Muhlenberg College Announces Faculty Promotions

Muhlenberg College is pleased to announce the following faculty members have been granted tenure and promoted to the title of associate professor by the Board of Trustees.

 Monday, January 30, 2012 09:58 AM

Troy Dwyer, theatre,  received his M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin and his B.A. from Oglethorpe University.  He is a writer/actor who has devised and performed in new experimental theatre at venues throughout the United States, including Theater Artaud (San Francisco), Velocity Dance Center (Seattle), The Painted Bride (Philadelphia), The Riant Theatre (NYC), Horizon Theatre Company (Atlanta), and many others. His original works for the stage include dance theatre epics such as World Headquarters and Caw (both with Charles O. Anderson), new musicals such as Lures and Snares (with Beth Schachter), and performance art such as Journey/Cave (with Tim Miller). Along with Holly Cate and Jim Peck, Mr. Dwyer is a founding member of the theatre company Parade Ground Unit. His scholarly writings on queerness, voice, and acting have appeared in leading academic journals such as Theatre Journal and The Voice & Speech Review.

Dr. Gretchen Gotthard, psychology and neuroscience, received her Ph.D. from Kent State University and her B.S. from the University of North Dakota.  She teaches courses in psychology and neuroscience, and conducts research on learning and memory. Prior to coming to Muhlenberg, Gotthard taught at Randolph College, and Carleton College.

Dr. William “Chip” Gruen, religion studies, received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, his M.A. from the University of Cincinnati and is B.S. from the University of Kentucky.  His current research most current research examines issues of symbol and meaning in ancient Christian text and art, and he is actively pursuing projects that deal with issues of religious and ethnic identity in the ancient southeast Mediterranean.

Dr. Roland Kushner, business, has a B.A. in History from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and M.B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Lehigh University.  He teaches courses in management, small business management, arts administration, nonprofit management, as well as the capstone strategic management course in the business program.

Dr. Eileen McEwan, French, received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her B.A. and M.A from the University of Notre Dame.    She specializes in Francophone cultures and Second Language Acquisition. She teaches Conversation and Composition, French for the Professions, 17-century and 18th-century literature, Quebecois literature and culture, and first-and second-year language courses. She also serves as advisor to the French Club. She has recently begun research on Franco-American communities in New England, exploring and recording oral histories and archives for an upcoming documentary project.

Dr. Kate Richmond, psychology, received her Ph.D. from Nova Southeastern University and her B.A. from Muhlenberg College.  Richmond teaches a variety of courses including multicultural psychology, psychology of women, abnormal psychology, and research methods. She has previously taught at The University of Pennsylvania and Nova Southeastern University. She is a licensed clinical psychologist, and her research interests include gender studies, trauma and multicultural studies

Dr. Margo Thompson, art, received her Ph.D. from Northwestern University, M.A. from School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University.  is a specialist in contemporary art, specifically feminist art and graffiti art. She is a very active scholar, publishing and presenting regularly at conferences. Her large format book, “American Graffiti,” was published in 2009. Thompson teaches modern art, contemporary art, women and art, African American art, and several other courses.