Honors Faculty

Kathwari Honors Faculty represent a broad spectrum of departmental affiliations and disciplinary specializations in alignment with the program’s commitment to interdisciplinary inquiry and research opportunities. The following members of the Honors Faculty serve four-year terms and teach one Honors course per academic year.

Dr. Brian Clements

Creative and Professional Writing

Dr. Brian Clements is Director of the Kathwari Honors Program and Professor of Creative and Professional Writing. He is author or editor of over a dozen collections of poetry, including, most recently, A Book of Common Rituals (Quale Press) and the New York Times New & Noteworthy anthology Bullets into Bells: Poets & Citizens Respond to Gun Violence (Beacon Press). His 200-day project Every Atom: Reflections on Whitman at 200 collected commentaries from 200 writers at North American Review. He was the founding Coordinator of WCSU’s MFA in Creative and Professional Writing.

Dr. Marsha Daria

Educational Psychology

Dr. Marsha Prophet Daria teaches courses in Educational Psychology, Action Research, and Standards, Mandates, and Legal Issues. She holds a PhD in Health Education from Texas Woman’s University, a master’s degree in Education Administration from the University of North Texas, and a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Columbia College. Before moving to Connecticut in 1995, she was an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas, Arlington. She taught and served as dean and principal in elementary schools in Missouri and Texas. Dr. Daria’s research interests include school health matters, educational psychology, and issues affecting multiracial children. She currently leads the Diversity at the University program, an initiative that brings diverse fifth grade students to campus to learn about college. Dr. Daria produced and directed two documentary films: Mixed and Matched: An Examination of Self Identity and Social Relationships of Multi-Racial Youth and Teachers of Color: Missing in Action.

Dr. Jennifer Duffy

History, Philosophy, and World Perspectives

Dr. Jennifer Nugent Duffy earned her PhD in American Studies from New York University.  Her teaching interests include Modern U.S. History, Immigration, and Urban History, as well as Irish American History. She is the author of Who’s Your Paddy? Racial Expectations and the Struggle for Irish American Identity (NYU Press), which explores how Irish immigrants have been and continue to be socialized around race in the United States. 

Professor Terrence P. Dwyer

Justice and Law Administration

Professor Dwyer earned a B.A. from Fordham University and a J.D. from Pace University School of Law. He is admitted to practice law in New York and Connecticut. Professor Dwyer retired from the New York State Police in 2007 after a 22-year career, of which 17½ years were as an Investigator in the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI). His assignments were with the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), NYS Organized Crime Task Force, Troop K BCI, U.S. DOJ Safe Streets Task Force, and the Troop K Violent Crimes Investigative Team (Major Crimes Unit). From 1993-2001 he served in the U.S. Naval Reserve and was honorably discharged in 2001. Professor Dwyer is the author of three textbooks, several peer-reviewed academic articles, and is a featured columnist for Police1.com.
Though now retired from his law practice, Professor Dwyer serves as pro bono referral counsel for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (F.I.R.E.), based in Washington D.C.

Dr. Casey Jordan

Justice and Law Administration

Dr. Casey Jordan holds a BA in Political Science, Law, and Society from the University of Tulsa, an M.A. in Criminal Justice from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a J.D. from Quinnipiac College of Law, and a PhD in Criminology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Dr. Jordan is a criminologist and attorney with more than thirty years of university teaching, mediation, scholarly research, and criminal justice consulting experience. Grant-funded research and scholarly articles include studies on homicide trends, serial killing and mass homicide, human trafficking, victimology, and police studies,  as featured in the Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement and the Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment. She appeared in TruTV’s reality show “Unsolved Murder Unit,” where she teamed with a forensic pathologist and police detective to reprocess evidence and develop leads in unsolved homicide cases. A CNN legal analyst for 20+ years, Dr. Jordan hosted ID’s hit series, “Wives with Knives” and has provided live commentary on 3000+ crime stories and live trials in broadcast media.

Dr. Wenguang Lin

Finance

Dr. Wenguang Lin holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Louisiana State University and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. His research primarily focuses on investments, with work on diversification returns featured in Bloomberg News. Building on advancements in data science, his recently published paper, “Darling, Time Horizon Matters,” highlights the importance of prediction time horizons in improving trading accuracy. Dr. Lin’s teaching interests include investments and data analytics at the Ancell School of Business, where he has taught courses such as Investment Analysis & Portfolio Management, Fixed Income Securities, Financial Engineering, and Business Data Analytics. Additionally, he has contributed expert commentary to WalletHub.

Dr. Leslie Lindenauer

History, Philosophy, and World Perspectives

Dr. Leslie Lindenauer is a Professor in the Department of History, Philosophy, and World Perspectives. She teaches courses in early American history, public history and museum studies, local history, and gender studies. Her research interests include popular memory and witch trials, gender and the construction of motherhood in popular culture, and the role of collective identity and public memory, including popular memory and the American Revolution. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from Brown University and a master of arts and PhD from New York University. Her book I Could Not Call Her Mother: The Stepmother in American Popular Culture, 1750-1960 was published by Lexington Books. She lives in New Haven with her husband and two pups.

