Faculty Fellows in Residence

Content to Come

Bryan Waterman has taught in NYU's English department since 2001. He teaches courses in American literature and the literary history of New York City. His publications include Republic of Intellect: The Friendly Club of New York City and the Making of American Literature (Johns Hopkins, 2007) and The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of New York City (forthcoming in 2010), which he co-edited with NYU professor Cyrus R. K. Patell. He is currently at work on two book projects: the history of a late-eighteenth-century New England sex scandal and a book on the 1977 album Marquee Moon, by the band Television, to be part of Continuum Publishing Company's 33 1/3 series. Stephanie Smith-Waterman holds graduate degrees in Social Work and Public Policy from NYU. She teaches graduate courses in the School of Social Work and manages Human Services Evaluation and Development Associates, a private research and consulting firm.

Bryan and Stephanie have been Faculty Fellows in Residence since 2004 and have lived with their family at Broome Street since 2007. Bryan's programs aim to engage residents with the cultural history of the city -- especially the downtown neighborhoods surrounding the residence hall -- as well as with New York's present-day arts scenes. He also coordinates the Downtown Book Club. Stephanie serves as Faculty Affiliate for the Broome Community Group, the Residential College's service organization. Together they host Salon 712, an opportunity for residents to perform for an audience of peers and professionals in their fields. 

Kristin Horton and Eliot are excited to begin their firstyear as Faculty Fellow and Pet in Residence at Carlyle Court. They look forwardto creating exciting and fun opportunities for members of the Carlyle communityto know one another and explore this remarkable neighborhood and city together.

A theater director and Clinical Assistant Professor at theGallatin School of Individualized Study, Kristin teaches courses in directing,acting Shakespeare, devising theater as well as puppetry and performingobjects. In addition to teaching at Gallatin, she also serves as the ArtisticDirector of the school’s annual arts festival. As a director, she is primarilyinterested in developing new plays that engage cross-cultural dialogue. She isexcited to explore the rich theatrical and political history of Manhattan’sLower Eastside and participating in its diverse cultural life with theresidents of Carlyle.

Eliot is a 3-year-old rescue from New Jersey. He loveswalking tours, city parks, activism (particularly for animal adoption), andmeeting new people. Look out for him in an elevator or hallway near you!  

Lorena Llosa is an Associate Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. She has a BA in English, Spanish, and French from Santa Clara University, an MA in Teaching English as a Second Language from UCLA, and a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from UCLA. Her interests are in the areas of second and foreign language learning, teaching, and assessment. At Steinhardt, she prepares future bilingual, English as a Second Language, and foreign language teachers as well as doctoral students interested in issues of language education and assessment. Originally from Argentina, Lorena has been at NYU and enjoying living in New York for six years. Prior to coming to New York, she lived in Los Angeles, California. Ask her which city she prefers.

Lucia is a four year-old, six-pound Maltipoo (Maltese/Poodle mix) who loves playing fetch with her tiny tennis ball and is expert at coercing people into giving her lots of attention. Her favorite spots are Washington Square Park and the Carlyle Courtyard. Keep an eye out for her fast wagging tail.

 Lorena and Lucia are excited to join the Carlyle Court community! They look forward to sharing with Carlyle residents fun and exciting programs that explore issues of language, culture, and diversity through music, dance, performances, tours, conversations, and lots of food!

Bob Boland has been the FFiR in Coral Towers since 2007.  Bob is a lawyer by training.  He’s been a prosecutor, defense lawyer and even a judge.  He worked as a sports agent for a decade and he’s been a Clinical Associate Professor, teaching Sports Law and Sports Business courses in the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management in SCPS, since 2001. 

A former college athlete- football and wrestling- at Columbia, Bob has become a bit of a media celebrity in recent years.  You might see Bob talking about serious sports issues like lockouts and contracts but more likely you’ll see him on TV when a famous athlete has done something scandalous and Bob’s been on Good Morning America, The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, ABC World News Tonight and CNN talking about everyone from Mike Vick to Tiger Woods.

Bob’s wife, Semone, is a senior executive with a major health insurance company and she oversees operations from California to Calcutta.  So Semone is often on the road or in the air, but when she and Bob are together in NYC, they love the city’s many zoos, its great museums and restaurants and regularly open up their apartment on Sunday mornings to share bagels, coffee and the Sunday papers with residents.   They are also the proud parents of a fierce orange kitty cat, Spencer.

