INFORMATION FOR
Dr. Barbara Andrew is the Dean of the Honors College at William Paterson University, a role in which she is dedicated to fostering academic research, intellectual curiosity, creative expression and community engagement among high-achieving students. With a passion for creating transformative educational experiences, Dr. Andrew leads the Honors College in offering rigorous academic programs, interdisciplinary opportunities, and a supportive environment that challenges students to excel academically and to be empowered to make a meaningful impact on their communities and the world.
Under Dr. Andrew’s leadership, the Honors College at William Paterson University has seen significant growth, with enhanced programs that provide students with unique opportunities for research, leadership, and service. She is committed to preparing students for the challenges of the modern world, fostering critical thinking, creativity, and civic responsibility.
Before joining the Honors College, Dr. Andrew had an extensive career in higher education, with a focus on student success, curriculum development, and interdisciplinary studies. She served previously as Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Liberal Studies at William Paterson and has held a variety of leadership roles in academic associations. Her leadership style emphasizes collaboration, mentorship, and the cultivation of a student-centered academic culture.
Dr. Andrew earned her Bachelor’s degree at Vassar College, and her Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Philosophy at Stony Brook University. She has an academic background that includes both teaching and research in feminist philosophy, ethics, social and political philosophy, and existentialism.
Jan Pinkston is committed to helping students achieve their academic and personal goals. In addition to teaching Honors 1010 courses, she serves as a mentor to students who are facing various challenges throughout their academic career. Jan is responsible for planning and coordinating Honors civic engagement opportunities, including the annual Honors College Coat Drive, and large-scale events such as an annual University-wide awards ceremony and various events showcasing student research. Throughout her career at WP, Jan has contributed a signifigant amount of service to the University including serving over ten years on the Executive Board of AFT Local 1796, and as a member of various Senate and University-wide committees. She currently serves as the Honors SGA Club advisor, and as a member of the Research, Scholarship, and Creative Expression Senate Council and a member of the University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Jan was appointed to Honors at William Paterson in January, 2000. She has an M.A. in English from William Paterson University and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Illinois.
Honors College Office Assistants
Track Directors
Dr. Emily Monroe is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology. She earned her Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology and pathobiology with a focus on marine biomedicine and environmental sciences from the Medical University of South Carolina, and she was an NIH IRACDA Postdoctoral Fellow at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. Her research interests include understanding bloom dynamics and toxicity of harmful algal bloom species using a variety of cellular, molecular, and genomic approaches.
Dr. John Malindretos has had a diverse background in the areas of academia, entrepreneurship and industry. He has taught at St. John’s and Rutgers universities in addition to WP. At former universities, he developed an internship program in which he placed numerous students with permanent employment. He has been nominated for excellence in instruction and research. He has over one hundred presentations in Finance, Accounting and Management. Additionally, he has published more than one hundred book chapters and refereed journal articles. Moreover, he has co-authored a monograph in International Finance. Dr. Malindretos was instrumental in bringing scholarly journals to the Cotsakos College of Business. The first was entitled The International Journal of Finance of which he was the Co-editor. The second is the Journal of Business in Developing Nations of which he is the editor in chief. Dr. Malindretos managed and owned a real estate firm for about 15 years. He has consulted for commercial banks and investment banks. He has had a career in Wall Street that spans a dozen years. He associated himself with a few firms, the most notable of which was Salomon Smith Barney. He founded and managed an investment bank as the Chairman of the board of directors.
Dr. Diamond is a licensed neuropsychologist (NJ) specializing in clinical neuropsychological assessment and neurorehabilitation. His research focuses on the neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience of memory, executive function, attention/concentration, information processing and mood/anxiety using standardized, computer-based and brain imaging/autonomic measures in healthy and in clinical populations. A practicing clinician, he has published extensively and presented at numerous national and international conferences.
Dr. Learmonth is a developmental psychologist with a research focus on the development of memory and spatial ability. Most of her research is with infants and young children, using techniques such as deferred imitation and search tasks (both real world and virtual) to examine the changes in memory and spatial ability over the first six years. Her specific research is currently on the development of long-term memory in infants and the use of landmarks and geometric features in spatial memory and navigation. She is also currently working on a project that will look at early spatial competence and memory binding as a window into infantile amnesia. Recent publications by Dr. Learmonth have appeared in Developmental Psychobiology, Psychological Science, Memory and Cognition, and the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.
Dr. Chaddad has been working as a Public Health Epidemiologist since 2007 and teaching various undergraduate and graduate courses related to Public Health and research since 2008. She is interested in research, data analysis, and analytical studies of health-related issues, especially in infectious communicable diseases. Dr. Chaddad has been teaching at William Paterson University, School of Nursing and Department of Public Health since 2014.
Dr. K. Molly O’Donnell is a modern German historian with broad teaching areas in European social history, women’s history, and the history of imperialism. Her courses train students to trace their family histories, research the everyday lives of ordinary people in the past, use role-playing, literature, and information technology to examine the past, and explore the intersections of class, race, and gender. Her research explores the impacts of German women’s colonization in Southwest Africa through the Nazi era, particularly on interracial rumors, gossip, and violence.
Dr. Christopher Dylan Herbert is an Associate Professor at William Paterson University. He teaches one-on-one voice lessons, teaches Music History, advises students, manages and coordinates the Vocal Program, directs Opera Workshop, and is the Music Honors Track Director. He holds a B.A. in Music from Yale University, an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University, and D.M.A. in Voice from The Juilliard School. He was the baritone in the critically acclaimed ensemble New York Polyphony from 2010 to 2020. His is current research focus is on the music of the eighteenth-century Ephrata Cloister of Pennsylvania. www.christopherdylanherbert.com
Dr. Merkle Foley is an advanced practice nurse in adult and older adult primary care. She has clinical experience as a nurse in orthopedics, emergency medicine, community health, home health, and was a nurse practitioner specializing in chronic care management of older adults in community and long term care settings. Dr. Merkle Foley received her master’s degree in nursing at Rutgers University, Newark, and her PhD at Seton Hall University. Her research areas of interest are frailty and resilience in older adults aging in place, health policy for older adults, climate change and planetary health education in nursing, climate justice, environmental health policy and sustainability practices for nurses.
Dr. Martha Witt, Professor of Creative Writing and English, is a novelist, essayist, translator, and short story writer. Her work has appeared in numerous national and international journals. Her novel, Broken as Things Are (Holt, 2004; Picador, 2005), and her several book translations from Italian have met with critical praise. With an MA from Johns Hopkins University’s Writing Seminars, an MFA from New York University, and an EdD from Teacher’s College, Columbia University, Professor Witt is interested in helping students discover and pursue their creative interests.
Dr. Danielle Wallace holds a B.A. in Black Studies from the State University of New York College at New Paltz, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in African American Studies from Temple University. Dr. Wallace’s research interests include Black families, gender and sexual politics, and the socio-political roots of Africana Studies. Her current scholarship and publications center on Black student activism and Black male/female relationships, especially the dating, marriage and mate selection ideals of Black men and women.
