Washington College | Office of College Relations and Marketing Find an Expert

Find an Expert

Washington College faculty members are active in academic and scientific research, as well as public outreach and education, and are willing to share their expertise with authors, journalists, and other members of the media serving the public's need for news, information, and analysis.

The list below is representative of our faculty's willingness to answer questions on relevant topics posed by members of the media or to speak to community groups and professional organizations. If your group would like to schedule a Washington College faculty speaker, please contact us at least two months in advance of your event or program.

All queries should be directed to
Eric Mills, Director of Media Relations
emills2@washcoll.edu 410-810-7408.

Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln's Battle with Depression
Joshua Wolf Shenk
Director, The Rose O'Neill Literary House
Author of Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness (Houghton Mifflin, 2005)
Personal Web Site
Lincoln's Melancholy Web Site

Abraham Lincoln & Slavery

Richard Striner, Professor
Department of History
Author of Father Abraham: Lincoln's Relentless Struggle to End Slavery (Oxford, 2006) and The Civic Deal: Re-Empowering Our Great Republic (Pericles, 2000)
Faculty Page

ADD, ADHD & Learning Disorders

Lauren Montenegro Littlefield, Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
Faculty Page

African Economic Development

Agricultural Economics
Small Enterprise in the Third World
Lisa Daniels, Associate Professor
Department of Economics
Faculty Page

Alzheimer's Disease

Memory Disorders
Senile Dementia
George Spilich, Professor
Department of Psychology
Faculty Page

Analytical & Dialectical Logics

Howard Ponzer, Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Philosophy
Faculty Page

Archaeology & Historic Preservation

Maritime and Underwater Archaeology
John L. Seidel, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Environmental Studies
Interim Director of the Center for the Environment and Society
Archaeology Program at Washington College http://archaeology.washcoll.edu
Faculty Page

Arthurian Literature

Corey Olsen, Assistant Professor
Department of English
Faculty Page

Artists' Estates & Estate Management

Diane Cousineau, Lecturer in English
Co-editor of Artists' Estates: Reputations in Trust (Rutgers University Press, 2005) and The Sound of Sleat: A Painter's Life by Jon Schueler (Picador, 1999)
Faculty Page

Austrian & German Literature

Contemporary Austrian and German Literature
James Martin, Assistant Professor
Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Faculty Page

Bioacoustics

Martin Connaughton, Associate Professor
Department of Biology
Faculty Page

Business Leadership & the Liberal Arts

Michael Harvey, Associate Professor
Department of Business Management
Author of The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing (Hackett, 2003)
Online Nuts and Bolts Guide
Faculty Page

Chaucer

Corey Olsen, Assistant Professor
Department of English
Faculty Page

Chesapeake Bay Environmental Studies

Donald Munson, Professor and Director of Environmental Studies Program
Department of Biology
Faculty Page

Christian History & Theology

Early English Protestantism
Puritanism and Pietism
Baird Tipson, President of Washington College
Ph.D. in Religious Studies, Yale University
Biography

Cognitive Effects of Alcohol and Smoking

Effects on Thinking & Memory, Driving, and Motor Skills
George Spilich, Professor
Faculty Page

Colonial and Revolutionary History

Ken Miller, Instructor
Department of History
Faculty Page

Computer Graphics

Shaun David Ramsey, Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Faculty Page

Conflict and Conflict Management in the Middle East

Ibtisam Ibrahim, Assistant Professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies
Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
Faculty Page

Constitutional Law and History

John Taylor, Louis L. Goldstein Professor of Public Affairs
Department of Political Science
Author of Right to Counsel and Privilege Against Self-Incrimination: Rights and Liberties under the Law (ABC-CLIO, 2004)
Faculty Page

Contemporary American Drama

American Regional Theater
Michele Volansky, Assistant Professor
Department of Drama
Co-author of No Heavy Lifting Required: A Practical Guide to Playwriting and Collaboration (Heinemann, 2006)
Faculty Page

Contemporary Middle East Politics, Society, and Culture

Ibtisam Ibrahim, Assistant Professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies
Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
Faculty Page

Creative Nonfiction

Joshua Wolf Shenk
Director, The Rose O'Neill Literary House
Author of Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness (Houghton Mifflin, 2005)
Personal Web Site
Lincoln's Melancholy Web Site

Dance History

Karen Smith, Professor
Department of Physical Education
Faculty Page

Dramaturgy

Michele Volansky, Assistant Professor
Department of Drama
Co-author of No Heavy Lifting Required: A Practical Guide to Playwriting and Collaboration (Heinemann, 2006)
Faculty Page

Early Childhood Education

Economic, Budgetary, and Social Benefits of Investment in Early
Childhood Education
Robert Lynch, Associate Professor
Department of Economics
Author of Rethinking Growth Strategies: How State and Local Taxes and Services Affect Economic Development (Economic Policy Institute, 2004) and Exceptional Returns: The Costs and Benefits of Publicly Funded Preschool (Economic Policy Institute, 2004)
Faculty Page

