New faculty members attended an orientation organized by the Office of Academic Affairs last Tuesday in the Millennium Student Center. (Photo by Derik Holtmann)
The University of Missouri–St. Louis is opening the 2025-26 academic year with 24 new faculty members, including five who are returning to teach at their alma mater.
“We are so excited to have these new faculty members join our UMSL community, and we can’t wait to witness the impact they have on the lives of our students through their teaching and scholarship,” said Steven J. Berberich, UMSL’s vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost. “We also look forward to supporting them as they pursue new discoveries that add to our base of knowledge and impact our region.”
Alice Hall, the associate provost for faculty affairs, led the Office of Academic Affairs in organizing a daylong orientation last Tuesday in Century Room C of the Millennium Student Center. New faculty members had a chance to hear from Chancellor Kristin Sobolik, Provost Berberich and representatives from the Center for Teaching and Learning, Student Advocacy and Care, Health and Counseling Services, the UMSL Police Department, Disability Access Services, Student Outreach and Support, Academic Integrity and Student Conduct, University Marketing and Communications, the Faculty Senate, Student Affairs and University Libraries. There were also panel discussions featuring early-career faculty members and UMSL students.
Find out more about each new faculty member below.
College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Rina Bhowmick, assistant teaching professor
Bhowmick is a computational chemist who earned her PhD in chemistry from the University of South Dakota. She comes to UMSL after working as a postdoctoral research assistant in South Dakota. Her research explores electronic structure and bonding of metal complexes using quantum chemistry methods. She has also taught organic and physical chemistry for four years in Bangladesh.
Department of Language and Cultural Studies
Nicholas Blaker, assistant teaching professor
Blaker pursued his master’s degree and PhD in Hispanic linguistics at Indiana University after earning his bachelor’s degree in Spanish with a minor in anthropology from Northern Kentucky University in 2013. He also earned a master’s degree in teaching Spanish as a foreign language from the Universidad de Salamanca in Spain. Blaker’s research has examined the acquisition and use of Tense-Mood-Aspect in native and non-native Spanish from a variationist perspective with emphasis on past temporal expression within both narrative and non-narrative discourse. He is also interested in morphosyntactic and pragmatic variation in Aragonese Spanish and Catalan.
Department of Music
Corinne Stillwell, associate professor
Stillwell, a violinist, is the newest member of the Arianna String Quartet. A four-time graduate of The Juilliard School, Stillwell previously served as an associate professor at Florida State University and concertmaster of the Tallahassee Symphony from 2007 to 2025. Stillwell is a lifelong chamber musician who has been featured on NPR’s Performance Today and was a member of the Harrington String Quartet. She has collaborated with clarinetists Richard Stoltzman and David Shifrin, violinist Mikhail Kopelman, pianist Robert Levin and members of the Ying, Cavani and Pro Arte quartets. She has also performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Chamber Music Rochester and the Amarillo Chamber Music Society.
Department of Philosophy
Spencer Ivy, assistant teaching professor
Ivy is a philosopher of cognitive science who received his PhD from the University of Utah in 2023. He comes to UMSL after a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Warsaw in Poland. His research is defined by a combined expertise in the philosophy of perception and neuroscience, alongside a passion for understanding how style, flair, feeling, metaphor and other aesthetic components of our everyday experience contribute to our creatively skilled capabilities. Ivy’s work on expertise is multidisciplinary, including empirical work in eye-tracking and the philosophy of perception. Whether it’s doctors visually analyzing radiographs, artists incubating creative ideas or the distinctive ways in which athletes leave their stylistic fingerprint upon their performances, Ivy’s work shows that there is much to discover at the limit of optimal human activity, consciousness and expression.
Department of Political Science
Amanda Heideman, assistant professor
Heideman comes to UMSL after serving as a senior policy data analyst for the Rochester Police Accountability Board in New York. She was previously an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Political Science at Marquette University. Heideman earned her PhD in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with concentrations in American politics, public policy and public administration. She also worked as a postdoctoral research associate at Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. Her research explores how political institutions shape citizens’ trust, participation and engagement; how responsive local governments are to the diverse needs and voices of their constituents; and the ways individuals form political attitudes and make decisions.
Department of Psychological Sciences
Yunjing (Daphne) Liu, assistant professor
Liu earned her PhD in Psychological and Brain Sciences from Washington University in St. Louis in 2022 and completed her clinical internship at Emory University. She also completed her postdoctoral fellowships at Stony Brook University and the University of Denver prior to joining UMSL. Liu conducts research on affective and social processes related to psychological well-being and psychopathology with a particular focus on depression and people of diverse identities and lived experiences.
Amy Ruffus-Doerr, assistant teaching professor
Ruffus-Doerr spent the past five years as a faculty member at Fontbonne University, including the past year as an associate professor and the co-chair of the Department of Biological and Behavioral Sciences. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in art history from UMSL and went on to earn her PhD in educational psychology. She served as a research assistant for Curators’ Distinguished Professor Cody Ding, among others. Ruffus-Doerr’s teaching interests include 21st century cognition, applied learning theory, cognitive psychology, memory, child psychology, cross-cultural psychology and psychology of fake news, among others. Ruffus-Doerr has also worked as a cognitive and clinical rater for Arch Clinical Research Trials.
