Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty

Dr. Erin Wagner

Program Director & Professor

E-Tower 720

wagnerek@delhi.edu

607-746-4384

Dr. Erin K. Wagner graduated with her PhD in Literature and interdisciplinary specialization in Medieval Studies from The Ohio State University. At Delhi, she teaches a variety of courses, including Composition, British Literature, and Gender Studies. Her research focuses on heresy studies, a field which investigates how medieval people related to their religion and each other. She is also a creative writer of speculative fiction, with two published novellas and numerous short stories to her name. For this research and writing, she was awarded the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities in 2021.

Dr. Peter Brusoe

Assistant Professor
E-Tower 707

brusoepw@delhi.edu

607-746-4460

Peter Brusoe is an Assistant Professor of Economics and Political Science. Peter’s research focuses on the intersection of money, lobbying, and public policy choices. He has also done research on the impact of technology on learning outcomes. His research has appeared in the Election Law Journal and The Journal of Political Science Education. He was co-author on the chapter on campaign finance inThe Oxford Handbook of New York State Government and Politics.

Peter earned his PhD in Political Science from American University in Washington, DC, his master's degree from Albany’s Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, and graduated summa cum laude from the University at Albany with a bachelor's degree in Political Science and History. Before teaching at Delhi, Peter worked for ten and a half years for Bloomberg Government as a Campaign Finance, Lobbying, and Legislative Data Analyst. He is a former research associate for the Campaign Finance Institute, a non-partisan research institute affiliated with The George Washington University. He was also an adjunct professor for both American University and the University of the District of Columbia.

Dr. Jason Cash

Associate Professor
E-Tower 717

cashjc@delhi.edu

607-746-4463

Dr. Cash teaches composition, literature, film, and occasional specialized courses like Environmental and Social Justice. His research interests include twentieth-century Irish fiction, especially the relationship between Irish nationalism and postcolonial discourse, and game studies, particularly how video game narrative and interactivity reproduce or challenge dominant ideology. His work has appeared in New Hibernia Review and First Person Scholar, and he has co-edited a collection of scholarly essays, The World of Final Fantasy VII: Essays on the Game and its Legacy, which is due for publication in 2022. Dr. Cash obtained his PhD from Lehigh University, MA at Rutgers University-Camden, and BA from Bridgewater College.

Dr. Dan Gashler

Associate Professor

E-Tower 613

gashledj@delhi.edu

607-746-4372

I teach world and American history, along with a few specialized courses (the end of colonialism, history of global healthcare systems, and history of farming), and I advise the highly active History Club. I love interacting with students and take great joy in helping students achieve their highest potential, whatever their backgrounds or past academic preparation. I’m also deeply committed to service, within the university and in the community. I’m currently researching the role of women’s organizations in creating connections between people in the second and third world during the Cold War, along with a separate project on religious discourses among immigrant communities in upstate New York. I have a PhD in Modern European History from Binghamton University and wrote a dissertation on World War II memory debates in Slovenia.

Dr. Terry Hamblin

Professor
E-Tower 708

hamblitr@delhi.edu

607-746-4454

Dr. Terry Hamblin is a Professor of History at Delhi. I've taught courses in U.S. history, Latin American history, International Relations, and Macroeconomics. My field of specialization is modern American History, with an emphasis on diplomatic and political history and cultural studies.  I have a PhD in United States History from Stony Brook University.  As a historian, I have presented at regional, national, and international conferences and have published several reviews and articles on topics relating to United States history, cultural diplomacy, and foreign relations.  My current research is focused on the interconnection between popular culture and politics. I am about halfway through writing a book on the cultural, social, and political impact of The Beatles and their music during the 1960s. In 2017, Dr. Hamblin received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Faculty Service.

