Miami University's board of trustees approved the promotion and/or tenure of 32 faculty members and three librarians at its Feb. 27 meeting.

The actions take effect July 1.

“It is a privilege to recognize these outstanding educators and scholars for their achievements and commitment to their disciplines,” said Chris Makaroff, interim provost and executive vice president of academic affairs. “Their contributions in the classrooms, labs, and cross-disciplinary learning spaces are helping to develop the next generation of thought leaders and elevating Miami’s teacher-scholar model. I’m honored to work alongside them to advance our mission of student success.”

The faculty granted tenure and promotions are: 

For promotion to full professor

Jason Berberich, Chemical, Paper, and Biomedical Engineering; Per Bloland, Music; Michelle Buchberger, Interdisciplinary and Communication Studies; Gregory Fisher, Marketing; Haim Kassa, Finance; Hannah Lee, Marketing; Vahagn Manukian, Mathematics; Tatjana Miljkovic, Statistics; Anna Radke, Psychology; Maria Weese, Information Systems and Analytics.

For tenure and promotion to associate professor

Riley Acton, Economics; Chad Anderson, Information Systems and Analytics; Phillip Arceneaux, Media, Journalism, and Film; Racheal Banda Rothrock, Teaching, Curriculum, and Educational Inquiry; Suman Bhunia, Computer Science and Software Engineering; Sina Esteky, Marketing; David Gempesaw, Finance; Richard James, Art; Elliott Jardin, Social and Behavioral Sciences; Caitlin Jeanmougin, Nursing; Dee (Darlene) Kinney, Education and Society; Youngaah Koh, Arts Management and Entrepreneurship Program; Donghyung Lee, Statistics; Rock Mancini, Chemistry and Biochemistry; Michael O'Connell, Statistics; Aaron Pergram, Music; Joseph Ransdell, Biology; Maciej Rysz, Information Systems and Analytics; Jennifer Schumacher, Biological Sciences; Russell Simonsen, Spanish and Portuguese; Adam Strantz, Emerging Technology Business and Design; Leping You, Media, Journalism, and Film.

For promotion to prinicpal or associate librarian and continuing contract

Ken Irwin, Library Systems, Megan Jaskowiak, Advise and Instruct; Carla Myers, Scholarly Communications.

For promotion to full professor:

Jason Berberich, associate professor of Chemical, Paper, and Biomedical Engineering, works at the interface of materials science and biotechnology. His research focuses on the application of enzymes and protein-polymer materials for applications in diagnostics, environmental remediation, and sustainable product design. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Pittsburgh. At Miami, he teaches a variety of courses in chemical and biomedical engineering.

Per Bloland, associate professor of Composition and Music Technology, is a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music whose works have been described by the New York Times as “lush, caustic,” and “irresistible.” He has received awards and commissions from numerous national and international organizations and ensembles. He has conducted extensive research at IRCAM in Paris, completing two research residencies there and recently joining a multi-year work group investigating the future of the orchestra. His first portrait CD, Chamber Industrial, was performed by Ecce Ensemble and is available on Tzadik Records. His second, Shadows of the Electric Moon, is available on New Focus Records.

Michelle Buchberger received her Ph.D. in English Literature, from Brunel University, UK and joined Miami in 2014. She teaches Professional Studies, English Literature, and Film. Recent publications include "Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies" with Allen Repko and Rick Szostak (2024) — used in over 130 universities — and book chapters “Interdisciplinary Advising” in "Handbook of Interdisciplinary Teaching and Administration" in 2024, and "Parasite" and Identity in the 'End Times': An Interpretation through the Lens of Slavoj Žižek” in "A Philosophical Exploration on the film 'Parasite'" by Bong Joon-Ho, 2022.

