Faculty & Staff

Faculty

Dr. Matthew Crawford, Chair

Associate Professor

Office: 339C Compton Science Center
Phone: 301.687.4940
Email: mjcrawford@frostburg.edu

Degrees

Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University
B.S., Frostburg State University

• Additional Information

  Bio

  Dr. Crawford is an FSU alum that rejoined his alma mater in 2011 after earning his Ph. D. at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. He is an Associate Professor of Chemistry and is the current chair of the Department of Chemistry & Physics. His primary research interests include organic chemistry, biochemistry, analytical chemistry, as well as chemical education for grades K-12. He was the 2014 recipient of the Maryland Parent Involvement Matters Award. Dr. Crawford is a member and current treasurer of the FSU Phi Kappa Phi (Honor society). He serves as the FSU advisor of the Chemistry Honor Society (Gamma Sigma Epsilon) and Co-Advisor for FSU Pre-Medical Society. In addition, he serves as a member of the FSU Health Professions Advisory Committee that helps to guide/advise students pursuing an advanced degree and career in the medical field.
  
  He and his wife Michelle are proud parents of five children: Charlotte, Preston, Henry, Katie, and Marceline. They are avid Disney fans and enjoy traveling as often as they can. Both Dr. Crawford and his wife successfully completed their first Run Disney Dopey Challenge (5K, 10K, half and full marathons) in 2022 and are training for a second challenge for 2024.
  

  Research Interests:

  • Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis and Analysis Using Natural and Unnatural Amino Acids
  • Local Honey Analysis
  • Developing Safer Methods to Determine Lead Content in Paint Using Microwave Digestion
  • Soil and Water Analysis.

Dr. William A. Wetherholt, Chair

Associate Professor
GTU (Geography Honor Society) Advisor

Office: Gunter 230
Telephone: 301-687-4266
Email: wawetherholt@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

Ph.D. Geography, Kansas State University
M.A. Geography, University of North Dakota
B.A. Geography, Kent State University

• Additional Information

  Areas of Interest

  Place attachment, critical cartography, rural geography, qualitative/mixed methods, privacy and ethics in GISci

  Publications

  Briwa, R. and W. Wetherholt. 2020. Teaching critical cartography in the introductory classroom. The Geography Teacher 17 (4): 162-168.

  Wetherholt, W. 2020. Review of Across the Continent: The Union Pacific Photographs of Andrew J. Russell. By Daniel Davis. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press and Utah State Historical Society, 2018. In Great Plains Quarterly 40 (2): 174-175.

  Wetherholt, William A. and Gregory S. Vandeberg. 2019. Reading the Landscape in Antler, North Dakota: Repeat Photography in an Atrophying Northern Plains Town. In S. D. Brunn, R. Kehrein (eds.), Handbook of the Changing World Language Map. Springer, pp.1-23.

  Wetherholt, W., and B. Rundquist. 2010. A survey of ethics in college-level remote sensing courses in the U.S. Journal of Geography 109 (2): 75-86.

  Presentations

  "Integrating OSM into an Undergraduate Cartography Curriculum." OpenStreetMapUS: Mapping USA Virtual Event, 22 May 2021.

  "Rootedness in the very rural Great Plains counties of Kansas and Nebraska." 9^th Quadrennial Conference of British, Canadian, and American Rural Geographers, Vermont, USA. July 2019

  "Retracing Lacock’s Footsteps on The National Road." American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA. 13 April 2018.

  "Rural Identity in the Academy" (panelist). American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA. 11 April 2018.

  “Place Attachment in Kansas and Nebraska’s Emptying Plains.” American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA. 31 March 2016.

  “Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU): Engaging Exceptional Students in the Geography Honors Society” (Panelist). American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA. 30 March 2016.

  “Articulating Rural Sentiment in the Central Great Plains Through Grounded Theory.” Great Plains/Rocky Mountain Division of the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Kearney, NE. 03 October 2015.

