Faculty Research Interests

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Jill D. Black

Jill D. Black

Associate Dean of College of Health & Human Services

My research interests are in the areas of local community engagement and service-learning, international service-learning and clinical education, global health competencies, pro bono service, student leadership development, and oncological rehab.

Nancy Blank

My research interests include the impact of experiential (e.g. service-learning, diversity) learning on university student outcomes, the development and assessment of literacy programs for youthful offenders, and mental health among justice-involved female youth.

Robert Bonk profile picture

Robert J. Bonk

Professor of Professional Writing

My research focuses on writing techniques in healthcare. I've published three books in this area, as well as numerous journal articles, such as analyses of Medicare manuals for their targeted audience of senior citizens. I am also active in the open education movement. Because many of my courses have experiential components, I've also published and presented on applied projects that benefit our community. Fortunately, my research interests have allowed me to travel throughout Europe—from Spain and Italy in the southwest to Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland in central and Eastern Europe. Just like my courses, my research emphasizes the applications of writing in professional contexts.

Bret A. Boyer

Although my research interests are broad, most of my research investigates the relationships between psychological factors and adjustment to chronic physical health conditions. These studies have explored relationships among variables such as family functioning, anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress and adjustment, self-management, rehabilitation, and medical outcomes for individuals experiencing diabetes, cancer, spinal cord injury, and cardiac conditions. I am also interested in the development and application of therapies to help individuals, couples, and families who face chronic health conditions, and in the integration of therapeutic methods toward optimal effectiveness for these problems. I have piloted many interventions utilizing imagery as a medium for exploration and intervention. I have also worked in primary care medical settings, specialty care medical settings, and physical medicine & rehabilitation settings over the years, integrating psychological services into the integrated interdisciplinary medical care.

Kevin Boyer

Kevin J. Boyer

Assistant Teaching Professor

My research interests include the pathology of bacteria, diagnostic bacteriology, pathology of protozoan parasites, electron and light microscopy, and human anatomy and physiology.

Mark Bradley

My research interests include a wide range of topics in inorganic and organometallic chemistry. For several years, I have been investigating inorganic compounds such as amine-boranes for their ability to store and deliver hydrogen for use in fuel-cell powered automobiles.

I have also published work involving the synthesis of boranes and carboranes in ionic liquids and the production by chemical vapor deposition of boron nitride nanotubes from borazine. These projects stem from my interest in inorganic materials with unusual chemical and physical properties.

Kerri C. Brannen

My research interests are related to organizational behavior and human resources with specific interests in emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence, social intelligence, and leadership, which are all areas that have current relevance to researchers and practitioners.  More recently, I have found that the cultural intelligence field is such an emerging area that there are many opportunities to create new research streams that I believe I will be focusing more on in the future. Additionally, I have become interested in online social networks and their implications for expatriates and repatriates.  

Briana Bronstein

My research interests include the use of evidence-based practices in school and community-based settings for individuals with disabilities and teacher training, specifically in under-served communities.

Charlene M Brown headshot
  • Person-centered being, doing, connecting, and facilitating
  • Experiential learning and experiences
  • Integrating mind, body, spirit, and environment in practical ways
  • Bringing transpersonal skills to the everyday
  • Identity/formulation of Black women and girls
  • Women and Girls of Color and their many intersecting identities 
  • How women and their collective actions will change the world
  • Black daughter-mother dynamics
Vicki L. Brown

My research interests are focused on the characterization and use of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites as a substitute for steel in reinforced concrete construction. My work encompasses both internal reinforcement for new construction and external reinforcement for strengthening and repair of existing structures, contributing to the development of an innovative technique for mechanically-fastening FRP laminates to the tension soffit of concrete beams.

As a fellow of the American Concrete Institute, I was recently appointed chairman of the ACI international committee that is tasked with developing code language for the design of structural concrete reinforced with FRP bars.

Jawanza R. Bundy

My research focuses on mentoring and parental involvement in the college-going process of African American students pursuing nursing education. Specifically it focuses on how these strategies facilitate the recruitment and retention of minority students in nursing education programs. In addition my research interest includes reducing health care disparities and inequalities by diversifying the nursing workforce and improving healthcare outcomes among this population.

Caroline Campbell 260x300

My current research interests are community and collective models of trauma healing, transformative teaching in social work, mind-body interventions, social work practitioner wellbeing, and collective care and culturally grounded interventions in social work.

Margo M. Campbell

We live in a world where employment is an expectation and often a requirement for accessing certain safety net supports, such as TANF. Yet, we are also in an era where stable work may be fleeting at best. Given this situation, my research interests have centered on the effects that this precarious condition can have on families' material and emotional well-being.

Currently, I am studying the relationship between families' economic vulnerability and children's social-emotional competence with a focus on family processes. In future research, I plan a continued investigation of the impact of economic vulnerability on family well-being, expanding this inquiry to gain a richer understanding of individual families' experiences with, and responses to, economic vulnerability and the consequent influence on family and child well-being. I am also interested in better understanding intersectionality of identities, particularly those identities that are outside of the dominant culture, and experiences of precarity.

By identifying the interactive effects that system, family, and individual-level experiences can have on the well-being of children and families, my research is intended to build policymakers' and practitioners' understanding of policies' and conditions' impact on families, thereby enabling appropriate policy and programmatic responses to be identified and implemented. In particular, I aim to conduct research that informs social workers' micro- and macro-level responses (ideally in an integrated manner), and by doing so, facilitates social and economic justice and social change.

Annalisa Castaldo

My current research interest is how magic was performed on the early modern stage and how magic interacts with gender norms. I also enjoy the work of editing editions of early modern plays.

Monique Chabot

My research interests focus primarily on geriatrics and aging in place through home modifications, health promotion programming, smart technology, and designing livable communities.  I am also interested in the impact of international service learning on healthcare students' professional development. I enjoy exploring the  interprofessional collaboration between designers and occupational therapists, including pedagogical best practices to facilitate collaborations within academic programs. Finally, I have been researching the effects of sensory strategies to affect the mental health of two distinct groups of people: older adults in late stage dementia and university students experiencing increased stress and anxiety.