Faculty Profiles
Our faculty are committed to preparing students for life, work, and service to a global society. Our focus is on improving society through education and teaching. Many faculty are industry professionals who know how to teach and will share their experience. We know there is more than “textbook” learning and they will show you how to ask questions, do research, and apply knowledge to solve real problems.
BIOLOGY
Dr. Sarah Powers is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department, and works with undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Powers loves teaching labs to students. Not only does she get to help students turn knowledge into practice, but also stresses to them the importance of knowing how to communicate scientific concepts in written form. She exercises her passion for mentoring through the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Program, a ten-week experiential learning opportunity in which students from different disciplines work one-on-one with a faculty mentor to complete a unique research internship. Additionally, students attend weekly seminars taught by faculty members from various departments to learn about research methods, resume building, data analysis and more. Dr. Powers continues her research in cell cycle and development, and how proteins help cells behave correctly. She is currently working with undergraduate students who use computer simulations and molecular modeling to predict how proteins and cells react under certain circumstances.
BUSINESS
Robert Bergman is an Assistant Professor of Marketing and Director of Internships in the College of Business. Prior to joining Lewis, Robert enjoyed a notable career in management consulting, marketing and sales. His experience ranges from working with some of the largest organizations in the world, to small “mom & pop” establishments. Robert’s wealth of real-world experience allows him to bring practical lessons and innovative teaching methods into the classroom. Having built new corporate divisions, managed vast teams of business professionals, and hired over 400 people in his career, Robert is able to share practical job search, hiring, career, and internship advice with his students – providing a perspective from an insider’s viewpoint. He also facilitates extracurricular learning experiences like Travel Studies to Europe, Asia and Las Vegas. Robert developed and launched the new Sales Excellence Program, an innovative Business-to-Business Sales education program offered to all students. He recruits B2B Sales professionals from regional, national and international companies to teach the curriculum; by doing so, students are exposed to a multitude of industries and success strategies that can only be taught by the top salespeople in their industry.
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Dr. Ray Klump is a Professor in the Department of Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences. Before coming to Lewis, Dr. Klump enjoyed a fulfilling career in the engineering industry; he developed a software platform for calculating maximum power system transfer capabilities during his time at Mid-America Interconnected Network, and wrote software for calculating and displaying the conditions of an electric power system to help system operators and engineers at PowerWorld Corporation. Dr. Klump has advised a “cyber defense group,” who participates in cyber security competitions throughout the year. By stacking their skills against students at other institutions, the team works to create the most secure network infrastructure and play hacking games.
EDUCATION
Dr. Erica Kwiatkowski-Egizio is an Associate Professor in Secondary Education, Middle Education, and Foreign Language programs. Before coming to Lewis in 2011, Dr. Kwiatkowski-Egizio taught math at Joliet Junior College (JJC) for 12 years and served as a liaison for transfer students between JJC and the Education Department. Dr. Kwiatkowski-Egizio’s family has three generations of Â鶹ÊÓƵ×îÐÂ×îÈ« students. She and her father are both proud Lewis alumni, and her daughter joined the Lewis first-year class in Fall 2018. Erica’s passion for teaching and student success transcends in her work outside of Â鶹ÊÓƵ×îÐÂ×îÈ« – she teaches eighth-grade algebra at St. Joseph Elementary School in Lockport, without compensation. Her work at St. Joseph not only demonstrates her credibility and enthusiasm in the classroom, but also helps her to shape her curriculum for developing exceptional future middle school teachers here at Lewis.
NURSING
Dr. Dena Hinkle, DNP, Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner/Family Nurse Practitioner, is a Nationally Certified School Nurse who follows evidenced-based guidelines blended with clinical experience, personal observation, and intuition to ensure quality of care and open lines of communication between all members of the healthcare team. She is an Assistant Professor and program coordinator for the School Nurse graduate program. As a full-time faculty member teaching in that program, she believes that she can enhance our school nurse population and encourage it to grow, encourage our school nurses to be advocates for the profession and for themselves, their students, their families and their district, and highlight the variety of roles and responsibilities a school nurse encompasses and is capable of doing that most people aren't really aware of.
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Dr. Steven Nawara is an Assistant Professor in the Political Science Department. Although his work experience in political science spans across several locations in the U.S., Dr. Nawara brings his expertise to Lewis and helps students work around issues they care about. Recently, Dr. Nawara conducted a content analysis of Twitter behavior of U.S. Senators. Student workers in the Political Science Department assisted with the research, and eventually the paper was accepted to be published. Dr. Nawara and his students also continued this strategy for presidential candidates in the 2016 election – Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton, and Gary Johnson – and expanded the analysis to Facebook and Instagram, in addition to Twitter.
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