Faculty

Social Sciences faculty at SRU are a dynamic group of educators in a variety of subfields, including American Politics, International Relations, Comparative Politics, Public Policy & the Law and Political Behavior, who will help you succeed.

Heather Rice, Department Chair

Dr. Heather Rice received a PhD in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh in 2013 and a BS in Political Science from Clemson University. Her research focuses on the scholarship of teaching and learning in the political science classroom and the intersection of state politics, public policy and public opinion on gay rights. She regularly teaches courses on American National Government, Civil Discourse and Democracy, Assessing Public Opinion, Political Film, and Politics of Sexuality. Dr. Rice also serves as the co-director of the Rock Integrated Studies Program.

Mustafa Aksel Casson

Dr. Casson is the department's Anthropology Instructor, teaching courses across the sub-disciplines of anthropology. In addition to teaching a four-field introductory course, he teaches courses in archaeology and world prehistory, the anthropology of religion, medical anthropology, biological anthropology, applied anthropology and regional courses in the archaeology of the Americas and cultures of the Middle East. He routinely takes students with him to Turkey, as part of his archaeological fieldwork and as part of an annual Spring Break trip to Istanbul.

Dr. Casson earned his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Washington with research in luminescence dating as applied to ceramic artifacts from Sinop, Turkey. His current research centers on the application of an explicitly evolutionary framework to understanding issues of human behavior ranging from an examination of human adaptations to prehistoric environments to the cultural and political context of social organization in the modern Middle East.

Dr. Casson serves on the Center for Middle East Studies, the Center for Public Humanities, the International Arts and Culture Series, and directs excavations at the 19^th century historic archaeological site at the Old Stone House in Slippery Rock. He has been at Slippery Rock University since 2011.

Richelle Dykstra

Dr. Dykstra-Crookshanks is a sociologist teaching a wide range of courses in the department of Interdisciplinary Programs including Principles of Sociology, Racial & Ethnic Diversity, Contemporary Social Problems, Gender Roles, Minority Groups, Health and Society, Sociology of Aging, Urban Sociology, Society Culture and Self, The Family, Collective Behavior, and Interdisciplinary Research Methods. In each of her courses Dr. Dykstra-Crookshanks emphasizes the development and application of critical thinking, empathy, and application of sociological theory/methods to the “real world”.

Interdisciplinarity has been central to Dr. Dykstra-Crookshanks academic experience which began with her undergraduate experience at Butler University where she earned a degree in Sociology and Psychology with an emphasis in Social Work (and a minor in dance!). Her PhD in Sociology with emphasis in Social Psychology and the Family was earned from the University of Akron. General areas of interest include social psychology, inequality (gender, race, class), and health/medical sociology.

Dr. Dykstra-Crookshanks research has included emotional socialization of children, domestic violence, nurse burnout/wellbeing, graffiti, assessments of online learning and most recently a multimodal project focused on experiences of post-partum depression which looks at the effect of normalization of PPD in American society in addition to evaluating institutional practices within the healthcare system.

Heather Frederick

Dr. Heather Frederick is the APSCUF faculty representative to the SRSGA Board of Directors and serves in a non-voting capacity. She has been at Slippery Rock University since 2004 and teaches in the Department of Political Science and serves as the Prelaw Program Coordinator for the University. Dr. Frederick currently advises the Debate Society, Law Society, and the College Republicans. Previously, Dr. Frederick was involved with SGA as their faculty advisor, served on the cooperative activities board, and advised the SGA elections commission.

Cheryl Kerchis

Cheryl Kerchis is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. After college, she worked for two years in Southern Africa in a development program focused on education. She also worked for several years as a policy analyst in the Pittsburgh region before coming to SRU. Cheryl loves all things related to public policy, both international and domestic. She regularly teaches Policy Analysis and Evaluation, International Political Economy, International Relations, Civil Discourse and Democracy, and Politics of Race.

David Kershaw

Dr. David Kershaw received his PhD in Political Science from the University of North Carolina in 2009. His research focuses on public policy that impacts disadvantaged populations. He regularly teaches courses on Research Methods, Public Policy, and Politics of Race.

Scott Mensch

Dr. Mensch received his Ph.D. in Organizational Management from Capella University. He also holds a M.B.A. from Point Park University with a specialization in International Business. Dr. Mensch's areas of expertise are in Leadership and Project Management.

Bret M. Rogowitz

Mr. Rogowitz graduated from Franklin University with a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems. He then obtained his Masters of Science in Technology Training & Development from Eastern Illinois University. He also has multiple certifications. He is the Enrollment Recruiting Officer for Slippery Rock Univesity's Department of Military Science.

Bret has over 30 years leadership experience with 20 years active military service in the U.S. Army and then another 13 years as a government employee. Bret has been an active member of the SRU community and faculty since 2013 teaching classes for both Military Science and Leadership, advising and mentoring students, and collectively working with multiple departments and staff across campus.

His areas of expertise are Leadership, Organizational Culture and Development, and Planning/Decision Making.

Nicholas Spina

Nicholas joined the department in 2019 and teaches courses in international relations and comparative politics. His teaching and research interests are in democratic development, post-communist politics, civil society and trust. His research has been published in academic journals such as International Political Science Review, Political Studies, and Comparative European Politics. He previously taught for five years at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin and for two years at the American University in Bulgaria. He was also a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Armenia from 2004-2006. Nicholas has a B.A. in economics from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Missouri.

Melissa Swauger

Melissa Swauger is a Professor in the Department of Nonprofit Management, Empowerment, and Diversity Studies at Slippery Rock University. She teaches introductory nonprofit management and community and civic engagement courses. She publishes, presents, and trains on ethical qualitative research practices with “hard to reach” populations as well as basic interviewing and data collection techniques for any population. Dr. Swauger also serves on boards of directors and consults for community-based, youth serving, and other nonprofit organizations providing strategic planning, program evaluation, and diversity, equity, and inclusion support.

Dr. Swauger holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and an M.A. Certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Pittsburgh, an M.A. in Social and Public Policy from Duquesne University, and a B.A. in Sociology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Matthew Zarit

Dr. Matthew Zarit is an assistant professor of Nonprofit Management. He teaches courses related to civic engagement, program evaluation, financial management, and community development. In his courses, he emphasizes projects that work directly with community partners to provide meaningful hands-on experiences for students.

Dr. Zarit also maintains an active research agenda that includes bringing undergraduate students on to projects. His current research focus is on staffing and workforce development needs of nonprofit organizations. He has published research related to administration of contracts and grants in peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journals. He also has experience conducting interviews and surveys for previous research, including on his dissertation, “Lost in Translation: How Bureaucratic Hierarchies & Networks Limit Presidential Control over Distributive Policymaking in U.S. Federal Agencies.” His dissertation was awarded the 2019 American Political Science Association George C. Edwards III award for dissertation research on the presidency. He has published in a variety of peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journals.

Prior to earning his Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Zarit worked as a U.S. government (federal and state) contractor and in central administration for the Pittsburgh Public Schools as the Manager of Employee Evaluation. He also holds a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Arts in Policy Studies and Political Science from Syracuse University.

Social Sciences

Faculty

Social Sciences

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