Semone’s interests include: power walks; “House, M.D.” and Southern fiction.  Bob loves to play tennis, The Great Gatsby, watching “Morning Joe” and the show “Bones,” and the Mets and Jets.

Crystal Parikh is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Social and Cultural Analysis and English. She lives in Founders Hall with her husband Eric Sobie, an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Systems

Therapeutics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and their son Nikhil. Crystal loves to read, swim, snowboard, hike, and nap. Eric enjoys riding his bike, skiing, and spending long hours in the lab. Nikhil’s hobbies include swimming, reading and writing, eating ravioli, climbing anything that can be scaled, and riding roller coasters (the bigger, the better). Crystal, Eric, and Nikhil are very excited to share your first year at NYU and Founders Hall. They look forward to exploring lots of new areas with you!

Rogan Kersh is the new associate dean of academic affairs at NYU's Wagner School, among the nation's top-ranked public policy schools, where he is also a professor of public service. Prior to coming to NYU, Rogan taught at Yale and Syracuse universities. His expertise is in American politics, especially at the federal level (Congress, presidency, interest groups) and U.S. political history. He's currently writing a book on the politics of obesity--asking questions like 'should the government regulate the food we eat?'--and publishes both in scholarly journals and more popular outlets like the New York Times. Rogan frequently comments on TV, radio, and print outlets, so you might see him on CNN or Bloomberg soon. He's a native of the West Village (12th Street), though has also lived on a Greek island, in the mountains of North Carolina, and in Tokyo, London, Venice (Italy), and several U.S. cities. He's a lifelong Mets fan and plays saxophone, piano, and clarinet.

Invited speakers: Sen. Joe Lieberman (depends on Senate scheduling), Irshad Manji ("The Trouble With Islam"), Brookings Institution president (and international-security expert) Strobe Talbott, and Yale Law professor Peter Schuck, an expert on diversity and education. Likely others as well!

And be on the lookout for: political-theater series (from obscure Off- Broadway to Kevin Kline in King Lear), "Organization Kid" reading group, and Washington Career Consultations for seniors and underclassmen interested in D.C. internships.  

Philip Kain is currently the curriculum chair for writing in the Global Liberal Studies. As a dancer and performance artist Philip’s work has been seen at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, City Center, The Joyce, and Dance Theater Workshop among others. His cultural reviews and freelance writing have appeared in regional and national publications. He has written screenplays and for television but is currently focused on writing books for tweens. His most recent series, “The Social Experiments of Dorie Dilts” was published by Simon & Schuster and a new series of books, “The Go-See Chronicles” is scheduled to be released by S&S in 2011.

William Crow holds an M.F.A in Painting and an M. S. Ed. in Leadership in Museum Education. He is currently completing his Ph. D. in Cognitive Studies while working as Associate Museum Educator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. William has lectured on art and museum education around the world. Most recently he was invited to speak at the Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid and the Centro Cultural Recoleta in Buenos Aires. As an artist William has exhibited his paintings at galleries in New York and has had solo and group shows around the country. 

Philip and William enjoy traveling to Spain and Latin America when they can and consider Buenos Aires to be their favorite destination. They frequently camp in the Catskills and Adirondacks but can often be found bicycling on the greenways that encircle Manhattan or gardening on their terrace.  

Olivia Birdsall has been teaching writing at NYU since 2002. A Language Lecturer in the Expository Writing Program, Olivia has taught creative and expository writing at NYU, NYU’s London Summer Study Abroad program, and as an artist-in-residence at NYC public schools.

In addition to teaching and writing, Olivia enjoys being outdoors, eating delicious food, talking about interesting things, looking at compelling art (of all kinds), listening to good stories and music, hanging out with brilliant people and reading mind-blowing writing. As the FFIR at Gramercy Green (the newest item on her list of things she enjoys), most of the events she’ll sponsor will likely involve one or more of those things.

She also asks that you make her aware of any wonders or pastimes that should be added to her list.

