Here is a roundup of faculty and staff at Alvernia who have made a difference inside and outside of the classroom.
Kayla Landers, MA
Writing Program Director and Instructor of Communication
Landers served as a proposal reviewer for the Program Administration & Evaluation strand at the 2025 TESOL International Convention & Expo; she recently finished a year of chairing the International Teaching Assistants interest section. Landers was also a proposal reviewer for the 2025 Conference on College Composition & Communication (CCCC). Her proposal, The Value of Digital Multimodal Composition in First-Year Composition Courses, has been accepted and will be presented at the 2025 CCCC Annual Convention in Baltimore in April, where she will be a 2025 CCCC Annual Convention documentarian. Landers also volunteers on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) USA Higher Education Advisory Council and helped review applications for the IELTS USA Andrea Scott International Graduate Scholarship.
Jodi Radosh, Ph.D.
Co-Director of the Office for Teaching and Learning and Professor of Communication and Digital Media
Radosh last year launched the podcast “Jackie and Jodi Dessert First” on Spotify with radio personality Jackie Hoffman, whom she has known since the 1990s. Covering topics such as empty-nest syndrome, local media and listening to our bodies, the show is recorded in Alvernia’s podcasting studios at the John R. Post Center at Reading CollegeTowne and the Media Suite in Bernardine Hall. Students from Radosh’s Media and Politics
class and student leaders from the College of Business, Communication, and Leadership have contributed to episodes.
In addition:
- She presented “COM 240: Public Relations - Promoting a Pop Star Taylor Swift’s PR Model” at the Pennsylvania Communication Association Conference at Penn State University’s Schuylkill Campus in September.
- She presented “Taylor Swift: Promoting a Popstar” at the Highlands Retirement Community in Wyomissing, Pa., in October.
- She presented “Media, Democracy, and Media Literacy” with Professor of Political Science and Honors Program Director Victoria Williams, Ph.D.,
to the Jewish Federation in Wyomissing, Pa., in October. - She was interviewed by WGAL-TV for the story “An Excuse Note from the Vice President” in October.
- She and Williams were interviewed by WFMZ-TV for the story “Political Text Message Overload: How Campaigns Get Your Cell Phone Number” in October.
Alicia Sprow, Ph.D.
Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership Program Coordinator, Leadership Department Chair and Director of the Office of Institutional Sustainability
Sprow published the article “Higher Education Institutions’ Role in Developing Future Leaders for Sustainability: Incorporating the Inner Development Goals” in the International Journal of Social Sustainability in Economic, Social, and Cultural Context. She presented the workshop
Leadership for Sustainability: Innovative Tools to Measure the Inner Development Goals at the 21st International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic, & Social Sustainability in January. She also was awarded a grant as part of her work in the Office of Institutional Sustainability from the Center for Expanding Leadership & Opportunity, through which she is co-developing the Student Sustainability Ambassador Program with Alvernia student leaders Genny Weikel and Nick Hornbuckle.
Jane D. Brooker, Ph.D., MBA
Assistant Professor of Business
Brooker published “An investigation of emotional intelligence competencies for early-career insurance professionals across mutual insurance companies” in the peer-reviewed Journal of Business and Economics, 1(6), p. 309-319.
Heather Keperling, Ed.D., RN
Assistant Professor of Nursing
Keperling published “Growing grit: Perseverance and passion in nursing education” in the February 2025 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Nursing, 55(2), 48–58.
Kris Lowrey, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Communication
Lowrey presented her research on women’s agency and activism in 19th-century newspapers in Reading at the 84th Annual Pennsylvania Communication Association (PCA) Convention in September, and she will serve as PCA’s chair for the Media, Society, and Technology Interest
Council for the upcoming year. In November, she presented her paper titled “Women’s Historical Scrapbooks in Nineteenth Century Reading, Pennsylvania” at the Annual Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association (MAPACA) Conference. In addition, she was appointed to the
board of the Oley Valley Heritage Association.
Jayme Ober, OTD, OTR/L, MSCS, CNMI
Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program Director and Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy
Ober published “Leveraging Occupational Therapy in Acute Care to Address Health Management for Adults with Multiple Sclerosis” in the peer-reviewed Journal of Acute Care Occupational Therapy.
Elizabeth Matteo, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences
Patricia Reger, Ph.D., PT
Dean, College of Health Sciences
Matteo and Reger presented “Navigating Strategic Alliances: A Dean’s Guide to University-Community Partnerships” at the American Conference
of Academic Deans’ annual conference in Phoenix, Ariz., in February. The interactive session explored the strategic management of partnerships,
focusing on the crucial role of deans in balancing responsibilities and fostering strategic alliances. Participants learned how to assess stakeholder
alignment, build trust, set expectations, and understand factors impacting the financial and organizational success of partnerships.
Caroline Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.
Professor of Communication & Digital Media
Fitzpatrick presented “Creating Open Educational Resources (OERs) for Underserved Populations” at the Teaching Professor Conference by Magna
Publications in October.
Spencer S. Stober, Ed.D.
Professor of Biology and Leadership Studies, Strategic Advisor for the Office of Institutional Sustainability
Stober published a paper titled “A Franciscan Perspective on the Formation of Nature-Centered Leaders in Higher Education” in the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities (AFCU) Journal. Vol. 16, 2024. The paper is based on a presentation at an AFCU Symposium, sponsored by
Siena College and Holy Name Province.
Stephanie Pillai, DMSc, MPAS, MS, PA-C
Physician Associate Program Director of Outreach & Experiential Learning, and Assistant Professor of Medicine
Pillai earned her Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) degree from the University of Pittsburgh in December. Pillai’s capstone project was titled
“Consistent & Adequate Faculty Advising Can Reduce the Risk of Physician Assistant/Associate Student Burnout & Positively Affect Student’s Academic & Professional Success.” Pillai joined physician associate education in 2020, developing an interest in effective early remediation and student support.