  “A Humanistic Investigation of Place in the Very Rural Great Plains of Kansas and Nebraska.” 8th Quadrennial Meeting of British, Canadian, and U.S. Rural Geographers, Swansea – Aberystwyth, UK. 11 July 2015.

Dr. Phillip Allen

Professor

Office: Gunter 211
Telephone: 301-687-4891
Email: ppallen@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

Ph.D. Quaternary Science, Coventry University
M.Sc. Quaternary Science, Royal Holloway-Univ. of London
B.Sc. (Hons) Geography, Middlesex University

• Additional Information

  Areas of Interest

  I am interested in many aspects of Earth Science, particularly the Quaternary period. My main interest is geomorphic evolution of landscapes, especially in cold climate regions. Specifically I attempt to understand the factors that condition, initiate and drive landscape change. My recent work has examined the roles of climate change and human impact in modifying the landscape over the mid - Late Holocene. The techniques I employ are varied and range from geomorphological mapping to palynology (pollen analysis).

  Publications

  Stephan Harrison, Tim Mighall, David A. Stainforth, Phillip Allen, Mark Macklin, Edward Anderson, Jasper Knight, Dmitry Mauquoy, David Passmore, Brice Rea, Matteo Spagnolo, Sarah Shannon. 2019. Uncertainty in geomorphological responses to climate change. Climatic Change 156(1-2): 69-86
  
  Allen, P.P., Hewitt, R., Obryk, M.J. & Doran, P.T. 2014 Sediment Transport dynamics on an ice-covered lake: the 'floatin' boulders of Lake Hoare, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, DOI:10.1017/S0954102014000558

  Allen, P.P., Sewell, N. 2014. EcoCount: A New Digital Approach to Environmental Data Recording. SAGE Open, Apr/June 2014:1-5 DOI: 10.1177/2158244014537500

  Research Projects

  Holocene Climate & Hydrological Change in the Finzel Wetlands, MD
  Periglacial History of Dolly Sods
  The Map that Changed the World!!

Dr. Tianna A. Bogart

Associate Professor

Office: Gunter 229
Telephone: 301-687-4264
Email: tabogart@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

Ph.D. Climatology, University of Delaware
M.S. Geography, University of Delaware
B.S. Environmental Science, University of Delaware

• Additional Information

  Courses

  Physical Geography, Descriptive Meteorology, Physical Climatology, Natural Hazards, Climate Change, Principles of Atmospheric Science, Research Methods

  Areas of Interest

  Climatic response to land cover change, adjustment of climate data biases, spatial interpolation, model sensitivity to input data and parameters, Safe Spaces / LGBTQIA + Ally, diversity in the sciences

  Publications

  Dunmyre, J., Fortune, N., Bogart, T., Rasmussen, C., & Keene, K. A. (2019). Climate change in a differential equations course: Using bifurcation diagrams to explore small changes with big effects. Community of Ordinary Differential Equations Educators: Special Issue Linking Differential Equations to Social Justice and Environmental Concerns.

  Fortune, N., Dunmyre, J., Rasmussen, C., Bogart, T., & Keene, K. A. (2019). Bringing social justice topics to differential equations: Climate change, identity, and power. In A. Weinberg, D. Moore-Russo, H. Soto, & M. Wawro (Eds.), Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference on the Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (pp. 891 – 896). Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma.

  Legates, D. R. and T. A. Bogart. 2009. Estimating the Proportion of Monthly Precipitation that Falls in Solid Form. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 10:1299-1306.

  Presentations

  Bogart, T.A. (2018). Energy budget changes from the inclusion of the urban land unit in a global climate model, The American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA.

  Bogart, T.A. (2017). Climate Change: Separating Fact from Fiction, Focus Frostburg: FSU's annual Day of Learning on sustainability and climate awareness, Frostburg, MD.

  Bogart, T.A. (2016). Modeled climatological impact of urban development in the Indian Subcontinent. The American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

  Bogart, T.A. (2014). Sensitivity of a Global Climate Model to the urban land unit, The American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, Tampa, FL.

