Faculty and Staff

Biography

John Wang was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and grew up in Los Angeles. Though he began his college studies as an Engineering Physics major at the University of California, Berkeley, he eventually graduated with a degree in Economics. After working in the corporate world for a few years, he decided to pursue writing fiction, which led him on a journey that included stops in Matsusaka, Japan (where he taught English to junior high, elementary, and kindergarten students), Hattiesburg, Mississippi (where he earned an M.A. in English/Creative Writing at the University of Southern Mississippi), and Tallahassee, Florida, where he completed his Ph.D. in English Literature/Creative Writing at Florida State University. John’s fiction and poetry has appeared in such journals as Cimmaron Review, Quarterly West, Hobart, Barcelona Review, and elsewhere. Prior to joining MC, John was Founding Editor for the literary journal Juked.

Biography

Professor Kevin Gibbons has taught anthropology and archaeology at Montgomery College since 2019. His current research uses animal bones, soil erosion, and archaeology to explore the impacts of pastoralism on the economic potential of landscapes. His doctoral work at the University of Maryland focuses on Icelandic sheep grazing, land degradation, and social inequality across the previous millennium.

Professor Gibbons views anthropology’s most vital functions as encouraging curiosity in the world and people around us, promoting critical thinking habits, and nurturing students to be informed and empathetic global citizens. He frames his courses around environmental literacy and social and ecological resilience.

He’s done fieldwork in the US Southeast & Mid-Atlantic, Iceland, the Caribbean, and England and has served as adjunct faculty at American University and the University of Maryland. He has degrees from Young Harris College, the University of Georgia, and the University of Sheffield and is currently a doctoral candidate in the Zooarchaeology Laboratory at the University of Maryland.

Biography

Professor Jennifer Lee completed her M.A. in English at Georgetown University. Before returning to graduate school to pursue teaching writing and literature, she worked in public relations and communications with an emphasis on social issues campaigns and education advocacy. Since coming to Montgomery College, she has taught an array of composition and literature courses. She enjoys having the opportunity to share her love of literature from all over the world with her students.

Biography

Michelle Moran graduated from Loyola University New Orleans with a B.A. in Communications (Print Journalism) and History. After working as a historian for a cultural resource management firm in Maryland, she earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in history and a graduate certificate in women’s studies from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Campaign. She taught at the University of Nevada in Reno before coming to Montgomery College, where she has offered courses in world history, women’s history, U.S. history, and U.S. and world affairs. Michelle was a Smithsonian Faculty Fellow and has worked with the Paul Peck Humanities Institute Internship Program, mentoring student interns at the Smithsonian and Library of Congress. She also helps organize the annual Humanities Students’ Cherry Blossom Conference. Her research interests in public health policy, disease, and the body continue to teach her about the vital need for close collaboration between STEM and humanities disciplines. She is the author of Colonizing Leprosy: Imperialism and the Politics of Public Health in the United States.

Biography

Born and raised on the island of St. John, Virgin Islands, Victor Provost is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading voices on the unique, and often misunderstood, steelpan. Through appearances at concert halls, clubs, and stages throughout the world, he has developed a reputation as a “dazzling” soloist, crafting an impressive improvisational voice and style.
 
With a strong foundation in Bebop, a contemporary sensibility, and deep roots in Caribbean music, he seamlessly melds and mixes genres. The Washington D.C. City Paper’s “Jazz Percussionist of the Year” six years in a row, his most recent recording, Bright Eyes, debuted at #5 on the iTunes Top 40 Jazz Charts and was met with praise from The Washington Post, Downbeat Magazine, and Jazz Times.

Victor has performed and recorded with luminaries such as Hugh Masekela, Paquito D'Rivera, Monty Alexander, Joe Locke, Nicholas Payton, David Sanchez, Terell Stafford, Dave Samuels, Steve Nelson, Ron Blake, and Wycliffe Gordon, among others.

An active educator, Victor is an Adjunct Professor of Music at George Mason University in Virginia and Montgomery College in Maryland.  He conducts residencies and master classes at universities and high schools throughout the United States and the Caribbean. He is also an Arts Ambassador to U.S. Virgin Islands, which honored him with a Special Congressional Recognition in 2014, and to which he returns frequently to perform and teach as part of Dion Parson’s community-based arts initiative, the United Jazz Foundation.  Victor holds BM and MM degrees in Performance with an emphasis on Jazz Studies from George Mason University.

Biography

Nevart N. Tahmazian is a Chemistry Professor at Montgomery College, Rockville Campus. Her graduate degrees are MS in Chemistry (ANE-Analytical, Nuclear and Environmental) from the University of Maryland, College Park and MA in Chemical Education from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Professor Tahmazian shares a deep passion for teaching and STEM community outreach. She is the co-founder and the chemistry Advisor of the STEM ED Community Club at MC, which serves the main mission of preparing future STEM scholars and leaders. Nevart Tahmazian was selected as the Maryland Professor of the Year in 2015 by the Carnegie Foundation for the advancement of teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, CASE. She was also awarded the “Outreach Volunteer of the year” by the American Chemical Society. 

