Tom Darling
Assistant Professor of Exercise and Sport Science

Ph.D., Oklahoma State University
M.S., University of Louisiana at Monroe
B.S., Phillips University

Email: tvdarling@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5016

With training, and experience in disease prevention, disease, control, health promotion, and performance enhancement, Tom Darling’s knowledge and skills will enrich the Kinesiology and Exercise Science Department at the Petree College of Arts and Sciences.  He brings over fifteen years of combined experience in academics, research, public health, cardiology, oncology, hospital-based fitness, physical rehabilitation, athletics, gerontology, and special populations with him as he begins his career at Oklahoma City University. Darling has lived in nine states, most recently Georgia and New York. He is originally from Oklahoma and is glad to be back so he and his wife, Caryn, can enjoy spending time with family and friends.

Jeanetta Mish
Assistant Professor of English and Interim Director of the Red Earth M.F.A. Program

Ph.D., University of Oklahoma
M.A., B.A., University of Texas of the Permian Basin

Email: jcmish@okcu.edu

The interim director of the Red Earth M.F.A. program, Jeanetta Calhoun Mish, is a poet and prose writer. Her poetry collection, Work Is Love Made Visible, won the Western Heritage Award, the WILLA Award from Women Writing the West, and the Oklahoma Book Award. Mish’s chapbook, Tongue Tied Woman, won the national Edda Poetry Chapbook for Women contest sponsored by Soulspeak Press. Her writings have been recently published or are upcoming in Red Dirt Chronicles, Cybersoleil, Naugatuck Review, Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, Concho River Review, and Blast Furnace. In addition to her creative publications, Mish has also published literary criticism on Chicana poets Lorna Dee Cervantes and Demetria Martinez. Mish serves as editor of Mongrel Empire Press, whose titles have claimed both national and state awards. She is also a contributing editor to the literary journal Sugar Mule (www.sugarmule.com) and Oklahoma Today.

Karen Schiler
Assistant Professor of English

Ph.D., Perdue University
M.A., B.A., University of Southern California

Email: keschiler@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5605

Karen Schiler’s areas of study include composition and rhetoric, creative writing, and film. She is especially interested in the power of nonviolent public rhetoric, and how it can be used to inspire others to be better, smarter people. Schiler enjoys studying methods where teachers and students learn from each other, through a creative process of imitation and innovation. She writes program administration projects for supporting new teachers and assessing the impact of writing across the curriculum. She has held many jobs—from antique salesman to museum tour guide to butterfly wrangler on a film set—but Schiler tells us that being a teacher is her favorite job of all.

Lisa Sielert
Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education

B.F.A., Phillips University
M.A., University of Central Oklahoma

Email: lhsielert@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5373

Lisa Sielert has served as a primary teacher in public and private schools and as an adjunct professor in early childhood education for the University of Central Oklahoma, making her move to Oklahoma City University’s faculty an easy transition. She has earned National Board Certification and has been recognized as a finalist for Edmond Public Schools’ Teacher of the Year. She has a special interest in Reggio Emilia curriculum and the arts in education. Silert’s master’s program in children’s play and play structures began at the University of Texas under the direction of Dr. Joe Frost and culminated at the University of Central Oklahoma, where she received Oklahoma teacher certification. Her favorite quote is from Henri Matisse, "Creativity takes courage."

Kourosh Tavakoli
Assistant Professor of Mathematics

Ph.D., Graduate Center, City University of New York
M.Sc., B.Sc., Sharif University of Technology

Email: ktavakoli@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5257

Kourosh Tavakoli comes to Oklahoma City University from New York City. With nine years of teaching experience at the colleges of the City University of New York and Fordham University, he is a welcome addition to the Department of Mathematics at Oklahoma City University. His research interests are in complex analysis, complex dynamics, and graph theory, and he has published his results in some notable refereed journals. Tavakoli is originally from Tehran, Iran, where he completed his undergraduate and master’s degree work. Outside of work, Tavakoli fills his leisure time with family, barbecuing, outdoor activities, and reading.

Julie Russell
Assistant Professor of Dance

M.F.A., B.S., Oklahoma City University

Email: jrussell@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5531

A native of Garland, Texas, Julie Russell has returned to Oklahoma City after teaching at Richland Community College and Tarrant County Community College in Texas. She is currently teaching tap, ballet, and jazz to the basic and beyond basic movement dance classes.  Russell has studied at Tulsa Ballet and the Broadway Theater Project, trained with the Dallas Repertoire Ballet, and has performed across the Dallas area with theaters such as Garland Summer Musicals, Plano Repertory Theater, and Garland Civic Theater. In her leisure time she enjoys reading, baking, and spending time with her family.