Content to Come

Michael Dinwiddie is a playwright and associate professor at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study.  His teaching interests include cultural studies, African American theatre history, dramatic writing, filmmaking, and ragtime music.  A Gallatin graduate, Michael earned his M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.  His course offerings include Migration and American Culture; Dramatizing History I & II; Poets in Protest: Footsteps to Hip Hop; James Reese Europe and American Music; Sissle, Blake, and the Minstrel Tradition; and Buenos Aires: Art, Culture & Politics.  Michael received NYU’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2004.  “We will be visiting lots of museums, taking walking tours of New York’s ethnic neighborhoods, and integrating the city into the life of the dorm.”   

A professor in the Department of French, John teaches courses in language, literature, linguistics, and history.  He also oversees the department’s language program.  Kennith is an Assistant Director in the Division of Arts and Humanities at the School of Continuing and Professional Studies as well as a published poet.  John and Kennith love living in Hayden Hall and try every year to devise a schedule of intellectually stimulating and fun-filled events and activities, including creative writing workshops, museum visits, explorations of different neighborhoods, guest speakers, book clubs, Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, and much, much more.  Zola is the unofficial canine mascot of Hayden Hall.

Meet Matt, Sarah, and Eli Mayhew, the Faculty Family in Residence for Lafayette Hall. Matt (matt.mayhew@nyu.edu) is an assistant professor of higher education the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. He holds a BA in Psychology from Wheaton College, a MA in Social and Developmental Psychology from Brandies University and a PhD in Higher Education Administration from the University of Michigan, the institution with the unequivocally best football program in the history of the
nation. On the contrary, Sarah (mayhew.sarah@hotmail.com), his wife, received her BA in Psychology from Michigan State University, the institution with one of the worst football programs in the country. (Can you guess who wrote the
bios?) After surviving her Spartan experience, she moved to Virginia where she received her MSW from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is currently a licensed clinical social worker providing treatment to clients struggling with alcohol and drug addiction.

The uniting force in this divided household is our twelve month old (as of August 8th), Eli, who enjoys eating, playing, playing drums on/with his high chair, and being the center of attention wherever he goes. A future Wolverine fan, Eli is sensitive to his mother’s ailing alma mater and consoles her with kisses and cuddles whenever he can. 

Fred is a Clinical Professor in the Robert Preston Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in applied research, human resource management, customer relationship management and professional development. Before NYU, he ran his own consulting, training, and life coaching business.

Maurice is National Program Leader for Public Policy, Interim National Program Leader for Higher Education Programs, and Special Emphasis Program Manager for GLBT at the United States Department of Agriculture Headquarters, Washington DC. Being new to Lafayette, we look forward to learning more about the city and this neighborhood. We also have a house in DC and a house in upstate New York. We like good food, good books, trips, theater, concerts, movies, good music, and good people. And we like to spend time with our newest granddaughter, almost a year old. Come join us for dinners, programs, museum trips, and other activities during the year.

Hello all.  Hopelessly in love with New York City, but a relative newcomer to NYU, I am very excited by the honor and opportunity to fill in David Scicchitano's shoes as a Faculty Fellow for Palladium, as well as Fellow for the Science and Technology floor.  A big believer that knowledge matters when you can see how it matters, I take seriously NYU's commitment to extend the classroom and use the city and residences to deepen the answer to your individual questions as to "what is this college experience for?"  I look forward to a great year for all of you, and to make living here make a meaningful difference to each of you. 

I am a psychiatrist and an Associate Professor in the NYU School of Medicine, and spend my days as Deputy Director, Psychiatry, Bellevue Hospital.  Also having earned a doctorate in history, my day job in making a large public mental health operation work, fits well with my academic interest in the social and historical context of medicine and public health so as to spur a range of projects in the School of Medicine.  These include exploring new ways to impact mental health both in US urban, and international developing country contexts, and trying to at the same time take some useful historical takes on all of that. 

I look forward to getting to know all of you, and you me, as well as my family, here at Palladium.  Again, Welcome!, and congratulations on being part of a great learning community.

Professor Renée Blake holds a BSc in Biology, and MA & PhD in Linguistics from Stanford University. Her research focuses on issues of language contact, race, ethnicity and class in several U.S. communities and the Caribbean. She has published on the role of language in social interactions & relations, and has lectured across the country on African American English, Language & Communication, Language & Politics, Race, Class & Language Ideology and Diasporic Migration. 

