Misericordia University announces faculty promotions, tenure and emeritus status

Misericordia University announces faculty promotions, tenure and emeritus status

Misericordia University announces the promotion of one professor and the awarding of tenure and promotions to six faculty members. In addition, the university has honored one faculty member with professor emeritus status.

Kelly Filipkowski, Ph.D., was promoted to professor of psychology.

John P. Morgan, Ph.D., was promoted to associate professor, chemistry and biochemistry, and awarded tenure. Lisa Shustack, Ed.D., MSN, RN, CNE, CNEcl, was promoted to associate professor of nursing and awarded tenure.

Kristin Karnish, PT, MPH, D.Ed., associate professor of physical therapy, Maureen Rinehimer, PT, Ph.D., MS, MHS, associate professor of physical therapy, and Ryan Watson, Ph.D., associate professor of film and media studies, were each awarded tenure.

David Wright, Ph.D. professor of history, was awarded professor emeritus status following 35 years of service to the university. 

Kelly Filipkowski, Ph.D. joined the Misericordia faculty in 2010. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the State University of New York, College at Oswego; master's degrees in sport psychology from Florida State University and social psychology from Syracuse University and a Ph.D., in social psychology from Syracuse University.

Filipkowski teaches a variety of psychology courses, including Sport Psychology, Introduction to Psychology, Health Psychology, Advanced Seminar in Social Exclusion and Social Psychology. She has been published numerous times in professional journals, including the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Journal of Health Psychology, American Journal of Health Behavior and International Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

In addition to her courses, Filipkowski has served as an honors capstone thesis project advisor and an individualized undergraduate research assistant supervisor for many students. She is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, American Psychological Association, American Psychosomatic Association and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.

John P. Morgan, Ph.D. joined the Misericordia faculty in 2017. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Haverford College and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology. Morgan teaches Organic Chemistry I and II with labs as well as advanced chemistry courses.

Prior to joining Misericordia, Morgan had 12 years of teaching experience focused on all areas of chemistry from introductory to advanced courses. Early in his time at Misericordia, Morgan developed a year-long Green Chemistry Laboratory curriculum, in which each experiment was focused on one of the 12 principles of Green Chemistry as established by the American Chemical Society.

Morgan has been published in numerous professional journals, including the Journal of Chemical Education, Organic Letters, Chemical Communications and the Journal of the American Chemical Society. He is a member of the American Chemical Society.

Morgan has been an active member of the University community, including serving as chair of the Ad Hoc Committee to Revise the Graduate and Undergraduate Curriculum Proposal Guidelines, Chair of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and member of the Search Committee for the Dean of the College of Health Sciences and Education.

Lisa Shustack, Ed.D., MSN, RN, CNE, CNEcl joined the Misericordia faculty in 2017. She holds a bachelor's degree in nursing from Cedar Crest College, a master's degree in nursing from the University of Phoenix, a master's degree in education from Wilkes University and a Ph.D. in education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Since coming to Misericordia, Shustack has taught a variety of courses in the traditional undergraduate nursing program, the part-time evening undergraduate nursing program, the RN-BSN program and the accelerated bachelor of science in nursing program. These courses include the Foundations of Nursing, Functional Health Patterns in Psychiatric Nursing and Functional Health Patterns in Population.

Shustack's research and scholarly publications focus on interprofessional education and innovative teaching and learning strategies in nursing education. She has completed several peer reviews for professional and scholarly journals, including Nurse Education Today and the Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice.

She is a member of the Pennsylvania Nurses Association, the American Nurses Association, the American Association of University Professors, Misericordia University chapter and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society for All Academic Disciplines. Her service to the university includes serving on the Misericordia Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, serving on the search committee for the Service-Learning Leadership Position and a member of the University Centennial Celebration Planning Committee.

Kristin Karnish, PT, MPH, D.Ed. associate professor of physical therapy and department chairperson, joined the Misericordia faculty in 2014. She holds a graduate certificate in geriatric care management from Misericordia, a bachelor's degree in physical therapy from Thomas Jefferson University, a master's in public health from New York Medical College and a D. Ed. in adult education from The Pennsylvania State University.

Karnish teaches several courses in the physical therapy program, including Clinical Skills 1, Professional Issues 2, Aging Adult Part 1 and Physical Therapy for the Aging Adult.

She is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association and the Pennsylvania Physical Therapy Association. Karnish has been actively involved in the Misericordia community, serving on the Graduate Curriculum Committee, the Physical Therapy Department Academic Honor Council, and the Department of Physical Therapy Assessment Committee.

