Dr. Holiman

Dr. Alan Holiman, department chair of the political science department, received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Arkansas, a master of arts in political science from Ohio State University, a second M.A. degree in Russian and east European studies and doctorate in political science from the University of Kansas. Holiman especially enjoys discussing, and debating, comparative and American politics. Having lived and studied in the Soviet Union, Holiman has gained first­hand experience analyzing the similarities and differences between states, especially Russia and other post­-communist states.

“Alas, no new subject has captured my fascination lately. I track what I track and follow what I follow and these are more than enough,” he said, when asked whether any specific topic had recently grabbed his attention.

However, his recent foray into Russian politics has brought him to a “wonderful read” called, “”Vsya kremlevskaya rat,” which translates to “All the Kremlin’s Men” by Mikhail Zygar, news director for TV-­Rain in Moscow,” which details the rise and transformation of Vladimir Putin.

Dr. Gary Armstrong

Dr. Gary Armstrong has extended his role at William Jewell College beyond his own department. His titles include: professor of political science, director of the international relations major and associate dean of the core curriculum. While his administrative work does occupy some of his time, his classes still see his passion for political science. Armstrong came to Jewell after receiving a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oklahoma and a doctorate from Georgetown University, where he now spends his summers teaching. While he primarily teaches political science courses, Dr. Armstrong instructs the CTI capstone course “Birth By Any Means” for William Jewell seniors and has also found interest in teaching “Preparation for Marriage” with his wife. His educational interests include American foreign and security policies, international relations theory, international conflict and war ethics and international political economy.

When asked if any new topic had recently captured his attention, Dr. Armstrong reflected on a course called “Intro to World Politics.”

“’Intro to World Politics’ has changed,” he said. “That’s been a lot of fun. Students get to try to connect politics to fundamental notions of human happiness. Of course, the students get to involve patterns and charts to create a hypothesis. However, I really don’t care too much about the statistical process in this case. I care about their ability to create an interesting hypothesis.”

Dr. Rien Staal

Dr. Staal, professor of political science, received his bachelor of arts from the University of California at Santa Cruz. He then received his Master of Arts and a doctorate at the University of California at Berkeley. His specialties include politics and literature, political philosophy and American political thought. While his work at Jewell occupies much of his time, Staal has found time to write several political and theological texts, including “The Forgotten Story of Post­Modernity,” “The Irony of Modern Conservatism” and “A Viable Russian Federalism.”

Dr. Fletcher D. Cox

Dr. Fletcher D. Cox, the most recent addition to the political science department, is an assistant professor of political science and he received his B.S. from William Jewell College. After graduation, he received his masters of theological studies from Harvard University, which he followed with his doctorate from the University of Denver alongside work with the Sié Chéou­Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy. As a Jewell graduate, Dr. Cox has the experience of teaching at the same school where he first studied and is spending his first year back at his alma mater “focused on designing new courses for the department.” His special interests keep him focused on comparative politics and international political economy.

“In in addition to teaching, I am working on three research projects that will produce multiple publications over the next few years,” said Cox.

Dr. Christopher Wilkins

Dr. Wilkins is not only an associate professor of history at William Jewell College and the coordinator for the Power and Justice section of the Core Curriculum but also serves as the faculty advisor for Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society and the William Jewell Historical Review.

As an undergraduate, Wilkins studied U.S. history, political science and classics at Duke University. He earned his doctorate and masters in history at Stanford University with a focus on U.S. history in a global context. Wilkins believes studying history enhances our ability to see the world for what it was, what it is and what it might become in the future election year has only reassured him of that sentiment.

“If we lack accurate knowledge of the past, I think it becomes more likely that we, as a society, will fail to resist the temptations of charlatans and demagogues and suffer as a result. I am in no way arguing that understanding history guarantees wise decisions, but I think it helps,” said Wilkins.

Wilkins enjoys having a small number of students in his classes, particularly when compared to other large universities. He finds that students oftentimes rise to the high standards he sets for the class, and enjoys investing time into students and helping them improve academically. He enjoys teaching the history course “Slavery and Abolition” which is also cross listed as a Power and Justice CTI, giving Wilkins the opportunity to instruct students from other disciplines.

