Do you need a speaker for your next club meeting, company retreat, or event? The faculty and staff at Penn State Beaver are available for a variety of speaking engagements, usually with no fee involved.
To arrange for a speaker, please review the following list of our speakers' topics and areas of expertise, then contact the Office of Campus and Community Relations at rxm70@psu.edu or (724) 773-3815.
ART
Carol Schafer
Robin Bower
BUSINESS / MARKETING / MANAGEMENT
Karen C. Barr
W. Tim Few
Talha Harcar
Fred Kellinger
Dan Smith
CHEMISTRY
Michael Hay
COMMUNICATIONS STUDIES / SPEECH COMMUNICATIONS
Terrie Baumgardner
Judy Berasi
John Chapin
Juliette Storr
COMPUTERS / INFORMATION SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY
Kay Wijekumar
ENGINEERING
James Hendrickson
ENGLISH
Kristen L. Olson
FINANCE
Karen Barr
HISTORY
Robert Szymczak
MATHEMATICS
Zhongyuan Che
Angela Fishman
Chris Wu
MULTICULTURAL AND DIVERSITY ISSUES
Irene A. Wolf
PHILOSOPHY
Irene A. Wolf
PHYSICS
Peter Deutsch
Leo Takahashi
PSYCHOLOGY
Kevin L. Bennett
Minhnoi Wroble Biglan
READING COMPREHENSION
Carleen Dinello
RELIGIOUS ISSUES / RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD
Robin Bower
SOCIOLOGY
JoAnn Chirico
SPANISH
Robin Bower
THEATRE
Carol Schafer
WOMEN'S STUDIES / WOMEN'S ISSUES AND CONCERNS
JoAnn Chirico
Carol Schafer
Irene A. Wolf
Faculty Qualifications, Research Areas, and Interests
Karen C. Barr, Senior Instructor in Business
Bachelor's degree, Nursing, Ohio State University
Master's in Business Administration: Corporate Finance, California State University
• Finance and Taxes
• Teaching at Penn State
Terrie Baumgardner, Instructor in Communications, Arts, and Sciences
Bachelor’s degree, English Education, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Master’s degree, General Speech / Ancient and Political Rhetoric – University of North Carolina, Greensboro
• Speech
• Interpersonal communication
• Rhetoric (visual rhetoric, rhetoric of political cartoons, etc.)
Kevin L. Bennett, Instructor in Psychology
Bachelor’s degree, Psychology, University of Michigan
Master’s degree, Psychology, University of New Mexico
• Jealousy
• Guilt
• Male-Female Friendships
Judy Berasi
Lecturer in Speech Communications
Bachelor’s degree, Speech Communications, Clarion University
Master’s degree, Speech Communications, Penn State
• Improving communications in your personal life
• Drug / alcohol abuse awareness
• Communications in the business world / workplace
• Job Search awareness
•Motivating Employees
Minhnoi Wroble Biglan, Assistant Professor of Psychology
Bachelor’s degree, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Carnegie Mellon University
Bachelor’s degree, Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University
Master’s degree, Developmental and Health Psychology, University of Pittsburgh
Ph.D., Developmental and Health Psychology, University of Pittsburgh
• Infant cognitive and social development
• Prenatal development (physical, neurological, terotogens during prenatal development)
• Physiological effects of stress on health in adults and children
• Physiological effects of stress and depression during pregnancy on gestational and fetal health
• Traumatic stress and health
• Infant temperament and intelligence
• Parenting styles and child development
Robin Bower, Associate Professor of Spanish
Bachelor’s degree, West Chester University
Master’s degree, Latin American Literature, Columbia University
Master’s degree, Medieval and Golden Age, Columbia University
Ph.D., Columbia University
• Church / religious history
• Spanish and Latin American history, politics, and culture
• Identity construction / identity politics
• Popular religion / devotional forms
• Medieval history, culture, art, and architecture
• History of religious conflict in Medieval Europe
• Medieval interactions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
John Chapin, Associate Professor of Communications
Communications Program Head
Bachelor’s degree, Education, Bloomsburg University
Master’s degree, Communication Studies and Mass Media, Shippensburg University
Doctorate, Communication, Information and Library Studies, Rutgers University
• Mass communication (radio, television, film, journalism, etc.)