  Bogart, T.A. (2014). Impact of Urban Density type in a Global Climate Model, The American Geophysical Union Fall meeting, San Francisco, CA.

  Bogart, T.A. (2012). Using a GCM to better understand the urban-climate relationship, The Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, New York, NY, February 2012.

  Bogart, T.A. (2011). Sensitivity of a Global Climate Model to the Urban Environment," The Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, April 2011.

Dr. Holly Currie

Associate Professor

Office: 347 Compton Science Center
Phone: 301.687.4359
Email: hncurrie@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

Ph.D. West Virginia University, 2014
B.S. California University of Pennsylvania, 2008

• Additional Information

  Research Interests:

  • Detection of pharmaceutical compounds in milk

Dr. Hang Deng-Luzader

Professor

Office: 245 Compton Science Center
Phone: 301.687.4385
Email: hluzader@frostburg.edu

Teaching Interests:

• Quantum physics, modern physics, particle physics. Specific interest and experience in college preparation and secondary school science

• Additional Information

  Degrees:

  Ph.D., University of Maryland, college Park
  M.S., Northeastern University
  B.S., Beijing Teachers College

Dr. Katie Gares

Lecturer

Office: 356 Compton Science Center
Phone: 301.687.3020
Email: klgares@frostburg.edu

 

• Additional Information

  Degrees:

  Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
  B.S., Frostburg State University

   

Dr. Robert Larivee

Professor

Office: 351A Compton Science Center
Phone: 301.687.4091
Email: rlarivee@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

Ph.D., University of Delaware
B.A., Rhode Island College

• Additional Information

  Research Interests:

  • Supercritical carbon dioxide to extract natural gas from Marcellus Shale
  • Chemometric analysis of gas chromatography including retention time prediction and trace component elution
  • Gold nanoparticles as delivery devices

  Bio

  Dr. Larivee is a professor of analytical chemistry. He obtained his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Rhode Island College in 1976. He was commission a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1976 and served as an Airborne Ranger in the Infantry until 1981. After working in industry for a few years he continued his education obtaining his graduate degree working under Steve Brown with a specialty in Chemometrics from University of Delaware in 1989. After graduation he obtained a teaching position at Frostburg State University Department of Chemistry. Dr. Larivee’s specialties include environmental chemistry, chemometrics, chemical instrumentation, and chemical education, especially training elementary and middle school teachers in the physical sciences. He is currently the Chair of the Chemistry Department and the Chemical Hygiene Officer.

Mr. Adam P. Lewis

Adjunct Lecturer

Office: Gunter 227
Telephone: 301-687-4577
Email: aplewis@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

M.Ed. Frostburg State University
B.S. Geography & History, Frostburg State University

• Additional Information

  Areas of Interest

  human, physical

Dr. Fayan Meng

Lecturer

Office: 345 Compton Science Center
Phone: 301.687.4157
Email: fmeng@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

Ph.D., Guangxi University
M.S., Guangxi Normal University
B.S., Guangxi Normal University

Dr. Eric Moore

Professor

Office: 238 Compton Science Center
Phone: 301.687.4500
Email: ejmoore@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore County
M.S., University of Maryland, Baltimore County
B.S., Frostburg State University

• Additional Information

  Teaching Interests:

  • Introductory physics, senior research and seminar

  Research Interests:

  • Physics education, materials characterization and performance

Dr. Benjamin Norris

Professor, Master of Environmental Management in Sustainability Coordinator

Office: 309 Compton Science Center
Phone: 301.687.4157
Email: bnnorris@frostburg.edu

Degrees

Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
B.S., Frostburg State University

• Additional Information

  Teaching Interests:

  • General Chemistry, Organic chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Biostatistics, Environmental Management, First-Year Seminar, Research Methods

  Research Interests:

  • Development of biorenewable alternatives to petrochemicals, conjugated small molecule chemosensors, application of data analytics to student success and retention, the development of academic advising as a profession and an academic discipline

  Bio

  Dr. Benjamin Norris graduated with honors from Frostburg State University with a B.S. in Chemistry (minor in Mathematics) in May 2004. As a student at Frostburg, Dr. Norris received the prestigious Regent’s Scholarship, was president of the Student Members of the American Chemical Society, and received the Class of ’59 Leadership Award.