Casey Ross-Petherick
Visiting Clinical Professor of Law

J.D., M.B.A., B.S., Oklahoma City University

Email: crosspetherick@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5312

Although Casey Ross-Petherick has taught at Oklahoma City University School of Law since 2009, this is her first year on the full-time faculty roster. She has worked in the Native American Victims’ Rights Clinic, and she is currently serving in the American Indian Wills Clinic and teaching Tribal Law and American Indian Law. A citizen of the Cherokee nation, Ross-Petherick serves on the board of directors for Cherokee Nation Foundation, a nonprofit tribal organization which provides scholarship opportunities and support for Cherokee students in higher education. She has served as conference faculty for several statewide and national conferences on American Indian legal issues and presents frequently on topics related to her area of scholarship.

Kristen Burkholder
Assistant Professor of Library Science

M.L.I.S., University of Oklahoma
Ph.D., M.A., University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
B.A., Scripps College

Email: kburkholder@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5956

Kristen Burkholder serves as the access services librarian for the Dulaney-Browne Library. She was named History Professor of the Year and worked with the History Club at Oklahoma State University from 2007 to 2010. She is a member of the library honorary society, Beta Phi Mu. Burkholder has published several reviews and articles, and her essay, Dreaming of Eggs and Bacon, Seedcakes and Scones, will soon be published in The Hobbit and History. In addition to her work with library patrons, she continues her interests as a professional historian in cultural history, focusing on the history of food. Burkholder is a gourmet cook who enjoys reading fiction and a wide variety of nonfiction, writing fiction, sewing, and gardening.

Jason Flores
Assistant Professor of Marketing

B.B.A., Ph.D., University of Texas, Pan American

Email: njflores@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5534

Longtime Texas resident Jason Flores now calls Oklahoma home. He taught various marketing courses while working on his Ph.D. and has served as a consultant to small businesses in the areas of marketing and management. Flores has presented his research at numerous regional, national, and international conferences. His work on social factors that influence perceptions of service quality was selected for the Jane F. Kenyo Best Paper Award for Student Research at the 2011 Academy of Marketing Science annual conference. Flores and his wife have a baby boy, Jacob, and they enjoy traveling and attending outdoor events, especially searching for live music venues and good local bands.

Courtney Crouse
Assistant Professor of Music

M.M., Indiana University, Bloomington
B.A., Texas Wesleyan University

Email: clcrouse@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5342

Courtney Crouse is excited to be joining the faculty of the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University. For the past four years Crouse has lived in New York City where she was a featured soloist with The New York Virtuoso Singers under the direction of Harold Rosenbaum; became a charter member of The Coterie, a New York ensemble dedicated to the development and performance of new opera; was a featured soloist with L'Harmonie des Saisons under the direction of Baroque Specialist, Eric Milnes; and developed a thriving voice studio. Her students perform on Broadway, off-Broadway, on national tours, and in regional theaters across the United States. In 2011, Ms. Crouse was a visiting lecturer at the University of Las Vegas, where she directed Madama Butterfly and taught opera workshop and voice. Crouse is in the dissertation phase of her doctorate at Indiana University where she received her master’s degree and taught voice as an associate instructor. Crouse is originally from Fort Worth, TX and is happy to be back in a sunny state!

Kelly Holst
Assistant Professor of Music

D.M.A., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
M.M., Indiana University, Bloomington
B.A., Luther College

Email: kmholst@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 4943

Lyric coloratura soprano Kelly Holst enjoys an active career as an opera, oratorio, and concert singer. Holst has performed over a dozen operatic roles, appearing with the Michigan Opera Theatre, the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Arbor Opera Theater, the Bloomington Early Music Festival, and the Amherst Early Music Festival. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2008 with the University of Michigan Composition Department performing the music of Bright Sheng. Holst has received a number of regional and national awards, including an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions and third place at the 2008 National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards competition. She is married to conductor Warren Puffer Jones and is the proud mother of their toddler, Isaac.

Gracy Almaraj
Clinical Instructor of Nursing

B.S., Meenakshi College of Nursing
M.S.N., Oklahoma City University

Email: jamalraj@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 6407

Gracy Amalraj moved from India to Oklahoma City in 2009 to pursue her Master of Science in Nursing at Oklahoma City University’s Kramer School of Nursing.  She began her teaching career at KSN last February. Amalraj is a registered nurse and midwife in both India and the United States and has experience in pediatric ICU in India and medical-surgical units in the United States. Serving as faculty advisor for the International Nursing Student Association at KSN, she offers encouragement and assistance to international nursing students to achieve success in their nursing careers.

