Profiles of the Harlaxton Faculty, Spring Term, 2010

The British Studies Faculty

Edward Bujak, PhD (University of East Anglia)
Associate Professor in British Studies and History
Vice Principal for Academic Services
ebujak@harlaxton.ac.uk

Dr Bujak is a graduate of the University of East Anglia (BA, MA, PhD) and joined Harlaxton College as an Assistant Professor 2001. In addition to teaching on the British Studies programme, a programme he led from 2004-2009, he teaches courses on British, European and international history and the two world wars.  In 2006, he received the Outstanding Teacher Award of the University of Evansville. In 2007 he was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor. His book, England’s Rural Realms: Landownership and the Agricultural Revolution was also published in 2007 by I. B. Tauris. In May 2008, Dr Bujak was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. In 2009 he was appointed Vice-Principal for Academic Services at Harlaxton College and in 2010 Dr Bujak was invited to become a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is currently writing a book on landownership in the Edwardian countryside.

David Green, PhD (University of Nottingham)
Senior Lecturer and Team Leader in British Studies
dgreen@harlaxton.ac.uk

Dr Green is a graduate of the universities of Exeter (BA) and Nottingham (MA, PhD). Before coming to Harlaxton in 2007 he lived and worked in England, Scotland and Ireland, lecturing at the universities of Sheffield, St Andrews and Trinity College, Dublin. In 2009 he became Chair of the British Studies program and in 2010 he was appointed Senior Lecturer and a permanent member of the faculty.

A late medieval historian working on Britain, Ireland and France, his research deals with themes central to the British Studies course such as kingship, colonialism and concepts of national identity. He has written three books and numerous articles. Further details of these may be found here: http://www.harlaxton.ac.uk/academics/research/GreenDavid.cfm

He is currently working on a volume for Yale University Press on The Hundred Years War.

Gordon Kingsley, ThD (New Orleans Theological Seminary)
Lecturer in British Studies, and Principal
jgkingsley@harlaxton.ac.uk

In a long academic career, Dr Kingsley has been professor of literature and religion at Tulane University, Mississippi College, the University of Louisville, and William Jewell College, all in the United States. At the latter school he also served as academic dean and, for thirteen years, as president. In a study funded by the Exxon Foundation, he was adjudged among the top 5% of America’s 'most effective university leaders'. He holds degrees from Mississippi College (BA), the University of Missouri (MA), and the New Orleans Theological Seminary (BD, ThD), where his research was conducted jointly at Tulane University. He holds honorary doctorates from Mercer University (LittD), Seinan Gakuin University, Japan (DHum), and the University of Evansville (LHD). Though he describes the college presidency as a 'shortcut to illiteracy', he has managed to produce three books and some 100 articles, monographs, and reviews, chiefly in popular religious subjects.

Dr Helen Snow, PhD (The Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmigham)
Assistant Professor of British Studies and English Literature
hsnow@harlaxton.ac.uk

After undergraduate work at the University of Southampton and her MA and PhD from The Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham, Dr Snow first came to Harlaxton in the early 1990s.  She took an active role in the early years of the British Studies course, particularly in developing its interdisciplinary approach.  She led the teaching team for two years in addition to teaching Shakespeare and other literature courses.  In 2006, after five years teaching Shakespeare and other arts courses with The Open University, Dr Snow returned to Harlaxton to teach British Studies and, of course, Shakespeare.  Her publications and research interests focus on Shakespeare in performance, gender and Shakespeare, and the ways in which perceptions and presentations of Shakespeare and heritage contribute to ideas of national identity.  Dr Snow is the convenor of “The Harlaxton Players”, and she and her two musical daughters are keen members of The Harlaxton Collegiate Choir. 

Philip Taylor, PhD (University of Lancaster)
Teaching Fellow in British Studies
ptaylor@harlaxton.ac.uk

Philip Taylor is a musicologist with interests in English music of the Renaissance period, particularly the work of William Byrd. He has degrees in music from Lancaster University (BA, MMus, PhD) gaining his doctorate in 2008 with the thesis: ‘Music and Recusant Culture: the Paston Manuscript Collection and William Byrd's Songs’. Before arriving at Harlaxton he taught courses in music history and theory at Lancaster University, and he continues to teach as an Associate Lecturer for The Open University. Phil has particular interests in the role of music in interdisciplinary arts and humanities education, and hopes to build on this as part of the British Studies team. As a keen singer and choral director he has led practical workshops on Byrd’s music, and currently runs an early music ensemble at Harlaxton. Current research interests focus on early modern music manuscript culture and word setting in Byrd's secular partsongs.

