Santa Clara University

Mike Ballen
Michael Ballen has been working as an Instructional Technology Resource Specialist for Santa Clara University since 2000. His job responsibilities include teaching the faculty how to integrate technology into their teaching. He also is on the SCU faculty, teaching undergraduate courses for the Liberal Studies and English Departments. When Mike is not working, he enjoys nature photography and playing the ukulele.

Bridig Barton
Brigid Bartn is Associate Professor Emerita of Art History at Santa Clara University. Her specialty is modern European art and she has developed a number of special courses on French and German modernism. In addition to teaching at Santa Clara, she often teaches in the Stanford Continuing Studies program and lectures at the Fine Art Museum of San Francisco. She has been chair of her department, director of the university museum, and a faculty member in the Honors Program. Brigid is a popular instructor in the OLLI@SCU program.

Terry Beers
Terry Beers has a Ph.D. in English from the University of Southern California. Since 1987, he has taught writing and literature at Santa Clara University where he is currently a professor in the English department and director of the California Legacy Project. From 1991-1997, he was the executive director of the Robinson Jeffers Association. He also serves as the general editor of the California Legacy series of books, co-published by Santa Clara University and Heyday Books and is the host of “Your California Legacy” radio anthology on KAZU Public Radio.

James Bennett
James B. Bennett is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University, where he taught since 2002. Previously, he taught in the University of Oklahoma Honors College. Jim earned his Ph.D in American Religious History at Yale University. He also holds degrees from Princeton Theological Seminart (M.Div.) and UCLA (B.A. English/American Studies.) He is the author of Religion and the Rise of Jim Crow in New Orleans. His current research focuses on the role of religion and race in the American west.

Simone Billings
Simone J. Billings, Assistant to the President and Senior Lecturer in the Department of English, received her Bachelor of Arts and Masters in English Literature from San Francisco State University and her Ph.D in Language Literacy and Culture from Stanford.

Rebecca Black
Rebecca Black teaches literature and writing at Santa Clara University. She received her B.A. from Tulane University and an M.F.A from Indiana University. She was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. Her first book of poetry, Cottonlandia, won the 2004 Juniper Prize for poetry. She enjoys teaching adult learners and has frequently taught in Stanford’s Continuing Education program.

Kelly Bulkeley
Kelly Bulkeley, is a Visiting Scholar at the Graduate Theological Union and teaches in the Dream Studies Program at John F. Kennedy University. He earned his Ph.D in Religion and Psychological Studies from the University of Chicago Divinity School, and is a former President of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. He has written and edited several books on dreaming, religion, psychology, culture, and science, including: The Wilderness of Dreams, An Introduction to the Psychology of Dreaming, Visions of the Night, The Wondering Brain, Dreaming Beyond Death, and Soul, Psyche, Brain: New Directions in the Study of Religion and Brain-Mind Science.

Brigitte Charus
Brigitte Charaus is a lecturer of SCU’s History Department. She received a B.A., and soon her PhD, from Marquette University and her M.A. from Duquesne University. She is currently finishing her dissertation focusing on the public health conditions in Milwaukee, WI at the turn of the last century. A volume of historical articles, Milwaukee Stories, for which she was a co-editor, was published last year. Brigitte has been a contributor to a number of historical encyclopedias and has published journal articles in her field.

Verle Waters Clark
Verle Waters Clark was, before retirement, a Dean at Ohlone College in Fremont, CA. Retirement has meant the opportunity to read more books, to pull more weeds, and to travel far and wide. She made three trips to the Himalayan region, including travel in Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, and Jammu-Kashmir on the border between India and Tibet. Keeping a detailed journal of travel experiences has added to her pleasure. Verle will be happy to share memorable experiences and show slides of trekking experiences, remote villages and villagers, and awe inspiring mountains.

