Women's Studies Faculty Associates
Sherry Shapiro, Ed. D.
Director of Women's Studies, Professor of Dance and Coordinator of Dance Education
Sherry Shapiro has been a faculty member since 1989. She teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses focusing upon issues of cultural awareness, critical and creative thinking, and learning through experience. Her work has developed out of a concern with issues of imagination, the value of human difference and social responsibility. Committed to a vision of education as one that has the possibilities for developing a sense of community, democratic participation and compassionate awareness, she integrates critical theory and feminist and cultural studies. Shapiro advises the majors and minors in the program. She is the author of three books, Dance Power and Difference: Critical and Feminist Perspectives in Dance Education, Pedagogy and the Politics of the Body: A Critical Praxis, and Body Movements: Pedagogy, Politics and Social Change. She serves on boards of national and international professional organizations and is serving on the governing board of the National Women's Studies Association as a co-chair of the Program Administration and Development component of NWSA.
Degrees Held: B.A., M.A., Appalachian State University; Ed.D. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Courses Taught: Reading Women's Lives Introduction to Women's Studies, Crossing Borders: Women Making Change in a Global Society, Women's Studies Service Project, Research in Women's Studies, Our Bodies-Our Lives: Shaping Female Identity
Contact: 760-2857, ShapiroS@meredith.edu, 15 Weatherspoon Building
Dr. Lori Brown
Associate Professor of Sociology
Lori Brown joined the Meredith College community in 1992, eager to participate in a program with a strong emphasis on teaching. Brown's interests in the field of sociology are reflected in the courses she regularly teaches. She is a member of the Context of Culture teaching circle.
Degrees Held: B.S., University of Louisville; M.A., Temple University; Ph.D., Indiana University
Courses taught: Population Dynamics, Human Sexuality, Sociology of Education, Race and Ethic Relations, and CORE 100.
Contact: 760-8590, Brownlo@meredith.edu, 310 Ledford Hall
Dr. Carrie Cokely
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Social Work
Carrie Cokely joined the sociology program at Meredith in 2002. Besides her degrees, she also holds a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Women's Studies. Her interest in working at Meredith College stems from her rich experiences at Russell Sage, another women's college. Cokely's academic areas of interest include systems of inequality, media, marriage and family, qualitative methods and feminist studies. Her dissertation, Discovering the Magic: Readings, Interpretations and Analyses of the Wonderful Worlds of Disney, examines the way in which college audiences understand and interpret their favorite Disney movies. In addition to further examining themes of family within Disney, Cokely's current work includes research on the daytime programming of The Learning Channel.
Degrees Held: B.A., Russell Sage College; M.A. and Ph.D., Syracuse University
Courses taught: Social Problems, Sociology of Family, Social Research Principles, Gender and Society, seminar in Public Sociology, Aging and Retirement, and Media, Self and Society
Contact: 760-8345, CokelyC@meredith.edu, 307 Ledford Hall
Francie Cuffney, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology and Health Sciences.
Francie Cuffney's research interests focus on freshwater ecology, and she is working with students studying the effects of pharmaceuticals and personal care products on aquatic invertebrates. Cuffney teaches introductory biology, ecology, and evolution as well as the course Women in Science. She serves on the Advisory Board for the Meredith College Center for Women in Science and Math.
Degrees Held: B.A, Oberlin College; M.S., University of Louisville; Ph.D., University of Georgia
Courses Taught: Women in Science
Contact: 760-2879, CuffneyF@meredith.edu, 149 Science/Mathematics Building
Susan Gilbert, Ph.D.
Professor of English
Degrees Held: A.B. Duke University; A.M. University of Virginia; Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Courses Taught: Seminar in American Women Writers, 20th century literature, southern literature, women's literature and world literature.
David Heining-Boynton, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
David Heining-Boynton joined the Meredith faculty in 1989. He has taught both psychology and Women's Studies courses since his arrival. He was an active member of the faculty that sought to bring first the minor and then the major in Women's Studies to the curriculum. Recent paper presentations have been in the area of Choral Music and Gender, Autism, and Psychological Assessment. He is the author, along with Drs. Jack Huber and Cindy Edwards, of Cornerstones of Psychology. Heining-Boynton has been the Meredith Faculty Co-Chair of the Carolinas Psychology Conference since 1991, one of the largest and oldest undergraduate research conferences in the world. He is a licensed psychologist and an active presenter at national conferences. He is also an avid sailor, traveler, reader, jewelry maker, photographer and craftsperson.
Degrees Held: B.A., University of South Florida; M.A. and Ph.D., Ohio State University
Courses Taught: Counseling, Abnormal Psychology, Testing and Assessment, Gender Roles and Health Psychology
Contact: 760-8442, DHB@meredith.edu, 105 Ledford Hall
Alisa Johnson,Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of English
Alisa Johnson joined the Meredith faculty in 1998. Her essays and entries on African American writers have been published in Modern Fiction, The Reference Guides to Modern and Short American Fiction and The Oxford Companion to Women's Writing.
Degrees Held: A.B., Guilford College; A.M. and Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Courses Taught: American and African-American literature and Contemporary Feminist Theories.
Veronique Machelidon, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Foreign Languages and Literatures
Veronique Machelidon joined the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department as visiting professor of French in 2001. She is a native of Belgium and speaks French as a native language. Machelidon is enthusiastic about teaching foreign language courses at every level and particularly enjoys teaching French and Francophone Women Writers.
Her academic interests range from psychoanalytic criticism, feminist theory, gender studies, to postcolonial literature and francophone studies. She has recently published in George Sand Studies an article examining gender subversion and narratology in Indiana, a novel by 19th century French woman writer George Sand. She has been particularly excited to work with students and faculty from the Music Department to celebrate George Sand's Bicentennial through a series of recitals, lectures, films, and exhibits held at Meredith College in 2004 and 2005. She is interested in developing interdisciplinary courses and research projects with students and faculty.