 

The Discipline-Specific British Faculty

Sally Brown, MA (University of Northumbria)
Director of the Harlaxton Collegiate Choir and Lecturer in Music
sbrown@harlaxton.ac.uk

With a BA (Hons) and an MA in Fine Art (sculpture) from the University of Northumbria at Newcastle upon Tyne, Professor Brown worked for twenty years as a professional sculptor, completing public commissions; a research project in West Africa as a Winston Churchill Fellow (1990); and a residency with the Northern Sinfonia Orchestra. During this time she moonlighted as a musician, singing and playing with a variety of blues, jazz and roots outfits in the North-East of England. In the nineties, Sally chose music over sculpture to tour the UK and Europe with her own swing band, playing both fiddle and double bass as well as singing. Then followed two years at the School of Music at Newcastle upon Tyne, where she was ‘Student of the Year’, studying voice, viola and piano, and touring with the College Choir.

Since moving to the East Midlands in 1995, Sally has founded seven flourishing non-traditional choirs, including the National Trust Out of Silence choir (researching and creating music which tells lost stories from the region’s heritage), and Choir Invisible, a 90-strong, acapella soul-gospel group which reached the finals of the UK’s most prestigious choral contest, the BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year Competition, and most recently, after performing for Archbishop Desmond Tutu, was honoured to become The Desmond and Leah Tutu Peace Choir UK. This choir rehearses at Harlaxton Manor, where Professor Brown leads the Harlaxton Collegiate Choir.

Professor Brown now combines choir work with writing, winning the Orange Prize for Short Fiction in 2000 and currently completing a first novel.

Cliff Pettifor, PhD (Nottingham Trent University)
Lecturer in Politics
cpettifor@harlaxton.ac.uk

Professor Pettifor has taught Politics at Harlaxton College for a quarter century, formerly sharing an appointment with The Open University and carrying forward research and management duties as Director of the Performance Indicator Project.  Prior to his academic career he was a successful businessman.  A raconteur, wit, and superb teacher, Professor Pettifor offers courses in British Politics.  At an age when many are taking retirement, he is modelling Harlaxton's value of lifetime learning in a community of learners by undertaking studies toward a new degree in Modern History.

Ian Welsh, MBA (Nottingham Business School)
Lecturer in Marketing
Vice Principal for Business and Technology
iwelsh@harlaxton.ac.uk

With a MBA from the Nottingham Business School, Professor Welsh has taught a popular introductory course in Marketing for the last 10 years. His academic interests include the development and affects of consumerism in higher education and service marketing in general. In addition, he serves as the College's Vice Principal for Business and Technology, a varied and interesting role which keeps him busy!

Before Harlaxton College, Professor Welsh began his career in data processing management at a large London based group of Builders Merchants, at a time when computers were only just being introduced into the mainstream business arena. This was an exciting time to be 'in computing' and he has maintained a passion for technology ever since. He continued to develop his career and, via sojourns in operational and financial management, progressed to the financial directorship of a Midlands based retail group.

The American Visiting Faculty  

Jerry Burns, PhD (Marquette University)
Professor of English
Marian University WI
jburns@marianuniversity.edu

Jerry Burns has been an English professor at Marian University in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, for the past twenty years, with a focus on 19th century American and British literature. He was part of the Harlaxton experience back in 2002, staying in the carriage house along with his wife of 22 years, Elisabeth (Heidi) Weiss and their two youngest children, Francis James (Woody) and Emma, who attended schools in Grantham but are now at Edgewood College and Rocky Mountain College respectively.  Their oldest daughter, Wendy, is a Montessori teacher in Milwaukee Public Schools.  Heidi will be at Harlaxton for the first six weeks of the semester and the last two, and their three children will—if all goes well!—be visiting at Thanksgiving.

Jerry, a “Coal Cracker,” hails originally from Pennsylvania, where he attended DeSales University, and he met Heidi, a “Jersey Girl,” in Milwaukee, to which Jerry migrated to get his Ph.D. at Marquette University.

