Leadership
Ronald Kander, PhD - Executive Dean
Email: Ron.Kander@Jefferson.edu | Phone: 215-951-0252
Awards & Honors
- Mayor's Appointee to the Philadelphia Manufacturing Task Force Advisory Committee
- Governor’s Appointee to the Virginia New College Planning Commission
- Governor’s Appointee to the Virginia Hydrogen Economy Roundtable
- Governor’s Appointee to the Virginia Geographic Information Network Advisory Board
- Invited speaker at three different Gordon Conference on Engineering Education, Thermoset Polymers and Composite Materials
- Recipient of the Virginia Tech Diggs Teaching Scholar Award
- Inductee into the VT Academy of Teaching Excellence
- Recipient of the VT William E. Wine Award for Teaching Excellence
- Recipient of the VT Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching
- Recipient of the VT College of Engineering "Sporn Award" for Excellence in Teaching
- Recipient of the DuPont Director's Award for outstanding contribution to the Textile Fibers Department
Teaching Statement
I absolutely love teaching. In fact, it is the single most satisfying part of my job. My goal as a teacher is to encourage innovation and creative problem solving in my classroom. I have an active, collaborative teaching style and have always felt that my job is to coach students to be lifelong self-learners, as opposed to relying on a teacher to walk them through the learning process. Ultimately, helping students learn how to learn is the best outcome I can achieve in my classroom.
Background
Before joining Thomas Jefferson University in 2011, Dr. Kander was founding Director of the School of Engineering at James Madison University (JMU), Department Head of Integrated Science & Technology (ISAT) at JMU, and a faculty member in the Materials Science & Engineering Department (MSE) at Virginia Tech (VT). While at VT, he was also the Director of the College of Engineering’s interdisciplinary “Green Engineering” program. Before joining academia, he was employed by E. I. DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware as a Senior Engineer in the Advanced Composites Division of the Fibers Department and in the Polymer Physics Group of the Central Research Department.
Courses Taught
At Thomas Jefferson University:
- Materials Selection & Design
- Integrative Design Processes
At Previous Institutions:
- Aesthetics of Visualizing Information
- Godel, Escher, Bach
- Modeling and Simulation
- Instrumentation and Measurement
- Engineering Mathematics
- Polymer Deformation and Fracture
- Polymer Engineering
- Environmental Life Cycle assessment
- Analytical Methods
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Engineering Fundamentals
Research Statement
Dr. Kander's research is in the areas of materials selection & design, systems dynamics, modeling and simulation, composite materials characterization and manufacturing, polymer characterization and processing, and sustainable manufacturing processes.
He has supervised more than 30 graduate students (PhD and MS), published more than 50 articles, book chapters, and refereed conference papers, and presented more than 75 invited lectures and conference presentations (including two invited Gordon Conference presentations). His work has been cited in the literature more than 200 times. Dr. Kander has secured in excess of $6 million dollars in funded research, approximately half of which was from industrial sources. In addition to these research activities, I also remain active in industrial consulting and in teaching industry short courses.
Recent Publications
"A New Model For Interdisciplinary Education", Dr. Ronald Kander & Maribeth Kradel-Weitzel, 2013 AIGA Design Conference, Minneapolis, MN.
"An Adventure in Extreme Curriculum Integration to Stimulate Innovation and Collaboration", Dr. R. G. Kander, 2012 American Society of Engineering Education Conference, San Antonio, TX."
Not all problems are created equal: From problem-based learning theory to research on complex problem solving and implications for the engineering classroom", Pierrakos, O. , Watson, H., Kander, R., Russell, J. & Anderson, R., 2010 Frontiers in Education Conference, Arlington, VA.
Philip Samuel Russel, PhD - Dean, School of Business
Email: Philip.Russel@Jefferson.edu | Phone: 215-951-2814
Awards &Honors
- Nexus learning grant (2013)
- Teaching Excellence Award, School of Business Administration (2006)
- Lindback Research Grant (2003)
- Summer Research Grant (2002)
- Team-Member, NTC grant (2001, 2002)
Teaching Statement
I am passionate about teaching! My teaching is learner centered, and my pedagogy reflects my attempts to provide an environment for students to actively learn through multiple mediums and from one another. I strive for students to not only understand and integrate the core concepts but also learn to appreciate its significance in the business world and in their own personal lives.