Ed G. Smith College of Business
Department of Global Leadership and Management
Cindy Goodwin-Sak, assistant teaching professor and director of executive education
Goodwin-Sak has deep experience in leadership, corporate governance and technology, shaped by her extensive career at Cisco Systems, where she guided teams through challenging transformations. As a proud graduate of UMSL’s DBA and PMBA programs, Goodwin-Sak combines academic rigor with real-world business savvy. She is passionate about rethinking traditional leadership and evolving governance in today’s fast-changing business world. With her enthusiasm, innovation and hands-on approach, Goodwin-Sak aims to impact student success and enhance the Executive Education Program.
Department of Information Systems and Technology
Le (Carol) Kuai, assistant professor
Kuai received her PhD in information systems and MS in information systems from the University of Arkansas, and she also holds a BBA in computer information systems from James Madison University. Her research focuses on the evolution and dynamics of online communities, with particular attention to participation, institutional structures and technological influences. In addition, she actively investigates emerging technologies, including Web 3.0 (decentralized technologies), spatial computing, artificial intelligence and related innovations. Her research has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of Information Technology, Journal of Information Technology Case and Application Research, The Journal of the British Blockchain Association and MIS Quarterly Executive.
Department of Supply Chain and Analytics
Rhonda Hurd, assistant teaching professor
Hurd joins the faculty at UMSL after more than 25 years working in industry positions in manufacturing, operations and logistics at leading companies Monsanto, Bayer, Emerson and World Wide Technology. She earned her MBA with an emphasis in supply chain management from Saint Louis University and also holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Iowa. Hurd has expertise in global supply chain management, U.S. export logistics operations, process optimization, production and distribution planning, project management and implementation, sales and operations planning and more. She is eager to apply her extensive corporate work experience to the training and development of a new generation of leaders.
College of Education
Department of Educator Preparation and Leadership
Allison Antink-Meyer, E. Desmond Lee Endowed Professor in Science Education
Antink-Meyer is an NSF-funded STEM education researcher and former high school chemistry teacher. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from DePaul University and a PhD in science education from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. She joins the Department of Educator Preparation and Leadership after serving as a faculty member and School Associate Director at Illinois State University for 13 years. Antink-Meyer’s research focuses on how science, engineering and sustainability are represented and taken up by children, teachers and families in preK-12 formal and informal STEM spaces.
Elizabeth Irwin, assistant teaching professor
Irwin earned her PhD in education with an emphasis in counseling from UMSL in 2024. She has experience treating eating disorders, addictions, developmental trauma, PTSD, relationship issues, bad body image, anxiety disorders and mood disorders, and she has practiced in both residential treatment centers and outpatient settings. She is certified in EMDR and has received training in such therapeutic modalities as neurofeedback, interpersonal neurobiology, Internal Family Systems, family therapy and schema therapy.
Meral Koldas, assistant professor
Koldas is a behavior analyst and researcher with international experience in autism intervention and online training. She earned her PhD in applied behavior analysis from Queen’s University Belfast, following degrees from Bangor University in the United Kingdom and Anadolu University in Turkey. Before coming to UMSL, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute. Her research focuses on communication and language development in autism, with emphasis on verbal behavior, technology use in clinical practice and caregiver-implemented interventions.
Jiadi Zhang, assistant professor
Zhang is a teacher educator and researcher specializing in language and literacy education, particularly with linguistically and culturally diverse communities. As a multilingual teacher, she has taught languages across diverse international contexts and earned her PhD in language and literacy education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2025. Her research highlights inclusive and transformative approaches to teaching and learning that honor the voices, experiences and identities of both students and teachers.
Department of Educator Sciences and Professional Programs
Meredith Moore, assistant teaching professor
Moore received her PhD in counselor education and supervision from the University of Arkansas and holds a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Arkansas and a BS in psychology from Oklahoma State University. She is a licensed professional and eating disorder specialist. Prior to becoming a faculty member, Moore practiced as a counselor in a variety of settings, supporting clients in the correctional system, private practice and college counseling. Moore came to UMSL from a college counseling center, where she coordinated the eating disorder treatment team and focused on the supervision and training of counseling interns.
Tayler Onion, assistant teaching professor
Onion is a veteran sports industry professional who comes to UMSL’s sport management program after spending 12 years working in sports. She has worked in various roles, including student-athlete development, leadership training, major gift fundraising and curriculum design. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she competed as a volleyball student-athlete, and earned her PhD at the University of South Florida. Onion’s primary research interests focus on advancing equity and opportunity in sports, with particular emphasis on the experience of women’s sports and women working in sports. She is passionate about exploring the intersection of sport, identity and leadership, and she seeks to empower the next generation of leaders in sports.