Jerry counts his sojourn at Harlaxton in 2002 as one of the high points of his life, and he still draws upon the experience in his British literature and Shakespeare classes, especially upon the helpful knowledge gleaned from the British Studies lectures, and from traveling around the country—and the continent—on the weekends.

Along with reading and writing, Jerry enjoys playing guitar, gardening, woodworking, and sketching. He is still sketching from photographs he took of Britain eight years ago and is hoping to replenish his storehouse of images for the purposes of drawing and writing.  He is hoping that his Detective Novel experiences will inspire him to complete The Nuts and Bolts of Murder, a detective novel set in a hardware store (one of his favorite places) in the “Coal Country” of Pennsylvania.  Jerry also enjoys football—European and American (he organized a faculty team last year to play in the intramurals)—and tennis, an interest stoked in 2002 when he had the opportunity to play Dr. Edward Bujak some twenty-five times on the moss- and rabbit-pellet-covered courts that once “graced” the environs of Harlaxton Manor.

Heidi was a member of the 2002 “Spouse Girls,” a group of about eight spouses that toured, shepherded children to schools—and shopped.  After a long stint as the operator of her own videography business, she has worked at the Social Security Administration for the past ten years, and while at Harlaxton she hopes to get a start on a book about the insights gained from her experiences with that agency.

Michael Chlebanowski, MFA (Northern Illinois University)
Assistant Professor of Art
Hannibal-LaGrange College MO
mchlebanowski@hlg.edu

Michael Chlebanowski has worked in both the commercial and fine arts fields.  He was awarded by Mayor John Strobbe for a logo design for the village of Romeoville while he was a student at Romeoville High School motivating him to pursue a career in art.  Following high school Michael worked as a Technical Illustrator for Wescom (Downers Grove) while attending Junior College in Joliet.  Then while attending night classes at College of DuPage, he worked as a Designer for Bell Laboratories through Butler Service Group (Naperville).

Michael then accepted a position with Official Airline Guides (Oakbrook).  While working as both a Designer and Production Operator for the company he attended classes at North Central College (Naperville) and received his Bachelor of Arts degree.  With freelance work increasing to the point of no rest, he launched Visual Communications Services, a full service advertising agency located at River North (Chicago).  Clientele included Ameritech, InPhoto Surveillance, Cromwell-Phoenix, New Tech Electric, Timm Electric, as well as many local businesses.

During the Gulf war crisis, when a number of high volume clients pulled their advertising dollars, Michael reduced overhead by moving the operation to a studio space in his home.  He began a personal study of the I&M Canal at that time, which reignited his interest in painting.  The lightened work load also made for a lightened income and that led him to many new work experiences.

As Studio Assistant and Assistant Gallery Director for the School of Art, North Central College (Naperville), Michael’s talents, as both an artist and a teacher, were recognized by his mentor, Vitas Virkau.  He was thus encouraged to pursue a Master of Arts degree.  Many sacrifices were made in order to attend classes at Northern Illinois University (DeKalb).  With limited resources, and a focus on providing for his family, Michael took a position as Resident Advisor for a men’s boarding house; this provided his room and board.  Additionally, as a Graduate Staff Assistant for the College of Education Learning Center, he was able to augment the family income. 

In addition to independent collectors, his paintings have sold to Lewis University (Romeoville), Catholic Hospital Association (Chicago), Fountaindale Public Library (Romeoville), and he has achieved recognition from various shows and competitions including Dramatic Concepts International Art Competition (Top 30 Artists) for his painting Walk Along the I&M.  While attending Graduate School a number of his paintings were sold to provide additional income for his family.

Michael’s graduate work focused on the Impressionists emphasizing the thoughts of Claude Monet, and the regionalists including Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood.  Michael’s interest in his environment had a direct impact on his indigenous work.  His thesis work included two solo exhibits; éprouve and Epiphany, each body of works in oil/canvas.

Teaching is a passion for Michael.  He has been a professor of art since 1996.  His teaching experience has included the following learning institutions, Benet Academy, Lisle; Benedictine University, Lisle; College of St. Francis, Joliet; College of DuPage, Wheaton; Joliet Junior College, Joliet. 

Earning both a Master of Arts degree and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Northern Illinois University, Michael is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Hannibal LaGrange College in Hannibal, Missouri and has is going into his fifth year in that position.  Michael continues to paint, create art, exhibit and maintains his graphic design, multi-media and computer art research and art work with computer programs such as Adobe CS5.

