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Seven New Full-Time Faculty Members Join Belmont Abbey College

“They are a diverse, talented, energetic group…”

Dr. Carson Daly, V.P. of Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, recently sent out a letter to the Abbey community announcing the addition of seven new full-time faculty members. Here is an edited version of her announcement:  “We are delighted to welcome seven new, full-time faculty members who are joining us on campus this fall.  They are a diverse, talented, energetic group, and I think that you will enjoy getting to know them. 

“In alphabetical order, our new full-time faculty members are:

 “Patrick N. Cain, Assistant Professor of Political Science: Dr. Cain earned his doctorate in Political Science from Baylor University, his M. A. in the same field from Brock University, and his B. A. in the same discipline from Lakehead University.  He has taught courses ranging from American Constitutional Law and the Politics of Canada to Plato on Courage and Shakespeare and Politics.  His specialties are American political thought; Constitutional law; American Government; the history of political thought; and politics and literature.  Dr. Cain, who has written for publication on Shakespeare and Machiavelli, has given invited lectures at numerous conferences, including those at the Southern Political Science Association, the Annual Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture, the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture, the Canadian Political Science Association’s Annual Conference, and the Lone Star Conference for the Study of Political Thought.  Dr. Cain is also a student of Ancient Greek. 

“Laura J. Campbell, Director of Teacher Education at the Charlotte Campus: Ms. Campbell, who comes to us from Naples, Florida, has had a great deal of experience as a teacher and administrator.  She has served as principal in both elementary and secondary schools. Most recently from 1999 until 2008, she served as the principal of St. John Neumann High School in Naples.  Ms. Campbell received her B. S. in Education from St.Thomas Aquinas College, her M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision from the University of South Florida, and her Ed.S. from Barry University’s School of Education.  She expects to earn her Ph.D. this year in Educational Leadership from Barry University.  Ms. Campbell’s research interests lie in the areas of organizational learning; organizational behavior in education; the affect of leadership styles on teachers’ commitment; Catholic identity and traditions in schools; qualitative research methods; and trends in elementary education.  She has given numerous invited lectures on education throughout Florida and has also frequently given talks on the role of student support services. One of Ms. Campbell’s chief responsibilities will be directing our teacher education program at Charlotte Catholic. 

“Diana M. Elliott, Lecturer in Psychology: Dr. Elliott earned her B. S. in Child Development from the University of New Hampshire, her M.Ed. from the University of Houston in Educational Psychology, and her M. A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Biola University.  In the 1990’s, Dr. Elliott served as a Fellow in Clinical Psychology at Harvard University.  She has been an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA’s School of Medicine and an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the USC Keck School of Medicine.  Since fall of 2008, students at the Abbey have been very fortunate to be able to study under her tutelage.  Serving as a guest reviewer for numerous professional journals in her field, Dr. Elliott has also published widely in many venues, including Journal of Traumatic Stress, Child Abuse and Neglect, The APSAC handbook of child maltreatment, Deinstitutionalization: Promise & Problems, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Psychiatric Services, Future of Children, Journal of Pediatric Health Care, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy.  Dr. Elliott has also been extremely active in delivering scholarly papers across the length and breadth of the United States, as well as in Canada and Australia.

“Julie Kohlbrenner, Lecturer in Education: Ms. Kohlbrenner, who has been teaching at the Abbey since fall of 2009 in our program at Charlotte Catholic, earned both her B. A. and M.Ed. in Elementary Education at the University of Florida at Gainesville.  In addition to having taught Reading, she has served as a kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade teacher.  In 2003-2004, she was selected as Teacher of the Year at Marvin Elementary School in Marvin, North Carolina. 

“Joseph S. Pizza, Assistant Professor of English:  Dr. Pizza, who has taught at Villanova University, Rider University, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Ocean County College, Ohio University, and Oxford University, is a specialist in 19th-century British Literature and Culture.  He earned his B. A. from Rider University, his M. A. in English Literature from Ohio University, and his MSt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture from Oxford University.  He anticipates receiving his DPhil. in English Language and Literature from Oxford later this year.  In addition to having published work on the great Victorian poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and on the poetry of John Henry Cardinal Newman, Mr. Pizza has given numerous scholarly presentations at Oxford, as well as at Gonzaga University, Regis University, and the University of Central Lancashire.  He has spoken at the Modern Language Association convention, and has served as an editor for both Venture Magazine and Quarter after Eight:  A Literary Journal.  Mr. Pizza also enjoys the distinction of having served for three years as an assistant to the editors of the forthcoming third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.  In 2008, he acted as the assistant to the editor of Oxford University Press’ soon-to-be-released Volume VII of the Collected Works of Gerard Manley Hopkins:  The Dublin Notebook.

“William L. Woody, Jr., Lecturer in Accounting: Mr. Woody, who owns and operates a full-service firm of Certified Public Accountants specializing in financial reporting, taxes, and assurance services for individuals, small businesses, and non-profit organizations, has had a long-standing association with Belmont Abbey College.  He first served as an adjunct faculty member in Accounting and Finance from 1992-2006.  He returned to the Abbey as an adjunct professor in 2008. Before coming to the College, Mr. Woody served as a Revenue Agent for the IRS, as an Operations Manager of Dickinson-South, Inc., as a Production Control Manager for Ingersoll-Rand, as a Production Control Supervisor for Homelite, Inc., and as a CPA for Brown, Kellar and McKinney.  Mr. Woody earned his B. S. in Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and received his M.B.A. and a second B. S. (in Accounting) from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  He has been a North Carolina CPA since 1992 and has been certified in Production and Inventory Management since 1985.

“Joseph Francis Wysocki, Assistant Professor of Political Science: Joseph Francis Wysocki graduated from Belmont Abbey College in 2004, with majors in Political Science and Economics.  He earned his M. A. in the same field from Baylor, and is currently a candidate there for a doctorate in Political Science–which he hopes to complete by the end of this academic year. Mr. Wysocki’s specialties are American Politics, Political Theory, and Religion and Politics.  In addition to having given several invited lectures at Baylor–on the works of Joseph Pieper, G. K. Chesterton, and Alasdair MacIntyre, respectively–Mr.Wysocki has served as an editorial assistant for the journal Rhetoric and Public Affairs.   He has given papers at Gonzaga and Baylor Universities, as well as at the Southwest Political Science Association.  Before going to graduate school, Mr. Wysocki served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps for a year.  I am sure that those of you who taught Joe as a student here will be especially happy to welcome him back to the Abbey as one of our colleagues!

“As you can see, our new, full-time faculty members are a distinguished group who will strengthen our programs and our departments with their wealth of experience, abilities, and accomplishments. Please give them a warm Abbey welcome!” 

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