Diana Blackmon
Clinical Instructor of Nursing

M.S.N., University of Oklahoma
B.S.N., University of Central Missouri

Email: dblackmon@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 6406

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Diana Blackmon was an adjunct professor at the Kramer School of Nursing for six years before joining the full-time faculty last January. Upon her graduation from the University of Oklahoma, Blackmon was awarded an Academic Achievement Award and she began her teaching career at OSU-OKC. She has 33 years of nursing and hospital administration experience in Oklahoma City and is currently pursuing her doctorate in nursing practice at KSN.  In her leisure time, Blackmon attends graduate classes, reads, and enjoys her fitness routine.

Pamela Boeck
Clinical Instructor of Nursing

M.S.N., Oklahoma Baptist University
B.S.N., Oklahoma Wesleyan

Email: prboeck@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5966

Pam Boeck’s most recent nursing expertise has been in wellness at Norman Regional Hospital’s Diabetes Center, where she served as the supervisor and nurse educator for the past ten years. Boeck’s nursing experiences have consisted primarily of hospice and psychiatric nursing.  She is a member of the American Holistic Nursing Association and holds a keen interest in incorporating complementary medicine into the nursing arena. Boeck’s capstone project for her master’s degree program was entitled, “Incorporating Holistic Self-Care for Nurses to Prevent Compassion-Fatigue and Burnout.”  She is a member of nursing honor society Sigma Theta Tau International. Boeck is married to David Boeck, a professor of architecture at the University of Oklahoma, and they co-parented three grown children.  The couple currently shares their home with Harley, a Siamese Manx, and Arlo, a spoiled terrier mix.

Gina Crawford
Clinical Instructor of Nursing

M.S., B.S.N., University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Email: gmcrawford@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5910

After receiving an associate degree in nursing, Gina Crawford worked in pediatrics, postpartum, and newborn nursing at Mercy Health Center. In 1995, she became a home health nurse for Kingfisher Regional Hospital and was later promoted to home health director. For the past seven years, she has practiced at Okarche Medical Clinic with her father, a family physician. While in private practice, she addressed a variety of needs, including pediatrics, adult health, women’s health, and geriatrics.  She has a special interest in women’s health issues and intimate partner violence.  Crawford has two children, Bryce and Kayla. In her leisure time she likes to read, watch the Oklahoma City Thunder, and engage in outdoor activities.  She plans to enroll in the doctor of nursing practice program in the upcoming year.

Melissa Duprey
Assistant Professor of Nursing

Ed.D., Walden University
M.S.N., University of South Alabama
B.S.N., University of South Florida
Email: mccuprey@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 6403

Melissa Duprey taught in the associate degree nursing program at Wallace College in Dothan, Alabama, before relocating to Oklahoma City. She has served as a staff nurse in various clinical settings including medical-surgical, oncology, bone marrow transplant, and a post-anesthesia care unit. Having an opportunity to prepare new nursing graduates for their careers keeps Duprey enthusiastic about her teaching career. She is a member of Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Duprey is married with one daughter, and she enjoys spending her free time with her family, music, singing in a choir, and traveling.

Cené L. Gibson
Clinical Instructor of Nursing

M.S.N., University of Phoenix
B.S.N., University of Central Oklahoma

Email: clgibson@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5902

After earning her postgraduate certificate as a family nurse practitioner from St. Louis University, Cené Gibson has worked as a primary care provider in a nurse practitioner-owned facility in Oklahoma City.  She is a member of the nursing honor society Sigma Theta Tau International, the Oklahoma Nurses Association, the American Nurses Association, and the Oklahoma Nurse Practitioners Association.  She is increasingly interested in the health disparities of children in poverty and plans to pursue this interest while completing the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Oklahoma City University. Gibson has varied interests, including reading and gardening, and she has three grown daughters, Jacie, Kenne, and Jacklyn.

Ted Metzler
Visiting Assistant Professor of Nursing
Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion

Ph.D., Ohio State University
M.A., Andover Newton Theological School
M.A., University of Notre Dame
B.A., Youngstown State University

Ted Metzler’s pursuit of education in mathematics, philosophy and computer science led to his strong interest in the relation between the traditional notions of the human person and alternatives introduced by artificial intelligence and robotics. Most of Dr. Metzler’s work experience in computer software development has involved artificial intelligence applications. In addition to his appointment at Kramer School of Nursing, Dr. Metzler currently serves as director of the Darrell W. Hughes Program for Religion and Science Dialogue, and executive director of the Oklahoma Interfaith Power and Light Program.