Greg Fisher is an associate professor of Marketing at the Farmer School of Business. He completed his Ph.D. in Business Administration at the University of Illinois - Gies College of Business and joined the Miami faculty in August 2014. Additionally, he earned an International MBA from the University of South Carolina - Moore School of Business, where he was a Darla Moore Fellow, and a BA in Economics from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, where he was a University of Missouri Curators Scholar. His research interests in marketing strategy explore marketing technology, interorganizational learning, marketing alliances, open innovation, 3D printing, and new product development. Prior to his academic career, he held positions in B2B marketing management, accounting management, and consulting.

Haim Kassa is the Lindmor Professor of Finance at the Farmer School of Business. He is an expert in the areas of investments and portfolio management. Specifically, his research focuses on empirical corporate valuation and how to best maximize investment return and minimize risk, primarily through factor investing. He is experienced at the design and testing of trading strategies using historical firm level data from the stock, bond, and option markets. Kassa published his findings in internationally well-regarded journals including Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Banking and Finance, Critical Finance Review, Journal of Corporate Finance, Financial Management, and European Financial Management.

Hannah Lee is an associate professor of Marketing and director of the Higgin Kim Asia Business Program at the Farmer School of Business. She completed her Ph.D. in Business Administration at the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management at Michigan State University, where she was a University Distinguished Fellow, and joined the Miami faculty in July 2014. She earned a M.S. in Finance the University of Illinois and a B.A. in International Studies from the Scranton College of Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea. Her research interests explore the field of marketing strategy inclusive of intra- and inter-organizational governance, relationship marketing, managerial decision making, and the influence of culture and institutional factors on international marketing strategy. 

Vahagn Manukian received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Ohio State University and joined Miami University in 2010. He holds joint appointments in the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Mathematical and Physical Sciences and served as chair of the latter from 2018 to 2024 and as interim chair of the Department of Engineering Technology in Spring 2024. He received the Prodesse Quam Conspici Award for his leadership as department chair during the COVID-19 pandemic. His research focuses on pattern formation in nonlinearly coupled reaction–diffusion systems. He co-authored the book "Introduction to Traveling Waves" (Chapman and Hall/CRC, 2022) and has published in leading peer-reviewed journals. His work has been supported by the Simons Foundation, and he has co-organized NSF-funded conferences at Miami. He collaborated with graduate and undergraduate students on research projects leading to peer-reviewed publications and has contributed to curriculum development that strengthens student retention and success.

Tatjana Miljkovic, associate professor of Statistics, joined Miami in 2015. She has helped put Miami University on the map in actuarial science through several publications in leading journals, including Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, North American Actuarial Journal, and Scandinavian Actuarial Journal. With more than 12 years of industry experience, she brings practical insight to academia, serves as the Actuarial Science Advisor, teaches a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses in statistics and data science, and has mentored several student research projects that led to peer-reviewed publications.

Anna Radke is an associate professor of Psychology and director of Miami's Center for Neuroscience and Behavior. Radke’s research in behavioral neuroscience uses mouse models of behavior to study motivational states, specifically as they relate to psychiatric disorders and addiction. Her research team is currently working on NIH-funded projects investigating the neural mechanisms by which biological sex influences vulnerability for addiction to opioids and alcohol. At Miami, she has taught across the curriculum in Psychology and Neuroscience and published scientific papers with more than 40 student authors.

Maria Weese earned a bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Tech and worked for three years as a Process Improvement Engineer for Celanese Acetate before returning to graduate school to pursue graduate studies in Statistics at the University of Tennessee. She is an active researcher in the areas of design of statistical experiments and statistical monitoring. As such, she has high quality publications in both of those areas. Weese has been in the Farmer School of Business at Miami since receiving her Ph.D. in 2010 and has taught extensively in the Business Analytics program developing the current Business Analytics Practicum course as well as Statistical Monitoring and Design of Experiments and Introduction to Data Mining.

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For tenure and promotion to associate professor

Riley Acton received her Ph.D. in economics from Michigan State University in 2020 and is currently an assistant professor of Economics in the Farmer School of Business. She is an applied microeconomist who specializes in the economics of education. Much of her current research focuses on how students choose where to apply to and enroll in college and how colleges can affect their local communities. Acton enjoys teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in microeconomics and labor economics, advising Miami's Women in Economics club, and mentoring student research.

Chad Anderson is an assistant professor of Information Systems in the Farmer School of Business. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Information Systems from Georgia State University and holds an MBA from Eastern Kentucky University, Bachelor of Science degrees in Occupational Therapy and Psychology from Eastern Kentucky University, and in Business Administration from North Dakota State University. His research interests include the role of technology in the delivery of health care, information security and privacy, and blockchain technology. His work has been published in Decision Support Systems, Information and Organization, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Journal of Management Information Systems, MIS Quarterly, and other journals. Prior to joining Miami, Anderson was on the faculty at Northern Kentucky University and the University of Nevada, Reno.

​​Phillip Arceneaux is an assistant professor of Strategic Communication in the Department of Media, Journalism, and Film, where he teaches mass communication courses focusing on media psychology and content strategy. His research investigates organizational storytelling and agenda-building in political public relations, primarily in foreign policy, national security, and electoral contexts. He is the director of Miami's Diplomacy Lab and a Faculty Fellow with the Menard Family Center for Democracy. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 2019.

Racheal M. Banda Rothrock, Ph.D., specializes in cultural studies within education, providing her with an interdisciplinary, critical perspective as a motherscholar and teacher educator. She serves as coordinator for the Literacy & Language Master's program and Middle Childhood Education undergraduate program in the Teaching, Curriculum, and Educational Inquiry department. She studies the concept of community within various spatial contexts, including schools, classrooms, and university. This led to her work as personnel and co-PI on grants and publications in top journals in her field.

Suman Bhunia is an assistant professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering and is affiliated with the Center for Cybersecurity. He earned his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Nevada, Reno. He founded the Miami University Cybersecurity Club and has served as its faculty advisor since its inception. His research lies at the intersection of cybersecurity, wireless networking, and distributed systems and has been published in leading journals including ACM Transactions on Cyber-Physical Systems, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, and IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing. He also serves as a Technical Program Committee (TPC) member for prestigious conferences such as IEEE MILCOM and IEEE CCNC.

Sina Esteky is an assistant professor of Marketing in the Farmer School of Business. He holds dual Ph.D.s in business administration (marketing) and architecture (design studies) from the University of Michigan. Additionally, he earned an MSc in architecture with a minor in psychology at the University of Michigan and a bachelor's in architectural engineering from the National University of Iran. His research focuses on the consequences of design on consumer behavior in physical and virtual environments. For instance, his work has helped better understand how and when architectural and sensory design elements impact people's risk-taking behaviors, pro-social and pro-environmental decisions, eating behavior, and their engagement in collaborative innovation. His research has been published in academic journals such as the Journal of Consumer Psychology, the Journal of Environmental Psychology, and the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. It has also been featured by media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, NPR, CNBC, The Atlantic, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Houston Chronicle, MSN, MarketWatch, and Yahoo! Finance. His teaching interests are in Branding, Digital Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Creativity and Innovation, Sensory Marketing, and Design Thinking.

David Gempesaw joined the Department of Finance as an assistant professor in 2019 after completing his Ph.D. in Business Administration (emphasis in Finance) at Pennsylvania State University. His research agenda primarily focuses on topics related to empirical asset pricing and investments, including the role of investors' information sets and preferences in asset pricing; the predictability of equity returns; and retail and institutional investors. He has taught undergraduate courses on introductory finance, financial derivatives, financial modeling, and investments. He earned a Master of Arts degree in Economics (concentration in Financial Economics) from Miami University and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Delaware with an Honors Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance and minors in Economics and Jazz Studies. He also obtained his CPA license and worked as an external auditor in the Financial Services Office at Ernst and Young in Philadelphia for three years.