Amy Hall, PhD (St. Louis University)
Professor and Chair, Dunigan Family Department of Nursing and Health Sciences
University of Evansville IN
ah169@evansville.edu

Amy earned her BSN from Saint Louis University, her masters in nursing from University of Illinois-Chicago, and her PhD in nursing from Saint Louis University. She is originally from Peoria, IL and has been the chair of the nursing department at the University of Evansville for the past 4 years. She is the co-author of two internationally and widely used nursing textbooks, Basic Nursing and Fundamentals of Nursing. Her research interests include health promotion, innovations in nursing education, and interventions to ensure safe nursing practice. She also serves as a research consultant for a local hospital and helps nurses develop and conduct research studies as well as implement evidence-based practice changes.

In her free time, Amy enjoys gardening, riding her bike, reading, walking her dogs, cooking, and baking. She and her family are also very involved in Boy Scouts, where Amy serves as committee chair for Troop, Crew, Team and Ship 312. Amy is at Harlaxton with her son, Isaac (13). Her husband Greg will be visiting Harlaxton for a few weeks mid-semester, and her oldest son, Jacob (18), is a freshman at Vincennes University. 

John Layer, PhD (University of Louisville)
Director and Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
University of Evansville IN
jl118@evansville.edu

John Layer received a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Evansville, a MBA from Arizona State University, and his Ph.D.  in industrial engineering from the University of Louisville.  An interesting note is that both John and his wife, Katrina attended Harlaxton College as students in 1983 and are now returning in a slightly different role.

John began teaching mechanical engineering at the University of Evansville in 2007, after serving 20 years in industry in the areas of engineering and operations management.  He served as a Vice President of Operations for 6 years prior to deciding to change careers and teach mechanical engineering.  He is a licensed professional engineer and has been awarded a US patent.  John’s interests reside in machine design, human performance & learning, and cognitive systems engineering.  John’s favorite dessert is Katrina’s homemade chocolate chip cheesecake.

Joyce Pigge, DA (Lehigh University)
Professor of Political Science
Bethany College KS
piggej@bethanylb.edu

Originally from Mount Vernon, Illinois, Joyce Pigge began teaching at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas ("Little Sweden USA") in 1970.  A graduate of Maryville College, TN (BA in Political Science) and Lehigh University, PA (DA in Government), she teaches a wide range of political science classes, from International Relations to Constitutional History.  Joyce's particular interest is law, having spent two sabbaticals taking classes at Washburn University School of Law (Kansas) and Washington University School (St. Louis).  Another sabbatical was spent in Washington, DC (Congressman Glickman's office) and the Illinois legislature (House Democrat Staff).

Joyce is an avid sports fan (St. Louis Cardinals!) and serves as Bethany's Faculty Athletics Representative and the Eligibility Chair for two NAIA conferences (KCAC and MCAC).  She also serves on several NAIA national committees.

Joyce is excited about returning to the United Kingdom, having attended three British Opens (2005, 2007, 2009) and having spent a week in Oxford for two conferences (2000 and 2005).

Nancy Rice, PhD (University of Tennessee)
Associate Professor of Nursing
Western Kentucky University KY
nancy.rice@wku.edu

Nancy Rice grew up in Bowling Green Kentucky and earned her B.S. in Recombinant Genetics from Western Kentucky University and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Tennessee, Health Science Centre. Following graduate work she spent two years as an NIH Post-doctoral fellow at the University of Colorado, Boulder before landing back at her alma mater in 2003. Dr. Rice’s research interests are focused primarily in biomedical cell and molecular biology, and specifically her lab is investigating the intracellular mechanisms that regulate the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis. As an extension of her research, following her semester at Harlaxton, Dr. Rice will be on sabbatical at the University of Nottingham collaborating with a group at the Respiratory Research Centre.

At WKU, Dr. Rice teaches courses that range from large non-majors sections of introductory biology to Honors, senior-level, and graduate courses in cell and molecular biology.  One of her recent passions has become the international service-learning program that she has developed for pre-medical student in rural Kenya.  Students chosen to participate spend a semester learning about Kenyan culture and geography, epidemiology of prevalent disease, and the structure of the Kenyan healthcare system, as well as a little Swahili! The two-week field course includes a 7 day clinic in which U.S. students and 3 accompanying physicians partner with Kenyan health practitioners to attend over patients in the impoverished villages of Rukanga, Bhuguta, and Makwasinyi. Dr. Rice truly believes John Hemingway when he wrote in African Journeys “I believe there is no sickness of the heart too great that it cannot be cured by a dose of Africa."