Dr. Chuck Rocca

Math

Dr. Chuck Rocca graduated from SUNY Potsdam in 1995 with a bachelor of arts in Math and Philosophy and a master of arts in Math. He completed his PhD in Mathematics at SUNY Albany in 2001. While his research initially focused on Group Theory, he has also published articles related to the history of mathematics and cryptology, and the use of history, cryptology, and games in the classroom. Most recently he published an article in the College Math Journal, “Roll with Advantage,” exploring probabilities related to tabletop RPGs. In his free time, he enjoys running, hiking, camping, reading, and playing games. Dr. Rocca has three children, one guinea pig, and one dog.

Dr. Joshua Rosenthal

History, Philosophy, and World Perspectives

Dr. Joshua Rosenthal is a historian of Latin American History. He has taught courses on Latin American history at WCSU since 2006, and more recently, he has taught a course on Atlantic Slavery. For the Honors program, he is offering a class on Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian cultural form, and another on grappling with history and historical representation on social media. Dr. Rosenthal has published critical essays on Capoeira, but his research focus is on nineteenth-century Colombia. His book Salt and the Colombian State. Local Society and Regional Monopoly in Boyacá, 1821-1900 (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2012) was translated and published as La sal y el Estado colombiano. Sociedad local y monopolio regional en Boyacá, 1821-1900 (Editorial Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, 2010), which is one of the highlights of his career. He has published a few other articles on Colombia and is working on a second book examining petitions for clemency by people accused of the crime of “treason, sedition, and rebellion” during the civil wars that took place between 1832 and 1858. He love footnotes.

Dr. Kerry Walker

Music

Dr. Kerry Walker is Professor of Flute at Western Connecticut State University. She has played Principal Flute with the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, The Ives Orchestra, Connecticut Little Symphony and Camerata New York. She performs with the chamber groups, Manhattan String quartet, Prometheus, Ridge Winds, Dual Excursions, Madera Winds and the Walker/Woodruff duo. Walker’s instructors have included, Julius Baker, (with whom she performed duo recitals in 1995 and 2000) Judith Bentley, Geoffrey Gilbert and Michael Stoune. While maintaining her flute studio, Dr. Walker directed The Julius Baker Master Classes for 20 years held annually at Western Connecticut State University. Walker is a Yamaha performing artist and clinician. Her CD American Chamber music for the Flute was released in 2017. Dr. Walker loves teaching for the  Kathwari Honors Program because of how it creates a family of friends who inspire and challenge each other. Dr. Walker teaches the honors courses Music, Universal Language of Peace and Performing (Life with Less) Anxiety.

Honors Adjunct Faculty

Our stellar group of Adjunct Honors Faculty contribute to the health and mission of our program with important courses in unique areas that don’t exist elsewhere in the university, or, in fact, at all in many universities. Most of our adjunct faculty teach one Honors course per academic year. 

Christel Autuori

Institute for Holistic Health Studies

Christel Autuori has been an adjunct professor and Director of the Institute for Holistic Health Studies at WCSU since 2014. Christel, a Duke Integrative Medicine trained and certified Professional Integrative Health Coach, holds a Masters degree in Integrative Health and Healing, and is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, specializing in Lifestyle Medicine. She is also a yoga teacher and trainer, reiki master, holistic stress management instructor, and registered dental hygienist. Christel is a former faculty member at the University of Bridgeport and is the founder and owner of Integrative Health of Connecticut, LLC. She is the recipient of many honors, most recently the 2023 Outstanding Faculty Member of the School of Professional Studies. Christel teaches HON 498-01, Positive Health and Stress Management, and will teach a new Honors class in fall, 2025, Ancient Approaches to Modern Maladies. She also teaches HPX 240, Principles of Holistic and Integrative Health, and HPX 105, Stress Management, Self Care & Success, and HPX 198 FYE. 

Dr. Liang-Fang Chang

Music

Pianist Liang-Fang Chang has appeared in numerous solo recitals in the United States, Thailand, and her homeland Taiwan. She recorded many contemporary works for the Center for New Music, and the CD was internationally released on the Albany label commemorating the Center’s 40th Anniversary. Chang earned her Bachelor of Music with the highest honors from the Fu-Jen University in Taiwan and her Master of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She received her Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Iowa. Dr. Chang is also an honorary member of The Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society. Currently, Dr. Chang is an adjunct faculty in both Western Connecticut State University and CT State Community College at Naugatuck Valley. She also serves as the Director of Music Ministries at the Saugatuck Congregational Church in Westport.

Geshe Lobsang Dhargey

Ethics and Compassion

Geshe Lobsang Dhargey received his ordination as a novice monk in 1982 from the late Kyabje Ling Rinpoche, the senior tutor of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and the 97th Throne Holder of the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He then received the vows of a fully ordained monk, a Bikshu, in 1994 directly from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After 15 years of study, Geshe-la appeared for the All Gelupga Monastic University examination in 1998 and was awarded the highest monastic degree, that of Geshe Lharampa. Geshe-la has taught Ethics and Compassion in the Kathwari Honors Program for many years and is now the Resident Teacher at Do Ngak Kunphen Ling in Redding, CT.

