Welcome New Faculty
Academic Year 2025-2026
MEE NA KO
School of Arts & Humanities
Teaching Specialist, Digital Studies
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MICHAEL BOONE
School of Business
Teaching Specialist, Business Administration, Hemp and Cannabis Mgmt (Spring 2025)
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MARSHA McCARTHY
School of Business
Teaching Specialist, Business Administration, Management (Spring 2025)
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TODD VON DEAK
School of Business
Teaching Specialist, Business Administration, Management
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MARIA HALKIAS
School of Education
Assistant Professor of MAED (Spring 2025)
- Ed.D. in Educational Practice and Innovation (Concentration in Curriculum Studies), University of South Carolina
- M.A. in Literacy, Fairleigh Dickinson University
- M.Ed., Montclair State University
Teaching Focus: My teaching focus includes Culturally Responsive Instruction, Structured Literacy, courses related to ESL and Bilingual Education Endorsements, and topics in Second Language Acquisition, Linguistics, and Language and Culture.
Research Focus: My research focuses on integrating criticality and reflection into the experiences of ESL and Bilingual educators. The aim is to inform best practices in multilingual education and enhance teacher professional development.
Recent Scholarship: Recent scholarship includes presentations on issues related to Social Justice in Education, focusing on language use, culture, and their impact in the classroom, and essays exploring educators' evolving expertise and strategies for fostering inclusive and equitable learning environments.
Creative Work: Collaborating with professional organizations on advocacy and professional development initiatives aimed at supporting ESL and bilingual educators, while also developing resources and strategies to enhance multilingual education practices.
CHRISTOPHER ROMAN
William T. Daly School of General Studies
Assistant Professor of Mathematics, FRST Year Studies
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STEPHEN "GRAYSON" CHAO
School of Health Sciences
Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy
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ADAM POPOWITZ
School of Health Sciences
Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy
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LAURA BIGGS
School of Natural Sciences & Mathematics
Teaching Specialist, Biology
- Ph.D. Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Utah
- B.A. Biology, Manhattanville College
Teaching Focus: Biomedical Sciences
Research Focus: Clinical Cancer Research
Recent Scholarship:
Cyanotoxin exposure as a risk factor for liver fibrosis and steatosis. Brenda Y Hernandez1, Xuemei Zhu1, Ella Macatugal2, Michelle Nagata1, Keiko Garvin1, Yvette C. Paulino2, Lynne R Wilkens1, Linda L Wong1, Annette M. David2, Laura Biggs2. 2025. (in review)
Dr. Biggs is now serving as a teaching specialist in the biology program at Stockton University after 16 years as a faculty member at the University of Guam. She specializes in teaching biomedical sciences in the Biology Program and spent the last ten years teaching Anatomy and Physiology, Human Biology, Pharmacology, Cancer Biology, Scientific Arguments, Scientific Writing, and other courses as needed. Before moving to Guam, Dr. Biggs graduated Cum Laude from Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY with a B.A. in Biology and Secondary Education. She then pursued her Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from The University of Utah studying the ameliorative effects of antiepileptic drugs on hypoxia induced brain damage. During her time at University of Utah, she also conducted educational outreach, taught in the graduate program, and earned the Harold Wolf Excellence in Teaching award. She maintained an active clinical research program studying betel nut and cyanotoxin links to cancer in Guam. When not working she loves hiking, staying fit, and having fun with her kids.
RICARDO GABRIEL
School of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Assistant Professor of Sociology
- Ph.D., The Graduate Center, City University of New York, NY
- M.A, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, NY
- BA, Hunter College, City University of New York, NY
Teaching Focus: Social movements, environmental sociology, Puerto Ricans and Latinos in the U.S.
Research Focus: Anticolonial and ecosocialist social movements.
Recent Scholarship:
Gabriel, Ricardo. “Un Macetaso al Imperialismo: Puerto Rican Studies as a Weapon Against U.S. Imperialism.” CENTRO: Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Forthcoming).
Gabriel, Ricardo. “On the Importance of Puerto Rican Studies in Middle and High School, Post-Hurricane Maria.” In Caribbean Connections: Puerto Rico, 3rd Edition, edited by Marilisa Jiménez García. Teaching for Change, 2020. https://www.teachingforchange.org/books/puerto-rico#contents
ZAN HAGGERTY
School of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Assistant Professor of Social Work (MSW)
- DSW, Doctor of Social Work, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
- MSW, Master of Social Work, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
- BA, International Human Rights & Development, George Washington University, Washington, DC
Teaching Focus: anti-oppressive clinical practice and cultural humility
Research Focus: gender affirming mental and medical health, emerging adult mental health, and chronic suicidality
Recent Scholarship:
Goldblatt Hyatt, E., & Haggerty, Z. Chapter 2: Social work and reproductive justice: A necessary fit. In Goldblatt Hyatt, E.D. (ed.). Social work and reproductive justice: A necessary fit. (2025). Oxford University Press.
Haggerty, Zan. "Queering a life worth living: A gender affirming care model for suicidal transgender emerging adults." Sexual and Gender Diversity in Social Services 36, no. 4 (2024): 487-504.
SIMONE SNYDER
School of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Teaching Specialist, Social Work
- DSW, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
- MSW, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
- BA, New York University, NY
Teaching Focus: Social Work Practice and Policy, Diversity, Oppression and Anti-Racism, Social Justice and Human Rights, Interpersonal Violence and Social Change, Birth and Reproductive Justice, Community Organizing
Research Focus: Power-Based Violence, Birth and Reproductive Justice, Obstetric Violence, Maternal Health Disparities, Radical Social Work
Recent Scholarship:
Snyder, Simone. 2024. "Understanding the Experience of Birth Professionals Who Witness Obstetric Violence." Affilia. https://doi-org.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/10.1177/08861099241293416
Snyder, Simone. 2024. "Getting to the Root: Bridging the Micro-Macro Divide Using the Critical Transformative Potential Development Framework." Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work 1 (2): 1-13. https://apsw-ojs-uh.tdl.org/apsw/article/view/24
Creative Work:
Snyder, Simone. Reclaiming Narratives. https://simonesnyder.wixsite.com/reclaimingnarratives.
KATE WORLEY
School of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Assistant Professor of Counseling MA (Spring 2025)
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