Jane Curry
Jane Curry worked in East Europe and the former Soviet Union both as a researcher and as a teacher on how to democratize since 1990. She has written or edited 6 books and numerous articles on how people got heard and pressed for change in Central and East Europe during the communist period and the transition. Most recently, she completed a United States Institute of Peace grant to do interviews with the leaders, people who demonstrated on the streets, activists and journalists in Georgia, Serbia, and Ukraine’s People’s Revolutions. This was the basis for her upcoming book, “Together We Are Strong”. She has also done work on the issues of how new systems deal with their pasts in South Africa, El Salvador, and Eastern Europe. She has written on this aspect of democracy building in America Magazine, International Sociological Review, and given conference papers and lectures both nationally and internationally.

Diane Dreher
Diane Dreher, Ph.D., is Professor of English at Santa Clara University, research associate in the Spirituality and Health Institute, and a facilitator in the Ignatian Faculty Forum. In addition to her UCLA PhD in Renaissance English literature, she has credentials in spiritual counseling and holistic health. An experienced retreat and workshop facilitator, Diane is the author of The Tao of Inner Peace, Inner Gardening, The Tao of Personal Leadership, The Tao of Womanhood and a new book on vocation, Your Personal Renaissance.  Diane is a popular instructor with OLLI@SCU.

Marilyn Edelstein
Dr. Edelstein is an Associate Professor of English and also a faculty member in the Women's and Gender Studies Program at Santa Clara University, where she has been teaching since 1987. She teaches courses on contemporary American literature, feminist theory and criticism, literary and cultural theory, postmodernism, and multicultural literature and theory. She has published articles and book chapters on contemporary fiction, feminist theory, postmodernism, and literature and ethics. She is working on a book on the ethics and intersections of feminism, postmodernism, and multiculturalism.

Bill Eisinger
Bill is a Professor of Biology at Santa Clara University. Professor Eisinger received his Bachelor of Science at Hiram College in Ohio, his Masters in Science at Perdue University, and his Ph.D at the University of Miami. He has done his postdoctoral research at Stanford University. He teaches courses in light and life, plant physiology, plant development and aroecology.

David Feldman
David B. Feldman, PhD, is an assistant professor of counseling psychology at Santa Clara University. He holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Kansas and has completed a fellowship in palliative care in the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. Feldman is the co-author of The End-of-Life-Handbook: A compassionate Guide to Connecting with an Caring for a Dying Loved One, which was written especially for families of patients with life-threatening illness. In addition, his research and writings have addressed such topics as hope, meaning, and growth in the face of physical illness, trauma, and other highly stressful events. He has authored numerous scholarly articles and book chapters as well as presented nationally and internationally.

Father James Felt
James W. Felt, SJ, is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at SCU, having taught here for forty-one years.  He previously held the John Nobili Chair at the University and has been the President of the Metaphysical Society of America.  In addition to his doctorate in philosophy he holds master’s degrees in theology and in physics.  He has published four books in philosophy with another about to appear.

Barbara Means Fraser
Dr. Fraser is an Associate Professor of Theater. She has written eight plays including Breast Entanglements and her musical, Family. Her directing repertoire includes: The Laramie Project, Twilight of the Golds, Parallel Lives: The Kathy and Mo Show, and Paul Robeson. Her latest endeavor in theatrical activism was as Artistic Director of SCU's Dead Man Walking in collaboration with the SCU law school and Bannan Institute for Jesuit Education in which Sis. Helen Prejean (writer) was a guest panelist.

Fred Foldvary
Fred Foldvary's main areas of research include public economics, social ethics, real estate economics, and private communities. Foldvary’s classes on microeconomics include an analysis of financial markets and investing. His books include: Soul of Liberty, Beyond Neoclassical Economics, Public Goods and Private Communities, Dictionary of Free-Market Economics, and (co-edited) The Half-Life of Policy Rationales.

Dorothea French
Dorothea has an MA in Roman History, and a PhD in Medieval History from UC Berkeley.  She taught the Ancient and Medieval Western Civilization sequences at Santa Clara University for twenty years, and received the David Logothetti Teaching award for her “energetic, engaging, and effective teaching skills.”  She has taught the Armchair Traveler class with OLLI@SCU and is the Curriculum Coordinator for the program.

