Some of our Faculty
Faculty for the program in past years have included professors and professionals from the University community. Each has been selected for specific expertise and commitment to working with high school students.
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent (JD, Ohio State; Ed.D, University of Pennsylvania), Vice President of Diversity and Community Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin, is also a professor in the School of Law and a professor and endowed faculty fellow in the Sid W. Richardson Chair in Community College Leadership Program in the College of Education.
Dr. Nathalie Frensley (Ph.D., University of Texas) was a Peace Fellow (US Institute for Peace) in 1989-90. She and Dr. Gavan Duffy developed a theoretical model of conflict processes based on the choices that face political leaders in conflict settings. Although their published work applied the theory to the conflict in Northern Ireland, students have applied the Duffy-Frensley model to dozens of political conflicts throughout world history. Drawing upon theories of rational political participation,
Dr. Hina Azam (Ph.D., Duke). Dr. Azam specializes in Islamic law and jurisprudence and women and Islam. She is also involved in the Women and Gender and the Religious Studies Programs, One area of interest involves the question of whether women should lead prayers in Islam.
Neil Blumhofe is a chazzan (cantor) for a Conservative synagogue in Austin, Texas. He studied at Tulane University in New Orleans and the stamp of the Crescent City is all over this music. Blumhofe takes the listener to a Jewish wedding but not like any you might have attended. Free-form improvisations blend with traditional cantorial melodies and words and it can get as surreal as Golijov's opera. Most of the compositions are multi-sectioned, moving from instrumental passages that truly "swing" to quiet prayers to fiery solos then back to more contemplative moments. One can hear the strains of the great cantors of the early 20th Century mixing with Blumhofe's appreciation of Pharoah Sanders, John Coltrane, and Sidney Bechet.
Dr. Rene Dailey (Ph. D., University of California, Santa Barbara) is interested in a variety of topics regarding interpersonal and family communication. Her work includes examining topic avoidance in intimate relationships as well as how partners' attachments styles are related to communication in their relationships. She is also interested in how family communication impacts child and adolescent development. Specifically, her current research focuses on the relationship between parental confirmation and adolescents' socio-emotional development (e.g., self-esteem, identity) and communication patterns (e.g., openness). She has published articles in journals such as Communication Monographs and Human Communication Research and is currently co-editing a volume on socially meaningful applied research in interpersonal communication. She teaches courses in personal relationships and nonverbal communication.
published Hebrew-English dictionaries and chapters about the Middle East.
Dr. David V. Edwards (Ph.D., Harvard), Professor of Government, teaches political and social theory, American politics, public policy, and international relations. His books include Creating a New World Politics, International Political Analysis, Arms Control in International Politics, The American Political Experience, and Practicing American Politics. He has written for The Nation, The Washington Post, La Quinzaine Litteraire, and other periodicals. His research interests include the philosophy of social science, noetic sciences, theories of administration, the theory and practice of public policy, international relations theory, American foreign policy, and U.S.-Russian relations. He has been a research associate at the Washington Center of Foreign Policy Research, a visiting professor at New York University , holder of Rockefeller and NATO research fellowships, and a consultant to the Danforth Foundation, the Industrial Management Center , and the Institute for Defense Analyses. He received his B.A. degree from Swarthmore College , and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University .
The American Assembly has appointed Dr. Francis J. Gavin (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania), Tom Slick Professor of International Affairs and Director of Studies, Robert S. Strauss Center for International Affairs at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, as director of its Next Generation Project: Creating Better Global Institutions for America.
The American Assembly, an affiliate of Columbia University, is a national, educational, nonpartisan institution that aims to "illuminate issues of public policy." The Next Generation Project is designed to stimulate new thinking about the international institutional framework that has served the United States for more than 50 years but may need to be changed to better address the new needs of a post-Cold War, post-9/11 world.
It will engage both the next generation of emerging political, academic, professional and civic U.S. leaders and senior experts who have played or currently play a major role in making American international policy. The project's advisory council includes such luminaries as U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, former Federal Reserve Board of Governors Chairman Paul Volcker and Senator Richard Lugar. Among the steering committee members are Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs.
The multiyear project will include a series of national assemblies preceded by regional assemblies across the country, cosponsored by several of the nation's leading public policy institutions and universities. The intention is to spur much-needed public dialogue on U.S. foreign policy objectives and the means to carry them out, as well as provide a strong measure of public information on the way the United States and the international community are responding to the current international environment. Gavin plans to hold at least one national meeting at the soon to be announced Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin.