Richard W. James is assistant professor of Ceramics. Prior to this, he was the assistant professor of sculpture and ceramics at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and held long-term artist-in-resident positions at The Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Helena, Montana (2017-2019), Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee (2016-2017), and Zhenrutang in Jingdezhen, China (summer 2015). He received his BFA from the University of Tennessee at Martin in 2001 and his MFA in ceramics from the University of Kansas in 2016, where a portion of his thesis work received the 2016 International Sculpture Center and Sculpture Magazine Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award. He was the recipient of the James Renwick Alliance Chrysalis Award (2019) for emerging artists in the contemporary craft as well as the Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist Award (2018). His work is featured in numerous private collections, publications, and websites including HI-FRUCTOSE and Glass Tire. He continues to exhibit regularly across the country, as well as past exhibits in China and Italy.

Elliott Jardin is an assistant professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. His work centers around cognitive aging, brain health, and evidence-based teaching, integrating cognitive science into innovative courses and widely used publicly available resources (adopted by over 300 colleges and universities). He directs undergraduate research on attention, memory, and emotion and studies strategies that enhance learning and reduce ageism.

Caitlin Jeanmougin is an assistant professor in the Department of Nursing. She joined Miami as a clinical faculty member in 2016 and was appointed assistant professor in 2020. She earned her Master of Science in Nursing with a focus on nursing education and her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Northern Kentucky University. Her clinical expertise centers on the care of birthing people and their newborns, and she teaches courses related to obstetric and newborn nursing. Her research interests include peer mentorship during the transition from clinician to nursing academia, emergency department care for individuals experiencing early pregnancy loss, and informed consent practices in the inpatient obstetric setting.

Dee Kinney, Ph.D., MSW, RDN, is an assistant professor at Miami University Regionals, where she teaches undergraduate courses in health, nutrition, and physical activity. Her scholarship and service center on promoting college student mental health and well-being, with particular attention to branch-campus and commuter students. Kinney leads grant-funded, collaborative initiatives that strengthen student support and foster a sense of belonging, and she is deeply committed to applied, student-centered teaching that supports lifelong well-being and community engagement. 

Youngaah Koh, assistant professor of Arts Management and Arts Entrepreneurship, holds a Ph.D. in Arts Administration, Education, and Policy from the Ohio State University. Her research focuses on cultural policy and advocacy, the intersection of arts management and artificial intelligence, and arts management education and pedagogy. She has a forthcoming co-edited volume, "AI in Arts Administration: Cases of Practice and Pedagogy," with Routledge. Koh serves leadership roles in the field as treasurer of the Association of Arts Administration Education and a director of International Cooperation with the Korean Society of Arts and Cultural Management.

Rock Mancini, assistant professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, applies organic chemistry and chemical biology to advance research in synthetic immunology. His NIH-supported research focuses on using molecular cues of the immune system to create designer vaccines and cancer immunotherapies. He completed his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles and postdoctoral studies in Chemical Biology at the University of California, Irvine. At Miami, he teaches courses in Medicinal Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, training students at the interface of chemistry and human health.

Michael O’Connell, assistant professor of Statistics, earned his Ph.D. in Biostatistics from the University of Minnesota. His primary research focuses on integrative analysis of multiple data sources through dimension reduction methods. He applies his methods to applications in bioinformatics, using integrative methods to perform simultaneous analysis on multiple levels of genetic data. He is also interested in statistical models for zero-inflated data and neural network models. 

Aaron Pergram, DMA, is an international performing artist and scholar specializing in contemporary music by composers of the Chinese diaspora. Fluent in Mandarin, he previously served as a professor at Soochow University in China, where he forged deep creative connections across Asia. Pergram’s global research and performances — spanning Carnegie Hall to the Shanghai Symphony Hall — aim to bring prominence to emerging Sinospheric musics. At Miami, he champions the next generation of creatives through performance, world music, and global sound studies.