Andrew Garavel
Andrew Garavel, S.J. is an Assistant Professor of English at SCU, where he teaches courses in Irish literature. He received his M.A. in English from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from New York University, where he studied with the noted Irish critic Denis Donoghue. His current research is on two of Wilde’s contemporaries, the Irish writers Edith Somerville and Violet Martin, who wrote as Somerville and Ross.

George Giacomini
George Giacomini is an Associate Professor of History as well as an Assistant to the President at Santa Clara University. He is an alumnus of Santa Clara University. He received his Master’s degree from UC Berkley. His courses include: The United States: The 19th Century, Western Civilization (Medieval and Early Modern), European Diplomatic History and Civil War and Reconstruction among others.

Janet Giddings
Janet Giddings is a lecturer in Religious Studies at Santa Clara University, and a lecturer in Philosophy at San Jose State University. In Religious Studies she teaches courses in the Christian Tradition and Religions of the Book. In philosophy she teaches Ethics and Philosophy of Religion. Her interests are in both disciplines and teaching is her passion. She is working on two books, one on the Gospel of John, and the other on Ethics and Gambling. Her recent article Ethical Issues in Pedagogy: Wikipedia (SBL) demonstrates her passion and respect for scholarship in higher education.

Kirk Glaser
Kirk Glaser's poetry has appeared in The Threepenny Review, Bloodroot Literary Magazine, Alsop Review, Berkeley Poetry Review, and elsewhere. He has received numerous awards for his work, including an American Academy of Poets prize, University of California Poet Laureate Award, and Richard Eberhart Poetry Prize. Dr. Glaser earned his Ph.D. in American poetry at the University of California, Berkeley and his B.A. from Dartmouth College. He teaches creative wirting and literature at Santa Clara University.

Andy Gonzales
Andy, a SCU Civil Engineering graduate, is a Senior Systems Engineer at NASA/Ames Research Center at Moffet Field, where he develops mission concepts for future exploration of the moon, Mars, and the outer planets of the solar system. He is currently working to help organize the designs for the next fleet of ships of exploration. Andy taught a popular class on Mars for Osher last fall.

Gail Gradowski
Gail Gradowski is from Detroit, Michigan. She received her A.B. degree from the University of Michigan, her Master's in Library Science from Wayne State University and an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Before becoming a librarian, Gail spent two years teaching math and English in the Peace Corps. Here at SCU, Gail's job focus has been on information literacy and library instruction. The largest part of her job is creating and conducting dozens of one-to-three hour information literacy instruction sessions. She also provides reference and research assistance to faculty, staff, and students at the research assistance desk and through the 24/7 online Ask-a-Librarian service.

Daniel Graham
DanielGraham recently completed his Ph.D in geography at UC Berkeley. His dissertation research is based in Honduras and examines the cultural-political struggles of Lenca Indians to maintain control over land, timber, and other natural resources in the context oc economic globalization.

Carolyn Grassi
Carolyn Grassi, M.A., M.P.A., is credentialed to teach Religion, Politics and Philosophy. She has taught at West Valley, Cabrillo, and Canada colleges. A published poet, Carolyn frequently leads creative writing workshops.

Joseph Grassi
Joseph Grassi is a Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University.  He received his BS at Maryknoll College; B.D. Maryknoll Seminary ; STL, Angelicum ;  and SSL, Pontifical Biblical Institute.  He has taught the synoptic Gospels, Johannine Writings, and Johannine Writings and Spirituality among others. Joseph and his wife Carolyn are popular instructors with OLLI@SCU.

Ron Hansen
Ron has taught fiction and screenwriting at such institutions as Stanford, Michigan, Cornell, Iowa, Arizona, and is now the Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. Professor in the Arts and Humanities at Santa Clara University, where he earned an M.A. in Spirituality in 1995. He teaches courses in the following areas: Fiction Writing, Screenwriting, Writing in the Community, The Bible as Literature, Contemporary Literature and The 20th Century American Short Story.

