Faculty and Staff
Faculty
Seth Cantey
Associate Professor of Politics; MESA Program Head
- Huntley Hall 302
- Email: canteys@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8019
Cantey teaches courses on global politics, Middle Eastern politics, intelligence, terrorism and foreign policy. His commentary on current events has been picked up by various media outlets, such as USA Today and the Huffington Post.
Salman Amir
Visiting Assistant Professor of Arabic
- Ruscio Center for Global Learning 238
- Email: samir@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8396
Kameliya N. Atanasova
Assistant Professor of Religion
- Tucker Hall 207
- Email: atanasovak@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8797
Atanasova researches the intersection of religion, law and politics by studying the social role of Sufism in the early-modern Ottoman Empire. She teaches Islamic Civilization, Sufism, Islam in America, and Muslims in the Movies.
Aliaa Bassiouny
Lawrence Term Associate Professor of Finance
- Huntley Hall 121B
- Email: abassiouny@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8719
Bassiouny’s teaching portfolio includes courses in managerial finance, investments, portfolio management, international finance, valuation and financial modeling. Her research interests include investments and empirical market microstructure with a focus on emerging markets.
Niels-Hugo (Hugo) Blunch
Darrold and Kay Cannan Term Professor of Economics
- Huntley Hall 113
- Email: blunchn@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8619
Blunch teaches econometrics and health economics, and also takes students to Ghana for study abroad. His research pertains to health, education and labor market issues. Previously, Blunch worked with the World Bank and the United Nations.
Alexandra R. Brown
Fletcher Otey Thomas Professor in Bible
On Sabbatical 2024-2025
- Tucker Hall 206
- Email: browna@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8789
Brown teaches courses on the New Testament and other ancient Christian texts, Bible and film, gender and religion, Christian mysticism, and theory and method in the study of religion. Her primary research is in New Testament, particularly the Pauline letters.
Anthony (Antoine) Edwards
Associate Professor of Arabic
On Sabbatical 2024-2025
- Ruscio Center for Global Learning 238
- Email: edwardsa@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8396
Edwards teaches courses in Arabic at all levels as well as a course on the Arab world through film. His research centers around Arabic language and grammar as well as the histories and ideologies of Arabic.
Emily Filler
Assistant Professor of Religion
- Tucker Hall 208
- Email: efiller@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8788
Filler teaches The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and Topics in American Judaism. Her research focuses on modern Jewish and continental philosophy, political and ethical theory, and classical Jewish texts.
Stuart Gray
Associate Professor of Politics
- Huntley Hall 315
- Email: grays@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-5879
Gray teaches numerous courses on political philosophy, Gandhi and Greek/Indian political theory. His research focuses on the history of political thought, global comparative political theory and South Asian political thought.
Timothy Lubin
Jessie Ball DuPont Professor of Religion
- Tucker Hall 204
- Email: lubint@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8146
Professor Lubin teaches courses on Asian religions and comparative study of religion and law. He researches Hindu religious history, law in ancient Asia, and texts and inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Old Javanese and Old Tamil.
Hafsa Oubou
Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Shikha Silwal
Associate Professor of Economics
- Holekamp Hall 213
- Email: silwals@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8256
Silwal teaches courses such as The Economics of War and Peace, and Culture and Economic Development. She also co-teaches a study abroad course in Nepal. Silwal researches conflict and peace studies with a focus on South Asia.
Pooja Thakur-Wernz
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
- Huntley Hall 126
- Email: pthakur-wernz@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8932
Thakur-Wernz is a strategic management and international business educator and scholar. Her research focuses on the impact of strategic choices made by firms, such as offshoring, outsourcing and international expansion, on the innovation of firms, especially in the pharmaceutical industry.
Theodore Van Loan
Visiting Professor of Art History
- Wilson Hall 3015
- Email: tvanloan@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8858
Staff
Amal AlQassimi
Arabic Teaching Assistant
- Ruscio Center for Global Learning 119
- Email: aalqassimi@mail.wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-4765
Emily Cook
Assistant Professor and Research and Instruction Librarian for the Humanities
- James G. Leyburn Library M37
- Email: cooke@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8654
Program Info