Faculty and Staff

Faculty

Dr. Nancy Giunta

Department Chair, Associate Professor

Office: Framptom 206C
Phone: 301.687.4695
Email: nmgiunta@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

BA - University of MD, College Park
MA - San Francisco State University
MSW, PhD - University of California, Berkeley

Dr. Nancy Giunta (pronounced JOON-ta) is joining the FSU faculty this Fall as the Chair of the Social Work department. She is excited to re-build the department and shepherd it through the reaccreditation process with the Council of Social Work Education. Dr. Giunta comes to FSU after 15 years on the faculty of the City University of New York (CUNY). Within CUNY, her appointments were simultaneously in the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College and the Graduate Center (CUNY’s doctoral programs). At the Silberman School of Social Work, she directed Silberman Aging, a John A. Hartford Center of Excellence in Diverse Aging, and served as Chair of the community organizing sequence of the MSW and BSW programs. She has split her time between Allegany County and New York for 15 years and is delighted to focus her energy more locally. Dr. Giunta is currently the President of the Board of Directors of Wholesome Harvest Food Co-op, Allegany County’s only community-owned grocery store. Under her leadership, Wholesome Harvest has received over $1.5 million in funding from the United States Department of Agriculture and other local small business initiatives. Her vision for the Social Work department aligns with her area of scholarship, which is to strengthen existing collaborations in the social service community and expand them to promote economic, food, and health security in the region. Joining the newly established School of Education, Health and Natural Sciences provides the social work department an excellent opportunity to build multi-disciplinary initiatives to train future generations of health and social service professionals.

Dr. Mandy Vandivier

Interim Director of Field Education

Office: Framptom 206B
Phone: 301.687.4368
Email: amvandivier@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

BS - Sociology Frostburg State University
MEd – Interdisciplinary- Frostburg State University
MS – Psychology – Walden University
PhD – Psychology – Capella University
PhD (ABD) – Human and Social Services – Walden University
MSW – Fordham University
PhD (current)- Integrative Social Work – Saybrook University

Dr. Mandy Vandivier (Van-DUH-veer) (she/her) is honored to be teaching at her alma mater, Frostburg State University. Dr. Mandy has a deep connection to the University and the community. Her ancestors were among the miners who donated nickels and dimes of their pay to fund State Normal School No. 2, the beginning of FSU today. She feels her journey with higher education has brought the dedication of ancestors to fruition by being able to become educated herself and to teach and mentor the generations that will follow her. Dr. Mandy is excited to be working with FSU and is looking forward to creating new partnerships with community organizations to provide students with internship and educational opportunities. She wants to strengthen the bonds that already exist between the campus and community while also creating new opportunities!

Along with education, Dr. Mandy is passionate about applied social work at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. At the micro level, she has worked for 15 years as a spiritual counselor and therapist with a wide variety of people overcoming a wide variety of struggles. At the mezzo level, she works with her church, Dickerson A.M.E., in the Women’s Missionary, to address needs in the community. At the macro level, she works to end stigma around mental health and poverty. Her work focusing on addictions recovery has been published in Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly. She has presented on the process of recovery at American Psychopathological Association’s Annual Meeting, WV Recovers, TedX, and community level organizations. She also works with the S.A.F.E. Office on campus to create PAWSCasts about holistic health issues that affect students and community members. She is also working on creating a coalition of community members to address poverty in Frostburg. The same as many in the community, she believes that no one should have to be cold or hungry.

Adjunct Professors

Charlene Platter

Adjunct Professor

Office: 7 American Avenue
Phone: 301.687.7497
Email: cmplatter@frostburg.edu

I have been providing adjunct services for the Social Work and Sociology Departments for the past 15 or so years. I graduated from Frostburg State when it was a College and completed my MSW program from WVU in 1990. I have an old-fashioned LCSW. My primary day job is as a Social Work Supervisor for the Allegany County Department of Social Services where I have worked since 1986. Over the years I have had secondary employment as a Medical Social Worker for a Dialysis Center and a Mediator for the Allegany County Court system. I have served on a number of Board of Directors, most notably the Western Maryland Foodbank.

I have lived in Allegany County since coming to Frostburg for college after high school in Montgomery County Maryland where I grew up. I enjoy riding my bike, travel and serving at my church. I love social work for the diversity of opportunity and how well it fits with my life choices.