Tim Healy
Tim is a Professor of Electrical Engineering at Santa Clara University. Professor Healy received all of his degrees in Electrical Engineering. BSEE: Seattle University, 1958; MSEE: Stanford University, 1959; Ph.D.: University of Colorado, 1966. He is now in his 30th year as a member of the Department of Electrical Engineering at Santa Clara University. He teaches communications theory, electromagnetics, radio frequency and microwaves. He holds the Thomas J. Bannan Chair, and in that capacity teaches and does developmental work in the areas of Humanities for Engineers. He is also a Scholar and a member of the Steering Committee of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

Kevin Hearle
Kevin Hearle (A.B. Stanford, M.F.A. Iowa, M.A. & Ph.D. UC Santa Cruz) was the revision editor for the current edition of The Grapes of Wrath: Text and Criticism, the co-editor of Beyond Boundaries: Rereading John Steinbeck, editor of The Essential Mary Austin, and a founding member of the editorial boards of Steinbeck Newsletter, Steinbeck Studies, and Steinbeck Review.  He received the Burkhardt Award as the Outstanding Steinbeck Scholar of 2005, and for the 2008-2009 academic year he is a Visiting Scholar at the Lane Center for the Study of the North American West at Stanford University.

Alan & Nell Henninger
Alan and Nella Henninger have been raising bees in the east foothills around Alum Rock Park for almost 40 years. Retired high school teachers, they have about 100 colonies, which they use to pollinate almonds in the Central Valley and produce local honey for sale.

Gloria Hofer
Gloria Hofer is an Instructional Technology Resource Specialist at Santa Clara University.  She has a Masters in Interdisciplinary Education with an emphasis in Teaching with Technology, and a clear full time Adult Education Credential.  She has been a computer instructor and Vocational Education Specialist at Santa Clara Adult Education, a technology trainer and multimedia resource since 1998.  She has taught courses on multimedia and learning in the School of Education (2001-2007) and does research in teaching and learning with technology.  She has been at Santa Clara University since May 2000.

Linda Hylkema
Linda Hylkema has been a cultural resources manager and archaeologist for the past twenty-two years. Although trained as a late-Holocene prehistoric archaeologist, she has also conducted and worked on numerous historic excavations including the Woolen Mills Chinatown in San Jose. She has co-authored county ordinances pertaining to the treatment of cultural resources and has written a fourth-grade Archaeology/Native American curriculum for the Fresno County Unified School District. She has been an archaeological contractor for many state agencies and was employed as an archaeologist by both the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. She has been managing the archaeology lab at SCU for the past eight years.

Tracey Kahan
Tracey Kahan is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Santa Clara University. She teaches courses in Psychology as a Natural Science, Cognitive Psychology, Psychology of Sleep and Dreams, and Perceptions. She has many books and publications including: Consciousness in dreaming: A metacognitive approach, Effects of melatonin on dream bizarreness among male and female college students and Similarities and differences between dreaming and waking cognition: An exploratory study. Tracey has set up a “sleep lab” here at Santa Clara University to conduct her studies on sleeping and dreaming.

Douglas Kenning
Professor Kenning received degrees from Ohio State University, the University of Texas, and a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He has taught in Tunisia, Japan, and Italy. Now he divides his time between living half the year in Sicily, where he runs a tour company, and half the year in the Bay Area. He is a writer, actor, tour guide, and lecturer at the Fromm Institute at the University of Dan Francisco and various Osher programs in the Bay Area. Douglas is a popular instructor at the OLLI@SCU program.

Michael Kevane
Michael Kevane is an Associate Professor of Economics at Santa Clara University. Professor Kevane teaches courses on African Economic Development, the Economics of Emerging Markets, International Economics, and has taught the Environmental Studies Capstone course. He has published articles on the performance of Sudanese rural institutions and markets in journals such as Review of Development Economics, World Development, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, and Africa.

Nancy Wait Kromm
Nancy Wait Kromm is a soprano who began her music studies as a violinist at age eight, joining the California Youth Symphony at age ten and touring with them internationally at age twelve. This early performing experience, along with the rigors and discipline of learning an instrument, set the stage for her long-term association with music and musicians. A graduate of the University of Illinois, she holds a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music degree from that institution. She also was granted a teaching fellowship to Stanford University to pursue further graduate studies leading to the doctoral degree. She has toured extensively in the U.S. and in Germany, Italy and Austria.

Kristin Kusanovich
Kristin Kusanovich has been teaching dance to all ages for over twenty years. She enjoys working with people who call themselves non-dancers, as well as people who have not had a chance to dance in a while. She is currently on the faculty of the Department of Theatre and Dance and the Liberal Studies Program at Santa Clara University. She is a professional choreographer and performer. She founded and was the Artistic Director of Kusanovich Dance Company of Minneapolis for ten years. She received her B.A. from Santa Clara University and her M.F.A from New YorkUniversity.

Dale Larson
Dale G. Larson (B.A., University of Chicago; Ph.D., U. C. Berkeley) is Professor of Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara University. A national leader in end-of-life care and training, he is the author of the award-winning book, The Helper's Journey: Working With People Facing Grief, Loss, and Life-Threatening Illness, and was Senior Editor and a contributing author for the national newspaper series, Finding Our Way: Living with Dying in America. A Fulbright Scholar, he has published extensively on caregiver stress, grief counseling, bereavement, and other end-of-life issues.

Mark Larson
Mark Larson has been directing works for theater and film for over thirty years. His most recent theater production was "The Life of Clare of Assisi" produced for the Mission Santa Clara in February 2009. His next film - "The Mud Horse" - will start production in Salinas, California in the Fall of 2009.

Rob Lovering
Dr. Rob Lovering is a lecturer at Santa Clara University. His main interests are in ethics and the philosophy of religion. He is the author of numerous articles, including: "Does a Normal Fetus Really Have a Future of Value? A reply to Marquis" (Bioethics), "Mary Anne Warren on 'full'  Moral Status" (Southern Journal of Philosophy), and "Divine Hiddenness and Inculpable Ignorance" ( The International Journal for Philosophy and Religion.

Rabbi Dana Magat
Rabbi Dana Magat is the Senior Rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in San Jose. He has been with the congregation since 1999. He is a graduate of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion where he received his ordination in 1993. He has a masters's degree in education from the University of Judaism, Los Angeles and a bachelor of arts in religious studies from California State University at Northridge. He is currently on the interfaith council board and is an active member of the interfaith council board and is an active member of the Interfaith community in Santa Clara county. He is a native of Los Angeles and is married with two children.

Paul McHugh
Paul McHugh, a writing professional, presently publishes features in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and other periodicals. Previously he worked at the San Francisco Chronicle for 22 years. He won the Mercury Award for outdoor writing, and multiple honors from the Outdoor Writers Association of California. He’s a published novelist, short story writer, and poet. He began his craft as a summa cum laude graduate of Florida State, with a B.A. in English, and was editor of the campus magazine.

Cynthia Mei
Violinist and the founder of Adorno Ensemble. She was formerly a member of the violin and piano duo, Chiaroscuro, which toured nationally and recorded a CD by Deva Productions featuring sonatas by Corigliano and Beethoven. She has performed in orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony and the New Century Chamber Orchestra, and has soloed with local groups such as the Tahoe Festival Orchestra. Cynthia earned both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music.

Joseph Morris
Joe is a Lecturer for Religious Studies at Santa Clara University. He teaches courses on Media and Religion and Narratives: Christian Scripture.

Catherine Murphy
Dr. Catherine (Kitty) Murphy is Associate Professor of New Testament at Santa Clara University, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on the Bible, the historical Jesus, gender in early Christianity, apocalyptic literature, and Jesus in Film. She earned her doctorate in New testament and early Christianity from the University of Notre Dame, whereshe worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls publication team. She has traveled frequently to Isreal, Greece, Turkey, and Europe, and historical Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Jesus in film.

Fayeq Oweis
Fayeq Oweis has a Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic studies. He is a professor of Arabic Language and Culture at Santa Clara University.  Fayeq is also a visual artist and the author of "Encyclopedia of Arab American Artists," a book featuring 100 Arab American visual artists.  He created the Arabic calligraphy that adorns the dome and the entrances of the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, and a mural honoring Edward Said at San Francisco State University. Fayeq, originally from the city of Ramallah, Palestine, is also a community activist in the By Area Arab American community.