Degrees Held: A.B. Liege University (Belgium); A.M., University of Illinois at Urbana; Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Courses taught: French Women Writers, Elementary French Conversation, Intermediate French II, Advanced Grammar, Composition and Linguistics
Contact Information: 760-8420, machelidonv@meredith.edu, 106 Martin Hall
Professor Julie Mayberry
Julie Mayberry has taught communication courses at Meredith since 2002. She is also a full-time NCSU faculty member since 1998. Mayberry has also taught at UNC-Chapel Hill and Peace College.
Degrees Held: B.A. and M.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Courses Taught: Interpersonal Communication, Small Group Communication, Gender Communication, Nonverbal Communication
Contact: 760-2393, Mayberry@meredith.edu, 215 Harris Hall
Beth A. Mulvaney
Associate Professor of Art
Beth Mulvaney, although a specialist in Italian late Medieval and early Renaissance art (primarily the Trecento and Quattrocento), is fond of nearly all periods of art, including modern and contemporary. In her time at Meredith she has supervised student research that has been published, as well as presented at various regional, national and international conferences. In 2001 Meredith College awarded Mulvaney the Pauline Davis Perry Award for Research and Publications. In the summer of 2003 she was one of 15 college and university professors named by the National Endowment for the Humanities to participate in the "St. Francis in the Thirteenth Century," a seminar conducted on site in Siena, Rome, and Assisi.
Degrees Held: B.A., State University of New York at Buffalo, M.A. and Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Courses Taught: Women in the Visual Arts
Contact Information: 760-8497, MulvaneyB@meredith.edu, 143 Gaddy-Hamrick
Debra Murphy, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor of Religion
Degrees Held: B.S., West Virginia Wesleyan College; M.T.S., Duke University Divinity School; Ph.D., Drew University
Classes Taught: Women in the Bible
Contact: 760-8559, MurphyD@meredith.edu, 210 Joyner Hall
Professor Teresa Nunes
Adjunct Professor of Foreign Languages
Teresa Nunes' areas of concentration include cultural studies, the history of environmental and gender-justice movements and literature, and Latin American politics and culture. Her dissertation, entitled Zines in Three Contemporary Grassroots' Movements: Gender Justice, Animal Rights and the Environment is a study of the role of self-published literature and its impact on the three aforementioned movements in Brazil and the United States. Nunes has taught courses in Portuguese, Spanish, Women's Studies, Environmental and Animal Ethics and Latin American literature and culture.
Degrees Held: B.A., Texas A&M University; M.A. and M.S., Purdue University; Ph.D., University of St. Thomas; Certificate in Environmental Communication, Duke University.
Courses Taught: Women’s Studies 490: Selected Topics. Serves on Women’s Studies Advisory Board
Contact Information: 760-8149, nunester@meredith.edu, 120 Martin Hall
Jody Roubanis, Ed. D.
Assistant Professor of Human Environmental Sciences
Jody Roubanis was born in Orange County, California. She is certified to teach general science and home economics at the secondary level in California. Following a move to Virginia where she taught at the secondary level, she managed the statewide Vocational Student Organization for Work and Family Studies for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Her research focus has been on women and leadership.
Degrees Held: B.S., California State University; M.Ed. and Ed.D., North Carolina State University
Courses Taught: Family Resource Management
Contact Information: 760-2897, Roubanis@meredith.edu, 216 Martin Hall
Margarita Suarez, Ph. D.
Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy
Margarita Suarez joined the Meredith faculty in 2001. Her area of concentration is theology and culture, specializing in global liberation theologies. Her dissertation, "Hasta la Victoria Siempre": Birthing Cuban Feminist Theology," is an ethnographic view into the lives and religious thought of three Cuban women –pastor/theologians. Suarez is faculty advisor for Theta Alpha Kappa, the religious studies honor society.
The Rev. Dr. Suarez teaches courses in global liberation theologies, women in Christianity, and courses in religion and culture. She has recently published an article, "Across the Kitchen Table: Cuban Women Pastors and Theology" in Gender, Ethnicity, and Religion: Views from the Other Side, edited by Rosemary Radford Ruether. Her current research interests are the variety of religious expression in Cuba and the use of ethnographic research methodologies within religious scholarship.
Degrees Held: B.A., Fordham University; M.Div., Harvard Divinity School; Ph.D., Northwestern University
Courses Taught: Global Liberation Theology, Women in Christianity and courses in religion and culture
Contact: 760-8063, SuarezM@meredith.edu, 208 Joyner Hall
Anne York, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Business
After graduating from Elon University, Anne York worked for the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and later for GE Capital. However, she did not find personal fulfillment and intellectual challenge in these jobs. She therefore decided to change careers and pursue graduate study in the subject that she loved the most while at Elon, which is economics. Her fields of concentration within economics are labor and health economics and she also has a graduate minor in statistics. Her research has examined labor supply decisions of married couples, international comparisons of labor force participation rates for women and for individuals approaching retirement age, immigrant versus native economic status of older workers in Germany, the effect of a mother's work status on her child's health care needs, and most recently, gender differences in the college and career aspirations of high school valedictorians. Due to her research work, she has received Meredith's Pauline Davis Perry faculty award for Excellence in Research in 2000.
Degrees Held: B.S., Elon University; M.S., University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Ph.D., North Carolina State University
Courses Taught: Principles of Microeconomics, Principles of Macroeconomics, Labor Economics, Health Economics, Money and Banking, Gender and the Economy
Contact: 760-8483, YorkA@meredith.edu, 121 Harris Hall
