Dr. Jacob Ari Labendz (he/him), Clayman Assistant Professor of Judaic & Holocaust Studies, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. Email here.
Dr. Labendz directs the CJHS and teaches core and elective courses in Jewish studies. His research interests include nationalism, antisemitism, and statecraft in contemporary European and American Jewish history, with a focus on communist Czechoslovakia. He has also published on Jewish veganism and vegetarianism.
Dr. Adam Fuller, Associate Professor of Political Science, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. Email here.
Dr. Fuller teaches Israeli Politics, Religion and Politics, American institutions, and political thought. His specific research interests are Zionism, ideologies, and the intersection of religion and state.
Dr. Randall Goldberg, Associate Professor of Musicology, Director of the Dana School of Music. Email here.
Dr. Goldberg is an Associate Professor YSU’s Dana School of Music and teaches courses on all areas of music history. His research areas include the music of Jewish immigrants to the US and Jewish musical identities, and his work on these topics has been published in Musica Judaica and the Journal of Jewish Identities.
Dr. Sherri Harper Woods, Assistant Professor and Director of the Master of Social Work Program. Email here.
Dr. Harper Woods is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Master of Social Work Program at Youngstown State University. Her research interests include global service-learning and civic engagement with vulnerable populations (including Israel, El Salvador, Haiti, and Rwanda), trauma-informed practices, mind/body practices in psychotherapy, and integrating spirituality into the treatment process. She is also the cofounder of Mind, Body and Soul Asset Development Center. Dr. Harper Wood has led study-abroad trips to Israel which may count towards a minor in Jewish studies.
Dr. Rina Kreitman, Adjunct Instructor of Hebrew, Department of English and World Languages.
Dr. Kreitman is the director of professional development at Hebrew at the Center and is also a faculty member at the University of Maryland. She directed the Hebrew Program at Emory University and at Columbia University, where she also taught Hebrew. She also taught linguistics focusing on phonetics and phonology. Her interests are phonetics and phonology, language acquisition and pedagogy with a focus on Hebrew.
Dr. Mustansir Mir, Professor of Religious Studies, Director of the Center for Islamic Studies. Email here.
Dr. Nancy Wagner, Professor of Nursing, Director of the Centofanti School of Nursing, and President James Tressel Chair in Leadership. Email here.
Dr. Wagner has led study abroad trips to Israel and coordinated student experiences at both Galilee Medical Center and Hadassah Medical Center in Israel. Her research interests include transcultural nursing, alternative methods of teaching and learning, and impact of resources on vulnerable populations.