Bill Pezzaglia
Dr. Bill Pezzaglia is a lecturer for the Physics Department at Santa Clara University. He received his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from UC Davis. He teaches courses mainly on astronomy. Bill is a popular teacher with the OLLI@SCU program and has offered a number of classes for us.

David Pinault
David Pinault received his PhD in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. He has lived and worked in Egypt as a student, researcher, and tour guide on Nile cruises. An associate professor of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University, he is the author of The Shiites: Ritual and Popular Piety in a Muslim Community, and Notes from the Fortune-Telling Parrot: Islam and the Struggle for Religious Pluralism in Pakistan (forthcoming.) David has also been a research consultant and “acting curator” at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum.

Jody Pinault
Jody Pinault received her PhD in classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania and studied spinning and weaving at the Penland School of Crafts. For many years she has brought spindles and looms to her college literature classes and has conducted workshops on ancient spinning and weaving in schools, community programs, meetings of the Junior and American Classical Leagues, and the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum.

David Popalisky
David Popalisky directs the Dance Program in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Santa Clara University where he teaches dance history, modern dance and choreography. He has a MFA in Choreography from Mills College and an M.A. in Theatre Arts/Dance Emphasis from San Jose State University. Former artistic director of DaaPo based in New York City, David has choreographed, performed and taught throughout the United States.

Boo Riley
Philip Boo Riley is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University. Dr. Riley joined the faculty at Santa Clara University in 1978, and in 2003 returned to the Religious Studies Department after eleven years as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Learning.

Edward Rooks
Professional Wildlife artist, Lecturer and nature tour leader, Edward Rooks will help you uncover your unknown artistic talent. A naturalist with an artist’s eye, he teaches drawing workshops in Trinidad and Tobago for Santa Clara University’s International Programs Department, in Costa Rica for Santa Clara University’s Environmental Studies Program, and in Antarctica for Cheeseman’s Ecology Safaris. He also leads an eco-tour and watercolor tour for Cheeseman’s Ecology Safaris to Trinidad and Tobago.

Allison Rottmann
Allison Rottmann is a Lecturer in Chinese History and East Asian Studies in the History Department at Santa Clara University. She is writing her Ph.D. dissertation about the Chinese revolution of 1949 at UC Berkeley and also has a law degree from Duke University. She first lived in China in 1985 and has returned many times for extended and shorter stays over the past twenty years.

Margaret Russell
Professor Margaret M. Russell has been a member of the Santa Clara Law School faculty since 1990. Her scholarship and teaching emphases are in constitutional law (individual rights and liberties), civil procedure, and social justice. She has long been active in the American Civil Liberties Union on both the Northern California and national boards; she was vice-president of the national organization and chair of the Northern California board for many years. Her other social justice background includes being a board member of the Equal Justice Society and the Oakland Museum of California. A fuller biography can be found on the law school's website, www.scu.edu/law.

Thomas Russell
Thomas Russell is an Associate Professor of Economics at Santa Clara University. Professor Russell teaches courses in macroeconomics, microeconomics, and decision-making under uncertainty. His more than 30 scholarly articles have appeared in such publications as the Journal of Economic Theory, American Economic Review, Economic Letters, the Journal of International Money and Finance, and the Journal of Mathematical Economics. His current research interests include applying differential geometry to the study of rational and non-rational behavior, and the analysis of the relationship between capital markets and insurance markets.

Catherine Sandoval
Assistant Professor Catherine J.K. Sandoval has taught Communications Law, Antitrust and Contracts at Santa Clara University School of Law since the Fall of 2004. Prior to her appointment at Santa Clara, she served under Governors Schwarzenegger and Davis as Undersecretary of the State of California’s Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. Before her state service, she was the General Counsel of Z-Spanish Media Corporation for two years, negotiating mergers, acquisitions and regulatory approvals for radio and billboard transactions. For six years she served as a senior manager at the Federal Communications Commission and was the Director of the FCC’s Office of Communications Business Opportunities. Ms. Sandoval received her B.A. from Yale College, was a Rhodes Scholar and received a Master’s from Oxford University, and earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School. She hails from East Los Angeles and is the first person in her family to graduate from college.