Joseph (Joey) Ransdell, assistant professor of Biology, earned his B.S. in Neuroscience from the University of Minnesota and his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri. Prior to joining Miami in 2020, he was a postdoctoral scientist at Washington University School of Medicine. His laboratory explores how neurons in the brain generate electrical signals that underlie movement, thought, and behavior and how disruptions in these signals contribute to neurological disease. He teaches physiology and neuroscience-related courses and works closely with students eager to pursue research.

Maciej (Matt) Rysz is an assistant professor of Information Systems and Analytics. His research and teaching interests lie in operations research, network science, data analytics, and systems management. Before joining the Farmer School of Business, he was a research assistant professor at the Industrial & Systems Engineering Department within the University of Florida. He also served as a postdoctoral research associate under the National Research Council of the National Academies. He received his Ph.D. in industrial engineering with emphasis on operations research from the University of Iowa in 2014.

Jennifer Schumacher, assistant professor of Biological Sciences, earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania before completing postdoctoral fellowships at New York University and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. She is a developmental biologist who teaches at the Regionals Hamilton Campus and employs the zebrafish as a research model to investigate signaling pathways and cellular communication mechanisms that drive heart and blood vessel development during embryogenesis. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and the Great Lakes Fisheries Trust.

Russell Simonsen, assistant professor of Spanish, completed his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota. His teaching and research focus on Spanish linguistics and second language acquisition. He has also published several works at the intersection of foreign language learning and career readiness, including an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times. Additionally, he is a faculty advisor for the Evans Scholars, a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to high-achieving Miami students with financial need.

Adam Strantz is an assistant professor jointly-appointed in the departments of Emerging Technology in Business + Design and English. He received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 2016. His research focuses on the intersections of accessibility and user experience design through various digital mediums including mobile apps, interactive data visualizations, and video games.  

Leping You, assistant professor of Media, Journalism, and Film, earned her Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Florida. You’s research focuses on corporate political advocacy, civic engagement on social media, and value advocacy in community mobilization for social change. Her research examines how the public perceives and responds, attitudinally and behaviorally, to companies’ stances on sociopolitical issues. She teaches strategic communication campaigns and crisis management. Her capstone classes have partnered with 10 nonprofit organizations.

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For promotion to associate librarian and continuing contract

Ken Irwin is a Web Services Librarian. He received a Master of Information and Library Studies from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Kalamazoo College. His scholarship focuses developing open-source solutions to solve challenging library issues and to make the most of our resources. His projects include MyGuide, a personalized research dashboard, and Software Checkout, a mechanism for "checking out" software licenses that has saved Miami students over $200,000. His current project, Argus, developed in collaboration with Miami Special Collections Librarian Rachel Makarowski, is a special collections project management tool that will save scholars and librarians time and effort in managing research projects.

Megan Jaskowiak is the Health and Social Sciences Librarian. She holds a Ph.D. in Botany from North Dakota State University and a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from Kent State University. She liaises with the Criminology, Gerontology, Psychology, Sociology, Speech Pathology and Audiology, Family Science and Social Work departments, as well as the Physician Associate Studies program. One of her primary responsibilities is supporting faculty, staff, and students conducting systematic and scoping reviews. A recent scoping review she co-authored with two Miami faculty members and a graduate student was accepted for publication in International Emergency Nursing. Her research has also appeared in the Journal of the Medical Library Association, Serials Review, Interlending & Document Supply, and the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.

Carla Myers received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Akron and her Master's degree in Library and Information Science from Kent State University. Her work in libraries focuses on fair use, copyright in the classroom, and library copyright issues, and she has presented across the U.S. and internationally on these topics. As coordinator of Scholarly Communications for the Miami University Libraries, she also helps lead campus affordability initiatives that seek to reduce or eliminate the cost of textbooks and other learning materials students use. In collaborations with partners in the library and across campus, these initiatives have saved students over $1.6 million dollars since 2018.