Chestnut Hill College Announces Faculty Promotions and Tenure

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Chestnut Hill College has announced that six faculty members have received tenure and promotions this year. Promotions are effective on July 1, 2009 and tenure is effective on July 1, 2010.
Earning tenure and a promotion to associate professor are Margery Covello, Ed.D., Nancy DeCesare, I.H.M., Ph.D., Robert Durney, M.B.A., M.E., P.M.P., Joseph Kulkosky, Ph.D., and Keely McCarthy, Ph.D. Sara Kitchen, J.D. was promoted to Professor of Criminal Justice.

Margery Covello, Ed.D. has been teaching at the College for seven years in the Education Department. Dr. Covello currently serves as the Undergraduate Coordinator for the Education Department, secretary for the Academic Standards Committee, and as the Disabilities Coordinator for students in both the School of Graduate Studies and the School of Continuing and Professional Studies. In addition, she is the advisor and founder of Chestnut Hill College's National Chapter of Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), an organization for education majors and minors interested in becoming actively involved in the field of special education through research and service. She earned a Doctorate of Education from Immaculata University in educational leadership, a Master of Education from Penn State University in special education, and a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from Villanova University. She is a resident of the Society Hill section of Philadelphia.

Nancy DeCesare, I.H.M., Ph.D. has been teaching at Chestnut Hill College since 2003. Dr. DeCesare is the Chair of the Department of Sociology, Criminal Justice and Human Services at the College, and teaches in the School of Undergraduate Studies, School of Graduate Studies, and the School of Continuing and Professional Studies. She is currently a member of the Curriculum Committee, Institutional Review Board, and the Intercultural Education Committee, in addition to previous service on other committees at the College. She is a member of the Governor’s Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Southeastern Region), the Legislative Work Group of the Governor’s Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities, and the Mission Board of the Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In addition, she has served on several crisis response teams for major disasters for the Red Cross. She is a resident of Lansdale.

Robert Durney, M.B.A., M.E., P.M.P. has been teaching for five years at Chestnut Hill College. While at Chestnut Hill, Professor Durney has served on the Accelerated Curriculum as well as the Library & Information Literacy Committees, and has developed an entrepreneurship course for the Business program, and modified it to include service learning. He has provided significant leadership and coordination skills to the Business Club, Phi Beta Lambda, and was named State Advisor of the Year by the Future Business Leaders of America Phi Beta Lambda division. Under Durney’s supervision, Chestnut Hill College students have qualified for the Phi Beta Lambda national competition for the fourth year in a row. He recently published a paper in the Business Education Forum, "Membership in Student Organizations - A Pathway to Success," and won an Entrepreneurship 101 Award, in addition to completing a project management certificate. He is a resident of Glenside.

Joseph Kulkosky, Ph.D., has taught in both the School of Undergraduate Studies and the School of Continuing and Professional Studies since 2003. Coming from a lengthy career in HIV/AIDS research at Cornell Medical Center, Fox Chase Cancer Center and Thomas Jefferson University, Dr. Kulkosky serves as Chair of the Department of Biology, Division of Natural Sciences. He has published 12 peer-reviewed articles, serves as a reviewer for two professional journals, and participates in scholarly research with students at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. In addition to his professional responsibilities, he has served as the music director at a number of local Philadelphia churches, including Frankford Memorial United Methodist Church, St. John’s Lutheran Church in Melrose Park, St. John’s Lutheran Church in Mayfair and currently at All Saint’s Episcopal Church in the Torresdale section of Philadelphia. He is a resident of Wyncote, Pa.

Keely McCarthy, Ph.D., has taught at Chestnut Hill College for the past five years. Dr. McCarthy is a member of the Faculty Core Review Subcommittee, Chair of the School of Undergraduate Studies Curriculum Committee, and coordinator of the CHC writing program. She has done extensive work on student placement in writing and conducted faculty workshops on writing in the classroom. She is a member of the WPA (Writing Program Administrators) and is part of the steering committee for the 2010 national conference in Philadelphia. A recent article written by Dr. McCarthy on Gulliver’s Travels was accepted for publication in 1650-1850 Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era. She is a resident of Mount Airy section of Philadelphia.

Sara Ellen Kitchen, J.D. has served as Chair of the Department of Sociology (now the Department of Sociology, Criminal Justice and Human Services) for over eighteen years and has served as President and Vice-President of the Faculty Senate (2005-2008) as well as numerous other academic committees. Hired 25 years ago to develop a concentration in criminal justice, the criminal justice major has grown and flourished since the College went co-ed six years ago. A graduate of Villanova Law School and a former Watson Fellow, Professor Kitchen teaches courses such as criminal law and procedure, juvenile justice, legal and ethical issues in human services, and human rights. This past semester she developed and taught a course in restorative justice. At the 2008 College commencement she was awarded the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, and in 1997 the Centennial Alumnae Award for Academic Excellence by Trinity College, Washington, DC. Her research and publications focus on the rights of children and she has recently presented papers at the Justice Studies Association, the Eastern Sociological Society, the National Collegiate Honors Council annual conference and the University of Tours in France and the University of Oslo in Norway. She is a resident of the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia.