Faculty & Staff Directory

Chad Carlson, assistant professor of knesiology, earned his doctorate from Penn State. His research focuses on the philosophy and history of sport, with particular focus upon such issues as sport philosophy, sport history, sport and religion, and sport and society. His teaching interests include curriculum development, motor learning, motor development, content and instruction, and teaching and supervision.

Marissa holds a bachelor's degree in Communications Media from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2000. She began working at Penn State Altoona in 2007. She also teaches dance part-time at Holliday Dance in Duncansville.

KEY TOPICS/RESEARCH INTERESTS:
media relations, media, news, dance

Heejeong Choi, assistant professor of human development and family studies, earned her doctorate from the University of Wisconsin. Her research interests focus on adult development and aging in the context of the family. She has received several research and teaching awards, and has published articles in the "Journal of Marriage and the Family," the "Journal of Family Issues, and Research in the Sociology of Health Care."

Gary Chulick, visiting assistant professor physics, received his doctorate in theoretical nuclear physics and applied astrophysics from Case Western Reserve University. Rather than nuclear theory, his research interests over the last twenty years have been in geophysics, focused on understanding the structure of the earth’s crust and mantle in relation to seismic activity; he maintains a close collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey. During the same period, he has taught a wide variety of physics courses at several undergraduate institutions.

Mihai Comanescu received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering form Bucharest Polytechnic University in 1992 and his M.S. and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, in 2001 and 2005 respectively. He is currently an assistant professor of electrical engineering at Penn State Altoona. His research interests are in the areas of power conversion, power electronics, AC motor drives, sliding mode control and renewable energy. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a member of the Industrial Electronics Society.

Dr. Roselyn Costantino received her M.A. from Montclair State University (1988) in Spanish Peninsular Literature with a focus on 19th-century Spanish and Latin American narrative, and her Ph.D. from Arizona State University (1992) in Spanish with specialization in Latin American theatre and narrative; Latin American Studies; and Women's Studies. Her areas of specialization include Latin American Writers, Playwrights, and Performance Artists; Latin American and Latina Women; Performance Studies; Feminist Theory; Latino and Latin American Studies. Her most recent publications include Holy Terrors: Latin American Women Perform (co-edited with Diana Taylor. Duke UP, 2003); Femicide, Impunity, and Citizenship: The Old and The New in the Struggle for Justice in Guatemala (Chicana/Latina Studies 6.1 Fall 2006); “Politics and Culture in a Diva´s Diversion”; “Youth Movements in Mexico: Indigenous Youth of the Zapatista Rebellion”; and "Preserving the American Way of Life." She is completing a manuscript, “There are many ways to kill a woman”: Structural Deformities, Femicide, and Transformative Collaboration in Guatemala’s Narrative of Extreme Gendered Violence. She is a member of the Altoona College Arts and Humanities faculty; Women´s Studies Faculty; and the University Graduate faculty.

KEY TOPICS/RESEARCH INTERESTS:
guatemala, feminist theory, femicide, Latin America, Latina, Latino, gender, violence, Mexico, neoliberal, post-colonial, holy terrors, performance, politics, economics, perform, woman, women, narrative, fiction, poet, theatre, theater, art, women's movements, social movements, violence against women, feminicide, 

Canadian-born mezzo soprano Bonnie Cutsforth-Huber is active in oratorio, cantata, and operatic circuits. She has appeared as a soloist with such organizations as the Bach Concert Series, Friday Morning Music Club Chorale of Washington D.C., the Annapolis Chorale, the Susquehanna Valley Chorale, NIH Philharmonica, and the Harford Choral Society. Highlights include Bach’s "St. John Passion," Handel’s "Alexander’s Feast" and "Urtrecht Te Deum," Mozart’s "Solemn Vespers of the Confessor," Mendelssohn’s "Elijah," Haydn’s "Mass in Time of War," Handel’s "Messiah," Beethoven’s "Ninth Symphony," and several cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach. Recent recital credits include concerts in Rome, Italy, and The Aspen Institute. Among Ms.Cutsforth- Huber’s operatic credits are performances with Kentucky Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Rome Festival Opera, and Amici Opera; favorite roles include Marcellina in Mozart’s "Le Nozze di Figaro," Carmen in Bizet’s "Carmen," Meg in Verdi’s "Falstaff," Emilia in Verdi’s "Otello," and the Countess in Massenet’s "Andrea Chenier." Ms. Cutsforth-Huber is also an active scholar. She is a two-time winner of the Rey Longyear award from the American Musicological Society (south central chapter). She was also the winner of the 2002 National Opera Association Scholarly Paper Competition. Her articles and book reviews have appeared in publications such as "Music Research Forum," "The Opera Journal," "Journal of the National Association of Teachers of Singing," and "American Music." She also contributed a chapter to the book "Just Tell the Story: Troubled Island," which focuses on the first opera of African America composer William Grant Still. Her dissertation "The Operas of William Grant Still" was the winner of the 2003/2004 National Opera Association Outstanding Dissertation Competition. Ms. Cutsforth-Huber holds a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from the University of Saskatchewan, a Master’s degree in vocal performance from Southern Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Kentucky. She is active in several musical organizations, including The National Association of Teachers of Singing, The American Choral Directors Association, and the National Opera Association.

KEY TOPICS/RESEARCH INTERESTS:
opera, oratorio, voice, choral music, William grant Still, Scottish song