Meet the Harte Center Team
Administration
JT Torres
Director of the Houston H. Harte Center for Teaching and Learning
- James G. Leyburn Library 110
- Email: jtorres@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8333
Academic Success
Adam Scales
Assistant Director of Academic Success
- James G. Leyburn Library 108
- Email: ascales@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-4116
Academic Technologies
Brandon R. Bucy
Senior Academic Technologist
- James G. Leyburn Library 117
- Email: bucyb@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8651
Helen MacDermott
she/her/hers
Senior Academic Technologist
- James G. Leyburn Library 116
- Email: hmacdermott@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-4561
Harte Center Fellows
Adedayo (Dayo) Abah
Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications
- Reid Hall 204
- Email: abahd@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8077
Abah teaches courses on communications law, news media, crisis communication, and international communication. Her research areas include online anonymous speech, international defamation law, copyright issues, Nollywood in African cinema, women and Nollywood, religion and the media, and immigrant media use.
Michelle D. (Mikki) Brock
Professor of History; History Department Head
- Newcomb Hall 219
- Email: brockm@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8780
Brock teaches courses on British and Atlantic history, the Reformation, witchcraft and the devil, and the history of poverty. Her research focuses on the supernatural and religious beliefs and identities in early modern Scotland.
Carrie Finch-Smith
Professor of Mathematics
- Chavis Hall 207
- Email: finchc@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8209
Finch-Smith teaches many courses including calculus, the art of mathematics, and algebra. Her research is in number theory, and she often works with students on research projects in a variety of topics.
Sybil Prince Nelson
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
- Chavis Hall 204
- Email: sprincenelson@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-4881
Prince Nelson ’01 teaches courses in calculus, probability and statistics. Her research is focused on creating tree-based models for classifying and predicting outcomes from complex data.
Holly Pickett
Department Head and Associate Professor of English
- Payne Hall 124
- Email: picketth@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8078
Pickett teaches courses on Shakespeare, early modern drama and contemporary drama. Her research interests include religion and drama, history of the senses, and early modern religious identities and controversies.
Jeffrey Rahl
Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience
- Science Addition A113
- Email: rahlj@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8101
Professor Rahl teaches general geology, history of geology, tectonics, and rocks and minerals. His research focuses on tectonics and the process that controls the formation, growth and erosion of mountain belts.
Ehi Rajsky
Assistant Professor of Accounting
- Holekamp Hall 217
- Email: irajsky@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8442
Rajsky teaches the introductory tax class at the Williams School, and runs the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
Writing Center
Catherine Epstein
Writing Consultant, Harte Center for Teaching and Learning
- Harte Center for Teaching and Learning
- Email: cepstein@wlu.edu
Bill Oliver
Director of the Writing and Communications Center, Visiting Associate Professor of English
- Leyburn Library 138
- Email: oliverb@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8278
Oliver has served as the CommCenter director since 2015 and now directs the Writing Center as well. He teaches first-year writing seminars and courses in American literature and fiction writing. His research interest is fiction.
Nina Salmon
Writing Consultant, Harte Center for Teaching and Learning
- Harte Center for Teaching and Learning
- Email: salmonn@wlu.edu
William Shaw
Writing Consultant, Harte Center for Teaching and Learning
- Harte Center for Teaching and Learning
- Email: wshaw@wlu.edu
Judy C. Strang
Writing Consultant, Harte Center for Teaching and Learning
- Harte Center for Teaching and Learning
- Email: strangj@wlu.edu