Get to know some fresh faces: Meet some of the Professors recently hired at MSU

While New Jersey's State’s budget presented MSU with major challenges for the 2007 fiscal year, it did not deter the University from continuing to build its faculty. Some 38 new tenure-track colleagues joined the faculty on September 1¾over half of them in newly created lines.

A talented and diverse group, the University’s newest faculty came to Montclair State after having earned their doctorates from a broad cross-section of 34 universities, including Harvard, Yale, Brown, Michigan, Ohio State, Northwestern, Texas and UCLA.

This new faculty cohort brings the number to 280 tenure-track faculty members hired since 1998, a number that comfortably exceeds half of the total number of faculty on campus this fall.

Take a closer look at a few of the faculty who have joined us in the recent years.

Professor Amanda Birnbaum, who joined Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences in fall of 2005, holds her doctorate in Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. She came to Montclair State from the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and her scholarship focuses on health promotion and social and contextual influences on health behaviors among adolescents. Her scholarship has been published in important journals, including Health Education and Behavior, Health Education Research, The Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, and The Journal of School Health. She is the recipient of a major grant from the National Cancer Institute entitled "Involving Adolescents in Physical Activity Promotion."

Professor Paul Bologna, who joined the Department of Biology and Molecular Biology in fall of 2003, received his Ph.D. from the University of South Alabama in Marine Science. He is currently director of our Aquatic and Coastal Sciences Program. Professor Bologna has received funding from the Barnegat Bay Estuary Program and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to examine harmful algae blooms. He has published in the prestigious Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology and remains active in the NSF-sponsored Faculty Institute for Reforming Science Teaching.

Professor Paul Hostetter, who joined the Music faculty in fall of 2004, holds a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School and is director of Orchestral Studies in our Cali School of Music. He serves as music director and conductor of the Colonial Symphony in Morristown, and he has conducted the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the New York City Opera, the Philharmonia Virtuosi, and the Delaware Symphony Orchestra. Under Prof. Hostetter’s direction, the MSU Symphony Orchestra has grown significantly in both size and quality.

Professor Prudence Jones, who joined the Classics Department in fall of 2004, earned her Ph.D. from Harvard University in Classical Philology. She comes to Montclair State from visiting professorships at Bryn Mawr College and Rutgers University. She recently published the book Reading Rivers in Roman Literature and Culture, and another work, Cleopatra: A Sourcebook, is slated for publication this fall. In addition to publishing her own research, Professor Jones reviews manuscripts for The Classical Outlook, The Classical Journal, and Oxford University Press.

Professor Avi Mukherjee, who joined the Marketing Department in fall 2004, earned his doctorate at the Indian Institute of Management and came to the School of Business from the Black School of Business at Pennsylvania State University. Professor Mukherjee has created a three-dimensional model that integrates methodological, substantive, and sectoral interests in management studies. His numerous publications have appeared in The Journal of Services Marketing, The Journal of Retailing, The Journal of Marketing Management, and The International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management. With Suresh Pradhan, Professor Mukhejee recently published a book on Pharmaceutical Marketing.