Nicole Sault
Since 1977 Nicole Sault has done research among the Zapotec of Mexico and more recently in Costa Rica. Her Ph.D. is in anthropology from UCLA, and she has taught for many years at SCU as well as in Costa Rica. In addition to her book, Many Mirrors: Body Image and Social relations (Rutgers 2004), she has written on kinship rituals, traditional healing, sustainable agriculture, leaders for peace, and ethno-ornithology.

Edward Schaefer
Ed Schaefer is a Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Santa Clara University. He has written several publications for journals in mathematics, computer science and psycholinguistics. He received his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 1992. He spent July 2005 to August 2006 as a Fulbright Scholar in Malawi. Having already been exposed to cultures from several continents, he went to Malawi to learn from Africans. He continues to direct the research of five Malawian graduate students in computer security.

David Short
David Shortt is a physicist and amateur astronomer with an interest in geology, photography, and the natural world in general.  He holds bachelor's degrees from M.I.T. in electrical engineering and physics, and a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford.  He currently works at KLA-Tencor Corporation as director of advanced technology.  This is the second Armchair Traveler course David has taught for OLLI@SCU.

Russ Skowronek
Russ is an Associate Professor in Anthropology at Santa Clara University. Russ teaches Introduction to Archaeology, Vanished Peoples and Civilizations, Native American Cultures, Historical Archaeology, and Perspectives on the Spanish and Native American Experience to name a few. Santa Clara's location, on the site of a Spanish Colonial period mission as well as within the San Francisco Bay area, offers unique options for students to learn and apply anthropology outside the classroom. Students also may choose to focus on specific areas within anthropology including three special emphases: Law and Society, Applied Anthropology, and Archaeology.

Robert Senkewicz
Robert Senkewicz is a professor of the History Department. He received a B.A. at Fordham University and his M.A. and Ph.D. at Stanford University. He has written many books including "Lands of Promise and Despair: Chronicles of Early California," and "The History of Alta California: A Memoir of Mexican California." He has also written articles and essays for numerous publications.

Farid Senzai
Farid Senzai was a research associate at the Brookings Institution where he researched U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East. In addition he was a research analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations where he worked on international politics. He has also served as a consultant for Oxford Analytica and the World Bank. Dr. Senzai received his M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University and his Ph.D. in Political Science at Oxford University.

Shauna Shapiro
Dr. Shapiro is Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara University. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Arizona and served as adjunct faculty for Andrew Weil's Program of Integrative Medicine. She began her study of psychology and spirituality at Duke University, graduating summa cum laude. She developed a specific interest in meditation and traveled to Thailand and Nepal to deepen her understanding and practice. Dr. Shapiro has published over two dozen articles and book chapters in the area of meditation and has presented her research findings nationally and internationally.

David Shortt
David Shortt is a physicist with an interest in optics, astronomy, geology, and the natural world in general. He holds bachelors’ degrees from M.I.T in Physics and Electrical Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Physics from Stanford. He currently works at KLA-Tencor Corporation as director of technology development. David is an avid traveler, a keen observer, and a talented photographer.

Susan Spittler
Susan Spittler graduated from the University of Boston, Massachusetts, with a Bachelor of Arts and went on to receive her Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara University School of Law. After several years in the career field she decided to take the knowledge she gained and work for an international marketing and business growth company. She began as an Account Manager and was quickly promoted to Director of Training. Internally, she co-wrote the business modules and training program, and was responsible for training the entire staff on each of these systems.

Jeremy Taylor
A Unitarian-Universalist minister who is the co-founder and former President of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. He has worked with dreams for over thirty years and blends the values of spirituality with an active social conscience and a Jungian perspective. He teaches at many different universities and seminaries in the Bay Area.