Greyson Hong

Art

Greyson Hong earned their MFA in Video and Performance from Bard College and their BFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. They are a multimedia artist, primarily working in video, performance, and installation. Their work draws from diasporic narratives and queer theory to investigate identity, the body, and lived experience through memory, loss, and personal histories, often using data to challenge the boundary between objective facts and subjective understanding. Greyson has exhibited their work in group and solo shows, including solo exhibitions at Artspace in New Haven and 4th Ward Project Space in Chicago, with screenings at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Their work has been published in Queering Contemporary Asian American Art, and they have taught courses at institutions such as the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Bridgeport. 

Pano Koukopoulos

Emergency Management

Pano joined WCSU in 2003 as an administrator. He currently serves the University as the Director of Emergency Management and EHS Programs. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University, and a Master of Arts in Oceanography and Limnology from WCSU. He has been instructing in various capacities since 2000 and has delivered over 7,000 hours of training and education. Pano has been an instructional member of the Kathwari Honors Program since 2019, teaching “Navigating Life – a survival guide to thrive in the real world.”

Professor Alexis Koukos

Education

Professor Koukos has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Financial Accounting from Western Connecticut State University, graduated from the Kathwari Honors Program, and was the recipient of the 2016 Henry Barnard Distinguished Student Award. She holds a Master of Science in Education Entrepreneurship from University of Pennsylvania where her capstone project focused on creating an environment that fosters peer-to-peer support and authentic connection. She is the executive director of Danbury Student and Business Connection, a nonprofit organization with a mission of building the character and confidence of students in grades K-12 through one-on-one mentorship and preparing students for the transition to college and the workforce. Professor Koukos is passionate about inspiring students to discover and sharpen their strengths and find joy in their journey as well as building a sense of community and service.

Dr. Averell Manes

Political Science

Dr. Averell Manes is an Emeritus and adjunct Professor of Political Science and Conflict Resolution, Western Connecticut State University, and a Faculty Affiliate for the Program on the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration for Syracuse University. For more than 35 years, she taught political science, research methodology, peace studies, and conflict resolution courses, at WCSU, Washington State University (WSU), and SU and she has been a practicing conflict analysis and resolution specialist. Dr. Manes received her doctorate and master’s degrees in political science, comparative politics, and conflict resolution, at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at SU and her bachelor’s degree, in international relations and Middle East Studies, at McGill University, in Montreal, Canada. Dr. Manes is active in her volunteerism and is currently writing a book titled We Win! A Guide to Successful Negotiation.

Dr. Lisa René Reynolds

Psychology

Dr. Lisa René Reynolds has Master of Science and PhD degrees in Marriage and Family Therapy. She is a licensed MFT in New York and Connecticut with a fully certified telehealth practice. Additionally, Dr. Reynolds is currently the Assistant Director of Faculty in the online Master’s program in Marriage and Family Therapy at Northwestern University in the Chicago area. She has also served as chair on the AAMFT Ethics Committee, is a current member of both the Judicial Committee and the Code of Ethics Revision Task Force at AAMFT, and has presented at several AAMFT conferences. She was the co-creator of the Focus on Kids high-conflict divorce parenting program for the state of Connecticut and has written several self-help books and mainstream articles on this topic. Her most recent publication is entitled, Creative Play in Family Therapy: Effective Strategies and Interventions for Child-Centered Treatment (2025). Additionally, her frontline involvement in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in 2012 led her to much research and work with communities impacted by such traumatic experiences.

Allison Valentino

Compassion and Ethics

Previous to joining the adjunct faculty at Western Connecticut State, Allison Valentino taught Alternative Medicine and Holistic Health at Southern Connecticut State University for seventeen years. During that time, she lectured on topics as disparate as aromatherapy, Ayurveda, and lucid dreaming. Currently, she is co-teaching Advanced Compassion and Ethics with Geshe Lobsang Dhargey. She may also be seen around campus presenting on topics such as Healthy Relationships, Bystander Intervention, and Understanding Trauma as part of her work as a Prevention Educator for the Center for Empowerment and Education. Allison is thrilled to be a part of the faculty at WCSU.

Professor Dirck Westervelt

Music

Professor Dirck Westervelt plays, studies, and teaches music. He has performed many genres of music, including the music of Zimbabwe, the Cajun and Zydeco music of rural Louisiana, old-time Appalachian, blues, swing, and early country music. He has recorded with Djelimady Tounkara, Toumani Diabate, Bassekou Kouyate of Mali, Thomas Mapfumo, and Anthony Braxton. He taught piano, bass, banjo, guitar, and percussion at the Chase Collegiate School and World Music at Western Connecticut State University. In the Honors Program at WCSU he teaches World Music, The Early History of American Music, Survey of Latin Music, Tai-Chi, and Zen Buddhism. Outside of music, Westervelt has a strong background in physics and math, speaks French fluently, and has a working knowledge of Bambara, a Malian language, and Shona, which people speak in Zimbabwe. Dirck is an avid sailor and teaches off-shore cruising navigation and sailboat systems out of Rhode Island.