Zori Paul, assistant professor
Paul is a counselor educator and UMSL alum, returning to St. Louis after three years teaching at Marquette University. She is also a licensed professional counselor in Missouri and a certified Parent-Child Interaction Therapy provider. Paul holds a bachelor’s in comparative human development with a minor in gender and sexuality studies from the University of Chicago, a master’s in clinical mental health counseling from Northwestern University and a PhD in counseling from UMSL. Her research interests include the mental health and wellbeing of individuals with multiple marginalized identities; cross-cultural mentorship in counseling; and the ethical use of social media and artificial intelligence by mental health professionals.
College of Nursing
Crizyll Krishna Almeria, assistant teaching professor
Almeria has spent more than four years as a registered nurse at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. She earned her BSN from Saint Louis University in 2019, working as a nutrition assistant at Mercy’s South County Hospital and as a student nurse technician at BJC HealthCare while in school. Last year, she became an adjunct faculty member at Saint Louis University.
Clare Schuchardt, assistant teaching professor
Schuchardt is joining the College of Nursing faculty full-time after serving as an adjunct clinical instructor. She earned her BSN from UMSL in 2019. As a student, she received the Shirley A. Martin Distinguished Nurse Award and was a student marshal for the College of Nursing at commencement. Schuchardt worked as a registered nurse at BJC HealthCare and SSM Health. She earned a master’s degree in public health from Saint Louis University and has been pursuing her PhD in nursing and health care innovation at Arizona State University. She has experience in community-based participatory research and programs and qualitative and quantitative methods, as well as in bedside nursing in safety-net settings and pediatrics.
College of Optometry
Dr. Keyur Vijay Savla, assistant clinical professor
Savla brings a distinctive combination of clinical expertise and research experience that enriches both patient care and student learning. Originally from Mumbai, India, he earned his bachelor’s in optometry from Lotus College of Optometry before completing his Doctor of Optometry and PhD in vision science at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His doctoral research centered on the use of multifocal contact lenses for myopia control, a growing area of importance in vision science and clinical practice. Savla is deeply committed to training the next generation of optometrists. He teaches and mentors students in classroom and clinical settings, emphasizing evidence-based practice, critical thinking and compassionate patient care. His clinical interests span contact lenses, myopia management, ocular surface disease and anterior segment disease.
Pierre Laclede Honors College
Darby Ratliff, assistant teaching professor
Ratliff recently completed her PhD in American studies at Saint Louis University. Her dissertation explored the relationship between Catholic schools and schools for Native students in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Ratliff also holds a bachelor’s degree in English, political science and creative writing and a master’s in higher education and student affairs administration, both from Canisius University. Ratliff is passionate about museums and has experience doing content development for exhibits, creating interactives and writing engaging labels based on in-depth research. She has worked in both the exhibits and curatorial departments at the Missouri Historical Society.
School of Engineering
Sayed Hamid Reza Sanei, associate professor of mechanical engineering and program coordinator
Sanei has spent the past nine years as a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Penn State University. He earned his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Wyoming in 2015. He has led and managed multiple industry sponsored projects from concept to commercialization, applying his skills and knowledge in project management, product and process development and root cause analysis. He has also mentored and supervised several graduate and undergraduate students, as well as research assistants and technicians, in conducting cutting-edge research and experiments in the field of engineering. His core competencies include machine design, composite materials, orthopedic and surgical devices, stochastic finite element simulation, additive manufacturing and patent/IP consultation.
Xin Wang, professor of electrical engineering and program coordinator
Wang holds an MS and PhD in electrical and computer engineering from Marquette University after earning his bachelor’s from Taiyuan University of Technology in China. He comes to UMSL after serving as a full professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where he also served as director of the Control and Power Group in the School of Engineering. Before SIUE, he held positions as an assistant professor at the Oregon Institute of Technology and as a research faculty member at the Oregon Renewable Energy Center. His research interests include power systems, power electronics, automatic control, electrical machines and drives, and he has authored over 80 publications in these areas.
UMSL Libraries
Gracie Ray, assistant curator for fine art collections
Ray is moving to the St. Louis Mercantile Library after spending the past year and half as a staff member in the Ed G. Smith College of Business, most recently as the office manager in the Business Advising Office. Ray holds a bachelor’s degree in art history and criticism from Webster University and a master’s degree in art history and visual culture from Lindenwood University. She’s also currently pursuing a graduate certificate in museums, heritage and public history from UMSL. She had internships at Home is Where the Art Is and the Bruno David Gallery, was a gallery assistant at Webster’s May Photography Gallery and a museum attendant at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University in St. Louis.
These new faculty members join eight others who arrived at UMSL between last November and July. That group includes Gizelle Cota, an assistant teaching professor with UMSL’s Geospatial Collaborative; Kyle Thomas, an associate professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice; Morgan Farnworth, an assistant research professor with the Missouri Institute of Mental Health; Felix Vincenz, a clinical professor with the Department of Psychological Sciences; Dr. Ashley Tary, an assistant clinical professor in the College of Optometry; and Isaak Loewen, Alicia Detterman and Madison Zehmer, librarians with the St. Louis Mercantile Library.
George Nnanna, the founding director of the UMSL School of Engineering, came to the university in April, and Marius Boboc began his tenure as dean of the College of Education in July.
