating set of major writers seminars on Dostoevsky, Shakespeare, Melville/Conrad, Austen and Hemingway
Has published Questioning Keats: An Introduction to Applied Hermeneutics in 2006, The Moral World of Billy Budd in 2014, and Teaching English at Ridgeview in 2015, all with Peter Lang Publishing
Has directed the Ashland University Philosophy Reading Group for over 30 years

Education

University of Chicago, Ph.D. and M.A.
Tulane University, B.A.

Dr. Jeffrey Weidenhamer

Trustees’ Distinguished Professor of Chemistry
419 , Kettering Science Center
419.289.5281 / jweiden@ashland.edu
Department of Chemistry, Geology and Physics , Environmental Science Program

Joined Ashland University in 1989 and teaches General Chemistry, courses in analytical chemistry and core science courses including Science as a Cultural Force and Lead and Civilization
Has mentored more than 50 undergraduate students in research projects
Research interests include the development of methods for analysis of plant root exudates in soil, and the contamination of consumer products with heavy metals such as lead and cadmium
Research in chemical ecology has been funded by the National Science Foundation
Research with students and colleagues on lead contamination of consumer products has resulted in at least 14 recalls by the Consumer Product Safety Commission involving more than 1.5 million children’s items, and has been cited in a congressional resolution seeking a ban on U.S. export of electronic waste

Education

The University of South Florida, Ph.D. in Biology, 1987
Louisiana State University, M.S. in Analytical Chemistry, 1991
The Ohio State University, M.S. in Agronomy, 1983
Ashland University, B.S. in Chemistry, 1979

Dr. David West

Assistant Professor of History
117, Andrews Hall
419.289.5709 / dwest6@ashland.edu
Department of History & Political Science

Joined Ashland University faculty in 2018 and serves as assistant professor of History and Political Science, teaching courses i Latin and in the history, political thought, and literature of the Greek, Roman, and medieval worlds
Research focuses on rhetoric and political thought in Cicero and the Roman historians and students with a special interest in the ancient world or in the influence of the Classics on the American political tradition are encouraged to consult about pursuing a Minor in Classical Civilization
has delivered papers on Cicero, Livy, and Plutarch at the annual meeting of the Society for Classical Studies
Currently revising articles on the case for political involvement in a Ciceronian speech, the character of elites and the Roman people in Livy, and the marriage of Odysseus and Penelope in Homer
Also preparing a book manuscript on the motives, means and ends of political engagement that Cicero advances in his speeches, rhetorical theory, letters, and political philosophy

Education

Boston University, Ph.D. and M.A.
University of Dallas, M.A. and B.A.

Dr. Darren Wick

Professor of Mathematics
216, Patterson Instructional Technology Center
419.289.5795 / dwick@ashland.edu
Department of Mathematics & Computer Science

Joined Ashland University faculty in 2000 and serves as professor of Mathematics and has taught a wide variety of mathematics courses, most recently Discrete Mathematics, Analysis, History of Mathematics, and Elementary Statistics
Research interests include associative ring theory and algebra, representation of numbers, the history and foundations of mathematics, and open source software
Served as chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science from 2007-14

Education

University of Oregon, Ph.D. in Mathematics
Utah State University, M.S. in Mathematics
Purdue University, B.S. in Aerospace Engineering

Barbara Zingale

Professional Instructor

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Department of Biology & Toxicology

Education

B.S., Florida Atlantic University
M.S.IT., Capella University

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