25 New Faculty Members Join TAMIU for Fall Semester
25 new faculty members will join the faculty this Fall at Texas A&M International University. Coming from all over the nation and world, they will help to lead the University's 54 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Dr. Ray Keck, University president, said the University is pleased to welcome the new faculty members.
"We've conducted aggressive national and international searches for these faculty and look forward to their leadership, research and collaborations with our students and community to help us all to go further," Dr. Keck said.
The new faculty are as follows:
College of Arts and Humanities
Dr. Susan Berdahl, assistant professor of music. Dr. Berdahl holds a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, Minn. and an M.M. in flute performance from the University of Miami, Coral Gables. She earned her B.M. in music education at the University of Iowa. Prior to joining TAMIU, Berdahl served as U.S. Fulbright Professor in Music at the National Music School in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Other positions she has held include those as principal flutist for the Orquesta Sinfónica de las Américas in Mexico, assistant professor of music at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, flutist and piccoloist for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Society in Little Rock, Ark., teaching associate at the University of Minnesota, professional flutist in various musical settings in Minneapolis, studio flute teacher in Minneapolis, and music supervisor and teacher in Maine and Iowa. In addition, she has served as exchange professor at the Moscow State Conservatory in Russia.
Dr. Phoebe C. Godfrey, assistant professor of sociology. Dr. Godfrey holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in sociology from Binghamton University-State University of New York (SUNY), Binghamton, NY. Her original M.A. in international educational development was earned at Texas College/ Columbia University. Her bachelor's degree in English was earned at Rutgers University. Prior to joining TAMIU, she was adjunct lecturer at St. John's University in New York. She has also held teaching positions at Queens College-City University of New York (CUNY); Lehman College-CUNY; Purchase College-SUNY; Binghamton University-SUNY; Northern Manhattan Community Improvement Corp., in New York; and Pace University, in New York. She has also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, West Africa.
Karen Hale, instructor of sociology. Hale received her master's and bachelor's degrees in sociology from TAMIU. Prior to joining TAMIU, Hale was an adjunct professor of sociology at Laredo Community College. She has held positions as adult protective services worker at the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services and as community care worker at the Texas Department of Human Services. She has also volunteered at the Texas State Pardon and Parole Office and at the Webb County Probation Office and is a member of the Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology Honor Society.
Nancy Darlene Herschap, instructor of English. Herschap holds a master's and bachelor's degree in English from Texas A&M International University and Texas A&I University in Kingsville, respectively. Prior to joining TAMIU, she served as adjunct English professor at Laredo Community College. She has also held teaching positions in English as a middle school and high school teacher at St. Augustine High School. Her master's coursework included areas such as literary research, medieval studies, minority studies, Milton, Chaucer and language studies.
Karen Kline, visiting instructor of music and applied strings. Kline holds a master's of music education degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Her bachelor's degree in music education and performance was earned at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). She has studied violin under Vincent Frittelli, concertmaster of Austin Symphony; Stephen Redfield, assistant concertmaster of Austin Symphony; Greg Mulligan, concert master of San Antonio Symphony; and Nina Maverinac, principal second of Corpus Christi Symphony. She has also taken private viola lessons from Bruce Williams, principal violist of Austin Symphony; Igor Feditov, professor at USM; and Stephen Redfield. Her orchestra and performance experience include those at the American Institute of Musical Studies, Abilene Philharmonic, Victoria Symphony, Laredo Philharmonic, Orchestra, Corpus Christi Symphony and the Senior Violin Recital at USM.
Randy Koch, visiting assistant professor of English and director of the Writing Center. Koch holds an M.A. in creative writing and a bachelor of science teaching degree in English from Mankato State University in Mankato, Minn. Prior to joining TAMIU, Koch taught freshmen composition, developmental English and creative writing at Laredo Community College. He has also held teaching positions at Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester, Minn. and at Mankato State University. He is the author of numerous book reviews which have appeared in publications such as The Corresponder, Muse, La Frontera, Poetry Motel, Mesquite Review and Mankato Poetry Review.
