Annual Ceremony Celebrates Mercy College Faculty Excellence and Scholarship

On May 12, Mercy College held the 2023 Faculty Recognition Ceremony to celebrate faculty members receiving promotions, tenure, and awards. Approximately 100 people attended the event on the Dobbs Ferry Campus. 

“The work faculty members do is incredibly important. It is intellectually challenging and multifaceted, requiring skills in teaching, research and service — and often administration too,” said Linda Bastone, Ph.D., associate provost for faculty affairs. We can’t do enough to celebrate the faculty and recognize their work. And of course, their impact on students can’t be overstated,” said Bastone. 

The first portion of the ceremony featured 40 faculty poster presentations focused on pedagogy and research. The ceremony began with opening remarks by Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Eva Fernández, Ph.D., President Tim Hall and President of the Faculty Senate Matthew Hyland, Ph.D.  

“From A to Z, you oversee everything, from gateway programs to experiential education,” Fernández said in compliment to Mercy faculty. “You’re moving forward to mastery and dedicated to the success of our students.” 

Hall’s remarks echoed those of Fernández. “I commend you for your work and wish you every success,” he said. 

“You all deserve to be appreciated,” said Hyland, in his address to the faculty. “Thank you for your passion for Mercy College, a very special place.” 

Then, the dean of each school honored faculty members who received promotions and tenure and those retiring. Finally, various administrators presented awards for faculty excellence, innovation and research.  

Peter West, Ph.D., dean of Mercy’s School of Liberal Arts, cited the recognition ceremony as one of his favorite events of the year. “It really is a great time where faculty get to recognize their peers and where they get to be recognized for their full dedication to every aspect of teaching and scholarship.” 

Congratulations to the following faculty for achieving important career milestones and recognitions.  

Promoted to professor: 

• Saliha Bava, Ph.D. 
• Amanda Gunning, Ph.D. 
• Nannette Hyland, Ph.D. 
• Kathleen Kenney-Riley, Ed.D. 
• JungKang Miller, Ph.D. 
• David Wang, Ph.D. 

Promoted to associate professor: 

• Ben Abelson, Ph.D. 
• Dana Horton, Ph.D. 
• Maureen MacLeod, Ph.D. 
• Astrid Mel, Ph.D. 
• Chun Zhou, Ph.D. 

Awarded tenure: 

• Matthew Hyland, Ph.D. 
• Chun Zhou, Ph.D. 
• Dana Horton, Ph.D. 

Honored at retirement: 

• Diana D’Amico Juettner, J.D. 

Teaching Excellence Award: 

• Deborah Mumford, Ed.D. 
• Laura Proszak, Ph.D. 

Faculty Innovation Award: 

• Elise Arnold-Levene, Ph.D. 

Faculty Fellow:  

• Haley Collazo, MS, L.IS, M.A. 

Online Teacher of the Year: 

• Laura Policar, Ed.D. 

Outstanding Research Award: 

• Marc Palmieri, MFA, M.A. 

William F. Olson Chair Award: 

• Caitlin Wiesner, Ph.D. 

Texaco Research Endowment Award: 

• Narasimhaswamy Banavara, Ph.D. 

Honorary Master of Pedagogy Degrees: 

• Marc Campo, Ph.D. 
• Joshua Gaetjen, MFA 
• Kevin Kulic, Ph.D. 
• Peter Minorsky, Ph.D. 
• Stacey Senita