CLU welcomes new dean and faculty

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CLU's new faculty members bring a range of experience and expertise to the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Education and graduate programs.

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Aug. 29, 2008) California Lutheran University is welcoming a new dean and 14 new faculty members as fall classes begin.

Carol A. Bartell
Dean and Professor, School of Education
Bartell was the Dean of the School Education at CLU from 1995 to 2003. During the past five years, she has served as Dean of the College of Education at California State University, Los Angeles, Interim Dean at Cal Poly Pomona, and Director of the Doctoral Program at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Bartell has worked for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and helped develop the California Standards for the Teaching Profession. She has written numerous articles and presented at many state and national conferences to share her expertise in preparation, induction, and mentoring of high quality teachers and administrators. A graduate of Concordia University in River Forest, Ill., she received her master’s in early childhood development from University of Michigan, and her doctorate in educational administration from Virginia Tech.

Chris Brown
Assistant Professor, Mathematics
Brown has taught at Kenyon College, University of Northern Colorado, University of Colorado, Boulder (CU-Boulder), and the College of William and Mary. With research interests in dynamics and game theory as they apply to ecology and finance, he is especially interested in conservation and management of Caribbean marine turtle populations. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Missouri, Rolla, and a doctorate in mathematics at CU-Boulder.

Michael Gend
Instructor, Theatre Arts
Gend has served as technical director in CLU’s Theatre Arts Department for the past two years. He completed his bachelor of fine arts at California Institute of the Arts and is currently working on his master of fine arts in theatre with an emphasis on lighting design. His professional credits as a technical director include productions at Madrid Theatre in Canoga Park, and he has extensive professional experience in lighting, scenic, video/projection and sound design.

Michael Gerson
Assistant Professor, Graduate Psychology
Gerson is a licensed psychologist and psychoanalyst and former faculty member at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Phillips Graduate Institute, California School of Professional Psychology, California Graduate Institute (CGI), and Loyola Marymount University. He has served as an expert witness in criminal, child abuse and domestic violence cases. He earned a bachelor’s degree from CSUN, a master’s from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and a doctorate from CGI.

Louise Kelly
Assistant Professor, Exercise Science & Sports Medicine
Kelly’s research and publications reflect her interests in the effects of nutritional, socioeconomic and environmental influences on exercise habits, obesity and related health problems of children. She recently completed two research projects funded by the National Cancer Institute and is currently studying obesity in minority youth in Los Angeles with a grant from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Kelly has a bachelor’s and doctorate from University of Glasgow.

Don Kobabe
Instructor, School of Education
Kobabe served as a professor and Assistant Director of Student Teaching at Pepperdine University. A former elementary school teacher and principal, Kobabe served as Director of Special Pupil Services in the Las Virgenes Unified School District before pursuing a career in higher education. He has taught courses in foundations and curriculum and instruction in teacher education. Kobabe earned a bachelor’s from UCLA and a master’s from California State University, Long Beach.

Jodie Kocur
Assistant Professor, Psychology
While completing her disseration on “Anger and Anger Expression in Relationships,” Kocur taught at Moorpark College and Pepperdine. In addition to her academic experience, she has worked as a psychological consultant in public schools, as a clinical supervisor, and as a staff therapist. Kocur received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pepperdine and her master’s and doctorate in counseling psychology from Colorado State University.

Schannae Lucas
Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice
Lucas was an assistant professor of justice, law and public safety studies at Lewis University. She has also worked for the Community Correctional Center and the U.S. Probation and Parole Office. She earned her bachelor’s degree in social science at the University of California, Irvine, and her master’s in criminal justice at Washington State University. Lucas recently completed her doctorate in political science at Washington State.

Sharyn Slavin Miller
Associate Professor, School of Education
Miller chaired the Department of College Student Affairs and Organizational Leadership and taught at Azusa Pacific University and was the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at the University of Southern California (USC) and the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs at the California Institute of Technology. She earned her bachelor’s at Cal Poly Pomona, master’s degrees from Southern Connecticut College and USC, and doctorate from USC.

John Noll
Assistant Professor, Computer Science
Noll taught in the computer engineering department at Santa Clara University. A former faculty member at University of Colorado at Denver, UCLA, and the Marshall School of Business at USC, Noll teaches computer science, software engineering and information systems. He has research and industrial experience at USC’s ATRIUM Laboratory, at Perceptronics, Inc., and Hewlett-Packard Laboratories. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Colorado College, and a master’s and doctorate from USC.

Terry Spehar-Fahey
Instructor, Art
Spehar-Fahey joins the art department after serving as an adjunct instructor for the past two years. Terry has taught students of all ages and shown her watercolors professionally for the past 20 years. In addition to teaching, Spehar-Fahey serves as a budget analyst in CLU’s Academic Affairs Office. She received her bachelor’s from UCLA in painting, sculpture, and graphic arts before completing her master of business administration at Loyola Marymount.

Bryan Rasmussen
Assistant Professor, English
Rasmussen’s research interests include Victorian studies, cultural history and cultural studies. A recipient of the Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellowship in Religion & Ethics, Rasmussen’s dissertation focused on issues of gender, religion and social science in Victorian culture. As an undergraduate at University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, he majored in English and philosophy. He earned his master’s and doctorate from Indiana University.

Bob Rumer
Instructor, Physics
A former adjunct faculty member at CLU, Rumer has also taught physics at California State University, Channel Islands. He worked as a design engineer for 25 years and has experience in marketing and management. He enjoys promoting engineering and science to middle and high school students and created CLU’s Advanced Placement outreach program for physics, chemistry and calculus. He completed his bachelor’s at Johns Hopkins University and his master’s at University of California, Berkeley.

John Tannaci
Assistant Professor, Chemistry
Tannaci prefers to teach chemistry within the context of biochemistry and technology and is interested in developing interdisciplinary course materials on organic electronics, semiconductor processing, renewable energy, polymer chemistry and nanotechnology. His interest in science education has led him to participate in outreach programs to elementary and middle schools. He completed his bachelor’s degree at Stanford University and his doctorate in chemistry at UC Berkeley.

Allison Wee
Assistant Professor, English Department
Wee taught English at Luther College for the past two years. She has also taught at Grinnell College, Denison University and Carleton College. Her interests include Victorian, classical and modernist literature; feminist, gender, and sexuality studies; and young adult literature. She received her bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College and her doctorate from University of Minnesota. Her dissertation analyzed pre-trial documents regarding texts challenged under Britain’s obscenity laws.