  Dr. Norris pursued graduate studies in Organic and Polymer Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh from Fall 2004 through Summer 2010. He defended his thesis in January 2011, and received his Ph.D. in May 2011. His research included studies toward the development of new palladium-catalyzed multicomponent coupling reactions and the synthesis of sequenced phenylene-vinylene oligomers and copolymers. His development of a new strategy for the iterative synthesis of oligo(para-phenylene-vinylene)s using olefin metathesis has been published in Organic Letters. His study of the relationship between sequence and optoelectronic properties of oligo(para-phenylene-vinylene)s was featured on the cover of the February 26, 2013 issues of  Macromolecules. While a graduate student at Pitt, Dr. Norris was a Graduate Teaching Fellow and received the Hurd Safford Teaching Award.

  Dr. Norris returned to his alma mater as an Instructor of Chemistry in Fall 2010. He was promoted to Assistant Professor in Fall 2011, to Associate Professor in 2016, and Professor in 2023. He won the FSU Faculty Achievement Award for University and Community Service in 2015. Dr. Norris also holds a Microsoft professional program certification in data science. Dr. Norris served FSU as Chair of the Faculty from 2017 to 2021 and Interim Associate Provost from 2021 to 2023. He is active in NACADA (the Global Community for Academic Advising), serving on the editorial board of the  NACADA Journal, the advisory board for the NACADA Assessment Institute, and the steering committee for the Faculty Advising Community. Dr. Norris is a member of the NACADA Emerging Leader class of 2022-2024, and he served as an Assessment Institute Faculty Intern and an Excellence in Academic Advising Fellow, both in 2024. Dr. Norris is a member of the FSU Foundation Board of Directors. 

  
  

  Publications

  1. Norris, Benjamin N.; Zhang, Shaopeng; Campbell, Casey M.; Auletta, Jeffrey T.; Calvo-Marzal, Percy; Hutchison, Geoffrey R.; Meyer, Tara Y. “Sequence Matters: Modulating Electronic and Optical Properties of Conjugated Oligomers via Tailored Sequence”, Macromolecules, 2013, 46 (4), 1384-1392 . DOI: 10/1021/ma400123r.
     Cover Article: Macromolecules, Vol. 46, Issue 4, February 26, 2013.
  2. Norris, Benjamin N.; Pan, Tianqi; Meyer, Tara Y. “Iterative Synthesis of Heterotelechelic Oligo(Phenylene-Vinylene) by Olefin Cross Metathesis.” Organic Letters, 2010, 12 (23), 5514-5517. DOI: 10.1021/ol102398y.

  
  

