Alongside over 2,000 new and returning students, 27 new faculty members arrived on the Hilltop over recent weeks, bringing with them new perspectives, ideas, and knowledge in various fields. Among them, seven call Saint Anselm their alma mater.
Professors Leanne Cirigliano (Department of Modern Languages, Lecturer) and Mikaela Weinstein (Department of Criminal Justice, Lecturer) earned their Bachelor of Arts from Saint Anselm, with Weinstein later continuing her education and achieving her Master of Arts from the College.
Two new faces join the Department of Biological Sciences this fall.
Professor Jenna Campbell, Ph.D., joins as an Assistant Professor of Practice. Prior to joining the College’s faculty, she served as a Professor of Biology at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth, N.H., beginning in 2021. Likewise, Andrea Loving, who comes to Saint Anselm as a Lecturer, previously served at Great Bay Community College, where she was an Instructor.
Br. Dunstan Enzor, O.S.B., joins the Theology Department as an Assistant Professor. He professed his solemn vows at Saint Anselm Abbey in January 2022, and has served as a member of the College’s Board of Trustees since October 2023. Currently, he is a doctoral candidate in Historical Theology at Boston College, where he explores early Christian interpretation of the Old Testament.
New to Saint Anselm’s Department of Education is Professor Amy Hill, who joins our campus community as a Professor of Practice and Coordinator of Clinical Practice.
10 new members of faculty join the Nursing Department this fall, including four alums. Professors Lyndsay Gilliland (Full-time Clinical Faculty), Nancy Spaulding (Full-time Clinical Faculty), Elise Beer (Clinical Faculty), and Michelle Gamache (Clinical Faculty) earned their B.S.N.s from Saint Anselm.
Also new to the Nursing Department are Professors Lauren Stevens, M.S.N. (Full-time Clinical Faculty); Anthony Blatus, B.S.N. (Clinical Faculty); Michael Childs, Jr., M.S.N. (Clinical Faculty); Michael Jentzen, B.S.N. (Clinical Faculty); Emily Rizzuto, B.S.N. (Clinical Faculty); and Shayla Somerset, B.S.N. (Clinical Faculty).
Professor Kyle McElhoney, Ph.D., comes to the Hilltop as an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of Chemistry and Forensic Science. Before joining our faculty, he served as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois.
The Department of Fine Arts welcomes five new faculty members this fall, including Dancers and Choreographers Aaron Tolson (Professor of Practice), Zackery Betty-Neagle (Lecturer), and Julia Lane (Lecturer).
Professor Tolson joined the Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2007, and later directed the Massachusetts-based pre-professional tap company, Speaking in Taps. His organization has had immense success in the community, and he hopes to continue to spread dance on the Hilltop. “I am so looking forward to the growth of the dance program. The more dancers we have here, the more we can do!”
Professor Tolson plans to teach Tap Dance; Dance History; and Choreography Theory, Practice, and Pedagogy.
Beginning in August 2014, Betty-Neagle has danced, choreographed, and served as Executive and Artistic Director of NSquared Dance in Manchester, New Hampshire. At Saint Anselm, he hopes to “share the joy of dance.”
“Not only is dance athletic and artistic, but there is a commonality of joy of just moving the body.” He plans to teach Contemporary Dance at the College.
Mary Roberts (Lecturer) is a ceramic artist who previously held a position as a Teaching Fellow at Indiana University, where she received a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics in 2023.
Tianhong Yang, D.M.A., comes to Saint Anselm as a Lecturer. Prior to joining Saint Anselm’s faculty, she was a Teaching Artist in piano with the Boston Music Project. She has studied and performed in prestigious festivals and venues across the world, and has won numerous awards in international competitions.
New to Saint Anselm’s Department of Economics and Business is Lecturer Ronald Cereola, J.D., whose areas of specialization include business law, family law, and aviation law. Previously, he served in James Madison University’s College of Business in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Three new faculty members join the Humanities Department this year, including 1 alum, Br. Thomas Lacourse, O.S.B. After graduating from Saint Anselm in 2015, he continued his studies in the arts and theology, eventually earning his Master of Arts (Theological Studies) from Boston College and his Ph.D. in Political Science from Trinity College Dublin. In June 2022, he professed his simple vows as a monk at Saint Anselm Abbey, and he will be eligible to profess his solemn vows– which would consecrate him permanently and wholly to God– in June 2025.
Also new to the Humanities Department are Lecturers Steven McDevitt, who has worked as the College’s CIO since 2018; and Jane McGrail, who previously served as a Teaching Fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned her Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature earlier this year.
The Philosophy Department welcomes Scott Merrill, Ph.D., who joins our campus community as a lecturer this fall. He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Boston University in 2015, and has served as a Staff Writer for Business NH Magazine since December 2022.
Each member of this cohort of new faculty members comes to Saint Anselm College with a strong background in their respective fields of study and are certain to have tremendous impact on the campus community. We look forward to getting to know them each over the coming months. To those who are new, welcome; and to our seven alums, welcome home.