Dr. Shelly Jones

Professor
E-Tower 720

jonesmc@delhi.edu

607-746-4313

Dr. Shelly Jones (she/they) received her PhD in Comparative Literature from SUNY Binghamton. At SUNY Delhi, she teaches classes in mythology, folklore, and writing. Her research examines analog games and roleplaying games through the frameworks of disability studies and intersectional feminism. She also writes speculative fiction and poetry, which has previously been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. In 2020, she was awarded the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. 

Dr. Alice Krause

Associate Professor

E-Tower 708

krauseaa@delhi.edu

607-746-4324

Alice Krause has a PhD in Spanish Linguistics from the University at Albany (SUNY). She teaches courses on Spanish language and US Latino Studies. Her research has focused on second language acquisition and pedagogy. She is active in the SUNY Delhi College Senate, and for these efforts was awarded the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Faculty Service in 2022.

Dr. Kirby Olson

Professor
E-Tower 710

olsonjk@delhi.edu

607-746-4457

Kirby Olson has been teaching at Delhi since 2001. Before that, he worked in Finland for many years and is married to a Finnish national. They have four children. He received his PhD from the University of Washington (Seattle) in 1994. Since his arrival at Delhi, Olson has received two Chancellor’s Awards (Creativity and Scholarship), and published five books on various topics related to humor. Three of the books are about humorists such as Gregory Corso and Andrei Codrescu, and two of the books are a novel and a book of poetry. Back in the day, he studied poetry with Allen Ginsberg and novel writing with William S. Burroughs. Olson is the faculty liaison to women’s basketball, and also he plays basketball several times a week (badly).

Dr. Joseph Piasek

Associate Professor
E-Tower 614

piasekjr@delhi.edu

607-746-4486

An Associate Professor of Humanities, Dr. Joseph Piasek teaches a variety of communication courses including Organizational Communication, Argumentation and Debate, Public Speaking, A/V Production, and communication theory. Prior to SUNY Delhi, Joe was on the faculty of Quinnipiac University and New York University. Joe is an award-winning practitioner-educator with experience in cross-media promotion, strategic marketing, content development, writing, and producing for multi-national entertainment corporations as well as independent educational media. Dr. Piasek earned his doctorate in Philosophy (Education-Media Specialization, Walden University-Riley College), MA in Communication (Corporate & Political Communication, Fairfield University), BA in History (Quinnipiac University), and post-graduate diplomas in Media Literacy (Neil Postman/New York University) and Popular Culture (Henry Jenkins/Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Dr. Heather Schwartz

Associate Professor

Offsite

schwarha@delhi.edu

607-746-4496

Dr. Heather Schwartz received her PhD in History from Binghamton University with a focus on Early American History. While a doctoral candidate, she was awarded a Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History research fellowship. At SUNY Delhi, Dr. Schwartz teaches a variety of courses, including Early American History, Modern American History, Public Policy, Women in American Politics, The American Revolution, American Civil War, Atlantic World, and Public History. She also founded the campus History Club.

Dr. Schwartz has conducted extensive research in archival libraries, primarily on 18th-century institutional reform and transatlantic political history. She has written articles for publications such as the Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History and the historical journal, Commonplace. She has also presented her research and chaired panels at historical conferences in the U.S. and Canada, including at the American Historical Association and the New York State Historical Association. Dr. Schwartz is currently volunteering as a Citizen Archivist for the National Archives project to transcribe pension records from the American Revolution.

Dr. Yassir Semmar

Assistant Professor

E-Tower 715

semmaryy@delhi.edu

607-746-4477

Over the past two decades, Dr. Semmar has taught a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses in psychology and mentored learners from diverse backgrounds in both online and onsite settings. He holds a PhD in Psychology (Capella University), an MA in Linguistics/TESL (California State University, Long Beach), a BA in Psychology-Cum Laude (San Diego State University), and an AA in Spanish (Grossmont College). Dr. Semmar’s research interests include the effects of cognitive and affective variables on second and foreign language acquisition and the cross-cultural contribution of humanistic psychology and positive education in improving pedagogical practices and prosocial behavior.