  National Conference, Workshop, and Institute Presentations 

  1. Carmel-Etienne, M., Norris, B., (2024, January 1–February 2). Exploring and Developing Measures for Assessment and Interpretation of Data [Institute workshop]. 2024 NACADA Assessment Institute, Durham, NC.
  2. Chandler, D., Vance, I., Norris, B. (2024, January 1–February 2).  Process Delivery Outcomes/Process Measures [Institute presentation]. 2024 NACADA Assessment Institute, Durham, NC.
  3. Carmel-Etienne, M., Norris, B., Bowlus, A. (2024, January 1–February 2).  Visualizing and Summarizing the Data You Collected and Analyzed [Institute presentation]. 2024 NACADA Assessment Institute, Durham, NC.
  4. Bridgen, S., Norris, B., Lewis, E., Cooley, J., Marchesani, D. (2023, October 4–7). Excellence in Academic Advising [Panel discussion] . 2023 NACADA Annual Conference, Miami, FL.
  5. Norris, B., Kraft-Terry, S. (2023, October 4–7).  Telling the story of advising through data visualization [Pre-conference workshop]. 2023 NACADA Annual Conference, Miami, FL.
  6. Palmer, K., Schmidt, K., & Norris, B. (2023, October 4–7).  Ask a faculty advisor [Panel discussion].” 2023 NACADA Annual Conference, Miami, FL.
  7. McClellan J., Norris, B., Hegeman, J., Kinsinger, K. (2022, October 23–26). Bridging Strategy and Structure to Achieve Success in Academic Advising [Pre-conference workshop]. 2022 NACADA Annual Conference, Portland, OR.
  8. Norris, B., Hegeman, J., McClellan, J, & Kinsinger, K. (2022, October 23–26). Excellence in Academic Advising:  Facilitating Advising Transformation [Conference presentation] . 2022 NACADA Annual Conference, Portland, OR.
  9. Bittinger, S.-B., Norris, B., & Donoway, T. (2021, December 13–14). New Horizons for Institutional Effectiveness: Streamlined and sustainable assessment of assessment [Conference presentation]. 2021 Middle States Commission on Higher Education Annual Conference, Live virtual session.
  10. Brown, J., Campbell, S., Hegeman, J., Kraft-Terry, S. McGillin, V., Norris, B.
      Sindt, K. (2020, October) Excellence in Academic Advising: Evidence-Based Advising Transformation [Panel Discussion]. 2020 NACADA Annual Conference, Recorded virtual session.
  11. Brown, J., Campbell, S., Hegeman, J., Higgins, E., Kraft-Terry, S. McGillin, V., & Norris, B. (2019, October 20–23).  Excellence in Academic Advising: Evidence-Based Advising Transformation [Panel discussion]. 2019 NACADA Annual Conference, Louisville, KY.
  12. Norris, B. N. (2014, March 16–20).  Redesigning the first semester course in general chemistry  for science majors [Conference presentation]. 247 ^th American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition , Dallas, TX.
  13. Norris, B. N.; Pan, T.; Meyer, T. M. (2009, August). Homologous synthesis of end-differentiated
      oligo (p-phenylene-vinylene)s [Poster presentation]. 238 ^th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, Philadelphia, PA
  14. Beeman, C. G.; Shaerdel, A. D.; Norris, B. N. (2003, March). Elementary and high school demonstrations: Promoting chemistry at a young age [Poster presentation]. 225 ^th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, New Orleans, LA.

Dr. Matthew E. Ramspott

Professor

Office: Gunter 207
Telephone: 301-687-4412
Email: meramspott@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

Ph.D. Geography, University of Kansas
M.S. Applied Geography, Texas State University-San Marcos
B.S. Environmental Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Additional Information

  Areas of Interest

  aerial photo interpretation, remote sensing theory and applications, physical geography, environmental studies, mapping and geographic information sciences, spatial data analysis and quantitative methods

   

Dr. Richard A. Russo

Professor

Office: Gunter 231
Telephone: 301-687-4053
Email: rarusso@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

Ph.D. Geography, University of Maryland - College Park
M.A. Geography, Syracuse University
B.A. Geography, Mary Washington College

• Additional Information

  About Dr. Russo

  Richard has been a faculty member in Maryland institutions (either full-time or adjunct) since 1996; he started at FSU in Fall 2010. As a broadly-trained human/cultural geographer, his scholarly interests are in the geographies of identity, sovereignty, food systems, and urban systems. He was a 2017-2018 Fulbright Scholar to the Centre canadien de recherche sur les francophonies en milieu minoritaire (CRFM) in La Cité universitaire francophone at the University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was appointed to a 5-year term to the City of Frostburg’s Planning Commission. Richard is a native of the Wissahickon Creek watershed in southeastern Pennsylvania.

  Areas of Interest

  Canadian studies, language geographies, sacred ecology, geohumanities, food systems, small and medium-sized cities
  
  2017-2018 Fulbright Canada Visiting Research Chair, Centre canadien de recherche sur les francophonies en milieu minoritaire (CRFM), La Cité universitaire francophone, University of Regina

  Publications

  Russo, R.A. 2025. Les collections des bibliothèques publiques en contexte de bilinguisme officiel: une étude comparative de quelques pratiques européennes (Linda Savoie, trad.). In Alain Roy et al., Bibliothèques et archives dans les communautés de langue officielle en situation minoritaire: Enjeux et devenir,79-113. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press.

