General Studies Program Team Directory | Montgomery College, Maryland

See our Mission and Vision Statements

OUR MISSION: To provide a flexible degree path that promotes structured, intentionally sequenced decision-making and encourages self-exploration and discovery.

OUR VISION: Moving through this degree, students will: (a) refine their focus and interests; (b) develop confidence in their learning and decision making; (c) become life-long self-directed learners; (d) build a solid foundation of practical and intellectual skills necessary for academic and career success; (e) cultivate skills in the following areas: effective communication, creative problem solving, critical analysis and evaluation skills, and the ability to make connections in order to apply and transfer skills and knowledge.

To schedule an academic advising appointment with any of our program advisors, use our scheduling system.

General Studies Leadership Team

Brad Stewart

PhD and MA, Iowa State University; BA, William Penn College

Vice President and Provost, Collegewide Communications, Health Sciences, Health & Physical Education, and Humanities (CHSHPEH) Unit Leader

Email: brad.stewart@montgomerycollege.edu

Phone: 240-567-1312

Office Location: Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, ST, Ste. 306

Biography

Dr. Brad J. Stewart has served as Vice President and Provost of the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus of Montgomery College since May of 2005. He oversees all campus operations and serves as the chief academic officer for the Communications, Heath Sciences, Health & Physical Education and Humanities units. Campus enrollment has grown substantially during the past few years to over 7,000 students a semester. Much of the increase has occurred in the campus’s signature programs in the health sciences where enrollment in the nursing program has nearly doubled. Dr. Stewart has been heavily involved in the planning and construction of several new campus facilities including a student services center, a visual arts building, and a cultural arts center.

From 1999 until 2005, he served as Campus Executive Officer and Dean at the University of Wisconsin at Waukesha, a two-year institution within the University of Wisconsin system. Under his leadership, several capital projects were completed, including extensive renovations of the humanities and physical education buildings and the construction of a biology and field station facility. He partnered with faculty and staff to develop a vibrant academic program, including first year experience programming, undergraduate research, service learning, and learning community initiatives.

Prior to that, Dr. Stewart served as Associate Dean for Academic Advising and Special Programs at the University of St. Thomas (MN) and was a faculty member in the Sociology and Criminal Justice Department. At St. Thomas, he helped to initiate first year student learning communities, a service learning program, and several retention and student support initiatives. Dr. Stewart also served as a professor at the University of North Dakota and at Miami University in Middletown, Ohio.

In 1997, he was selected as an American Council on Education Fellow where he received training in planning, budgeting, enrollment management, human resources, media relations, and campus climate issues. He is also an alumnus of Harvard’s Management Development Program and the City of Waukesha’s Citizen Police Academy. He has published in the areas of juvenile crime prevention, effective pedagogy, and racial and ethnic stereotypes.

Dr. Stewart earned his bachelors of arts in Sociology and English from William Penn College (1978) in Iowa and a master’s degree (1981) and doctorate (1987) from Iowa State University specializing in crime/delinquency and race and ethnic relations.

He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce and he has served terms as Board Chair and Secretary/Treasurer. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Purple Line Now, a mass transit advocacy group, and he serves on the Silver Spring Arts and Entertainment District Advisory Board and the Committee for Montgomery, a county-wide political advocacy organization. Most recently, he served as co-chair of Montgomery College’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Governance and is currently a member of the steering committee of the Achieving College Success and Excellence project, a partnership between Montgomery College, Montgomery County Public Schools, and the Universities at Shady Grove. Dr. Stewart is a graduate of the Leadership Montgomery Class of 2014.

Sarah Campbell

PhD, University of Virginia

Acting Collegewide Dean of Humanities

Email: sarah.campbell@montgomerycollege.edu

Phone: 240-567-4166

Office Location: Germantown Campus, HS 140

Biography

Dr. Campbell joined Montgomery College in 2008. Prior to her recent role as department chair of the Humanities Department at the Germantown Campus, Sarah taught all levels of Spanish on the Rockville Campus, where she also served as World Languages coordinator and as the faculty liaison to the Digital Language Lab. She is active in the professional organizations of her discipline, having recently concluded a four-year term as the secretary for the Community College Special Group of the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages and serving as the founder and adviser of the Montgomery College chapter of the Sociedad Honoraria de la Lengua Española, an honor society that recognizes students at two-year colleges for excellence in their study of Spanish.

Dr. Campbell earned her doctorate in Spanish from the University of Virginia and holds a master's degree in Spanish and a bachelor's degree in Latin American Studies, also from the University of Virginia.

Christina Gentile

MA, The Johns Hopkins University; BA, University of Maryland, College Park

Interim General Studies Chair

Email: christina.gentile@montgomerycollege.edu

Phone: 240-567-7425

Office Location: Rockville Campus, MT-417

Biography

Professor Gentile holds an M.A. in Romance Languages & Literature (Italian and Spanish) from the Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. with a double major in Romance Languages & Literature as well as a Citation in Renaissance Studies from the University of Maryland at College Park. She has taught Italian and Spanish at Montgomery College since spring 2007. In addition to teaching, Prof. Gentile is also a freelance translator and interpreter and has worked for National Geographic Television and Film, the Library of Congress, and the United States Postal Service among other translation companies.

HACL Core

Shayla Atkins

PhD, Howard University

English and Reading Discipline Liaison

Email: shayla.atkins@montgomerycollege.edu

Phone: 240-567-1667

Office Location: Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, P3 114

Biography

Dr. Atkins teaches and has taught at several colleges and universities, which include undergraduate courses in freshman composition, African American literature, introduction to college composition, business writing, film and literature, introduction to literature, American literature, and a graduate course in African American literature. Prior to teaching on the collegiate level, Dr. Atkins taught seventh grade Language Arts. Her research interests are family dynamics, sites of trauma, performance, 20th- and 21st-century African American literature and drama, and women's literature and drama.