Dr. Rice will be accompanied by her husband John, a physical therapist turning temporary nanny, and their two children, Abby (6), a princess thrilled to be living in a real “castle” and John Chatham (2), a loveable 110% boy!. Dr. Rice and her family enjoy biking, skiing, hiking, reading and just spending time together.

John Richards, PhD (Brown University)
Assistant Professor of History
Baker University KS
john.richards@bakeru.edu

John Richards teaches a number of courses relating to World, European, and ancient Mediterranean civilizations, as well as Research Methods and Senior Thesis (Capstone). He received a BA in History and Classical Studies from Kansas University, an MA in History from Kansas University, and an MPhil (ABD) with Honors from Brown University. Presently he is revising a PhD thesis on Changing Agricultural Practices during the Later Roman Empire at Brown, with the majority of research focused on the development of agriculture in the Mediterranean from 100 BCE to 1000 CE. As and result of his long term affiliation with Baker University and Baldwin City (he grew up there and, like his father and five siblings attended Baker University), Professor Richards is an active participant in local history and the history of Methodism in Kansas.

His son Sam will be attending Harlaxton College as well, and in November his wife Nancy will join him. She is a Critical Care Registered Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist who coordinates patient use of post-operative heart technologies, such as the VAD (Ventricular Assist Device). Both John and Nancy enjoy good food, friends, wine and fun.

Robert D. Schuttler, MBA (Marian University)
Assistant Professor of Business and Economics
Marian University, Indianapolis
robert@marian.edu

Professor Schuttler is a graduate of the University of Evansville (MBA) and is currently on the full time faculty of Marian University, Indianapolis, Indiana.  Professor Schuttler begins his twenty first (21st) year of teaching in higher education.  In addition to teaching a wide range of Business Management and Economics classes Professor Schuttler is the Director of the entrepreneurship program at Marian, Business Creation and Development.  Robert  is very active as an advisor in business and entrepreneurship clubs and organizations at Marian University.

Professor Schuttler has participated as a contributing professor at Harlaxton College in May of 2009 and 2010.  He was a member of a faculty team for BUS 265/365, Contemporary European Business Issues.  His presentation topics have included Current Economic Problems of the United Kingdom, Gross Domestic Product of the United Kingdom, European Employment, and the basics of the European Union.

Mr. Schuttler is a principal in The Schuttler Consulting Group, a management consulting company located in the Indianapolis metro area.  His consulting practice includes business planning, finance projects, and special management projects.

Dean Thomlison, PhD (Southern Illinois University)
Professor of Communication
University of Evansville
dt4@evansville.edu

Dr. Dean Thomlison is a communication educator, consultant, and trainer with over thirty-five years of university teaching experience.  He is a full professor at the University of Evansville, where he has twice served as chair of the Department of Communication.  Although he teaches a variety of different communication courses ranging from public speaking to organizational communication, interpersonal communication and intercultural communication are his subjects of greatest interest.  He is the author of a textbook on interpersonal communication, a contributing author to textbooks on Listening and Public Relations, and the author of several scholarly articles on communication. 

As a consultant and mediator, Dr. Thomlison has worked with for-profit and non-profit organizations and community groups to resolve communication problems.  He has been a trainer and consultant for health care and pharmaceutical facilities, corporations, government agencies, retailers, and has conducted research on training needs for business organizations. 

As a Kellogg National Leadership Fellow, Dr. Thomlison has studied intercultural education, training and research in multinational corporations, institutes, and governments in a host of countries around the globe including Russia, Hungary, Ecuador, Japan, and many western European countries. He received post-doctoral training at the Intercultural Training Institute at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Thomlison taught at Harlaxton College several years ago for an entire academic year during his first few years at the University of Evansville, but has only visited once since that time.  He looks forward to renewing former friendships and making new ones.  Dean’s wife, Marylinn, will be accompanying him and is making her first visit to Harlaxton.  They have five grown children, “play a little golf and enjoy tennis, hiking, exercise and fine wine!”