With the new academic year officially starting on Monday, Aug. 22 — the first day of classes — please give a warm welcome to the six new members of our faculty!
Geofrey T. Mills, Ph.D., Interim Dean, Nicolais School of Business
Geofrey Mills earned his doctorate in economics from the University of Illinois. He has more than 30 years of experience in global management administration and faculty development, and he has hands-on experience with accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Mills has put in place the strategic plans for AACSB accreditation at the University of Northern Iowa, Elizabeth City [N.C.] State University and, last year, at Kean University, where he was the accreditation officer, having authored an approved Eligibility Application and Initial Self-Evaluation Report.
Joshua Mullenite, Ph.D., Full-Time Visiting Assistant Professor, Anthropology Department
Joshua Mullenite earned his doctorate in global and sociocultural studies from Florida International University. His dissertation research is interdisciplinary in nature, drawing on insights from anthropology and human geography to examine the colonial histories of flood management in British Guiana. His research has been published in Geography Compass and Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development, with a third article under review with the journal Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies. An abstract for an additional publication based on his research has been accepted for the 2019 special issue of Annals of the American Association of Geographers.
Vannessa Smith-Washington, Ed.D., Full-Time Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Education Department
Vannessa Smith-Washington earned her Ed.D. from the University of Phoenix in curriculum and instruction with a specialization in school leadership. She has 42 years of leadership experience in New York City public schools, private schools and universities. She has created, developed and implemented educational platforms and chaired diverse educational roles. Since 2013, in additional to being an adjunct professor, she has been a consultant and lecturer at St. John’s University (Queens Campus), where she supervised, mentored and conducted formal observations for the New York City Teaching Fellows in special education and general education in 7-12 grade levels in the New York City school system.
Hollian Wint, Ph.D., Full-Time Tenure Track Assistant Professor, History Department
Hollian Wint is currently working on a book project using qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze previously neglected Arabic, Gujarati and Swahili sources, entitled “Mobile Households: The Intimate Economies of Credit Across the Indian Ocean, c. 1860-1964,” which takes the trans-local household as its conceptual starting point. Wint earned her Ph.D. in history from New York University, where her dissertation was titled, “Credible Relations: Indian Finance and East African Society in the Indian Ocean, c. 1840-1930.”
Nicole Migliorini, M.S., PA-C, Academic Coordinator, Physician Assistant Program
Nicole Migliorini graduated from Wagner College with her master of science degree in advanced P.A. studies in May 2011. For the last 7years, she has been practicing clinically, initially in primary care and family medicine and then in family medicine and infectious disease. During that time she served as a clinical preceptor for the P.A. students during the clinical phase of their
education. Her teaching this year will focus on her clinical areas of interest, emphasizing the importance of both prevention and management of infectious diseases. She will be accompanying the P.A. students on their medical-mission trip to Peru, advocating for improvements in the management of infectious diseases.
David Lau, PA-C, Physician Assistant Program
David Lau is a graduate of the Harlem Hospital Physician Assistant Program, which is now named City University of New York School of Medicine, City College of New York Physician Assistant Program. He is a clinical practicing emergency medicine physician assistant in the emergency departments at Woodhull Hospital Center and at New York Presbyterian of Queens–Emergency Medical Associates. Lau has worked at several physician assistant programs in faculty roles as didactic coordinator, academic coordinator and clinical coordinator. He is an active BCLS, ACLS and PALS instructor. Lau volunteers with the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene–Medical Reserve Corps as medical personnel during the New York City Marathon. He also teaches a community CPR course for the American Heart Association.