As director, Gavin will design the intellectual framework and agenda for the overall project in addition to developing agendas and convening periodic meetings of the project's Advisory Council and Steering Committee. The American Assembly has raised upwards of one million dollars to seed the project.
Campers were privileged to attend the American Assembly session at UT in 2006.
Ted Gittinger is an oral historian and Director of Special Projects at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin. A native San Antonian, he is married and has six children. He has degrees from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio ; Sam Houston State University , and did graduate work at The University of Texas at Austin . Gittinger served in Vietnam as an artillery officer with the First Cavalry Division (Airmobile). He has co-edited three books on the wars in Southeast Asia: Vietnam : The Early Decisions; International Perspectives on Vietnam ; and The Johnson Years: A Vietnam Roundtable. He also has edited a book of anecdotes written by President Johnson’s doctors, Willis Hurst and James Cain, LBJ: To Know Him Better.
Dr. Loril Gossett (PhD, University of Colorado) studies member identification and organizational control in contemporary work settings. Her most recent research focuses on the growth and impact of the contingent/temporary work force. She talked to us about on-line complaints and gripe sites.
Nelin Hudani is a producer and host of live talk radio on Austin KOOP 91.7FM and on the worldwide web at koop.org. She is a programmer and media consultant at The Crossings, and hosts a live television talk show in Austin, Texas. Nelin’s mission in life is to empower and inspire humanity to live with passion, purpose and meaning, and to experience unlimited human potential, higher consciousness, as well as participate in universal and global cross-cultural exchange through various forms.
Navy Captain Don Inbody has benn in the United States Navy for 27 years. He has served in several ships including command of USS Duluth, an amphibious transport. His experience has taken him around the world twice and has participated in operations such as escorting tankers in the Persian Gulf, conducting evacuation operations in Indonesia and the Philippines , supporting U. S. Marines ashore in Kuwait , and providing humanitarian aid to the citizens of East Timor . He has been a Congressional Budget Liaison officer working for the Secretary of the Navy and has directed a think tank for the Secretary of Defense. A native of Kansas , Captain Inbody has degrees from Wichita State University , the Naval Postgraduate School , and the Naval War College . For the past two years he has been the Professor of Naval Science and the Commanding Officer of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps Unit at the University of Texas . Captain Inbody teaches Leadership and Ethics and participates in a broad range of activities on campus and in the community leading to a better understanding of the proper role of the military in ethical decision-making.
Admiral Bobby R. Inman, USN, (Ret.) graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1950, and from the National War College in 1972. He became an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Austin in 1987. He was appointed as a tenured professor holding the Lyndon B. Johnson Centennial Chair in National Policy in August 2001.
Admiral Inman served in the U.S. Navy from November 1951 to July 1982, when he retired with the permanent rank of Admiral. While on active duty he served as Director of the National Security Agency and Deputy Director of Central Intelligence. After retirement from the Navy, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) in Austin , Texas for four years and Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Westmark Systems, Inc., a privately owned electronics industry holding company for three years. Admiral Inman also served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 1987 through 1990.
Admiral Inman’s primary activity since 1990 has been investing in start-up technology companies, where he is Chairman and a Managing Partner of Gefinor Ventures. He is a member of the Board of Directors of several privately held companies. He serves as a Trustee of the American Assembly and the California Institute of Technology. He is a Director of the Public Agenda Foundation and is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
Dr. Alan Kessler, is an award-winning teacher who specializes in international relations and political economy, with a primary focus on American foreign economic policy. He received his M.A. from the University of Michigan in 1992, and his Ph.D. from UCLA in 1999. Dr. Kessler is an expert on immigration and trade and has new insights on what is happening in Iraq.
Kenya S. Masala is a dynamic community and human development consultant, certified teacher and curriculum specialist. His unique blend of skills as an educator, facilitator, and percussionist inspire real learning and community building with clients ranging from the corporate world to youth. He facilitates seminars, leadership and youth development training, outdoor adventure, and educational percussion programs. He also designs and develops multimedia curricula and presentations on a national level, and recently published his first book, Rhythm Play!
Dr. Matthew McGlone (PhD, Princeton University) studies the cognitive, cultural, and social foundations of interpersonal communication. He teaches courses on persuasion, cognition, propaganda and other aspects of communication. Dr. McGlone has published numerous articles on euphemism, metaphor, quoting out of context, and figurative language.
