SHU Recognizes 23 Faculty Members with Tenure, Promotions

Professors from a wide range of fields across the University were acknowledged for their ongoing impact on the Sacred Heart community and the betterment of its students

Key Highlights

• Sacred Heart University recognized 23 faculty members with tenure and/or promotions
• Honorees span multiple disciplines, reflecting broad institutional excellence
• Recognition emphasizes teaching impact, research contributions and service to community

Twenty-three faculty members have been recognized through a combination of tenure and promotions for their outstanding knowledge and dedication in their respective fields of study.

Faculty awarded tenure

Nikki Wingate

Nikki Wingate, of Fairfield, associate professor of marketing in the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology, earned her Ph.D. in marketing from NYU’s Stern School of Business. She has taught more than 1,200 students since joining Sacred Heart University in 2021 and is a recipient of the 2023 University-wide teaching excellence award.

Wingate is often recognized for her innovative and pioneering use of the latest technologies to enhance students’ learning experience. She also maintains a distinguished research program focusing on digital consumer behavior and marketing ethics, with publications in several top-tier journals.

Beyond her service as department chair, principles of marketing course coordinator and marketing internship coordinator, she is deeply committed to service to the community. She is a judge for the Westfair Business Journal’s “40 Under Forty” awards and a member and longstanding volunteer at Greenfield Hill Congregational Church in Fairfield.

Faculty awarded tenure and promotion to associate professor

Rachel Bauer

Rachel Bauer, of Shelton, associate professor of theatre arts in the School of Performing Arts, earned her Ph.D. in theatre from the University of Missouri. In her current role, Bauer oversees the academic performing arts majors and minors in theatre arts, music and dance, and teaches courses in theatre history, script analysis and writing. Her research interests are interdisciplinary, including theatre, gender studies and science. As a scholar and educator, Bauer highlights the transferable nature of theatre pedagogy and education, emphasizing the skills gained through theatre training that are useful both on the stage and across many disciplines.

Emily Bryan

Emily Bryan, of Darien, associate professor of English in the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS), earned her Ph.D. in English from Northwestern University. At SHU, Bryan is the academic coordinator of the Untitled Othello Project, a multi-year exploration of Shakespeare’s Othello.

Bryan’s research interests are in Shakespeare performances, the relationship between performance and pedagogy and technology in performance. Her work has been published in Early Theatre, Humanities, Nineteenth-Century Drama, Religions, Shakespeare Bulletin and Shakespeare. She has contributed chapters to Shakespeare and Virtual Reality, Early Modern Academic Drama and Why We Can’t Wait: Racism and the Church.

Ximeng Chen

Ximeng Chen, of Fairfield, associate professor of political science & global affairs in the CAS, earned her Ph.D. in community and public affairs from the State University of New York at Binghamton. Her research focuses on nonprofit management, diaspora philanthropy and nonprofit education.

Her work has been published in journals such as The Journal of International Migration and Integration and The Journal of Public Affairs Education. She received the Emerging Scholars Award from the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action in 2020. She teaches courses in data analytics, public administration, nonprofit management and leadership, philanthropy, and social entrepreneurship.

Deirdra Preis

Deirdra Preis, of Easton, associate professor of educational & literacy leadership in the Isabelle Farrington College of Education & Human Development, earned her Ed.D. in educational leadership at Northeastern University. In Preis’s current role, she teaches in SHU’s leader certification program (092), the sixth-year in social-emotional learning (SEAL), and the doctoral program in educational leadership. She has developed and taught courses on such topics as school improvement planning and social justice in education and has chaired numerous dissertation committees.

Her research largely focuses on transformative leadership, placing equity and justice in education at its core. She was awarded an Inclusive Excellence fellowship at SHU and has conducted regular trainings around inclusive practices for SHU faculty and students and for local K-12 teachers and administrators. She is published in a variety of journals including the Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership and Race, Ethnicity and Education. She also regularly presents her work nationally and internationally.

Elizabeth Simmons

Elizabeth Simmons, of New Haven, associate professor of communication disorders in the College of Health Professions, earned her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of Connecticut. Simmons is a cognitive psychologist whose work focuses on how very young children understand and learn words. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and combines cutting-edge methods, including eye tracking, electroencephalography, and machine learning, to better understand how language develops in toddlers.

Faculty awarded tenure and promotion to full professor

Todd Matthews

Todd Matthews, of Newburgh, NY, professor with the Institute for Applied Behavior & Organizational Sciences, in the CAS, earned his Ph.D. in sociology from Mississippi State University. At SHU, he is the founding director of the Institute for Applied Behavioral & Organizational Sciences, a new department at SHU that houses the Ph.D. program in organization development, change & effectiveness. He has published roughly 50 pieces in peer-reviewed journals and as book chapters across several disciplines. His current research, in partnership with SHU colleague Marylena Mantas-Kourounis, largely focuses on youth political and civic involvement.

Promoted to full professor

• Mahfuja Malik, of Sandy Hook, accounting & information systems
• Jennifer Trudeau-Tham, of Fairfield, economics
• Michelle Wormley, of Fairfield, physical therapy

Promoted to teaching professor

• David Shaenfield, of South Salem, NY, psychology

Promoted to associate teaching professor

• Todd Barnes, of Fairfield, communication & media
• Marie Hulme, of Weston, English
• Marian Leal, of Fairfield, biology
• Lisa Smith, of Stamford, psychology

Promoted to clinical professor

• Beverly Fein, of Easton, physical therapy

Promoted to associate clinical professor

• Stephanie Clines, of Stratford, athletic training
• Julie Nolan, of Shelton, athletic training
• Elizabeth Saska, of Trumbull, undergraduate nursing
• Kristin Schweizer, of Fairfield, physical therapy
• Theresa Soltis, of Shelton, undergraduate nursing
• Rhonda Tower Siddens, of Talco, TX, graduate nursing

Promoted to associate professor of practice

• Brian Thorne, of Glendale, AZ, communication & media