The Faculty Professional Development Center at Cal U honors five professors for their work in 2020-2021.
- Dr. Bismark Oduro: Research Merit Award
- Dr. Mark Lennon: Technology Service Merit Award
- Dr. Kristen Schaffner: Grants and Contracts Service Merit Award
- Dr. Kelton Edmonds: Teaching and Learning Merit Award.
- Dr. Michael Perrotti: Service and Service Learning Merit Award
The Faculty Professional Development Center at Cal U has recognized four professors for excellence in grants, research, teaching and service in 2020-2021.
The Merit Award recipients are chosen by faculty committees and reflect a commitment to provide high-quality education for Cal U students.
The Faculty Professional Development Center facilitates professional development opportunities that encourage faculty to engage in collaborative efforts related to teaching, scholarship, service and grant development.
Dr. Kelton Edmonds, professor of history, received the FPDC Merit Award for Teaching and Learning. He developed the African American Studies minor and has been instrumental in implementing and supervising diversity programming throughout the academic year at Cal U, particularly during Black History Month and the annual Hip-hop Conference.
Edmonds is a past director of the Frederick Douglass Institute at Cal U, with responsibilities including diversity and inclusion and other recruiting efforts.
His honors and awards at Cal U include The New Pittsburgh Courier’s 2021 Men of Excellence Award; the CB Wilson Distinguished Faculty Award; and the Dr. Caryl Sheffield Faculty Award for Mentoring and Diversity Leadership 2018-2019.
Dr. Mark Lennon is the FPDC Merit Award Winner for Technology. His research focuses on technology and innovation, entrepreneurship, and the development of viable business models. An associate professor in the Department of Business, Economics and Enterprise Sciences, Lennon also directs the Center for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship at the University.
Dr. Bismark Oduro, assistant professor of mathematics, received the FPDC Merit Award for Research. His main research interests are in mathematical epidemiology and mathematical modeling.
His recent work has centered on modeling the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic; Chagas disease; re-infestation of Chagas vector; Cocoa black pod disease; HIV/AIDS; congenital transmission of syphilis.
Dr. Michael Perrotti has received the FPDC Merit Award for Service and Service-Learning. He is the chair of the Department of Education and the University-wide Curriculum Committee, and he has held leadership positions with APSCUF, the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties.
Perrotti serves on the California Area School District Comprehensive Plan Committee that discusses the mission of the school district and is on the board of directors for the Pennsylvania Council of the Social Studies. He is reviewing a textbook for the National Council of the Social Studies on primary sources in a Secondary Education Classroom.
Dr. Kristen Schaffner is the FPDC Merit Award Winner for Grants and Contracts. She is an assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Criminal Justice and Psychology and has been awarded more than $53,000, largely from the Community Care Behavioral Health Organization for initial clinician training in parent-child interaction therapy.