The Faculty
Program Director
Karen Franck, PhD, 1978. City University of New York (Environmental Psychology) Professor
Research Interests: Urban public space, alternative housing, design responsive to human needs and social change.
Urban Health
*Urban Health Specialization Coordinator
*Dula F. Pacquiao, EdD, RN, CTN (Rutgers University, Social & Philosophical Foundations of Education: Anthropology)
Associate Professor and Director, Center for Multicultural Education, Research, and Practice, UMDNJ - School of Nursing
Research Interests: Cultural diversity in education and healthcare, ethics, cultural competent care, and leadership; Qualitative methodology.
Jeffrey R. Backstrand, PhD University of Connecticut (Nutritional Anthropology) Associate Professor UMDNJ School of Nursing
Research Interests: Nutrition and public health; maternal and child health: sociocultural determinants of food intake; alcohol and child development; social epidemiology.
Carolyn K. Burr, Ed.D. Columbia University Teacher's College (Adult Education) Senior Education Specialist, UMDNJ François-Xavier Bagnoud Center
Research Interests: Healthcare roles in urban health systems
Barbara Caldwell, PhD Seton Hall University (Psychology) Associate Professor UMDNJ School of Nursing
Research Interests: Psychosocial concerns of inner city child-bearing women.
Frances Munet-Vilaro, PhD , RN University of Washington (Nursing) Associate Professor UMDNJ School of Nursing
Research Interests: Health disparities among Latinos.
Linda S. Podhurst, PhD Rutgers the State University at Newark (Medical Sociology) Executive Director, UMDNJ François-Xavier Bagnoud Center
Research Interests: Medical sociology; healthcare worker training; race and ethnic relations, qualitative methods.
Pamela Rothpletz-Puglia, Ed.D. Columbia University Teacher's College (Health and Behavior Studies & Nutrition Education) Director, Nutrition and Wellness, UMDNJ François-Xavier Bagnoud Center
Research Interests: Nutrition, preventive health and wellness; qualitative and mixed-method research; women's health.
Susan W. Salmond, Ed.D., RN Columbia University Teacher's College (Nursing Education) Associate Professor and Interim Dean, UMDNJ School of Nursing
Research Interests: Role of the nurse executive.
Deborah S. Storm, PhD University of Michigan (Nursing) Director, Research and Evaluation, UMDNJ François Xavier Bagnoud Center
Research Interests: Quality of life in HIV infection; medication adherence; pediatric and prenatal HIV infection; self-management of chronic illness.
David Anthony (Tony) Forrester, PhD, R.N.
Urban Environment
*Urban Environment Specialization Coordinator
*Karen Franck, PhD, 1978. City University of New York (Environmental Psychology) Professor
Research Interests: Urban public space, alternative housing, design responsive to human needs and social change.
Peter C. Papademetriou, M.Arch. Yale University (Architecture) Professor
Research Interests: Architectural history & criticism (focus: 1850-present); architectural design; urban design; urban history and cultural geography.
Zeynep Celik, PhD University of California, Berkeley Professor
Research Interests:
Gabrielle Esperdy, PhD City University of New York (Art History) Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Modern architecture and urbanism; contemporary cities and suburbs; and intersections between consumer culture and the built environment (past and present)
Dennis E. Gale, PhD George Washington University (American Civilization) Professor
Research Interests: Urban planning and management; urban revitalization; politics and public policy; land use policy and growth management.
Anthony Schuman, M.Arch, Columbia University (Architecture), RA Associate Professor
Research Interests: housing and urban development with an emphasis on the interplay of socio-economic forces and physical design; and issues of pedagogy and organization in architectural education. He is currently investigating service-based learning in schools of architecture and planning.
Urban Education
*Urban Educational Policy Specialization Coordinator
*Alan R. Sadovnik, PhD New York University (Sociology) Professor of Urban
Education, Public Affairs and Administration (joint) and Sociology
(affiliate); Associate Director of Institute on Education Law and Policy
Research interests: sociology of education, urban educational policy, qualitative research, sociological theory
Jason Barr, PhD Columbia University (Economics) Assistant Professor of Economics
Research interests:Firm Behavior, Computational Economics, Industrial Organization, Economics of education
Jamie Lew- PhD Teachers College Columbia University (Comparative and International Education); Associate Professor of Urban Education
Research Interests: Race and ethnic relations; urban education and policy; immigration and international migration; comparative and international education; minority children and children of immigrants in urban schools
Carmen Kynard PhD New York University (English Education)Assistant Professor of Urban Education
Research interests: race, ethnicity and urban education; composition and writing
Arthur Powell Ed.D. Rutgers University (Mathematics Education) Associate Professor of Urban Education
Research interests: mathematics education, ethnomathematics, qualitative research
Roberta Schorr Ed.D. Rutgers University (Mathematics Education)Associate Professor of Urban Education and Mathematics (affiliate)
Research interests: mathematics education, professional development, assessment, technology, policy, and the development of mathematical ideas in students
Anna Stubblefield PhD Rutgers (Philosophy)Associate Professor
Research interests: Black American philosophy, disability theory, feminist philosophy, social and political philosophy, ethics and philosophy of education
Carolyne White PhD University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (Educational Policy Studies)
Research interests: qualitative research, race, ethnicity and education, philosophy of education