Professor Tahmazian has given presentations at many National Conferences. She was a Global Humanities Institute fellow. She is the coordinator for “Chemistry and Society” course and teaches general chemistry courses, including the accelerated “Chemistry for Engineers” course that she co-developed. Growing up, Nevart lived in different countries and is of Armenian descent. Her students refer to her as Prof. “T” and she enjoys communicating with her students in different languages and interacting with various cultures.

Professor Tahmazian also serves as a Councilor for the American Chemical Society nationwide and Board Manager for the local section, Chemical Society of Washington.

MS, University of Maryland
MA, American University of Beirut

Biography

Rebecca Eggenschwiler is originally from Michigan where she completed her B.A. in English with minors in Psychology and Philosophy at Hope College. She attended the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she received her M.A. in English with an emphasis in antebellum American literature. Since coming to Montgomery College, she has enjoyed teaching a variety of literature and composition classes, as well as organizing the annual Humanities Cherry Blossom Conference.

 

 

Biography

Dr. Nathan Zook earned his Bachelor's degree with a double major in International Studies and Political Science at Towson University where he graduated from the Honors College as Valedictorian with the Meritorious Scholar Award. He also studied Central European culture, politics, and economics at the Technical University of Budapest. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science at Indiana University. His doctoral dissertation was on the impact of domestic groups on U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba. Dr. Zook has taught at the University of Tennessee, Towson University, the University of Wisconsin-Rock County, UMBC, Indiana University, and Montgomery College.

In addition to being a professor, Dr. Zook is the coordinator for the International Studies program at Montgomery College and the faculty advisor for the International Studies Club. He won a grant to organize the first Model United Nations teams from Montgomery College and was proud to have Montgomery College win the Distinguished Delegation Award at the National Model UN. He is particularly interested in the taboo subjects of religion and politics and how they interact to create foreign policy. Due to this fascination, he has visited over 30 countries.

PhD, Indiana University
MA,Indiana University
BA, Towson University

Biography

Swift Stiles Dickison earned a B.A. in English at U.C., Berkeley, an M.A. in Creative Writing at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California, and a Ph.D. in Caribbean Literature at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. While growing up, he lived in Damascus, Syria; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Guadalajara, Mexico, and Northern California. He has traveled and worked in the Caribbean, Europe, China, Australia, and New Zealand. Dr. Dickison has presented his scholarly work at the International Conference on Caribbean Literature since 2000, in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Martinique, St. Croix, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Cuba, Panama, Nassau, and Barbados.  A professor of English at Montgomery College, Rockville Campus since 2001, he has taught World Literature, Creative Writing, Caribbean Literature, Postcolonial Literature, American Literature, Modern Poetry, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Composition. Besides teaching, Dr. Dickison writes fiction and poetry, and plays guitar and percussion for the Montgomery College World Ensemble; moreover, he has enjoyed working with MC Scholars at the Swannanoa Gathering for some eleven summers, at last count.

Biography

Professor Eurae Muhn has worked at Montgomery College since 2014 and has served as both a faculty member in the English department and the Embedded Support Program Coordinator for the Achieving the Promise Academy. She is now full-time in the English classroom, where her heart resides. Professor Muhn is an alumnus of Georgetown University, where she earned both her BA and MA in English and also was charged with approaching the world with a social justice lens. She carried these values into her work as a Teach for America corps member and continues to infuse her curriculum and pedagogy with texts and discussions surrounding equity. Professor Muhn is the adoring mother of two phenomenal children and an elderly rescue pup.

Biography

Professor Kelly Kleine has been a member of Montgomery College’s counseling faculty since 2001 and has served as a Montgomery Scholars counselor since 2010. Previously, she was the Assistant Director of the Clark School of Engineering Undergraduate Student Affairs Office at The University of Maryland. She is a proud Tar Heel, having earned a B.A. in history as a Morehead-Cain Scholar at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She enjoys traveling to national parks with her husband and two children, is on a quest to visit every MLB ballpark with her son (19 down, 11 to go!) and loves spoiling her black lab rescue.

MA, Bowling Green State University
BA, The University of North Carolina

Biography

Tonda N. Shine began her career at Montgomery College during the Fall of 2019. Prior to her position at MC, she served as a Counselor at Northern Virginia Community College, and Retention Specialist at Prince George's Community College. Professor Shine has experience in counseling, academic advising, and academic success interventions. She earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Arts Degree in Counseling Psychology from Bowie State University. Professor Shine is also a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor within Maryland. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling and spending time with family and friends.