Earth & Planetary Science

Composition and Formation of Solar System
Meteorites
Karl Kehm, Adrian Reed Assistant Professor of Physics, Earth, and Planetary Science
Department of Physics
Faculty Page

Elementary Education

Children's Literature; Emergent Literacy; Emergent Writing; Early Childhood in Italy; Writing Across the Elementary Curriculum; Using Newspapers to Enhance Elementary Curriculum; and Service Dogs Helping Young Children
Deb Marciano, Associate Professor
Department of Education
Faculty Page

English Literature, Late 16th and & Early 17TH Century

Kathryn M. Moncrief, Associate Professor
Department of English
Editor of the forthcoming volume, Performing Maternity in Early Modern England (Ashgate, 2007)
Faculty Page

Fireworks and Pyrotechnics

Fireworks Safety
Pyrotechnical Chemistry
John Conkling, Adjunct Professor
Department of Chemistry
Former Executive Director of the American Pyrotechnics Association
Faculty Page

Fitness and Nutrition

Pilates
Karen Smith, Professor
Department of Physical Education
Faculty Page

Free Blacks in Pre-Civil War America

Racial Identity in Antebellum America
Carol Wilson, Professor
Department of History
Author of Freedom at Risk: The Kidnapping of Free Blacks in America, 1780-1865 (University Press of Kentucky, 1994) and The Two Lives of Sally Miller: A Case of Mistaken Racial Identity in Antebellum New Orleans (Rutgers University Press, 2007)
Faculty Page

French Colonial Literature of Algeria and Vietnam

Pamela Pears, Associate Professor of French
Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Author of Remnants of Empire in Algeria and Vietnam: Women, Words and War (Lexington Books, 2004)
Faculty Page

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
Stewart Bruce, GIS Program Coordinator
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
GIS Program at Washington College
Faculty Page

George Washington Book Prize

Largest Book Prize for Early American History
Sponsored by Washington College, George Washington's Mount Vernon, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Adam Goodheart, Director of the C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience
Faculty Page
George Washington Book Prize Web Site

Green Chemistry

Environmentally-Benign Chemistry
Anne Marteel-Parrish, Assistant Professor
Department of Chemistry
Recent publications: "Towards the greening of our minds: a new special topics course offered at Washington College" (The Journal of Chemical Education, forthcoming)
Faculty Page

Hispanic Immigration of the Delmarva Peninsula

George Shivers, Professor of Spanish
Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Faculty Page

Holocaust & Genocide Studies

Clayton Black, Associate Professor
Department of History
Faculty Page

Hormones and Behavior (Psychoneuroendocrinology)

Hormones and the Development of Sex Differences
Hormones Effects on Aggression, Learning, and Memory
Michael Kerchner, Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
Faculty Page

Ichthyology

Martin Connaughton, Associate Professor
Department of Biology
Faculty Page

Islam and Society in the Middle East

Ibtisam Ibrahim, Assistant Professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies
Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
Faculty Page

Japanese Politics, Foreign Policy and Security

International and Comparative Politics of East Asia
Andrew Oros, Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science and International Studies
Former Editor of Millennium: Journal of International Studies, author of Godzilla's Return: The New Nuclear Politics in an Insecure Japan (Stimson Center, December 2003), and contributor to Culture in World Politics (Macmillan Press, 1998) and Can Japan Come Back? (Pacific Council, 2003)
Faculty Page

Kabuki, Asian Drama, and Theater

Dale Daigle, Associate Professor
Department of Drama
Faculty Page

Kant and 19th Century European Philosophy

Howard Ponzer, Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Philosophy
Faculty Page

Latin American Politics and Economy

Christine Wade, Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
Co-author of Understanding Central America: Global Forces, Rebellion and Regime Change (Westview, 2006) and A Revolução Salvadorenha (The Salvadoran Revolution): Revolutions of the Twentieth Century Collection (Fundação Editora Da UNESP, 2006)
Faculty Page

Latin Medieval Paleography

Janet Sorrentino, Assistant Professor
Department of History
Faculty Page

Literary Translation

George Shivers, Professor of Spanish
Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Faculty Page

Liturgy (Christian) & Liturgical History

Participation of Women in Medieval Liturgy
Janet Sorrentino, Assistant Professor
Department of History
Faculty Page

Sir Thomas Malory

Corey Olsen, Assistant Professor
Department of English
Faculty Page

Management Information Systems (MIS)

Susan A. Vowels, Assistant Professor
Department of Business Management
Faculty Page

Marine and Estuarine Biology

Martin Connaughton, Associate Professor
Department of Biology
Faculty Page

Maryland Politics

Melissa Deckman, Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
Author of School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics (Georgetown University Press, 2004); co-author of Women with a Mission: Religion, Gender, and the Politics of Women Clergy (University of Alabama Press, 2004) and Women and Politics: Paths to Power and Political Influence (Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006)
Faculty Page