Primary Courses Taught
- Financial Management
- Intermediate Financial Management
- International Finance
- Seminar in Finance
- Financial Policy and Planning
Background
Prior to joining Thomas Jefferson University, Dr. Russel taught accounting and finance courses at Morgan State University, Thompson Rivers University (Canada), Beijing Concord College of Sino-Canada (China), University of New Brunswick (Canada) and University of Massachusetts. He has served as academic consultant for leading publishers and conducted customized workshops for the World Bank, Certified Financial Planner program, and Canadian Securities Course.
Research Statement
Dr. Russel's research has focused primarily on corporate bankruptcy, managed portfolios, and international finance.
Recent Scholarly Works
Co-authored with Bhargava, V., Malhotra, D. K. and M. Singh. “An Empirical Investigation of Volatility Spilover between the Indian and the US markets” International Journal of Emerging Markets, 2012, Volume 7, 3:289-304.
Co-authored with Malhotra,D.K., and R. Poteau, “An Empirical Examination of the Relationship between Audit Fee and Firm Performance,” International Journal of Business, Accounting, and Finance, Volume 9, 2015, 2: 112-122
Education Background
PhD - University of Massachusetts, Amherst
MBA - Morgan State University
BCom(honors) and MBE - University of Delhi, India
Michael J. Leonard - Academic Dean, School of Design & Engineering
Email: Michael.Leonard2@Jefferson.edu | Phone: 215-951-6858
Awards & Honors
- Recipient, 2011 Philadelphia University President’s Award for Excellence
Teaching Statement
Teaching is about unlocking potential and introducing opportunity to young professionals. I believe that my job as an educator is to prepare people to meet the challenges of our society with confidence.
Background
- Principal Designer, Mike Leonard, Designer, Bala Cynwyd, PA - 2006- Present
- Partner, Duzeo Product Design - Bala Cynwyd, PA- 2002-2006
- Owner/Principal Designer, Designship, Philadelphia/Bala Cynwyd, PA - 1987-2002
- Founding Partner/Principal Product Designer, The Design Works, Philadelphia, PA - 1982-1987
- Manager, Advanced Product Design, Exxon Office Systems, Exton, PA - 1980-1982
Research Statement
Mr. Leonard studies reusable learning objects and their impact upon Project based-learning outcomes in post-secondary Design Education. This study will examine the relationship pre-recorded, online content has to on-ground studio/lab based disciplines.
Recent Scholarly Works
Presentation: THE NEXUS SPRINT. Bigger, Better, Faster Innovation through Partnership. Front End of Innovation Conference, Boston, May 2013
Justin O'Pella - Assistant Dean, Academic Administration
Email: Justin.Opella@Jefferson.edu | Phone: 215-951-2951
Background
Mr. O'Pella has been working in higher education administration at Thomas Jefferson University since 2008 and has experience in enrollment management, academic affairs, and teaching. He manages information across the college and contributes to initiatives that enhance the experience for both students and faculty at Thomas Jefferson University.
Mr. O'Pella’s background spans a wide range of applied and theoretical mathematics, consisting of mathematical modeling and discrete mathematics. Recent research includes using graph theory for data compression and for the design of locally recoverable codes (LRCs) with application to distributed data storage.
Mr. O’Pella teaches Introduction to Business Statistics and Applied Business Statistics for the School of Business.
Recent Publications
“Horizontal Visibility Graphs are Uniquely Determined by their Directed Degree Sequence.” Physica A: Journal of Statistical Mechanics and its Applications. (2019).
Education
MA, Mathematics, Villanova University
MBA, Thomas Jefferson University
BA, Communication, University of Scranton
Teri A. Loftus - Manager, Academic Operations
Email: Theresa.Loftus@Jefferson.edu | Phone: 215-951-2751
Background
Ms. Loftus joined Thomas Jefferson University in the School Textiles and Materials Technology in 1999. She was also Coordinator for the Philadelphia University Research Center. Prior to joining Thomas Jefferson University, she was employed by FMC Corporation for 16 years. She held progressively responsible positions in Public Affairs and Information Technology, before leaving her position of Marketing Assistant in the Specialty Products Group.
Education
Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA