Meet The School Of Arts And Sciences Faculty

Dr. Bell began his teaching career at community and four-year colleges in Massachusetts, including a long stint at Springfield Technical Community College. After two years as a materials handler in a plastic bottle factory, he returned to school for a degree in Mathematics Education, focusing on how to help students learn mathematics at the college level. His specific interest is in geometrical and graphical methods of teaching mathematics.

Dr. Bell is a member of the Mathematics Association of America, the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Prior to coming to Tiffin University in 1994, Dr. Bowlus served as managing editor of the Hayes Historical Journal published by the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center. He holds an Undergraduate Degree from Wittenberg University and a Doctorate Degree from Bowling Green State University. His dissertation investigated navigational changes on the Great Lakes in the nineteenth century, prompted by the nation’s accelerating demand for Lake Superior iron ore, and his work has contributed greatly to expanding our knowledge of the subject through numerous scholarly papers and articles.

While at Tiffin University, Dr. Bowlus has instructed a variety of courses, including U.S. Military History, the Italian Renaissance, the 1960’s, and World War II, and he has also been an enthusiastic supporter and frequent participant in the School’s Arts and Angles Program. In addition, Dr. Bowlus coordinates Tiffin University’s Study Abroad Program, assisting our students wishing to spend a semester studying at one of our affiliate campuses in Europe.

Off campus, Dr. Bowlus has been active in community affairs, contributing programs to ElderHostel, local service clubs, and local Great Decisions forums. He is currently Vice-President of Tiffin Historic Trust which is an organization working to preserve the city’s architectural heritage.

Dalva has an Associate’s degree in Secondary Education from Bowling Green State University, and did student teaching in Norwalk Public Schools. Her Bachelor’s degree in History was attained at Thomas Edison College. She Holds a Masters of Humanities from Tiffin University. Dalva began her collegiate teaching career at Heidelberg University in the communications department. Ms. Church has been teaching at Tiffin University since 2009.

Dalva is a professional artist, displaying her works at MacWorthington Gallery in Columbus Ohio, and at other local venues including the Red Raven Gallery in Tiffin. She has been creating and selling art since high school. Other jobs she held before returning to college after her children were older are Newspaper Reporter, Administrative Assistant and writing and editing newsletters.

In addition to participating in various community theatre groups, including The Ritz Players, Dalva has taken a Master’s acting class at Heidelberg with Leslie Sword and a Master Acting Class in Musical Theatre/British Acting Methods: CAA, London, 2010. Dalva also has worked in Summer stock theatre, and has choreographed and directed many theatre productions. Other hobbies include singing, hiking and archery.

Professor Clay joined the faculty of Tiffin University in 2012 and is currently working on completing his Ph.D. in American Literature at Miami University, where he completed his M.A. He is a graduate of Hiram College, where he earned a B.A. in English and played varsity soccer and tennis. Prior to coming to TU, Professor Clay held teaching positions at Miami University and Ohio University. He also taught high school English for several years. He has presented papers at national and international conferences, and his current research focuses on antebellum African American literature.

A native of Findlay, Dr. Terry Collins joined the Tiffin University faculty in 2005. For twenty-five years prior to that, she served as a U.S. Army bandsman at installations throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. She also has the distinction of being the first woman to integrate the Military Band Program. For the past several years she has worked as a classroom teacher in both music K-12, English 6-12, and as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Maryland, Central Texas College, Tabernacle Baptist Bible College & Seminary, and Old Dominion University.

Dr. Crutsinger joined Tiffin University’s English Language and American Culture Program in 2008. After doing undergraduate and graduate work in Oregon and California, he moved to Ohio and taught undergraduate and graduate courses at Winebrenner Seminary. In addition to teaching, he also served as the Director of the seminary library and Dean of Academic and Student Affairs.

In 1993-94 Dr. Crutsinger taught at Rivers State College of Education in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. In 2001-02 he taught a total of eight months at Tumaini University - Iringa University College in Iringa, Tanzania. In 2003-2004 he taught in the English Department at Xiamen University in Xiamen, China.

After returning from China, Dr. Crutsinger taught for three and a half years in the Intensive English Language Program at The University of Findlay. Prior to coming to Tiffin University, he also served as Pastor of the First Christian Church in Fostoria, OH.

Born in Sandusky County and growing up in Seneca County, Miriam Fankhauser earned her B.A. in Secondary Education with a double major in English and Music from Heidelberg College. She taught in junior and senior high English Programs in both Seneca and Sandusky Counties. Miriam joined the Tiffin University faculty as a part-time instructor in 1982. In 1984, she became full-time faculty and in 1986 was named Department Chair for English/Communications Arts--a position she held until 1999 when she became Humanities Department Chair. In 1988, she was promoted to Assistant Professor of English, and in 1995, Associate Professor of English. As the university continued to grow, Miriam was named Associate Professor of English and Humanities in 2003.

