Meet the new faculty

The following profiles were compiled from web data, interviews, and e-mail responses.

Paulo Steinberg
Assistant Professor of Music
Steinberg has a performer diploma from the Conservatorio Carlos Gomes in Brazil and degrees in music from various schools. He has taught at Indiana University and the University of Indianapolis. He has received several scholarships and awards, performed numerous solo and chamber music performances in Brazil, Canada, Iceland, and the United States. In addition, he served as church musician at churches in Bloomington, Ind.

Risha Kaloo
Instructor in Biochemistry
Kalloo earned a B.S. in biochemistry and a masters of philosophy in chemical pathology from the University of the West Indies in Trinidad. She also holds a certificate in phlebotomy from the American Medical Technologies. Kalloo has been an assistant lecturer in biochemistry, a research coordinator, and an assistant tutor, and has published a number of articles in the West Indian Medical Journal, Netherlands Journal of Medicine, Clinical Nutrition, and Hormone and Metabolic Research.

Leo Plante
Assistant Professor of Business and Economics
Plante holds an A.B. in economics from Brown University, an M.B.A. in finance from Temple University, an M.A. in business and applied ethics from the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.Div. in ethics from Weston Jesuit School of Theology. He has over 20 years of professional experience in financial and investment management. He likes to draw from many years of experience to provide "real life" illustrations of theoretical concepts.

Walter Surratt
Assistant Professor of Business and Economics
Surratt has lived and worked in Washington, D.C., for the past 30 years. He retires from his position with NERA Economic Consulting in December as he transitions to teaching as a second career. He and his wife have three adult children. He is excited to learn more about the Mennonite faith, since he is not Mennonite, and considers this opportunity a blessing.

Jimmy Bickerstaff
Assistant Professor of Theater
Bickerstaff taught a variety of subjects at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, earned his Ph.D. at the University of Oregon, and worked in professional theater for 14 years before coming here to join the Theater Department staff. He is married and has three children. Bickerstaff decided to teach at EMU because it was a Christian, liberal arts university with a growing theater program.

William Culbreth
Associate Professor in Conflict Studies for the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding
Culbreth has taught as an adjunct professor at James Madison University and he has lived in Harrrisonburg for over eight years. Culbreth will teach business law and human resource law on a part-time basis and he is excited about the diverse yet small classroom sizes.

David Kratz Mathies
Associate Professor of Religion
Mathies worked on his Ph.D. in Religious Studies at Boston University before coming here, and taught for a year at Boston College while finishing his dissertation. His wife, Anali, teaches part-time with the IEP at EMU and is also taking a seminary course. Mathies looks forward to successfully defending his dissertation and interacting with students.

Yong Zhang
Associate Professor of Computer Science
Zhang comes with teaching experience at the University of South Carolina and Rutgers and has written for scientific publications. He has "felt called by God" to teach at EMU and looks forward to integrating faith and learning in the classroom. He remains excited for the opportunity to get to know his students on an individual basis. Zhang has a wife and a young child.

David A. Hooker
Assistant Professor of Business and Economics
Hooker was a minister, mediator, and lawyer in Atlanta, Ga., before coming to teach at EMU. He has a private consultancy in mediation and community building and has 22 years of experience in mediation and facilitation. Hooker's work has taken him to Cuba, Nigeria, Bosnia, Croatia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.

Steven Johnson
Assistant Professor of Art and Communication
Johnson comes to EMU from Houghton, N.Y., where he taught art and was the director of digital media at Houghton College. He has a wife, Anna Maria, and two children. Johnson decided to teach at EMU because of the collaborative style of the media programs and because of the school's Anabaptist identity. He looks forward to helping students "develop their artistic vision in the studio."

Fred W. Kennon
Associate Professor of Teacher Education
Kennon has 30-plus years of experience in educational administration, most recently as assistant superintendent of Rockingham County Public Schools. He has taught on an adjunct basis in the teacher education program at EMU for the last several years. Kennon views his new role at EMU as a new challenge and an opportunity to stretch himself mentally.