Harold McMillan is the founder/director of DiverseArts Production Group, an Austin nonprofit producer of multidisciplinary art and culture projects and programs. Involved and active in Austin's art and music community for the past 20 years, he is known primarily for his efforts to provide access and exposure to traditions derived from African American Culture and other forms of artistic expression outside the classical European tradition. Within the broad scope of DiverseArts mission, McMillan functions as publisher/editor, writer, festival and concert producer, record producer, documentarian/cultural historian, gallery owner, and performing musician. A sample of his production credits include: founder/executive producer of the Clarksville Jazz and Arts Festival, Austin Jazz and Arts Festival, Austin Blues Family Tree Project, Clarksville Jazz Sessions; founder/publisher of Austin Downtown Arts Magazine; founder, DiverseArts Little Gallery.
Mr. McMillan's professional tenure in Austin has been spent almost entirely in the nonprofit sector in service and management positions in higher education, art and culture, social work, and low-income housing programs. He holds a BSW in Social Work from East Texas State University (now Texas A&M-Commerce), and has graduate training in Administration and Planning from the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin; and a Master of Arts in American Civilization from the University of Texas at Austin. Past and current community service and organizational affiliations include: City of Austin Music Commission, Cultural Contracts Music Advisory Panel, Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Roster Peer Review Panel, International Association of Jazz Education, and the ACC Commercial Music Advisory Board.
Dr. Mamta Motwani Accapadi (Ph. D., University of Texas) is Assistant Director of the Multicultural Information Center at UT. The MIC's Mission is to develop and train students for the multicultural/diverse society of today and the future. Our mission is fulfilled by providing diverse educational opportunities and support services for African American, Asian American, European/Anglo/Caucasian American, International, Mexican American/Hispanic/Latina(o) & Native American students.
Dr. Susan Murphy (Ph.D., University of Texas) received her M.A. in French and her Ph.D. in Foreign Language Education from The University of Texas at Austin. She taught English as a foreign language in France for two years and has traveled through most of Western Europe. Dr. Murphy has taught courses in ELP, AEP, and oral communication for international graduate students.
Dr. Stephen Phillips has degrees from Harvard and writes about Sanskrit and classical Indian thought. He has a very popular lecture explaining the philosophy behind yoga, and he shared some philosophy with the symposium.
Dr. Howard Prince is director of the LBJ School's Center for Ethical Leadership is Clinical Professor and holder of the Loyd Hackler Endowed Chair in Ethical Leadership. From 1990 to 1996 he served as founding dean and Professor of Leadership Studies in the University of Richmond's Jepson School of Leadership Studies, where he was responsible for the development of the first undergraduate leadership degree program in the world. He also held the George and Virginia Modlin endowed chair in leadership studies in 1996-97. From 1978 to 1990 Dr. Prince was Professor and Head of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York. While at West Point, he developed both graduate and undergraduate leadership programs and was instrumental in reshaping leader development throughout the U.S. Army.
An honor graduate of West Point, Dr. Prince also holds a Master of Arts degree in international relations from American University; studied economics, history, political science, and sociology at the University of Bonn in Germany as an Olmsted Scholar; and earned a Ph.D. in psychology from The University of Texas at Austin. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. A clinical psychologist, he is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association.
After serving for more than 28 years in the United States Army, Dr. Prince was promoted to Brigadier General upon his retirement in 1990 and presented with the army's highest award for service, the Distinguished Service Medal. He is Clinical Professor and holder of the Loyd Hackler Endowed Chair in Ethical Leadership.
Michael Segner, US Army Major, Assistant Professor of Military Science, recruits, trains, and assists in the commissioning of Second Lieutenants into the United States Army, after they complete the ROTC program and graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, St. Edwards University, Huston-Tillotson College, or Concordia Lutheran University. He focuses on the development and training of first and second year students, preparing them for progression into the United States Army. Major Segner is a Distinguished Military Graduate from Southwest Texas State University with a B.S. in Physics and an MBA in Management from Dowling College in New York.
Katherine Stewart, MBA, former Associate Director of UT Conflict Resolution Center, currently with Chorda Conflict, Inc., also taught negotiation in the McCombs School of Business.
Jan Summer, JD, Margaret Menicucci, JD, and Susan Smith, JD, showed off the Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution and the Eidman Courtroom at U.T. School of Law.
Dr. Avraham Zilkha (Ph. D., University of Texas) teaches courses in Hebrew language and literature, Jewish studies, politics of Israel and modern Israel. He has