Beyond the classroom, Professor Atkins enjoys reading books or plays, seeing plays, watching movies, traveling the world, and hosting family and friends’ gatherings. For the last few years, she has served as a volunteer usher at Arena Stage in Washington, DC. In the summer, she also teaches writing in the sciences and professional writing for academic enrichment programs.

Educational Background

BA, English, Education minor, Florida A&M University
MA, English Language & Literature, University of Maryland
PhD, English–African American literature and drama specialization, Howard University

Specialty and Favorite courses

African American Literature (ENGL 227)
Film and Literature (ENGL 235)
College Writing (ENGL 101A)
Critical Reading, Writing, and Research (ENGL 102)

Roberto Hurtado

MA, the University of Central Florida

World Languages Discipline Liaison

Email: roberto.hurtado@montgomerycollege.edu

Phone: 240-567-2354

Office Location: Rockville Campus, MT 415

Biography

Prof. Hurtado holds an M.A. in Spanish Language and Culture from the University of Central Florida as well as 18 graduate credits in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from the same institution. Before joining Montgomery College, he taught part-time at Seminole State College and Valencia College in the metro Orlando area.

Emily Rosado

EdD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Communications Coordinator

Biography

Professor Rosado's home department is the English and Reading department, but she also teaches Communications and Global Humanities. Some of the initiatives she's involved in at the college include Study Abroad Programming and Equity and Inclusion.

Educational Background

EdD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
MA, University of Westminster
BA, University of Florida

SSAH Core

Arthur Grinath

PhD, University of Maryland; BS, Randolph-Macon College

Economics Discipline Liaison

Email: arthur.grinath@montgomerycollege.edu

Phone: 240-567-6958

Office Location: Rockville Campus, HS-255

Melissa McCeney

PhD and MA, Uniformed Services of the Health Sciences; BA, University of Central Oklahoma

Psychology Discipline Liaison

Email: melissa.mcceney@montgomerycollege.edu

Phone: 240-567-7829

Office Location: Rockville Campus, HS-184

Daniel Santore

PhD, University at Albany

Advising Coordinator

Email: daniel.santore@montgomerycollege.edu

Phone: 240-567-5071

Office Location: Rockville Campus, HU 235

Biography

Dr. Santore received his Doctorate in Sociology and Master's degree in Women's Studies at SUNY- Albany, in New York. Dr. Santore has spent the past six years teaching Sociology, and has been at the Rockville Campus of Montgomery College since 2009. His teaching and research interests include sociological theory, gender, and families, and he has published several articles and essays on these topics. In addition to his regular classroom duties, Dr. Santore has worked with students as a personal and group tutor for introductory Sociology courses. Having just moved to Montgomery County, Dr. Santore has felt warmly welcomed by his students and colleagues at MC and enjoys being teased by students and faculty alike for his New York sports affiliations.

Educational Background
BA, Sociology, University at Albany, S.U.N.Y.
MA, Women’s Studies, University at Albany, S.U.N.Y
PhD, Sociology, University at Albany, S.U.N.Y.

Camille Sola

PhD, George Washington University

Sociology Discipline Liaison

Email: Camille.Sola@montgomerycollege.edu

Phone: 240-567-5899

Office Location: Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, North Pavilion 228

Biography

Professor Camille Solá earned a Ph.D. in Public Policy & Administration from the George Washington University, and also holds an M.A. in Sociology as well as a B.A in Political Science from the University of Puerto Rico. Professor Solá is passionate about issues of social justice and has studied and researched various aspects of race in the Puerto Rican criminal justice system, and the racialization of political rhetoric in the run up to the Trump presidency. Professor Solá is interested in analyzing multiple forms of otherization and how these forces shape our opportunities, the institution and structures that define opportunity, and ultimately, us. Her goal in teaching sociology is to have students grasp the value of acquiring an in depth understanding of the role that social forces play in our everyday lives, and how this knowledge can be used to question and challenge inequitable social arrangements. Having students feel empowered to apply the information explored each semester to their lives is a fundamental priority of Professor Solá. She is currently teaching SOCY 100: Introduction to Sociology and SOCY 208: Sociology of Gender.

B.A. in Political Science – University of Puerto Rico
M.A. in Sociology – University of Puerto Rico
Ph.D. in Public Policy & Administration, George Washington University

STEM Core

Cory Newman

PhD, Michigan State University; BS, Butler University

Assessment Coordinator and Chemistry Faculty Advisor

Email: cory.newman@montgomerycollege.edu

Phone: 240-567-1413

Office Location: Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, SN-308

Aubrey Smith

PhD, Howard University; BS, York College; AS, College Edouard-Montpetit

Advising Coordinator and Biology Faculty Advisor

Email: aubrey.smith@montgomerycollege.edu

Phone: 240-567-5126

Office Location: Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, SC-242

Counseling Faculty Resource Members

Tonda Shine

MA, Bowie State University

Counseling Faculty

Email: tonda.shine@montgomerycollege.edu

Phone: 240-567-4087

Office Location: Rockville Campus, SV 206RR

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.

Barbara LaPilusa

MA and BA, Marist College

Counseling Faculty

Email: barbara.lapilusa@montgomerycollege.edu

Phone: 240-567-6965

Office Location: Germantown Campus, SA-251