• Research in health communication, safe sex campaigns
• Domestic violence prevention education
• Violence and sex in television, film, video games
Zhongyuan Che, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Bachelor’s degree, Mathematics, Shandong University ( China )
Master’s degree, Mathematics, Shandong University ( China )
Master’s degree, Computer Science, Wesleyan University
Ph.D., Mathematics, Wesleyan University
• Graph theory and combinatorics
• Probabilistic method
JoAnn Chirico, Senior Instructor in Sociology
Bachelor’s degree, English / Biology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Master’s degree, Elementary Education, University of Pittsburgh
Ph.D., Sociology and Education, University of Pittsburgh
• Social problems
• Globalization, political struggles, intrasocietal violent conflict
• Irregular warfare
• Global and domestic inequality
• General culture and lifestyle issues
Peter Deutsch, Associate Professor of Physics
Bachelor’s degree, Physics, University of Michigan
Master’s degree, Physics, University of Illinois
Ph.D., Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana
• Astronomy and Physics
• Electronic Voting Machines or DREs
Carleen Dinello, Assistant Director of Academic Affairs and Senior Instructor in English
Bachelor's degree, English and Social Studies, Geneva College
Reading specialist, Slippery Rock University
Master's degree, Education, Slippery Rock University
• Writing skills
• Basic essay development
• Reading skills
• Steps to improve text comprehension
• Study Skills and time management
• Learning styles
• Memory skills
• Note taking skills
• Strategies for successful test-taking
W. Tim Few, Assistant Professor of Business
Bachelor’s degree, Mathematics-Economics
Executive MBA, University of Pittsburgh, Katz Graduate School of Business
Ph.D., Strategic Management with minor in Organizational Behavior and Social Psychology
Angela Fishman, Coordinator of the Center for Academic Achievement and Instructor in Mathematics
Bachelor’s degree, Wichita State University
Master’s degree, Wichita State University
Ph.D., Engineering, Wichita State University
• Data Envelopment Analysis
• Site location problems
• Reliability
Talha Harcar, Associate Professor of Business
Bachelor’s degree, Marketing, Istanbul University (Turkey)
Master’s degree, Marketing Research, Istanbul University
Master’s in Business Administration, University of Massachusetts
Ph.D., Business Administration
• Marketing Research
• Database Marketing
• International Business
• Any topics on Turkey, Turkish culture and life
Michael Hay, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Bachelor’s degree, Chemistry, Bowling Green State University
Master’s degree, Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ph.D., Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Chemical spills
• Environmental issues
• Chemistry or biochemistry in the news
James Hendrickson, Instructor in Engineering
Bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
Master’s degree, Mechanical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh
Post M.S. Studies, University of Pittsburgh
Fred Kellinger, Lecturer in Business
Bachelor’s degree, Chemistry, Princeton University
Master’s degree in Business Administration, University of Pittsburgh
• Assistive Technology
• Cognitive Rehabilitation
• Starting / owning a Small Business
• Start-up Business
• Entrepreneurship
Kristen Olson, Associate Professor of English
Bachelor’s degree, English, Colby College
Master of Liberal Arts degree, English and American Literature and Language, Harvard University
Master’s degree, English and American Literature and Language, Case Western Reserve University
Ph.D., English and American Literature and Language, Case Western Reserve University
• Shakespeare
• English Literature
• Poetry
• Children’s Literature
• Fiction
• Literary / Critical Theory
• 16th and 17th century history and culture of England
• Anglo-Saxon and Medieval through modern British history
• Anglo-Saxon folklore
• Queen Elizabeth I (research specialty)
• Classical or Modern theatre
• Language and Linguistics
• Cultural Linguistics
• Cognitive Science pertaining to Language
• Relation of language and the visual arts
Carol Schafer, Associate Professor of Theatre, Integrative Arts, and Women’s Studies
Bachelor’s degree, Theatre, Western Carolina University
Master’s degree, Theatre, University of South Carolina
Ph.D., Aesthetic Studies, University of Texas at Dallas
• Contemporary American theatre
• Women and art
• Issues about violence against women
Dan Smith, Instructor in Business
Bachelor’s degree, Public Policy and Management and German, Carnegie Mellon University
Master’s degree, Management and Policy Analysis, Carnegie Mellon University
Juliette Storr, Assistant Professor of Communications
Bachelor’s degree, Mass Communication, University of Windsor
Master’s degree, Radio-Television-Film production
Certification, Contemporary History, Contemporary History Institute, Ohio University
Ph.D., Mass Communication, Ohio University
Robert Szymczak, Associate Professor of History
Bachelor’s degree, History / Education, West Virginia University
Master’s degree, History, West Virginia University
Master’s degree, Liberal Studies, Duquesne University
Doctorate of Arts, History, Carnegie Mellon University
Certificate of Study: Jagiellonian University, Krakow (Poland)
Fellowships: Yale University, Princeton University (twice), University of Pennsylvania
• Modern Eastern Europe
• U.S. Ethnic History
• U.S. Diplomatic History
• World War II
• The Cold War
• The Holocaust
• The Soviet Era
Leo Takahashi, Assistant Professor of Physics
Bachelor’s degree, Physics, William Jewell College
Master’s degree, Physics, Southern Illinois University
• Science Teaching
• Physics Education
Kay Wijekumar, Associate Professor of Information Sciences and Technology
Bachelor’s degree, Electronics Engineering, Franklin University
Master’s degree, Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh
Ph.D. Instructional Systems, Penn State
• Computer Programming
• Intelligent Tutoring
Irene A. Wolf, Senior Instructor in Philosophy
Bachelor’s degree, Philosophy and Psychology, College of St. Benedict
Master’s degree, Philosophy, Duquesne University
Ph.D., Philosophy, Duquesne University
• Diversity, culture, and advocacy
• Importance of altruism
• The art of happiness in life
• The good life and tolerance and patience in life
• Women’s issues
• Value of reflection and meditation in life
Chris Wu, Professor of Mathematics
Bachelor’s degree, Mathematics, Guizhou University (China)
Master’s degree, Mathematical Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu (China)
Ph.D., Applied Mathematics, University of Arizona
• Mathematics