Heidi White (heidi.white@nyu.edu) teaches philosophy in the Global Liberal Studies Program. This spring she will be teaching a seminar titled “Global Justice and the Global Citizen.”  Heidi, an avid traveler, has studied French in Bordeaux, German in Dresden and Spanish in Tapachula, Mexico.  As a Peace Corps volunteer, she served in Zielona Gora, Poland, and she has also taught English as a volunteer in rural Thailand and rural Mexico.  She has been twice recipient of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst for graduate studies at the University of Leipzig and at the Karls-Eberhard University in Tubingen.  She holds a Ph.D. and a M.A. in Philosophy (New School for Social Research), a M.A. in Humanities (University of Texas at Dallas) and a B.A. in Philosophy (Texas A & M University).  She is currently working on a book on William James.

“As a Faculty-Fellow-in-Residence, I have the opportunity to live and learn with my students while exploring with them the intellectual and cultural life of New York City.  Last year, for example, we presented a black-tie performance and art festival (The Annual Rubin Performs), we learned to sail aboard a schooner at the South Street Seaport, and we provided after-school tutorials for children living in a nearby homeless shelter (Rubin Volunteers for Children).  We toured the Metropolitan Museum of Art, attended a variety of productions -- Chinese Opera, the Broadway musical, Hair, and Sartre’s play, No Exit (with a talkback with the director and actors).  We listened to the stories of an Indian charity founder speak about his work with Mother Theresa and we heard the stories of Nicolas Kristof, award-winning NY Times journalist and author of Half the Sky.  Not only has the city become our classroom, Rubin Hall has become my home and the students my neighbors.”       

Information To Come

Joe Salvatore is on the faculty of the Program in Educational Theatre at New York University where he teaches courses in acting, directing, Shakespeare, applied theatre, and theatre pedagogy.  He also directs the program’s Shakespeare Initiative, which includes the touring Shakespeare to Go company, the Shakespeare Youth Ensemble, and the Looking for Shakespeare summer youth program.  Joe holds an MFA in Theater (Dramaturgy/Directing) from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and an Honors BA in History from the University of Delaware. He is also a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. He lives as a Faulty Fellow in Residence in NYU’s Third Avenue North residence hall in the East Village with his cats, Buster and Dusty.  For more information about his work as a director and playwright, please visit www.joesalvatore.com. 

John and Margaret are both chemists and we both teach in the General Chemistry program here at NYU. Since Gen Chem is one of the largest programs at NYU, many of you already know us from taking the course. If so, let’s get reacquainted! If not, we would like very much to meet YOU! John came to NYU as an undergraduate and has never left. Margaret came for graduate school and is now back to teach. Our son Oliver is an NYU graduate, now off in graduate school. Our daughter, Ellen, enters NYU this year. NYU has been a family tradition for us. We’re looking forward to a new experience, and a much larger family, as we join the University Hall community!

This will be our first year as Faculty Fellows and we are very excited to have the opportunity to join the UHall community. We hope to help you to make the most of your experience, within UHall, everywhere at NYU, and throughout the city. The opportunities here are boundless and we can all have a wonderful time exploring!

A Music Assistant Professor in Steinhardt's department of Music and Performing Arts Professions, Brian teaches private voice lessons and courses in Vocal Pedagogy. Passionate about all aspects of voice, Brian is a vocologist and works in conjunction with faculty in Communicative Sciences and Disorders and Langone Medical Center helping habilitate/rehabilitate voices. Brian plans to bring his love for music and meditation to the students of U-hall. This will include meditation sessions, jam sessions, trips to Broadway shows/Opera/Concerts, and much more.

His wife, Kim, is an adjunct professor in the same department where she teaches private voice to classical and musical theater majors. A lover of cooking, Kim looks forward to sharing her passion with the students of U-hall. First on the schedule will be monthly breakfasts!

Kim and Brian have two children, Thomas (3) and Ian (1), who are thrilled to be surrounded by so many wonderful people in U-hall! They both love music, playing with trucks, riding anything with wheels, singing, eating (especially cookies...yes!), and contemplating the meaning of life as they breathe in...and out...

We all look forward to sharing some great times with everyone in U-hall!!