Medieval Allegory

Corey Olsen, Assistant Professor
Department of English
Faculty Page

Medieval History

Janet Sorrentino, Assistant Professor
Department of History
Faculty Page

Middle East Politics

Economic Development in the Third World
Ethnic Conflict
Tahir I. Shad, Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
Director of International Studies
Faculty Page

John Milton

Kathryn M. Moncrief, Associate Professor
Department of English
Editor of the forthcoming volume, Performing Maternity in Early Modern England (Ashgate, 2007)
Faculty Page

Minority/Majority Relations: Case of Palestinian Minority in Israel

Ibtisam Ibrahim, Assistant Professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies
Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
Faculty Page

Modernist Fiction and Drama

Thomas Cousineau, Professor
Department of English
Author of Ritual Unbound: Reading Sacrifice in Modernist Fiction (University of Delaware Press, 2004), Waiting for Godot: Form in Movement (Twayne, 1989) and After the Final No: Samuel Beckett's Trilogy (University of Delaware Press, 1999)
Faculty Page

Monasticism

Late Antiquity, Medieval, and Early Modern
Janet Sorrentino, Assistant Professor
Department of History
Faculty Page

Playwriting

Michele Volansky, Assistant Professor
Department of Drama
Co-author of No Heavy Lifting Required: A Practical Guide to Playwriting and Collaboration (Heinemann, 2006)
Faculty Page

Politics and Economic Growth

Presidential Leadership and Statecraft

Psychology in Antebellum America

Religion in American Politics

Christian Right in American Politics
Clergy in Politics
Women Clergy's Political Involvement
Melissa Deckman, Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
Author of School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics (Georgetown University Press, 2004); co-author of Women with a Mission: Religion, Gender, and the Politics of Women Clergy (University of Alabama Press, 2004) and Women and Politics: Paths to Power and Political Influence (Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006)
Faculty Page

Russia Under Lenin and Stalin

Clayton Black, Associate Professor
Department of History
Faculty Page

Secrets, Interpersonal Enmity

Social Psychology
Kevin McKillop, Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
Faculty Page

William Shakespeare

Kathryn M. Moncrief, Associate Professor
Department of English
Editor of the forthcoming volume, Performing Maternity in Early Modern England (Ashgate, 2007)
Faculty Page

Social Security Crisis

Economic, Budgetary, and Social Benefits of Investment in Early Childhood Education
Robert Lynch, Associate Professor
Department of Economics
Author of Rethinking Growth Strategies: How State and Local Taxes and Services Affect Economic Development (Economic Policy Institute, 2004) and Exceptional Returns: The Costs and Benefits of Publicly Funded Preschool (Economic Policy Institute, 2004)
Faculty Page

Soil and Water Chemistry of Managed Ecosystems

Leslie Sherman, Associate Professor
Department of Chemistry
Recent Publications: "Soil chemistry as affected by first-time prescribed burning of a grassland restoration on a Coastal Plain Ultisol" (Soil Science, November 2005) and co-author of "Arsenic contamination in the soils and sediments of Zimapan, Mexico" (Environmental Pollution)
Faculty Page

Spanish American Literature of the 20th Century

George Shivers, Professor of Spanish
Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Faculty Page

State and Local Politics

Taxation and Economic Development

Robert Lynch, Associate Professor
Department of Economics
Author of Rethinking Growth Strategies: How State and Local Taxes and Services Affect Economic Development (Economic Policy Institute, 2004) and Exceptional Returns: The Costs and Benefits of Publicly Funded Preschool (Economic Policy Institute, 2004)
Faculty Page

J.R.R. Tolkein

Corey Olsen, Assistant Professor
Department of English
Faculty Page

Topology

Low-dimensional Topology
3-Manifolds and Knot Theory
Mike McLendon, Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Recent Publications: "Detecting torsion in skein modules using Hochschild homology" (Journal of Knot Theory and Its Ramifications, February 2006)
Faculty Page

Underwater and Maritime Archaeology

John L. Seidel, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Environmental Studies
Interim Director of the Center for the Environment and Society
Faculty Page
Archaeology Program at Washington College

War and Its Impact upon Women's Lives

Ibtisam Ibrahim, Assistant Professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies
Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
Faculty Page

Women in Early Modern English Literature and Culture

Kathryn M. Moncrief, Associate Professor
Department of English
Editor of the forthcoming volume, Performing Maternity in Early Modern England (Ashgate, 2007)
Faculty Page

Women in Politics

Women in American Politics
Women Clergy's Political Involvement
Melissa Deckman, Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
Author of School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics (Georgetown University Press, 2004); co-author of Women with a Mission: Religion, Gender, and the Politics of Women Clergy (University of Alabama Press, 2004) and Women and Politics: Paths to Power and Political Influence (Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006)
Faculty Page

Women's Emigration: the Case of Palestinian Women

Ibtisam Ibrahim, Assistant Professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies
Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
Faculty Page

Writing Mechanics for College Students

Michael Harvey, Associate Professor
Department of Business Management
Author of The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing (Hackett, 2003)
Faculty Page

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