During her tenure at Tiffin University, TU’s Student Government has named Miriam Fankhauser as Faculty Member of the Year in 1996 and 1998. She has also been extremely active in working with freshmen as both an advisor and faculty member of the school’s Freshman Institute. Miriam has also served in the role as School Dean.

From the 1980’s to the present, she has been involved in developing new curriculum for TU, and was instrumental in helping to create the liberal arts major in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. In 1996, she was recognized for her “commitment and service to Tiffin University’s Co-Curricular Requirement Program” at the Northwest Ohio Philanthropy luncheon. Miriam has also been a member of the National Council of Teachers of English throughout her career.

Among her other interests is dream analysis and interpretation, and since 1991, she has coordinated a dream workshop/interpretation group and led workshops for students, faculty and the general public. Until recently, she has conducted an ongoing dream support group for adult women.

Miriam has a strong interest in Native American studies and research, in particular the “Trail of Tears” and the North American mound builder cultures, and has both presented lectures and conducted interactive discussions on the subjects, as well as having written articles for regional publications. She was a member of the former Blanchard Indian Pow Wow Club and joined two delegations to the Pine Ridge Lakota Indian Reservation in South Dakota, helping to deliver food and clothing to reservation schools. Miriam returned to visit this area of South Dakota with an Honors Class in May 2006.

Mother of two daughters she has three grandchildren, Miriam Fankhauser is a published author with both scholarly, creative work, and several genealogical collections to her credit. She has also focused special interest on women writers, including Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, as well as local writer Sherwood Anderson. Presently, Miriam concentrates interests on Native American and black writers.

In service to the community, she has been a member of the Pleasant Union Cemetery Board of Trustees since 1990 and is responsible for Memorial Day Services at that site. Miriam has assisted in the selection of the outstanding teacher for Tiffin Public Schools, and has been a judge for various writing and talent competitions.

Before coming to Tiffin, Professor Fearnside was an adjunct instructor at several colleges in New England, including College of the Holy Cross, Rhode Island College and Greenfield Community College, teaching classes in photography, video and art history. In her own work, she creates projects using photography and video to explore issues of body image, sexuality, gentrification, and the creation of history. Her photographic work has been exhibited in galleries in New England and in national juried shows. Her videos have been screened at film festivals in Boston, Oregon, Toronto, Chicago, San Francisco and most recently on Rhode Island PBS. Her most recent projects include photographic work on scars and houses under construction, and a video about archaeology.

Professor Fox completed her Bachelor’s Degree in the area of Education with a specialist degree in mathematics education. She spent twelve years teaching in the Ohio Public School System in the areas of elementary mathematics, junior high special reading, and middle school science programs. After joining Tiffin University faculty as a mathematics adjunct lecturer in 1986, she designed the MAT100 and MAT173 courses, developed a mathematics tutoring program, and designed the Mathematics Placement Program. In 1991, Professor Fox received her Master’s Degree in education. Her research is in the area of Developmental Mathematics and freshman studies and retention. She has served on several committees and worked with programs dealing with the freshman students such as LEAP Program, Freshman Studies Coordinator, Academic Alert Program, freshman advisor, and the Student Development Committee. Professor Fox designed and coordinated the Peer Leader Program. She has presented at the First Year Conference for the past five years. Professor Fox has also designed and coordinates the Supplemental Instructor Program.

Dr. Ghosh joined Tiffin University in the fall of 2008 as Associate Professor of Science , after beginning her teaching career in India. Dr. Ghosh taught courses in physiology and electron microscopy at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Later she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois working in toxicology at the Veterinary School of Medicine and a Postdoctoral Research associate at Tulane University Medical Center, where she worked in the area of prostate cancer and lung cancer. Dr. Ghosh has presented her research at various scientific meetings and has published over 12 papers in reputed scientific journals.

Since 2001, Dr. Ghosh has taught in area colleges and universities in Ohio teaching a variety of courses at Terra Community College in Fremont, The University of Findlay, both Heidelberg College and Tiffin University in Tiffin. She has also developed and taught a number of seated and online classes. While teaching at Tiffin University, her courses include Anatomy and Physiology, Environmental Science, and Oceanography at the undergraduate level and The History and Philosophy of Scientific Exploration at the graduate level.