  Russo, R.A. 2019. French-Language Books in a Minority Setting: A Report from Rural Saskatchewan. Minorités linguistiques et société / Linguistic Minorities and Society, 11: 52–73.

  Russo, R.A. 2019. Book Review: Defining Métis: Catholic Missionaries and the Idea of Civilization in Northwestern Saskatchewan, 1845-1898 by Timothy P. Foran. American Review of Canadian Studies 49(3): 483-484.

  Russo, R.A. 2015. Appalachian Cities at the Beginning of the 21st-Century. Journal of Appalachian Studies 21(2): 157-172.

  Russo, R.A. 2012. Local Food Initiatives in Tobacco Transitions of the Southeastern United States. Southeastern Geographer 52(1):55-69.

  Russo, R.A. 2012. Southern Maryland Tobacco Barn (cover photo and essay). Southeastern Geographer 52(2):109-111.

   

Dr. James C. Saku

Professor

Office: Gunter 232
Telephone: 301-687-4724
Email: jsaku@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

Ph.D. University of Saskatchewan
M.A. Wilfrid Laurier University
B.A., Dip.Ed. Cape Coast (Ghana)

• Additional Information

  Areas of Interest

  human, economic, regional

  C.V.

  Course Syllabi

  GEOG 104 Human Geography
  GEOG 300 Economic Geography
  GEOG 301 Geography of North America
  GEOG 302 Geography of Maryland
  GEOG 403 Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa
  GEOG 410 Locational Analysis
  GEOG 425 Geography of Transportation

 

Dr. Jerald Simon

Associate Professor

Office: 349 Compton Science Center
Phone: 301.687.4155
Email: jsimon@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

Ph.D., University of California
B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dr. Jason Speights

Associate Professor, Director of Multimedia Learning Center

Office: 189-D Gira CCIT
Phone: 301.687.4339
Email: jcspeights@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

Ph.D., NM Tech
M.S., NM Tech
B.S., NM Tech
A.S. Maplewoods Community College

Publications

Multimedia Learning Center

• Additional Information

  Teaching Interests:

  • Theoretical Physics; Computational Physics; Astrophysics; Modern Physics; Introductory Physics

  Research Interests:

  • Galactic Dynamics and Evolution; Parameter Estimation; Data Analysis; Instrumentation; Multi-wavelength Astronomy

Staff 

Ms. Hayley Baer

Academic Laboratory Manager

Office: 357 Compton Science Center
Phone: 301.687.3131
Email: hbbaer@frostburg.edu

Ms. Crystal Frantz

Administrative Assistant II

Office: 354 Compton Science Center or 201 Gunter Hall
Phone: 301.687.3458 (Compton) or 301.687.4369 (Gunter)
Email: cafrantz@frostburg.edu 

Jason Litten

Co-Director, Western Maryland Regional GIS Center, Power Plant Research Program Project

Office: Ort 210
Telephone: 301-687-4369
Email: Jason Litten

Degrees:

B.S. Environmental Analysis and Planning, Frostburg State University

Antonia Zais

Environmental Specialist, Western Maryland Regional GIS Center

Office: Ort 210

Email: arzais@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

student, MEM Environmental Management in Sustainability, Frostburg State University
B.S. Geography, Frostburg State University

 

Emeriti Faculty

Chemistry and Physics

• Dr. Peggy Biser
• Dr. Robert Doyle
• Dr. Joseph Hoffman
• Dr. Paul Hunt
• Dr. Gregory P. Latta
• Dr. Stephen Luzader
• Dr. James Martin
• Dr. Mary Mumper
• Dr. Frederick Senese
• Mr. Francis Tam
• Dr. Don Weser

Geography