Thirteen new full-time faculty joined the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) for the 2024-25 academic year. One of the faculty members is also the college’s new senior associate dean of academic affairs.
The new full-time faculty members are:
- Jun Cho, assistant teaching professor of applied music and performance (piano) in the Setnor School of Music, is a multifaceted artist known for his versatility as a soloist, chamber musician and educator.
- David DeAngelis, assistant professor of music education in the Setnor School of Music and School of Education, has research and teaching interests that include beginning instrumental instruction, popular music pedagogy and issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in music education, especially in music teacher preparation.
- Alix Ferrer-Yulfo, professor of practice in museum studies in the School of Design, has research interests that include intangible cultural heritage museums, the documentation of living heritage, community involvement in cultural policies and museum work, the decolonization of museum and heritage studies and alternative forms of museology.
- Andrew Gershon, professor of practice in music industry in the Setnor School of Music, has been a tastemaker in business, discovering and nurturing careers of artists like The Smashing Pumpkins, Moby and The White Stripes.
- Ariel Gratch, assistant teaching professor in the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies, is interested in storytelling, tourism and performance studies. He is the author of two forthcoming books: “Speech Performance: Public Speaking for All Occasions” (Cognella) and “Embodied Pedagogy: Activities for the Communication Classroom” with co-authors Lyndsay Michalik Gratch and Andrea Baldwin (Palgrave).
- Stephanie Jensen-Moulton is the college’s new associate dean of academic affairs and a professor of music. She previously served as interim dean of the School of Visual, Media and Performing Arts at Brooklyn College, City University of New York (CUNY), where she was director of the Hitchcock Institute for Studies in American Music. A specialist in American music after 1900, Jensen-Moulton places particular importance in her work on music as it intersects with aspects of cultural expression such as ability, race, social class, gender and sexuality.
- Michael Kowalski, instructor of industrial and interaction design and design studies in the School of Design, has research interests that center on the psychological and behavioral factors relevant to greater sustainability in the product design and consumption process.
- Alexander Kubak Klich, assistant teaching professor of film in the Department of Film and Media Arts, has worked as a cinematographer for feature films and short films, as well as in other roles, such as directing, writing and producing in Los Angeles and Mexico.
- London Ladd, assistant teaching professor of illustration in the School of Art, is a critically acclaimed illustrator who employs a unique mixed-media technique using acrylic paint, cut paper and tissue paper to bring a variety of subjects to life.
- Normandie Luscher, assistant professor of illustration in the School of Art, has experience in lettering, surface design work and product development; her personal work has focused on narrative comics and children’s book scripts as well as surface design and holiday greeting cards.
- Erica Murphy, assistant professor of acting in the Department of Drama, is an actor, educator and movement specialist who has performed and worked with Portland Stage, Good Theater, Mad Horse Theatre Company, Fenix Theatre Company, Ziggurat Theater, Theater at Monmouth and The Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine.
- Bradley Stone, assistant teaching professor of musical theater in the Department of Drama, is a performer, teacher and choreographer of musical theater, dance and fitness. Performance credits include the Broadway revival of “Oklahoma!” And the first national tours of “Pippin” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”
- Nan Wang, assistant teaching professor of computer art and animation in the Department of Film and Media Arts, has technical expertise that focuses on innovative art and programming solutions for game and animation pipelines.