“Those students bring thought-provoking, interdisciplinary approaches to the issues we discuss,” said Wilkins. “I am grateful to them because I have learned a great deal from their views each time I have taught the course.”

In addition to teaching, Wilkins continues to research and write. Early next year, an essay he wrote on the United States’ emergence as a great power in the late 19th century will be published by Cambridge University Press in a collection entitled Decades of Reconstruction: Postwar Societies, Economies, and International Relations from the 18th to the 20th century. Additionally, he is writing an essay focusing on how, in the two decades after the U.S. Civil War, the U.S. government and American abolitionists sought to use American diplomatic influence to help ensure the abolition of slavery in Cuba and Brazil. He hopes to eventually turn this essay into a book because he believes it can teach us about promoting an anti-human trafficking agenda today.

Dr. Jane Woodruff

Dr. Woodruff earned her bachelor’s degree from Missouri State University in biology and Latin. She received her masters with a Classics major and a minor in ancient history from the University of South Dakota. Her masters thesis focused on Roman comic drama. Woodruff received her doctorate from the University of Nebraska Lincoln with a major in Ancient History and Classics with a minor in Medieval History. “

“My dissertation connects with all three of these areas; it is a translation of a seventh century C.E. historical work, with a historical analysis of its content and a literary analysis of its forms,” said Woodruff.

In addition to teaching courses in ancient, medieval and world history, Woodruff also teaches all levels of the Greek and Latin languages and literatures. Woodruff enjoys the small numbers of students she has in class as well as her status as an interdisciplinary professor. Her favorite courses to teach are the introductory classes.

“I try to share my academic passions with beginning-level students who, if
they ‘catch fire,’ can continue into additional classes and/or projects with me, working on things that we now both care about,” said Woodruff. “And, last, at Jewell I get to work closely with special people like Sarah Crosley, who next year begins her graduate study in Classics.”

With her interdisciplinary training and interests, Woodruff’s research varies. Currently, she is working on a conference presentation about textual transmission, considering why it was that the medieval chronicle of Fredegar, although written in and for Burgundy, survived because it somehow traveled to and was preserved far to the northeast in Frankia.

Dr. Thomas Howell

Dr. Thomas Howell associate professor of history and serves as the Chair of the National Eligibility Committee of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

Howell received his bachelors in English and history from Louisiana College. He received his
doctorate from Louisiana State University in recent American history. During that time “recent” meant up to the 1960’s. His interest in history originated from considering it to be the best way to understand how the world we live in came to be.

Howell enjoys teaching history of the Middle East because of its the Middle East because of its intricate and hyperactive that timeline. He also finds his new course on the Great War to be a great experience. However, Howell appreciates all the content at all of his classes.

“Being old and cranky, I don’t teach anything I don’t enjoy anymore. World War II has been and remains a lifetime interest. There’s a family circumstance that made me curious from a very early age and there are so many aspects to it that the way it shaped our world is an inexhaustible subject,” said Howell.

An article of Howell’s entitled “Kansas City’s Crusader” on a man named Leon Birkhead will be published in the July issue of the Missouri Historical Review. He is also working on a final draft of a proposed book on the Writers’ War Board, a World War II propaganda organization.

Dr. Ian Coleman

Coleman is the department chair. He has done some of his study in the UK, including undergraduate work at Bath Spa University and receiving a certificate in education from University of Exeter. He completed his master’s and doctoral work at the University of Kansas and taught at Manhattan Christian College for five years before coming to Jewell in 2002. He has been the department chair since 2004 and teaches music theory and music composition. As a trombonist, he taught private lessons on his instrument before becoming department chair.

The Department of Music is in a transition period as it restructures much of its program, especially the music education major. A new “Music in Society” class will also be added next year. Recent accomplishments and a solid foundation are two of many reasons to be optimistic of the department as a whole, Coleman said.

“All departments ebb and flow, and I think we are very much on an upward swing,” said Coleman.

