Faculty Advisors

Ken Beals
Ken Beals earned a doctorate in theory in church ministries from the Boston University School of Theology. His teaching experience includes serving as an adjunct professor of religious studies at James Madison University and Mary Baldwin College. Beals currently is a member of the Staunton-West Augusta Ministerial Association and is a supervising pastor/mentor for ministerial candidates for the United Methodist Church.
Email Address: kab2w@virginia.edu

Sandi Cohen
Sandi Cohen is director of teacher education and associate professor of special education at the Curry School of Education at U.Va. She also serves on the BIS Advisory Committee. In 1999, Cohen was awarded the prestigious David A. Harrison III Award for Undergraduate Advising. She holds a Ph.D. in special education - mental retardation from Georgia State University.
Email Address: sbc7v@virginia.edu

John Corlett
John Corlett has over 20 years of experience consulting to executives and senior managers on developing more effective organizations. Besides teaching in the BIS Program, he is an adjunct faculty member at the Saybrook Graduate Institute and Research Center and at the Federal Executive Institute. His teaching interests include organizational change, leadership and management, organizational behavior, and organizational consulting. Corlett earned his Ph.D. in organization development from the Union Institute and University.
Email Address: jgcorlett@comcast.net

David Dexter
David Dexter has spent 20 years in computer center management and has more than 16 years of classroom experience. He has served as director of academic computing at Middlebury College, and director of computer services and associate professor of mathematics and computer science at Alma College. Dexter earned his Ph.D. from Georgetown University.
Email Address: dddexter@hughes.com

Karen Farber
Karen Farber earned her Ph.D. in sociology from the U.Va. She brings extensive executive, management, and operational experience in the areas of business affairs, human resources/personnel administration, and labor relations. Farber has served as associate vice chancellor for the University of Maryland System and director of statewide university personnel programs for California State University. Currently, she is assistant director of the University Internship Program at U.Va.
Email Address: kfarber@virginia.edu

William Kehoe
William Kehoe is the William F. O Dell Professor of Commerce at the McIntire School of Commerce at U.Va. His teaching interests include global business and marketing, marketing strategy and business ethics. Kehoe has held management positions with Centrex Corporation, Mercantile Stores, and Philips Petroleum Company and served in the USMC. He has served as a consultant regarding global business strategy and ethics in business and in banking as well as an expert witness in antitrust litigation. Kehoe also has served as associate dean of the Commerce School. He earned a D.B.A. degree in business administration from the University of Kentucky.
Email Address: wjk@virginia.edu

Glenn Kessler
Glenn Kessler has professional experience in higher education, information technology, and business management. As an assistant professor of philosophy and assistant dean at the University of Virginia, his exceptional commitment to teaching and the University community were recognized through the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. He received a Ph.D. in logic from Princeton University.
Email Address: gkessler@virginia.edu

Ann Lane
Ann Lane received a Ph.D. in U.S. history from Columbia University. Her initial focus was on the history of the South and on African-American history. With the emergence of the women's movement in the late 1960s and the concurrent growth of women's studies in the academy, she moved her focus to the history of women in America. She has published several books on the life and work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, including a biography. Lane is a member of the BIS Advisory Committee.
Email Address: ajl3u@virginia.edu

Kenny Marotta
Kenny Marotta is a fiction writer who has lived in Charlottesville since 1974. He has taught writing and literature at U.Va. and Piedmont Virginia Community College and participated in many writing residencies. Marotta received his Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University. His latest book is a collection of short stores, A House on the Piazza.
Email Address: krm2v@virginia.edu

Charlotte Matthews
Charlotte Matthews earned her B.A. from U.Va. with a major in English and a minor in religious studies. Her M.F.A. in creative writing is from Warren Wilson College and she has extensive background as a highly accomplished writing instructor through Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, Distance Education program. She is an assistant professor at PVCC where she teaches composition, developmental writing and poetry, and currently serves as the BIS writing tutor and adjunct faculty member.
Email Address: chm3ub@virginia.edu

Joanne McNergney
Joanne McNergney has 15 years of experience teaching at the elementary level in public schools. She serves as assistant dean for admissions and student affairs and teaches in the teacher education program at the Curry School of Education at U.Va. In addition to her academic work, she has been one of the principal developers of Casenex, a venture created by the Curry School and the University of Virginia to provide case-based training to teachers around the world. McNergney earned her Ph.D. from U.Va.
Email Address: jmh8j@virginia.edu

