Faculty
Dr. Mohammad Agwa
Senior Lecturer of Arabic
- Contact:
- Send Email to Dr. Mohammad Agwa
- Phone:
- 716.286.8212
Charles Begley
Senior Lecturer of Latin and Greek
- Contact:
- Send Email to Charles Begley
- Phone:
- 716.286.8212
Professor Begley joined the department in 2003. He earned his BA in Latin at SUNY Albany and his MS in Education from Canisius. He has also done further study in the areas of archaeology and literature at the American Academy in Rome and the American School of Classical Studies in...
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Dr. Henrik Borgstrom
Professor of French. Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
- Contact:
- Send Email to Dr. Henrik Borgstrom
- Phone:
- 716.286.8214
- Office Location:
- Alumni Hall 108
*Dr. C. Henrik Borgstrom.* Professor of French and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Borgstrom teaches intermediate and advanced French language, French cultural history, and French literature and theatre. His research specialization is French theatre of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and francophone African performance. He has presented scholarly...
Ms. Rui Jun Chen
Adjunct Professor of Chinese
- Contact:
- Send Email to Ms. Rui Jun Chen
- Phone:
- 716.286.8212
Amy Crockford, M. Ed
Senior Lecturer of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies
- Contact:
- Send Email to Amy Crockford, M. Ed
Amy Crockford joined the ASL/Deaf Studies Department in 2018. She received her Master of Education in Student Affairs Administration from the University at Buffalo. She also attended Rochester Institute of Technology for her undergraduate work. In addition to teaching college students, she is a Deaf interpreter. Amy is author of...
Dr. Shannon Dowd
Assistant Professor of Spanish
- Contact:
- Send Email to Dr. Shannon Dowd
- Phone:
- 716-286-8217
- Office Location:
- Dunleavy 349
Shannon Dowd teaches Spanish language and Latin American literature and culture courses. Her focus is on twentieth and twenty-first century literature and critical theory. She is currently completing a book about the literature and film of border wars in Central and South America. She has studied or presented research on...
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Richard Fysh
Lecturer of Spanish
- Contact:
- Send Email to Richard Fysh
- Phone:
- 716-286-8212
- Office Location:
- Dunleavy 344
Nanette L Harmon, MS Ed.
Adjunct Lecturer of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies
Nanette Harmon brings 40 years of teaching experience to the American Sign Language and Deaf Studies program. She holds a master's degree in Deaf Education. In addition to her love for the unique language, she is passionate about the d/Deaf experience. As a late-deafened adult, Nanette is actively involved in...
Chihiro Heckman
Lecturer of Chinese
- Contact:
- Send Email to Chihiro Heckman
- Phone:
- 716-286-8212
- Office Location:
- Dunleavy 344
Esteban Mayorga, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Spanish. Latin American Studies Director
- Contact:
- Send Email to Esteban Mayorga, Ph.D.
- Phone:
- 716-286-8212
- Office Location:
- Dunleavy 344
Dr. Mayorga's research areas are the Latin American novel, travel writing, contemporary transatlantic fiction, and comparative literature. He is the author of several books of fiction, including Moscow, Idaho (2015), the novella Cuarenta (2018), and Faribole (2018). For his doctorate he wrote on travel writing and the Galápagos Islands. Every year Dr....
Dr. James McCutcheon
Chair, Dept. of Modern & Classical Languages. Associate Professor of Spanish
- Contact:
- Send Email to Dr. James McCutcheon
- Phone:
- 716.286.8211
- Office Location:
- Dunleavy 347
Dr. McCutcheon teaches Spanish language and Peninsular Spanish literature and culture, as well as Latin American film and Hispanic women writers in English translation. He previously did research in Twentieth Century Peninsular Spanish Literature, with a particular focus on the continuing effects of the Spanish Civil War in post-Franco Spain....
Krista Rahelich, MS CCC SLP NYS-Lic
Adjunct Lecturer of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies
Professor Rahelich joined Niagara University in 2003. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Communicative Sciences from the University at Buffalo, and her Master's degree in Speech and Language Pathology from the University College at Buffalo. She currently teaches numerous levels of American Sign Language, and works as a speech pathologist full...
Andrew Serio
Lecturer of Italian
- Contact:
- Send Email to Andrew Serio
- Phone:
- 716-286-8212
- Office Location:
- Dunleavy 344
Luis Ulloa
Lecturer of Spanish
- Contact:
- Send Email to Luis Ulloa
- Phone:
- 716-286-8212
- Office Location:
- Dunleavy 344
Rachel Violanti, B.A., N.I.C.
Faculty Fellow - Modern Languages
- Phone:
- 716.286.8216
- Office Location:
- Dunleavy 344
Rachel graduated from Niagara University in 2017 with a degree in Spanish and Liberal Arts (American Sign Language/Deaf Studies and Psychology) with a minor in French. Pursuing advanced study, she went on to become a nationally certified ASL/English interpreter. She is one of three interpreters at her church, NorthPoint, in Depew,...
Valerie Ward, B.A
Adjunct Lecturer of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies
- Contact:
- Send Email to Valerie Ward, B.A
Valerie is thrilled to be part of Niagara University’s American Sign Language & Deaf Studies team! She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in American Sign Language, and Japanese from the University of Rochester. Upon graduating in 2014, she taught ASL classes at a small private school in Buffalo and at...
Nicholas Waskow, B.A., MS.Ed
Lecturer of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies
**Nick graduated from Niagara University in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education with a concentration in English and a minor in American Sign Language & Deaf Studies. As a recent graduate of our program, Nick brings a unique perspective to our staff. He continued his education, earning...
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