Dr. Kevin D. Lindberg, assistant professor of English. Dr. Lindberg holds his Ph.D. in 16th and 17th century British literature from The Ohio State University. Lindberg's master's and bachelor's degrees in English were also earned at The Ohio State University. Prior to joining the TAMIU faculty, he was visiting assistant professor at Miami University and has also held teaching positions at The Ohio State University; Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio; and Columbus State Community College in Columbus, Ohio.
Dr. Mehnaaz Momen, assistant professor of public administration. Dr. Momem holds a Ph.D. in public administration from Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio and a master's degree in public administration from Dalhousie University in Canada. Her original master's degree in social sciences and bachelor's degree in social sciences were earned at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh. Prior to joining TAMIU, she taught classes at Cleveland State University in conjunction with her doctoral work.
Dr. Randall R. Parish Jr., assistant professor of political science. Dr. Parish holds his Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico and his master's degree from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, International Policy Studies. His bachelor's degree was earned at the United States Military Academy. Prior to joining TAMIU, Dr. Parish was policy analyst at the Cooperative Monitoring Center at the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. He has also held positions as instructor of comparative politics, international relations and American politics at the University of New Mexico. His areas of interest include Latin American politics, civil-military relations, democratization, U.S. foreign policy, comparative political economy and regional integration.
College of Business Administration
Dr. Pedro H. Albuquerque, assistant professor of finance. Dr. Albuquerque holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-M). He also holds an MS in Economics from UW and a MS in Economics from the University of Brasilia, Brazil. His EE in Electrical Engineering was also earned at the University of Brasilia. Prior to joining the University, he was a faculty member in the Masters Program in Business Economic Administration, University of Brasilia and a teaching assistant at UW-Madison. His research interests include macroeconomics, monetary economics and banking, econometrics, international finance and economic development.
Zeeshan Ali, instructor of economics. Ali is currently completing his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. He also holds an M.S. in Economics from UT, an M.A. in Economics from the University of New Orleans, an M.S.S. in Economics from the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh and a B.S.S. in Economics, also from the University of Dhaka. Prior to joining the University, he was an assistant instructor in economics at UT-Austin. His research interests include industrial organization, game theory and econometrics.
Christine Bernadas, visiting assistant professor of information systems. Bernadas is completing her Ph.D. in Business Administration-Management Information Systems from Laval University in Quebec, Canada. She holds an MBA-MIS from Laval University and a Master of Data Processing Methods Applied to Enterprise Management from the University of Aix-Marseille III in Marseille, France. Her B.Sc. in Mathematics and Physics was also earned at the University of Aix-Marseille III. Prior to joining the University, she was a visiting lecturer for Michigan Technological University's School of Business and Economics in Houghton, MI. Her research interests include electronic commerce, internet, intranet and telecommunications, systems analysis and design and programming languages.
Pablo Camacho-Gutiérrez, visiting assistant professor of economics. Camacho-Gutiérrez is currently completing a Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Texas at Austin and holds an M.Sc. in Economics from UT-Austin and a B.A. in Economics from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico. Prior to joining the University, he was an assistant professor in Economics at Austin's St. Edward's University. His research interests include econometrics, computational economics, industrial organization and game theory.
Raul Garza, instructor of economics. Garza holds his Masters of Professional Accountancy (MPA) from TAMIU and BBA in Accounting from the former Laredo State University. He is a certified public accountant, and certified government financial manager. In addition to being co-founder of a public accounting firm, he has also been an adjunct faculty member at Laredo Community College.
Dr. Pornsit Jiraporn, assistant professor of finance. Dr. Jiraporn holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Southern Illinois University (SIU)-Carbondale, an MBA from the University of Texas-Arlington and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Chulanlongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Prior to joining the University, he was an instructor and graduate teaching assistant at SIU-Carbondale. His research interests include corporate finance and governance and earnings management.