Dr. Tony Brandolino

Brandolino is a professor of music and director of strings. He did his undergraduate and master’s work at Northwestern University and received his doctorate at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. A skilled violinist, Brandolino privately teaches all violinists and violists and directs various chamber music ensembles. He also directs the Liberty Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble that is a combination of Jewell students and local volunteers and professionals.

Dr. Ann Marie Rigler

Rigler is the college organist and a professor of music studies. She completed her undergraduate work at Simpson College and Southern Methodist College. She received two master’s degrees—one in Librarian Information Science and another in Musicology—at the University of Illinois and a doctorate of Music Arts, organ performance and pedagogy at the University of Iowa. Before arriving at William Jewell College in 2004, Rigler held positions at the University of Wisconsin, University of Northern Iowa, Wayne State College and Penn State College.

If Rigler is not performing and teaching organ, she is teaching keyboard skills and music history. She is currently the pianist for Chapel Choir and is conducting a research project on recent developments in organ pedagogy. For her, the value of a position as a music professor at Jewell stems from the ability to do so many things.

“Whatever I’m doing at the moment is my favorite thing to do,” said Rigler.

Having four organ students, which may be more than the expected one on a campus of 1,200, is also a plus.

Dr. Calvin Permenter

Permenter is the director of keyboard studies. He completed his undergraduate work at the Cincinnati Conservatory, masters at Drake University and doctorate at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. A veteran professor of 36 years, Permenter teaches keyboard skills, piano pedagogy, piano literature and private piano instruction. He is also involved in the Oxbridge program.

Over the course of his time on campus, Permenter has noticed a shift in both the kinds of music performed and the attitude of the music department as a whole.

“I think we’ve fine-tuned the liberal arts education,” said Permenter.

Dr. Ron Witzke

Witzke is a professor of music and coordinator for vocal studies. He finished his undergraduate work at Southern Nazarene University. After teaching elementary music for three years, he started his master’s studies in music at the University of Texas. He originally took a one-year position at Jewell for a professor then on sabbatical that later chose not to returns. After a temporary leave of absence, Witzke received his doctorate at the University of Indiana.

Upon his return, Witzke began teaching within the new Critical Thought and Inquiry program. In addition, he also directs operatic performances, performs on- and off-campus, teaches private voice lessons and has long taught an academic study of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle. Witzke says he enjoys private instruction and lecturing equally and values the attention students receive while on-campus.

“We don’t have graduate students, which I’m glad for, because the undergraduates get to perform,” said Witzke.

Dr. Anthony Maglione

Maglione is the director of choral studies and the conductor of the Concert Choir, Men’s Chorus and Choral Scholars. He completed his undergraduate work at Westminster Choir College, received his master’s degree at East Carolina University and completed his doctoral studies in Conducting at the University of California Los Angeles, where he conducted various choral groups. He started teaching at Jewell in 2010.

In addition to his conducting responsibilities, Maglione also teaches ear training and various upper-level music education courses. Like his colleagues, Maglione enjoys seeing the diversity of students, not just music majors, involved in the music program. In the near future, he’d like to see that number grow, but that’s not to say that he isn’t satisfied with the current state of affairs and recent success.

“I get to deal with the future of my profession, the future colleagues I’m going to have and that’s a lot of fun,” said Maglione.

Dr. Langston Hemenway

Hemenway is the director of instrumental studies. He did his undergraduate work at Oklahoma University, received his master’s degree in conducting at the University of Kansas and did his doctoral work in Instrumental Conducting at the University of Michigan. He has taught previously at Derby High School and North Central College.

When not directing the Symphonic Band or Jazz Band, Hemenway teaches Beginning and Advanced Conducting, instrumental methods and secondary methods. Though he enjoys all his classes, Symphonic Band is something special.

“[Symphonic Band] is a synthesis of all the things that I get to teach,” said Hemenway.

Hemenway is looking to grow and develop the band program. Though it already had “good bones”—facilities, private teachers and skilled students—the program is small and is lacking in many things that he wanted to see in the future. In addition to getting at least 65 members, Hemenway is also in the process of developing a drumline to have a presence at athletic events, as many larger colleges do. The ultimate goal is a full-fledged marching band, but for now, the focus is improving the size and quality of a program that he believes is on the up.

