DYSON DIGITAL DIGEST
summer 2024
Ready for the Future: The Class of 2024 Boldly Goes Forth
The Class of 2024 graduates share their plans for the future and reflect on their most memorable moments from their time at Pace—from meaningful mentorship to career-altering courses to unforgettable extracurricular experiences.
Chase Selected as Periclean Faculty Leader, Receives Grant for New Course
Associate Professor of History Michelle Chase, PhD, has been selected as a Periclean Faculty Leader by Project Pericles and has received a $4,500 grant to create a new humanities course that incorporates community-initiated projects.
Student/Faculty Collaboration on Creative Works Blossoms with the Amelia A. Gould Assistantship Support
As part of a collaboration funded by the Amelia A. Gould Undergraduate Research Assistantship, Film and Screen Studies student Ben Pfeifer ’26 and Art professor Jillian McDonald used 3D animals, AR, and drawings inspired by pandemic musings to create a vivid narrative of climate change and artistic exploration which were projected on the Manhattan Bridge.
A Talk With Colby Hopkins
As program coordinator of the Writing for Diversity and Equity in Theater and Media program, Colby Hopkins creates and facilitates social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion programming for students, cultivates partnerships within and outside of Pace, and much more.
From Pace to JP Morgan: Kelsey Berro ’15
After helping to lead the Pace University College Fed Challenge Team to a national title, former team captain Kelsey Berro ’15, Business Economics, has taken the skills she learned at Pace to a career as a portfolio manager at JP Morgan Asset Management.
Dean’s Message
With commencement recently in our rearview mirror, it is a wonderful time to reflect as we all take some time to relax and recharge our energies this summer. As I take a moment to reflect, I am proud to see how the Dyson community of students, alumni, faculty, and staff are embodying the very essence of Opportunitas and succeeding in creating the enriching environments they take up space in, on and off campus, and looking toward the future.
Dean’s Message
With commencement recently in our rearview mirror, it is a wonderful time to reflect as we all take some time to relax and recharge our energies this summer. As I take a moment to reflect, I am proud to see how the Dyson community of students, alumni, faculty, and staff are embodying the very essence of Opportunitas and succeeding in creating the enriching environments they take up space in, on and off campus, and looking toward the future.
Dyson Notes
Dyson Notes
Alumni News
Christopher Buckingham ’10, Economics, was promoted to managing director at Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG)’s New York-based project finance team.
José Luis Castro ’88, Political Science, Dyson Advisory Board member, was appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as director-general special envoy for chronic respiratory diseases.
Kareem G. Gayle ’04, Psychology, was promoted to senior vice president at Dior Beauty.
Nischaykumar Modi ‘08, MPA, CEO of MM PHYSIO, a multi-disciplinary physiotherapy, pain relief, and wellness center, recently opened a second location in Guelph, Ontario.
Valory Myers ‘24, Communication and Media Studies, joined WJAC-TV in Pennsylvania as a morning anchor.
Regina Sullivan Wachenheim ’11, MS Forensic Science, is president and founder of consulting firm LiaCai Consulting and Coaching, specializing in GMP consulting and leadership coaching.
Faculty News
Adjunct Professor of English Catalina Florina Florescu, PhD, recently authored two books, Borderless Thalia: A Multilingual, Pandemic Comic Collection and Female Playwrights and Applied Intersectionality in Romanian Theater.
Associate Professor of Economics Veronika Dolar, PhD, has revised and updated two textbooks, ECON MACRO (7th edition) and ECON MICRO (7th edition) published by Cengage.
Associate Professor of Public Administration Tiffany Henley, PhD, and Associate Provost Hillary Knepper, PhD, along with Michelle Evans (University of Tennessee at Chattanooga), won the 2024 Section on Democracy and Social Justice best book award at the annual American Society of Public Administration Conference for Intersectionality and Crisis Management: A Path to Social Equity.
Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies Adam Klein, PhD, had his article “Capturing the Media: Similarities between Viktor Orbán’s and Donald Trump’s Media Aspirations,” published in the International Journal of Communication.
Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies Brian McKernan, PhD, co-authored the chapter, “‘Fake and Fraudulent’ vs. ‘An American Right'”: Competing Imaginaries of the Vote in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Campaign,” in Media and January 6, which explores the rhetoric used by the Trump and Biden 2020 presidential campaigns on social media to portray the electoral process and results.
Student News
These students earned awards for their work at the 17th Annual William Paterson University Undergraduate Research Symposium this past spring:
Zoubeida (Zouzou) Fliesen ’24, Biology, took home first place in the category, “Cell and Molecular Biology (Group C),” for his poster, “Optimizing In Vitro Transcription to Study PQ Channel Mutations Implicated in Epilepsy,” under the mentorship of Associate Professor Zafir Buraei, PhD.
Wenkai (Kevin) Huang ’25, Childhood Education (School of Education) won a pair of second-place awards: one in the category, “Physiology, Behavior and Toxicology,” for his poster, “Analysis of Shoot Circumnutation Developmental Profile in Arabidopsis Thaliana,” under the mentorship of Associate Professor of Biology Eric Brenner, PhD, and one in the category, “Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Science,” for his poster, “The Bacterial Symbionts of the Parasitic Plant Rafflesia— Microscopic Partners for Conserving The World’s Largest Flowers?” with Sara Musovic ‘24, Biology, and under the mentorship of Associate Professor of Biology Jeanmarie Molina, PhD.
Sam Kurtin ’24, Biology, won a first-place award in the category, “Cell and Molecular Biology (Group B),” for his poster, “The Role of The Unfolded Protein Response in the Malfunction of a Human PQ-Type Calcium Channel,” under the mentorship of Associate Professor of Biology Zafir Buraei, PhD.