Maureen Rinehimer, PT, Ph.D., MS, MHS associate professor of physical therapy, joined the Misericordia faculty in 2015. She holds a bachelor's in physical therapy from the University of Pennsylvania, a master's degree in physical therapy from Temple University, a master of health science degree from Drexel University and a Ph.D. in health sciences/movement sciences division from Seton Hall University.

Rinehimer holds staff privileges at the Misericordia University Pro Bono Clinic, Balance Pediatrics and VIA of Lehigh Valley. The courses she teaches at Misericordia include Pediatric Physical Therapy, Advanced Pediatrics, Movement Science 2, Neuromuscular 2 and 3, and Alternative and Complementary Physical Therapy.

She has been published in the Indian Journal of Physical Therapy, Pro Quest and Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics. Rinehimer is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association, the Pennsylvania Therapy Association, the National Association of Neonatal Therapists and is the treasurer of the Aquatics Academy of the APTA. She has presented research posters at the American Physical Therapy Association's Combined Sections Meeting, the Pennsylvania APTA conferences and the World Physiotherapy Association in Africa and Switzerland.

She has served or serves on Misericordia's Interprofessional Education Committee, the Employee Search Committee and serves as secretary on the Graduate Curriculum Committee.

Ryan Watson, Ph.D. chairperson, department of arts, film and music and associate professor of film and media studies, joined the Misericordia faculty in 2015. He was the 2022 recipient of the Louis and Barbara Alesi Excellence in Scholarship Award. Watson holds a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University, a master's degree from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in film studies from the University of Iowa.

The classes Watson teaches include Introduction to Film Studies, Documentary Film and Video, Documentary Film: Medicine, Health & Science and Global Contemporary Cinema. He also is currently or has served as a member of the university's Core Curriculum Committee, a senator on the Faculty Senate and chairperson of the Pride Alliance, LGBTQ Faculty/Staff Group.

Watson has disseminated his scholarship on media activism via multiple venues, including many peer-reviewed journal articles, book and film reviews, interviews, digital publications, and essays in top tier and premier outlets. Many of his contributions have been published in "Studies in Documentary Film," a top ranked journal in his field; "Review of Middle East Studies," a premier journal in the field of Middle East Studies; and "Media, Culture & Society" a top 10 journal in the world in media and communication studies.

David Wright, Ph.D. professor of history, was awarded professor emeritus status following 35 years of dedicated service to the university. Wright retired in May 2023.

Wright was the 2022 recipient of the Pauly and Sidney Friedmann Excellence in Service Award as selected by the Faculty Awards Committee. He holds a bachelor's degree from Kenyon College and a M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Wright’s work spanned multiple decades. At various points of time over the past 35 years, he has served as an advisor of general studies, foreign studies and the International Club, as well as director of the Honors Program. He served on the Foreign Languages Task Force to bring foreign languages back to campus. He was a member of the Faculty Senate, Faculty Welfare Committee, Core Curriculum Review Committee, Curriculum Committee, and the Presidential Scholarship Committee. He has served on Middle States Review committees in 2003 and 2013 and was the first College of Arts and Sciences representative on the Graduate Council.

Wright occupied a multitude of leadership roles at the University. While chairing the Faculty Development Committee, Wright did foundational work on the faculty grant program.  Under his leadership, a mentorship committee was developed, and he was the founding chair of the Faculty Awards Committee.  Wright served as the Chair of the Senate from 2010 to 2014, during which time he served on a Presidential Search Committee..  As chairperson of the history department for 15 years, he sought to strengthen and expand the department by supporting the development of the Government, Law, and National Security major as well as revisions to the History and Government core curriculum. He served on numerous search committees, both in the History and Government Department and elsewhere in the university.

During his years at Misericordia, Wright contributed to scholarship in several fields. He published and made conference presentations in the fields of French history and contemporary popular culture, including science fiction and fantasy literature and television, detective fiction, and rock music. He was a co-editor of Space and Time: Essays on Visions of History in Science Fiction and Fantasy Television. Most recently, he has published peer-reviewed scholarly articles in Science Fiction Film & Television and Clues: A Journal of Detection.

The variety of courses Wright taught reflects his broad research interests. He taught survey courses in Western Civilization and European history. He also taught courses in European intellectual and cultural history, modern French history, film and history, historical research, and the history of rock music.