Dr. Mark Walters
Dr. Walters is both the chair of the English department and Oxbridge Chair of English Language and Literature. He received his bachelor of arts from Fort Hays State University, his master of arts and master of fine arts from Wichita State University, and his doctorate from the University of Kansas. Walters specializes in American literature, particularly the work of William Faulkner, and in creative writing fiction. He teaches several different courses at Jewell and enjoys the diverse experiences he gets from teaching each of them.
“I like them all for different reasons: the advanced studies in U.S. literature for the opportunity to dig more deeply into Faulkner; the fiction workshops for seeing students learn the craft of writing short stories; the Oxbridge critical theory for introducing students to methodologies typically unfamiliar to them; and CTI 100 for working with texts and ideas outside literary studies,” Walters said.
Walters was originally drawn to the college by its interdisciplinary emphasis, and he has drawn inspiration from talking to colleagues of different disciplines.

“This has been a great source of scholarly and creative energy for me,” he said.

Dr. Sara Morrison

Dr. Morrison is an associate professor of English who received her bachelor of arts at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pa. and her master of arts and doctorate at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her specialty is early modern England, a period formerly known as the Renaissance, which she finds interesting because of the shift going on in the nation at that time, socially and economically. She is currently studying Queen Elizabeth I’s relationship with the Turkish Sultana, which helped foster diplomatic ties between the two nations.
“I’m thinking about the way that some early modern plays dramatize interest in the diplomatic relationship between the two of them,” Morrison said.
Morrison grew up in Kansas City, and this was a factor in her decision to teach at Jewell. She was also drawn by the Oxbridge program, which she says is similar to the honors program at Swarthmore. The
colleagues and students interested in education are both elements of being a professor here that she enjoys.
Morrison had a difficult time choosing her favorite course to teach, but she enjoys the opportunities for interdisciplinary teaching provided at this college specifically.

“I like them all for related but different reasons. I don’t think I could say which is my favorite class to teach here,” she said.

Dr. Ruth Williams

Dr. Williams is an assistant professor of English. She got her bachelor of arts in English at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. her master of fine arts in creative writing at Eastern Washington University and her doctorate in English and comparative literature at the University of Cincinnati. This education was a major influence on Williams’s decision to teach at Jewell—much of her education took place at a small, liberal arts college. She specializes in creative writing-poetry and creative nonfiction and women’s literature with an emphasis in poetry and especially social justice.

“Creative writing, I think my primary interest is how when we put words on a page, it can be something that’s deeply personal to us, but once we put them on the page and we try to share them with other people, all these other dynamics come in,” Williams said.
Her scholarly interest is in the idea that literature, no matter how old, can speak to issues in the lives of its readers.

“Even if we’re reading a book from…the 18th century, there could be something in there that is relevant to my life,” she said.

Williams enjoys teaching here because of the small and positive environment. She also enjoys the fact that she is able to teach both creative writing and literature, something which does not happen at bigger universities.
She would like more recognition of the relevance of studying English literature in modern society.
“Learning how to read well, critically; learning how to write well, critically and creatively; and learning how to think critically and creatively are skills that are invaluable in the world for both your personal happiness and also your career,” she said.

Dr. Deepa Jani
Dr. Jani is a visiting assistant professor. She received her bachelor of arts at the University of Pune, India, her masters of arts from Carnegie-Mellon University, and her doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. She specializes primarily in world literature and critical theory and is also interested in world cinema and film theory.

“What interests me about literature is that despite its institutional function, it holds the potential for counter-discourse, excess and transgression,” Jani said.

The courses she has taught here have all been in world literature and film studies, and she has difficulty picking a favorite as they are all disciplines she finds interesting.
Jani was originally attracted to Jewell by the Oxbridge program and the courses taught in the English
department and has enjoyed teaching courses in her area of specialization, a subject which is not offered or required at all universities.
“At Jewell, English majors have to take courses in world literature…which is still not the norm in most English departments,” she said.