In 2006 and 2008, Dr. Ghosh assisted with the organization and implementation of the highly successful India Study Abroad Program conducted by Tiffin University and The University of Findlay respectively. She has also served as a judge at various science fairs in Illinois and Ohio.

Dr. Grennen has taught a wide variety of English courses, including all levels of writing, various literature surveys, and oral communications. With a Ph.D. in Dramatic Literature, Theory, and Criticism, she has taught various courses in dramatic literature, acting, and directing. Her doctoral dissertation, "The Nature/Nurture Dichotomy of Tragic Figures in Western Dramatic Literature," was nominated for UIU's 2005 Sussman Award.

Dr. Grennen has a long list of accomplishments in theatre. She has appeared in two off-Broadway productions, and as a musician she has sat in the orchestra pit for productions of Annie, Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Robber Bridegroom. As a director, her productions include The Dixie Swim Club, Blithe Spirit, Rumors, Bathroom Humor, The Money in Uncle George's Suitcase, A Trip to Czardis, Everybody's Doing It, and To Bobolink, for Her Spirit. Her acting experience at Fordham University at Lincoln Center includes A Midsummer Night's Dream, Jack or The Submission, Fashion, The Three Sisters, The Beggar's Opera, The Children's Hour, Icarus' Mother, A Perfect Analysis Given by a Parrot, Not Enough Rope, Postcards, Electra, Why Hanna's Skirt Won't Stay Down, and Action. Her community involvement includes roles in Shenandoah, Hello Dolly, The Boys Next Door, Tea and Sympathy, Dial 'M' for Murder, Angel Street, I Hate Hamlet, Two by Two, and How the Other Half Loves.

Dr. Hall-Yates holds an undergraduate degree from Asbury College and a Juris Doctorate from Ohio Northern University, and did post graduate work in law at Capital University. She practiced law in both civil and criminal cases. Many of her cases dealt with contract negotiations, IRS representation and estate planning. While practicing law, she managed the human resources role in law firms and trained personnel to fulfill the role of a paralegal within the legal services profession. She was also responsible for the management of computer technology and legal software for the law firms. Prior to coming to Tiffin University, she directed and taught classes in a paralegal education program in a two-year degree program.

She had taught both undergraduate and graduate law courses for many years as an adjunct instructor. Hancock County Chamber of Commerce presented her an Outstanding Educator award for the 2003-2004 academic year. She has presented many public educational seminars to explain difficult legal issues. She was a Research Contributor to Education Management Corporation Employee Retirement Answers for the January 2007 issue.

She is a volunteer with Bridge Home Health and Hospice. She participates in walks to raise funds for various organizations, including the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Steps for Sarcoma Walk, March of Dimes Walk, and the Children’s Miracle Network Walk.

Michael joined the Tiffin University full-time faculty this year as a math professor , after previously being an adjunct professor for Tiffin University for several years as well as an adjunct professor in Math/Science over the past seventeen years for New Mexico Tech., Owens State College, Terra Community College, and Heidelberg College. Also during this time, Michael worked in industry as a Quality Assurance Manager and Vice President for a large environmental testing laboratory. He has presented over sixty papers in the areas of statistics, quality control, and lab management at state, national, and international conferences. Michael has held appointments on various Boards of Directorships including the United States EPA Environmental Laboratory Advisory Board and has recently completed a six year term as Chairman of the Ohio American Water Works Association Research Committee.

Michael resides in the Tiffin area with his wife and two children.

Upon completion of her undergraduate degree in Mathematics education at BGSU, Vicki began teaching at a local high school while earning her Master’s of Education Degree from Heidelberg College. She launched her collegiate career by lecturing as an adjunct instructor at a variety of local colleges and began teaching full-time at Tiffin University in the mathematics department in 2007. Dr. Ingalls completed her doctoral education from Ashland University in the fall of 2008. She lives in Tiffin with her husband and five daughters.

Dr. Lu earned his B.A. in 1982 and taught philosophy at Beijing Normal University before moving to Canada in 1986.  Prior to joining Tiffin University in 2000, he held positions of assistant Professor of Philosophy at Concordia University in Canada and Hampshire College in Massachusetts.  Dr. Lu has teaching and research interest in interdisciplinary and cross-culture studies, with the emphasis on philosophy of cognitive science and Chinese philosophy.  He is doing research in both western and Chinese philosophies and undertaking comparative projects.  Dr. Lu has published eleven articles in peer reviewed journals and anthologies, five professional encyclopedia entries, five essays in major newspapers, and nineteen presentations at regional, national, and international conferences.