Susan Mintz
Susan Mintz is on the faculty at U.Va.'s Curry School of Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and serves as coordinator of secondary education. She earned her doctorate in curriculum and instruction at Syracuse University.
Email Address: slm4r@virginia.edu

John Mirabella
John Mirabella combines an engineering background and a career in federal government service with the study of public administration leading to a doctorate in public administration. With over 34 years of experience in technical and policy fields in three government departments, he has expertise in research, project and program management, policy analysis, regulation writing, and supervision. He also holds a master’s degree in engineering mechanics and a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering.
Email Address: jm5bk@virginia.edu

Virginia Mosser
Virginia Mosser earned a doctorate in early modern European history from U.Va. and also holds master’s degrees in German literature and music history. Her teaching experience includes the University of Virginia, the American University of Bulgaria and Mary Baldwin College. Mosser also has taught several BIS classes, including Love, Marriage and other Western Delusions, The Enlightenment Era, and Art and Society: Myth, Music and Merriment.
Email Address: vrm3j@virginia.edu

Donna Plasket
Donna Plasket currently serves as the director of the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies Program (BIS) in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at U.Va. Plasket earned her B.M.Ed. in voice and M.M. in choral conducting from Westminister College. She received her Ed.M and Ed.D in administration, planning, and social policy from Harvard. Prior to accepting the position of BIS Director in 1999, Plasket served as associate director and development coordinator and consultant for U.Va.’s Women’s Center.
Email Address: plasket@virginia.edu

Ann Marie Plunkett
Ann Marie Plunkett received her Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia and specializes in the fields of modern Britain, medieval and early modern Britain, modern Ireland, 20th Century Russia, and modern Europe. She has taught at U.Va., Mary Baldwin College, Hollins University, and Piedmont Virginia Community College. Plunkett’s research interests include British and Irish 19th and 20th century political and social history, nationalism, and print culture.
Email Address: amp8p@virginia.edu

Kristin Sayeski
Kristin Sayeski is on the faculty at U.Va.'s Curry School of Education in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education. She earned her Ph.D. from the U.Va.  
Email Address: kal4h@virginia.edu

Gordon Stewart
Gordon Stewart is an associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and professor in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at U.Va. Stewart has concentrated his teaching in the undergraduate program on 100- and 200-level culture (Modern Germany 1900-45) and literature courses (Goethe). In addition to serving as a BIS faculty advisor, he is a member of the BIS Advisory Committee. He earned his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.
Email Address: gstewart@virginia.edu

Steve Thornton
Steve Thornton is professor of physics at the University of Virginia. His area of research is in physics (and science) education. Thornton’s research objective is to train K-12 teachers of science and graduate physicists to be college and university professors. He has been active in teacher enhancement projects at the local, regional, and state levels. Thornton has served as member of the BIS Advisory Committee since its inception. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee.
Email Address: stt@virginia.edu

William Welty
William Welty recently retired from Pace University in New York City after 39 years of teaching. There he taught courses and seminars in the Pace M.B.A program, including courses in public policy, business policy, the social and political environment of business, ethical issues in organizations, and management skills. He has published, consulted, and presented workshops nationally and internationally. His book of case studies in teacher education was the first use of the business school case model in teacher education. He holds a Ph.D. in American history.
Email Address: ww4b@virginia.edu

William Wilkerson
William Wilkerson specializes in international business, with an emphasis on Europe and business regulation. Additional interests include aspects of business history and credit unions. He is a frequent reviewer for submissions to the International Journal of Public Administration. Wilkerson has held various offices in the Management History Division of the Academy of Management and has made presentations at several national meetings of the division.  He earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia.
Email Address: wrw@virginia.edu

Ellie Wilson
Ellie Wilson is an assistant professor in the Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education Department at the Curry School of Education at U.Va. She is also involved with the Five Year BA/MT Teacher Education Program at Curry and serves as an assistant professor in the Studies in Women and Gender Interdisciplinary program. Wilson’s current research includes writing a history of the Curry School of Education. She holds a Ph.D. degree.
Email Address: evw2u@virginia.edu

Kate Wood
Kate Wood currently serves as a consultant to the Center for Survey Research at the University of Virginia. She earned her B.A. in sociology from Valparaiso University and her M.A. in sociology and her Ph.D in religious studies from U.Va. Her areas of concentration are sociology of religion, research methods, and European and American religious history.
Email Address: kfm3e@Virginia.EDU