Dr. Sanum Shafi

Assistant Professor

E-Tower 715

shafiss@delhi.edu
607-746-4445

Dr. Sanum Shafi is an Assistant Professor of Psychology. Her research interests include the development of prejudice in childhood and adolescence, cross-cultural child development, and bilingual education. She earned both her PhD and MS degree in Human Development and Family Science from Syracuse University and graduated from SUNY Binghamton with a bachelor's degree in psychology and French Linguistics. Her family is originally from Pakistan, so she is also fluent in Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi. She has been teaching at SUNY Delhi since Fall 2023. At Delhi, she teaches a variety of Psychology courses including Child Growth and Development, Adolescent Psychology, and Abnormal Psychology

Professor Lisa Tessier

Professor

E-Tower 710

tessielm@delhi.edu

607-746-4315

Lisa Tessier has a bachelor's from Cornell and a Master of Landscape Architecture from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF). She has taught in art and design at Capital Community College (Hartford) and at SUNY ESF, and has worked for landscape architecture firms and for the Center for Community Design Research.  She presently is a Professor at SUNY Delhi where she teaches online and face-to-face classes that explore the intersections of landscape, art, and human health (e.g., The Art of Healing Landscapes, Honors: Environmental Art in America, and Sustainable Design and Planning), and her scholarship centers on pedagogy.  Her artwork includes landscape designs with native plants, basketry, and watercolor botanical sunprints that have been shown at Hartwick’s EcoArt Festival and The Fenimore Art Museum’s “Art by the Lake.”  Lisa is an Experienced Online Practitioner Fellow through Open SUNY’s Center for Online Teaching Excellence, and received SUNY Delhi’s President’s Program Award for Diversity and Inclusion, SUNY Delhi’s Student Life Leadership Award, and SUNY’s Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service. 

Dr. Lori Tremblay

Associate Professor
E-Tower 519

tremblla@delhi.edu

607-746-4135

Lori Tremblay is a bioarchaeologist and forensic anthropologist whose primary research focuses on structural violence and health care provisioning during the Industrial Era. In her research, she explores how normalized social and socioeconomic structures of oppression and marginalization, as well as identity, may have had an impact on health and risk for physiological stress in impoverished and institutionalized populations from the late 19th- and early 20th-century United States. She also examines health care provisioning and efficacy in Industrial Era institutionalized populations. She has contributed a chapter in New Developments in the Bioarchaeology of Care (Springer 2018) and has co-edited two edited volumes, The Bioarchaeology of Structural Violence: A Theoretical Framework for Industrial Era Inequality with Dr. Sarah Reedy (Springer 2020) and Bioarchaeology of Care through Population-Level Analyses with Dr. Alecia Schrenk (University Press of Florida, 2022). Dr. Tremblay obtained her PhD from the Ohio State University and her MA and BA from SUNY Albany.

Dr. Ben West

Professor
E-Tower 717
westbs@delhi.edu
607-746-4132

Dr. Ben West has been teaching at SUNY Delhi since Fall 2012.  He received his PhD in Literature and Criticism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2010. He teaches face-to-face and online English and Literature courses at SUNY Delhi; recent courses he has offered include Composition I, Introduction to Literature, and Great Writers courses on the poet Emily Dickinson and contemporary fiction author Cormac McCarthy. Dr. West’s book Crowd Violence in American Modernist Fiction was published by McFarland in 2013 and includes chapters on American fiction writers such as Willa Cather, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and Richard Wright.  His recent publications have primarily focused on the fiction of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cormac McCarthy; these publications include a chapter on McCarthy and Gnosticism in the Cambridge University Press volume Cormac McCarthy In Context and an article on McCarthy’s influence on the indie rock band Modest Mouse in The Journal of Popular Culture.  He also co-edited the MLA volume Approaches to Teaching the Works of Cormac McCarthy, published in 2021.  Dr. West received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Scholarship and Creative Activities in 2022. In his spare time, Dr. West enjoys all things related to music, including listening, playing guitar and drums, jamming with friends, and recording.