Dr. Lu is instrumental in developing China Programs at Tiffin University.  These include three partnership programs between Tiffin University and Beijing Normal University - two to allow their students to enroll in TU courses and one that is a resident scholar program to bring BNU faculty members to Tiffin for a year of research.  In addition and most recently, Dr. Lu has collaborated with Chinese recruiting agencies and high schools in developing two programs to recruit new Tiffin University students from China.

Natalie earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Middle Childhood Education from Bowling Green State University in 2003. Upon graduating, she taught for 7 years in a local public school while earning her Master of Arts in Education degree from Heidelberg College in 2008. Natalie joined Tiffin University in the fall of 2011 as an adjunct instructor before being hired as a fulltime math instructor in 2012. Natalie lives in Tiffin with her husband.

Dr. Vincent Moore has worked in a number of non-academic fields and has lived in eleven states while pursuing his educational and career goals. Growing up in Oberlin, OH, he earned his B.A. in Psychology at Oberlin College (1985). He studied for an M.S. in Exercise Physiology, but instead earned an M.A. in Creative Writing at Miami University (1992). In 1998 he earned his doctorate in English (main focus: Writing; secondary areas are 20^th Century American Literature, Film, and Post Human Literary Theory) at the University of Southern Mississippi. Since 1992 he has been teaching at the college level, first as an adjunct, then full time at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania and later at St. Paul’s College in Virginia. His interest in the martial arts (and two black belts) has provided material for his many articles on the subject, which are often approached through psychological, physiological, and other cross-disciplinary perspectives. While he has had the greatest success with his Karate articles, he also writes fiction and various non-fiction areas.

Dr. Vincent Moore has been at Tiffin University since fall 2002 and became chair of the English Department in the spring of 2005. He currently serves as Program Chair of the Master of Humanities Program. Dr. Moore founded and instructs the Tiffin University Martial Arts Club and now advises the English Enthusiasts, which produces the TU Review. His teaching interests are Composition, Creative Writing, Modern and Postmodern Literature, and Film.

Professor Orr works for Tiffin University as an instructor in the School of Arts and Sciences, teaching both classes in Introductory Writing and English as a Second Language. In addition, she holds a fifth degree black belt in Tang Soo Do and teaches martial arts for the Tiffin Community YMCA.

She graduated from Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio with a degree in Music Education, and taught music in a variety of locations in Ohio and then in numerous diverse educational settings around the world. In addition to her B.Mus. Ed. from Heidelberg she has a M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from National University, with an emphasis in early childhood education.

For the past 14 years before relocating to Tiffin, Ohio from Virginia Beach, Virginia, she was owner and manager of a martial arts school, where she offered a variety of curricula for adults and children. She developed programs for local day schools and had over 200 students at her main school. In addition, she created and implemented a leadership training program and a character development program for her school as well as for the United Tang Soo Do Federation.

In addition to her over twenty years in the public schools as a music specialist and then the martial arts school, her career included the operation and oversight of a number of supervisory education programs. These programs included employment as a Training and Curriculum Specialist for the United States Air Force, a Family Homecare Coordinator for the United States Navy, and the Site Director for the YMCA "Early Discoveries" program, a program serving “at risk” preschoolers. In conclusion, she has an extensive directing and acting CV which spans three decades.

Brad Rees serves as Director of the Tiffin University Music Department, where he coordinates TU's new ProMusic degree program, and also directs the award-winning a cappella ensemble Up in the Air, conducts University Choirs, and teaches voice, music theory, and music production & engineering. A leader in contemporary a cappella and vocal jazz education for two decades, Brad has served as the Assistant Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Northern Colorado, on the faculty at Iowa's School for Music Vocations, and on the jazz faculty at Bowling Green State University.

A frequent clinician at vocal music festivals across the US and Canada, he is a regular judge for ICCA, ICHSA and show choir competitions throughout the Midwest, and has served on the faculty of Halewyn Jazz Workshop in Belgium and many other summer workshops and camps.  His ensembles have appeared across the United States and Canada, at the Salzburg Music Festival in Austria, at the United Nations in New York and Geneva, and on tour in the Republic of China, Germany, the Czech Republic, and South Africa. His choirs have also performed on several national TV broadcasts.

His own performing credits include appearances with Ben Folds, Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra, Joe Williams, George Shearing, African gospel artist Rebecca Malope, and others. He sang with the Grammy-nominated vocal jazz quintet, The Axidentals, with Phil Mattson’s Voices, and in residence at the Smithsonian Institution.

Brad is currently completing a DMA from Boston University, received a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Northern Colorado, and holds degrees in music and public relations from George Mason University in Virginia. He has served in leadership  positions for the Ohio chapters of IAJE and ACDA, and his compositions and arrangements are available through UNC Jazz Press.

Dr. James Rovira comes to Tiffin University from Rollins College in Florida. He currently teaches English courses in the fields of British Literature, British History, History of the English Language, American Poetry, Creative Writing, Poetry and Writing. Dr. James Rovira’s most recent publications include “Wings of Fire: Exhibition at Muhlenberg College 19 March to 19 April 2008” for Blake: An Illustrated Quarterly; “Receiving Austen and Scott” for College Literature; “Milton’s Ontology of Books and Areopagitica” for the anthology Milton in France (2008, ed. Christoph Tornu); and a review of The Smorgasbord of Postmodernity: Literature and the Christian Critic, ed. Deborah Bowen, for Christianity and Literature. His current projects include editing his monograph Kierkegaardian Anxiety and Creation Anxiety in William Blake’s Early Illuminated Books for publication, a review of Blake’s Poetry and Designs for College Literature, and annotations for the Routledge Annotated Bibliography of English Studies. Dr. Rovira has recently been named managing editor of The Voegelin View, an online journal dedicated to the works of political philosopher Eric Voegelin. From 2007-09 he presented papers at national conferences for the Modern Language Association, the College English Association, the American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies, the International Conference on Romanticism, the Conference on College Composition and Communication, and the Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Social Imagery.

Dr. Rovira serves as the Chair of English and Humanities for the School of Arts and Sciences.

He currently resides in the Tiffin, Ohio area with his wife and children.

Dr. Jan Samoriski joined the Tiffin University faculty in 2006 after ten years at the University of Michigan – Dearborn where he taught electronic media and served as Communications Chair and Director of the Communications Program.

Samoriski earned his undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism from Radford University and worked as a television producer and director at NBC-TV affiliates in Virginia and Massachusetts before returning to graduate school. He holds a Master of Science Degree in Corporate and Professional Communication (Radford University) and a Ph.D. in Mass Communication with an emphasis in telecommunications law and technology (Bowling Green State University).

Samoriski teaches across the communications curriculum in several areas, including speech, organizational, mass communication, electronic media, media production and cyberspace law. He is author of several articles dealing with Internet issues pertaining to unsolicited commercial e-mail, electronic privacy, encryption, broadcast regulation and Internet indecency and obscenity. He is also author of one of the first communication textbooks to focus on cyberlaw, "Issues in cyberspace: Communication, Technology, Law and Society on the Internet Frontier," published by Allyn and Bacon.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Samoriski is a National Registry Paramedic, Level II Firefighter, Master Scuba Diver and General Class Amateur Radio Operator. He has training and experience in emergency services and response, bioterrorism and hazardous materials and is active in local Fire and EMS. He recently completed an RN as part of his interests in healthcare and emergency, crisis, risk and public health communication.

During the summer Samoriski can often be found anchored or floating aimlessly around Lake Erie and the Islands on his boat, "Soggynaut," usually within range of a wireless signal.

25 years in the synthetic crystal industry, from1980 to 2005
4 patents in this area granted in 2002
Started a student veteran program at Cleveland State in Fall 2006
Have spoken to over 600 campuses nationwide regarding veteran education since 2009
Helped write, pass and fund legislation for a FIPSE grant in 2010 which provided $6M in grants to over 20 campuses nationwide for veteran education
Winner of the Zachary Fisher Humanitarian of the Year award from the Dept of Defense

Dr. Slone joined the TU faculty in 2010. He holds a BA in Religious Studies from the College of Wooster (1995), a MA in Comparative Studies in the Humanities from The Ohio State University (1999), and a PhD in Comparative Religion from Western Michigan University (2002). He has taught at Ohio State, Western Michigan, the University of Findlay, and Webster University in St. Louis, and he was the Hardigg Lecturer in the Department of Religion at Dartmouth College in 2006.

Dr. Slone is the author of Theological Incorrectness: Why Religious People Believe What They Shouldn’t (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004) and the editor of Religion and Cognition: A Reader (London: Equinox Press, 2006), in addition to numerous articles on the history and psychology of religion.

Dr. Slone has also been a small business owner and entrepreneur, and worked as a financial advisor for Edward Jones in Columbus, OH.

Dr. Colleen Vallo has been a member of the faculty at Tiffin University since 2006. She teaches courses in communication and journalism at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Vallo is also adviser of the campus newspaper. Before joining our faculty, Dr. Vallo taught at the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University. She previously worked in journalism reporting for weekly and daily newspapers, serving as a state-house correspondent in Columbus and working in public relations for public schools. Her teaching specialties include mass communication law, critical analysis of the media, and intercultural communication.