By Ella Prieto, Editor-in-Chief
On Thursday, faculty and administrators met in Mara Auditorium for the first faculty meeting of the year. The meeting addressed changes at the College, financial and political constraints and recognition of faculty excellence.
President Bob Iuliano first addressed the audience, reflecting on the College’s previous year.
“From new majors to Residence Hall renovation to renewed focus on the overall student experience to the essential work of what I’m calling Gettysburg 2.0, we moved with, I think, remarkable pace and determination,” stated Iuliano.
He also announced that Vice President for Enrollment and Educational Services Carey Thompson will be stepping down due to his retirement. Thompson will be replaced by Robert Schwartz ’92, with no interim period. However, Thompson will continue with the College as a resource for Schwartz as he settles into the role.
President Iuliano’s Remarks
Iuliano then outlined four major points to the faculty: the need to harness innovation and adaptation, the fiscal environment for the College and higher education in general, the intensified political pressure and the senior survey results.
On the first point, he mentioned how last year was so successful for the College due to innovation and adaptation, which plays a part in Gettysburg 2.0, and noted that the College’s financial deficit was ⅓ smaller than predicted. To continue this momentum, faculty focus groups have been launched to set up recommendations for the College, forged by ongoing market research. Iualiano thanked faculty for volunteering for those groups, along with Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Jamie Yates for her ongoing work in revitalizing the College.
Next, he mentioned the fiscal environment for the College and higher education in general, informing faculty that the Class of 2029 was smaller in students and revenue than the College’s goal. The President’s Council has already taken steps to reduce the deficit, but financial pressure will inevitably continue.
Third, Iuliano recognized that the political environment for higher education has intensified, mentioning how several Ivy League schools have lost parts of their federal funding or entered into extraordinary deals with the federal government to restore funding. Additionally, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, passed by Congress and signed into law over the summer, could also affect the College.
“We’re still trying to make sense of all that, but for today, I think more important than the specifics are the overarching thing,” said Iuliano. “We know that the United States government has a particular focus on American higher education right now, and we also know that if that attention becomes focused on a particular institution, the resulting pressure can be very difficult to sustain.”
His advice to faculty was to keep their attention on the basics: “We do an extraordinary job preparing our students for a life of work, service and contribution… So let’s continue to put students at the heart of everything we do here.”
Iuliano’s final point was that last year’s Senior Survey had the highest student satisfaction since 2015, a byproduct of the great work done at the College. Furthermore, Gettysburg College continues to be represented on the Princeton Review for “Best Value Colleges” and “Colleges that Create Futures.”
Faculty Achievements
Provost Jamila Bookwala took over the meeting to give a welcome back from the Provost’s Office. She remarked that amidst the changing landscape, the core institutional mission of the College remains the same. Bookwala then reported on the faculty’s numerous achievements and new positions reported through their annual survey over the past year.
Among the faculty, 98 scholarly manuscripts were published, in press or in progress, with many featuring student authors. About 20 new books were published or newly under contract, and faculty gave 82 conference presentations and invited lecturers, many again featuring students. Additionally, they engaged in about 18 performances, productions and exhibits. Overall, faculty received over a dozen external awards, honors, grants and fellowships. Bookwala noted that this list does not include all the work the faculty does on campus, from organizing conferences to bringing in guest lecturers and developing new courses and curricula.
“This collective work is superb, impressive in quantity and quality, and we commend all of the faculty for your accomplishments and for being terrific role models as teachers, scholars and teacher creators,” recognized Bookwala.
She then listed the transitions and appointments among the faculty, covering promotions, new positions, chairs and more.