Sandi Schmidt Hester
Clinical Instructor of Nursing

M.S.N., Oklahoma City University
B.S.N., Southern Nazarene University

Email: sschmidthester@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5934

Sandi Schmidt Hester has experience in mental health and other healthcare facilities and expertise in directing nursing activities, staff development, performance improvement, and coordination of services to patients. Living in Oklahoma most of her adult life, Schmidt Hester was born in California and grew up in a military family. An organist for her church, Schmidt Hester enjoys playing the piano and organ and has participated in a group which performed in local musicals. She organized and directs Faith Lutheran Church’s evangelistic singing group. Schmidt Hester and her husband have two children, a daughter and a son.

Staci Swim
Clinical Instructor of Nursing

M.S.N., Oklahoma Baptist University
B.S.N., Kearney State College

Email: smswim@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 6408

Before beginning her teaching career in a practical nursing program in Oklahoma City, Staci Swim worked in cardiac, surgical, and medical intensive care units as a bedside clinician. During her previous teaching appointment Swim received awards of recognition for excellence in teaching, teamwork, and customer service. She was involved in curriculum development, exam item writing, the student advocate program, and new faculty mentorship. Swim’s husband Doug is a 2005 alumnus of the Oklahoma City University School of Law. They have three children, Bryce, Victoria, and Addison, and they attend and actively serve the church community of Lifechurch.tv. In her leisure time, Swim enjoys family time, Husker football, going to garage sales, and crafts.

Pamela Tucker
Clinical Instructor of Nursing

M.S.N., Oklahoma Baptist University
B.S.N., Southern Nazarene University

Email: pktucker@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 6405

The majority of Pamela Tucker’s nursing career has been in emergency nursing, where she has served as director of an emergency medical department. She has also served as a clinical coordinator in a multi-physician clinic and has experience in neurology and hospice nursing in both home and inpatient settings. In addition to her extensive clinical experience, she is accomplished in the area of revenue cycle management and practice management. Pam is a member of the nursing society Sigma Theta Tau International, the Oklahoma Nurses Association, the American Nurses Association, Emergency Nurses Association, and the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association. Pam and her husband, Keith, live in Midwest City and have one adult daughter, Kristen.

Christine Duncan
Assistant Professor of Theatre

M.F.A., Ohio University
B.A., Bethel University

Email: cduncan@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5718

Christine Duncan is excited to be a part of the Oklahoma City University faculty.  She spent ten years freelancing in movies, opera, and theater all over the country.  Some of her credits include The Notebook, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and Big Fish on the silver screen, as well as staff positions at The Minnesota Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, The Guthrie Theater, and the Williamstown Theater Festival. Most recently she was the costume shop manager at Illinois State University and the University of California at Santa Cruz.  Christine is a professed geek, a CrossFit enthusiast, and she spends her free time being mom to her two dogs.

LukE Hadsall
Assistant Professor of Theatre

M.F.A., University of Cincinnati
B.A., University of Central Oklahoma

Email: ldhadsall@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5096

LukE Hadsall’s specialty in theatre is technical direction. According to Hadsall, “that makes me the guy who figures out how to build the stuff the designer dreams up.” He served as technical director and assistant professor of theatre technology at the University of Central Oklahoma and technical director and scenic designer for the opera program at the University of Oklahoma.  While most of his career has been based in Oklahoma, he has freelanced for several theatre companies in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, and he designed and built pieces for the State Fair of Oklahoma. Hadsall is a member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, where he had three papers published in USITT Tech Expo Catalogs, and received the juried award at Tech Expo 2011. Born in Southern California, he has called Oklahoma City his home town for the past twelve years.  When he’s not in a theater, he can be found playing ice hockey, brewing beer, or customizing old Volkswagens. 

Aaron Mooney
Assistant Professor of Theatre

M.F.A., New York University
B.A., The University of Tulsa

Email: asmooney@okcu.edu, Campus Extension: 5723

Aaron Mooney is pleased to join the Oklahoma City University faculty, and he is glad to be back at home in Oklahoma with his wife and son. Mooney previously held an adjunct teaching position at Queens College in New York City. He designs lights in a myriad of fields which include theatre, musical theatre, dance, opera, museum exhibition, fashion, concerts, and special events.  He recently designed lighting for MacBeth, Chicago, and Rent, and has worked on exhibition lighting at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the National Academy of Design, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and the Morgan Library & Museum.  Mooney’s fashion lighting in New York City includes Barneys, Prada, Armani, and Dolce & Gabbana. Lighting events in spaces as large as New York City’s Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theatre, he also designed a project at The Joint for the Hard Rock Casino in Tulsa and in many spaces so small that they barely deserve to be called theatres.