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Honors Staff and Faculty

 
Staff


DIRECTOR
Dr. Susan E. Dinan

Raubinger 126
973.720.3658
dinans@wpunj.edu

Curriculum Vitae (PDF file)

Susan Dinan
Dr. Susan Dinan was appointed as Director of the new Honors College at William Paterson University in 2005. She received a Ph.D. in History from the University of Wisconsin in 1996. She specializes in early modern France and completed her dissertation research in Paris. Dr. Dinan serves as a faculty member in the History Department at William Paterson and recently published a book "Women and Poor Relief in Seventeenth-Century France: The Early History of the Daughters of Charity."

 


ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Jan Pinkston

Raubinger 127
973.720.3657
pinkstonj@wpunj.edu

Jan Pinkston was appointed to the Honors Program at William Paterson University in January, 2000. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Springfield and an M.A. in English from William Paterson University. Jan currently serves as a member of the Faculty Senate and on the Executive Board of AFT Local 1796.

Program Directors

 


BIOPSYCHOLOGY
Dr. Robert Benno
Science Hall 449
973.720.3340
bennor@wpunj.edu

Dr. Robert Benno is a Professor of Biology at William Paterson. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. His areas of professional interest are computer-assisted image processing and developmental neurobiology. He is also a dedicated jazz pianist.

 


COGNITIVE SCIENCE
Dr. Katherine Makarec
Science 250D
973.720.3390
makareck@wpunj.edu

Dr. Katherine Makarec is Associate Professor of Psychology and the Psychology Department Chairperson at William Paterson University. She holds a Ph.D. from York University. Her principle research interests are in the mental representation of the real world and how emotion impacts on that representation.


HUMANITIES
Dr. John Peterman
Atrium 269B
973.720.3030
petermanj@wpunj.edu

Curriculum Vitae (PDF file)

 

John Peterman


Dr. John Peterman got his Ph.D. in 1980 from the Pennsylvania State University. He is interested in ancient Greek philosophy (particularly Plato), American pragmatism (particularly Dewey). He teaches courses in Ancient Philosophy, Plato, Aristotle, Environmental Ethics, and Life Science Ethics. He directs the Humanities Honors Track. He is an avid hiker and has successfully completed the New York City Marathon three times (best time: 4:15).


LIFE SCIENCE AND
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

Dr. Karen Swanson
Science 445
973.720.2589
swansonk@wpunj.edu

 


Karen Swanson received her Ph.D. in Geochemistry and Mineralogy from Pennsylvania State University in 1988 and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Science. She is primarily interested in two areas of inquiry: the behavior of pollutants in natural water systems, and the best ways to teach science at all levels.

 

MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT
Dr. Raza Mir
1600 Valley Road -- Room 3062
973.720.3747
mirr@wpunj.edu

Professor Mir holds a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management. His primary research interests include studying the transfer of knowledge across national boundaries in multinational corporations and studying issues relating to power and privilege in organizations.

MUSIC
Dr. Jeffrey Kresky
Shea 171
973.720.3470
kreskyj@wpunj.edu

 

Jeffrey Kresky


Dr. Jeffrey Kresky holds a B.A. from Columbia, and a Ph.D. from Princeton. He is a music theorist, with an emphasis in analysis and criticism; a composer, keyboardist and conductor; and author of Tonal Music: 12 Analytic Studies ( Indiana), A Reader's Guide to the Chopin Preludes ( Greenwood), and articles and reviews in Perspectives of New Music, Gettysburg Review, and The Music Review. He was appointed to William Paterson University in 1973 and has served as the director of the Music Track since its inception.

PERFORMING AND LITERARY ARTS
Dr. Philip Cioffari
Atrium 224 B
973.720.3053
cioffarip@wpunj.edu

 

Philip Cioffari

Dr. Philip Cioffari, a professor in the Department of English, has served as Program Director for the Track since its inception in 2000. He holds a Ph.D. from New York University. His interests include creative writing, acting, and directing. He has recently written two books: a collection of stories entitled A History of Things Lost or Broken, and the novel, Catholic Boys. He has written and directed plays Off-Off Broadway at theatres such as The Belmont Playhouse, The American Globe Theatre, The Triad, The Producer's Club, The American Theater of Actors and at the Pulse Ensemble Theater in New York City. His movie, Love in the Age of Dion, which he wrote and directed, has won awards at various film festivals, including “Best Feature Film on Video” at the Long Island International Film Expo.

 

SOCIAL SCIENCES
Dr. Neil Kressel

Science Hall 239
973.720.3389
kresseln@wpunj.edu

Professor Neil Kressel holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from Harvard University and an M.A. in comparative history from Brandeis University. A recipient of William Paterson's award for excellence in research and scholarship and – recently – a Visiting Fellow at Yale University, his books include:  Bad Faith: The Danger of Religious Extremism (Prometheus, 2007), Mass Hate: The Global Rise of Genocide and Terror  (Plenum, 1996; rev. ed., Perseus/ Westview Press/Basic Books, 2002); Stack and Sway:  The New Science of Jury Consulting (Perseus/ Westview Press/Basic Books, 2002; paperback, 2004), and Political Psychology  (Paragon House, 1993). He very much enjoys supervising undergraduate student theses.