Change in Faculty
Faculty promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure Track
Professor of English Aristides Dimitriou
Professor of environmental studies Tasha Gownaris
Professor of Asian studies Yoko Nishimura,
Professor of philosophy Nathifa Greene
Professor of philosophy Mercedes Valmisa Oviedo
Professor of Spanish Aarón Lacayo
Professor of political science Douglas Page
Professor of political science Lindsay Reid
Faculty Promoted to Rank of Full Professor
Professor of theatre arts Eric Blair Berninghausen
Professor of health sciences Amy Dailey
Professor of biology Ryan Kerney
Professor of economics Linus Mabughi Nyiwul
Professor of environmental studies Andy Wilson
Endowed Chairs
Ryan Johnson as the W.K.T. Sahm Professor of physics for a five-year term
Rud Platt as the Thompson Professorship of environmental studies for a five-year term
Joseph Radzevick as the inaugural Siegfried Family Distinguished Professor of management
Faculty Taking on Leadership Positions
Josef Brandauer as the new Dean of Academic Advising and Student Success
Ian Isherwood as the new Director of the Civil War Institute
Douglas Page as the interim Fielding Center Director
Lindsay Reid as the Diplomacy Lab Director for the 2025-26 Academic Year
Anne Douds as the interim Pre-Law Advisor
Matthew Kittelberger as the health professions faculty coordinator
Erin Clark as a Lecturer in Educational Design & Inquiry and the Assistant Director of the Office of Teacher Education and Certification
New Department Chairs, 3 Year Terms
Kate Buettner for biochemistry & molecular biology
Luke Thompson for chemistry
Jack Ryan and Jim Udden for the new communications studies major
Brendan Cushing-Daniels and Patturaja Selvaraj for the new finance major
Amy Dailey and Anne Douds for the new public health major
Leaving Faculty Members
Professor of physics Jackie Milingo
Professor of political science Scott Boddery
Professor of art history Nick Miller
Professor of political science Ashley Wu
New Faculty Members
Tenure Track Faculty
Dr. Mu Li, Assistant Professor of management
Visiting Faculty (Assistant Professors)
Dr. Megan Ankuda, music education
Dr. Sepandarmaz Aschrafi, biology
Dr. Qi Deng, finance
Dr. Maheshan Ekanayaka, mathematics
Dr. Cayce Fylling, mathematics
Dr. Abdus Mollah, management
Dr. Lauren Osborn, Visiting Emerging Writing Lecturer in English
Dr. Edudzi Sallah, English
Dr. Katerina Traut, political science
Dr. Prasadh Sandanuwan Kalawila Vithanage, physics
Dr. Yulu Zhang, chemistry
Teaching Assistants
Alba Vizcaino Chacon, Spanish Fulbright Foreign Language Assistant
Angelle Dupuy, French Fulbright Foreign Language Assistant
Jiahui Ouyang, Chinese Language
Antonia Voss, German Fulbright Foreign Language Assistant
Celebrating Professors with 25 Years of Service
Bookwala recognized the professors who have been at the College for 25 years, reading messages they each sent in about their time here.
First was Professor of history Dina Lowy, who designed and taught 13 different courses, wrote various publications and chaired four departments. Lowy thanked all her colleagues in past departments and divisions for “continually making this place so special.”
Following Lowy was Professor of computer science Clif Presser, who has taught 17 distinct courses, in addition to numerous independent studies, during his time at Gettysburg. Presser was awarded for his work in 2020 with the JCCTL Excellence in Teaching Award.
Fellow Professor of computer science Todd Neller was also recognized. Neller specializes in Artificial Intelligence and game theory, and received the AAAI/EAAI Outstanding Educator Award for “longstanding dedication and service to the AI education community at large, for curating shared resources, and for advancing and energizing the field of AI education.”
Professor of chemistry Michael Wedlock was next, who stated he was most proud of his students who worked in his research lab, as well as having served as the faculty advisor for Allies, the campus’s LGBTQ+ group, for 15 years, and Stem House since its inception.
Professor of economics Charles Weise, who specializes in monetary and fiscal policy, was then recognized. He has served as the chair for three departments, in addition to serving on the Faculty Council and the last Presidential Search Committee.
“Long story short, if there’s something the College is doing right, [I] probably had a role in making it happen,” he joked.
He is proudest of his role in inspiring his students to study economics.
Last was Professor of environmental studies Randall Wilson. His research focuses on the history and management of national parks, forests and other public lands, with an emphasis on community-based resource management. On campus, Wilson has made an impact by establishing the Painted Turtle Farm and the first-ever Environmental Sustainability Committee. His favorite part of the last 25 years has been “the privilege of working with our wonderful Gettysburg students.”
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on Sept. 2, 2025 to include an additional professor in the recognition of 25 years section ~ E. Prieto
