Bryant continues to attract accomplished faculty who have worked and studied at top institutions around the world, and who are energized by the opportunity to contribute to Bryant’s offerings and mission to educate and inspire.
For academic year 2018-19, which officially began Sept. 4, 13 new faculty members became part of Bryant's community of scholars.
“I am excited to greet the newest members of our incredible faculty,” said Provost and Chief Academic Officer Glenn Sulmasy, J.D., LL.M. “Their commitment to teaching, scholarship, and service is exceptional. All share in my vision to raise the national profile of our programs and have extraordinary academic and professional backgrounds.”
The following faculty members have joined Bryant’s College of Business and the College of Arts and Sciences:
Tenure track
Drea Brown, assistant professor of English and cultural studies, is a poet/scholar who received her Ph.D. in African & African Diaspora Studies from University of Texas at Austin and her M.F.A. from the University of Oregon. Her poetry chapbook, dear girl: a reckoning, won the 2014 Gold Line Press poetry chapbook competition. In 2017 she was the recipient of a Barbados-based artist residency by Fresh Milk, an organization supporting excellence in the arts. Her dissertation, “Hush Somebody’s Calling My Name: The Haint Elegy and Black Women’s Poetry,” explores black women poets’ use of grief and memory as devices to reconstruct cultural histories and subjectivity.
Richard Gorvett, Professor of Mathematics and chair of the Mathematics Department, is Staff Actuary of the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), where he helped create the professional Certified Specialist in Predictive Analytics Credential (CSPA). He holds a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he also taught for 12 years as a professor and the director of the Actuarial Science Program and as the State Farm Companies Foundation Scholar in Actuarial Science. He is the recipient of numerous research awards and has given over 80 scholarly presentations, and he holds a range of industry designations. Prior to entering academia, he was a corporate and consulting actuary, including Senior VP of a large commercial insurer.
Kacy Kim, Assistant Professor of Marketing, earned her Ph.D. and her M.A. in advertising at the University of Texas at Austin. She has authored award-winning scholarly publications and given many presentations at national and international academic conferences. Her research has focused on using econometric models to measure the effectiveness of marketing communications over time; her current research examines digital marketing analytics, big data, and predictive models of effectiveness. Before joining Bryant, she taught at Elon University. She received an M.A. in economics at Sungkyunkwan University and her B.A. at Chung-Ang University in South Korea.
Kathryn Ostermeier, Assistant Professor of Management, holds a Ph.D. in Management from the University of North Texas. Her dissertation, “A Foot in Two Worlds: Exploring Organizational and Professional Dual Identification,” offers a quantitative study and discussion on how “identifying with one's profession and organization at the same time can have ramifications for the individual and their organization.” Her research interests include authenticity, identity, and groups and teams. She earned her M.B.A. at University of Texas at Tyler and her B.B.A. at Texas A&M University.
Visiting faculty and lecturers
Kathleen Daly, Lecturer in History and Social Sciences, earned her Ph.D. in American Studies from Boston University. Her dissertation, “Fit to Mother: Women, Architecture, and the Performance of Health, 1865-1930,” provides “at once a cultural history of the female body, a study of architecture and material culture, and a critical examination of the ways in which race has been historically constructed.” Her areas of expertise include American history, American studies, gender studies, and visual culture. She received her B.A. at Smith College.
John Fellingham, Lecturer in Finance, is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Rhode Island. Prior to joining Bryant, he taught at Roger Williams University and Providence College. Before entering academia, he served as vice president in multiple investment organizations since 1989, and was President of his own investment management firm. He received his M.B.A. at Fordham University and his B.S. at State University of New York – Stonybrook.
Victor Jarosiewicz, Visiting Assistant Professor in Finance, is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with a Ph.D. in finance and strategic management from the University of Florida. He has reviewed and/or presented working papers for academic conferences, and his research area includes topics at the intersection of finance and strategic management. Prior to entering academia, he worked as valuations analyst for 12 years and has written about the subject for leading industry publications. He received his M.B.A. at Rollins College and a B.S. in mechanical engineering at the University of Florida.
Gerald John, Lecturer of Science and Technology, is an environmental engineer with a Ph.D. in civil/environmental engineering from Auburn University. His research interests include environmental monitoring, fate analysis, environmental analytical chemistry, and petroleum biomarkers. For his dissertation, he conducted field work with Deepwater Horizon oil spill residues on Gulf of Mexico beaches in Alabama. He earned his M.S. at Auburn University and a B.Tech. from Anna University in India.
Gene Kovacs, Visiting Professor/Lecturer in Accounting, worked for more than 12 years as a business professional, recently serving as Vice President at Analysis Group, one of the largest economics consulting firms in the world. He is also founder and CEO of EJKovacs Consulting, Inc. His expertise is in complex billion-dollar business and investment-related issues, and in multiple sectors. He earned his Ph.D. in accounting and finance at Columbia University, an M.B.A. at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a B.S. at Babson College.
Jeremy Pearson, Lecturer of History and Social Sciences, holds a Ph.D. focused on Mediterranean history from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. His research interests include Medieval Muslim-Christian relations; Crusades; cultural and social history; and boundaries and borderlands. His dissertation, “William of Tripoli and His Eastern Context: Reconsidering the Cultural Milieu of the Latin East,” examines these topics in religious communities of the medieval Near East, with a focal point of 13th century Dominican Friar William of Tripoli. He is the recipient of several nationally competitive research fellowships, including a Fulbright. He earned his M.A. and B.A. at San Francisco State University.
Mary Robins, Lecturer in Communication, brings more than 20 years of experience in business and corporate education from a variety of industries, where she facilitated management and leadership classes, created and managed curriculum to support competency-based learning for executives, and oversaw the design of instructional programs. Prior to joining Bryant, she taught at Northeastern University and worked as a marketing consultant for a social media marketing firm and an online media education company. She earned her M.S. at the University of Bridgeport and her B.A. at Assumption College.
Frances Varin, Lecturer in Information Systems and Analytics, is Managing Partner and Director of Development for LaunchBlot, a managed WordPress hosting and design company, and has over 35 years of industry experience in software development. Prior to joining Bryant, he was Web Development Manager of a 20-person team responsible for development of Amica.com. He is a recipient of a Tech10 Award, an honor given by the Tech Collective association that recognizes individuals and companies driving innovation, education, and growth across Rhode Island’s technology ecosystem. He earned his M.S.I.S. and B.S.B.A. at Bryant University.
Zhongyuan Williams, Lecturer in Modern Languages, holds a Master’s degree in Chinese from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her thesis, “The Use of Multimedia Material in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language and Pedagogical Implications,” provides an analysis of the effectiveness of multimedia material in teaching second language grammar comprehension among beginning and intermediate-level Chinese learners. She has taught at Providence College. She earned her B.A. at Kanto-Gakuin University in Japan.