Michael Thorburn
Michael Thorburn has been an adjunct lecturer in the Electrical Engineering Department at Santa Clara University since 2005. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Oregon State University. He developed and taught a special topics class on alternative energy systems for graduate and advanced undergraduate students in engineering which was offered in 2006 and 2007. This is the first course Michael has offered for OLLI Santa Clara.

Brian Thorstenson
Brian Thorstenson's plays include, but are not limited to, Summerland AAlternative Theater Ensemble, 2000 Bay Area Play-wrights Festival, Wings Theater Co., NYC)  and Over The Mountain (2003 Bay Area Playwrights Festival 2007 Globak Age Project, opening 2009 at Brava! for Women in the Arts Center).  He currently teaches at San Francisco State University and Santa Clara University. Brain received a B.A. in theater from Willamette University, and an M.F.A. in creative writing from San Francisco State University.

Fred Tollini
Fred Tollini, S.J., associate professor in the department of theater and dance, has been teaching at Santa Clara University since 1971. The acting director of the Center for Performing Arts, Tollini has directed more than 50 plays and musicals, and acted in productions both at Santa Clara and in regional theater.

Thomas Turley
Thomas Turley received his M.A. from Fordham University and his Ph.D. from Cornell University. His research focuses on medieval religious and political thought, particularly the impact of ecclesiastical conceptions of government on secular political systems. At Santa Clara, he teaches courses on Western Civilization, medieval culture, religion, and society, and the history of history.

Byron Walden
Byron Walden, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, uses his knowledge of number analysis to fashion a hobby as a creator of newspaper puzzles. He has had his puzzles published in the New York Times and The New York Sun and recently took first place in the “B” division at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in March 2007. Walden did his undergraduate studies in mathematics at Vanderbilt University and earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics at Yale. His primary research interest is in complex analysis.

Megan Williams
Megan Williams is a lecturer in the English Department at Santa Clara University. She received her Ph.D. in American Literature from Temple University and is a graduate of Haverford College. In addition to teaching at Santa Clara for the past three years, she has taught at Bryn Mawr College, Temple University, and Lafayette College. Her areas of specialization are American Literature and Film. This is the second course Megan has offered for OLLI Santa Clara.

Judith White
Judith White teaches business ethics and business and public policy in the undergraduate and MBA programs at Santa Clara University. In addition she has taught courses on organizational behavior, organizational theory, human resource management, team development, and leadership. She does research in the areas of corporate social responsibility, business ethics, and management learning and development. Dr. White has a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Case Western Reserve University.

Michael and Eleanor Willemsen
Michael received his B.A. and M.A. in Economics and a L.L.B. degree from Stanford University.  Recently retired, the majority of his legal career was spent as a staff attorney for the California State Supreme Court where he served on the staff of three different justices.  He has authored several law review articles and, with his wife Eleanor, a social policy article dealing with child custody.  In his leisure time, Michael enjoys hiking, choral singing, reading, playing an Asian strategy game called GO and spending time with his family. In addition to teaching at SCU, he also teaches constitutional and immigration law at DeAnza College.  This will be Michael’s third class with OLLI@SCU.

Rich Willis
Rich Willis received his B.S. in mechanical engineering and materials science from Duke University. For the last 12 years, he has managed portfolios for individual investors. He has prior experience as a marketing manager for a variety of computer and telecommunications companies. He is the finance committee chair for OLLI.

Jeff Zorn
Dr. Jeff Zorn attended Boston Latin School, Dartmouth College (B.A. 1967). Cambridge University, Harvard University (M.A.T. 1971), and Stanford University (Ph.D. 1980). He has taught at Miles College (1968-1974) and Santa Clara University (1974-present). Dr. Zorn has published over eighty articles on topics ranging from English composition instruction to whether public money should be spent on building the SF 49ers a new stadium (correct answer: No). He lives in San Francisco with his wife Ann, mother-in-law Sophie, two teenage children, two cats, and an aging but lovable dog. Dr. Zorn is still looking for a new purpose in life after the Red Sox won the World Series in the fall of 2004.