Rahul Kale, visiting assistant professor of management. Kale is completing a Ph.D. in Logistic/Supply Chain Management from the University of Maryland-College Park's Robert H. Smith School of Business. He also holds a Master of Technology in Industrial Management from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras, India and a Bachelor of Engineering in Industrial Engineering from India's Nagpur University. Prior to joining the University, he lectured and taught at UM's Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Dr. Pattanaporn (Aye) Kitsabunnarat, assistant professor of finance. Dr. Kitsabunnarat holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UW-M). Her M.S. in Finance was also earned at UW-M. Her BBA in Management was received at Thailand's Mahidol University. Prior to joining the University, she was a research assistant at the UW-M's School of Business Administration and a visiting scholar at the Asian University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Business, Thailand. Her research interests include corporate finance and governance and international finance markets.
Dr. Shinhua Lua, assistant professor of finance. Dr. Lua holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Missouri. His M.S. in Agricultural Economics was earned at Texas A&M University. A second MA in Economics was earned at China's Wuhan University as was a B.S. in Information Science. Prior to joining the University, he was a visiting assistant professor at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and the University of Missouri-Columbia. His research areas include capital markets and international finance.
Dr. David B. Stephens, visiting professor of management. Dr. Stephens holds a Ph.D. in Labor Relations and Labor Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. His MBA was earned at the University of Pittsburgh and his BA in History at Brigham Young University. Prior to joining the University, he was dean of Utah State University's College of Business. His research areas include labor relations, human resources management, strategic management and distance learning programs.
College of Education
Todd Farmer, instructor of Physical Education. Farmer holds an M.S. in Physical Education from Linfield University in McMinnville, Oregon and a B.S. in Physical Education and Health and Coaching from George Fox University in Newberg, OR. Prior to joining the University he was a K-12 Physical Education Teacher at Vienna Christian School in Vienna, Austria. He has also been a K-8 Physical Education Assistant and K-6 Physical Education.
Diana Linn, visiting instructor of Special Education. Linn is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Curriculum and Instruction at Texas A&M University. She holds an M.S. in Education from Texas A&M International University and a B.S. in Education from Kent State University. In addition to serving as an adjunct faculty member at TAMIU, she has been a Jr./Sr. coordinator of Academic Programs at the Irish Institute of Nuevo Laredo, an Elementary and Junior High teacher in Mexico City and a teacher in a bilingual education Master's Program in Nuevo Laredo.
Sylvia López, visiting instructor of Reading. López is pursuing an M.S. in Reading from Texas A&M International University and holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from the former Laredo State University,. She has earned certificates in Master Reading and Gifted and Talented education. She is currently assigned to Juárez-Lincoln Elementary School as a Mentor Teacher in the 4th Grade Pathfinder program.
College of Science and Technology
Vivian García, assistant professor of nursing, Dr. F.M. Canseco School of Nursing. García received her Masters of Science in Nursing, as well as her Bachelors of Science in nursing, from Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi. She has also earned a RN from Regents College of New York (now Excelsior College of New York) and her LVN from the former Laredo Junior College. She has worked at Mercy Health Center in Laredo since 1990 and since 1998 she has been the Charge RN on the Mother - Baby Unit.
Belva J. González, assistant professor in the Dr. F.M. Canseco School of Nursing. González received her Master of Nursing Science, as well as her Bachelor of Science Nursing from Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi. She is certified as an Advanced Cardiac Life Support instructor, a Trauma Nurse Core Curriculum instructor and is board certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as a Medical Surgical Nurse. Since 1990 she has worked at Mercy Health Center, most recently as an Administrative Nursing Supervisor. In addition, she has worked at TAMIU since 1999 as a Nursing Laboratory Supervisor and Teaching Assistant.
Programs for Academic Support and Enrichment
Kimber Palmer, Instructor, programs for academic support and enrichment (PASE). Palmer holds her Juris Doctor from the University of Oklahoma at Norman and a Bachelor of Science from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK. Prior to joining the University she was in private practice as an attorney at law in Oklahoma City.
Late registration for the Fall Semester continues through Friday, Aug. 30. Classes began Monday, Aug. 26. For more information, contact the Office of the Registrar at 326.2250.
Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at pais@tamiu.edu