Literacy (Reading)

Literacy Office
108B Recitation Hall
West Chester, PA 19383
Call: 610-436-2877
FAX: 610-436-3102
kmcaveney@wcupa.edu

Faculty

The Department of Literacy is fortunate to have a very well qualified, diverse faculty.

Dena Beeghly, Ed.D., University of Georgia

College Reading and Study Skills, Introduction to Reading, Reading Instruction and Practicum, Foundations of Reading, Teaching Reading to Culturally Diverse Students, Teaching Reading with Children’s and Adolescents’ Literature

Susan Caroff, Ph.D., Purdue University

Associate Professor
scaroff@wcupa.edu

Introduction to Reading, Introduction to the Language Arts, Reading Instruction and Practicum, Theories and Trends in Language Arts, Reading in the Content Areas

Daniel Darigan, Ph.D., University of Oregon

Professor
ddarigan@wcupa.edu

Introduction to Reading, Teaching the Language Arts, Reading Instruction and Practicum, Foundations of Reading, Teaching Reading with Children’s and Adolescents’ Literature

Dr. Darigan taught eighteen years in the elementary classroom before moving to higher education. His major professional interest, beyond his teaching, lies in the area of promoting literacy with an emphasis on children’s literature. He recently completed his first children’s novel, Jumping Back in Time, and a co-authored textbook, Children’s Literature: Engaging Teachers and Children in Good Books. He has published numerous articles in The Reading Teacher, Language Arts, and the Journal of Children’s Literature and presented extensively at regional, national, and international conferences.

Kevin Flanigan, Ph.D., University of Virginia

Associate Professor
kflanigan@wcupa.edu

Reading Instruction and Practicum, Literacy Practicum and Seminar I and II, Orthography, Language, and Literacy Development

Dr. Flanigan has taught as both a classroom teacher in the upper elementary/middle grades and as a reading specialist/literacy coach working with kindergartners through middle-grades students. His research, publications, and presentations center on developmental word knowledge, comprehension and vocabulary development and instruction, and interventions for struggling readers. He has authored or co-authored articles in The Reading Teacher, The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, and the Journal of Literacy Research and has presented frequently at regional, national, and international conferences.

Scott C. Greenwood, Ed.D., Lehigh University

Associate Professor
sgreenwood@wcupa.edu

Teaching the Language Arts, Reading Instruction and Practicum, Writing Development and Instruction, Reading in the Content Area, Comprehension and Vocabulary: Development and Instruction

Dr. Greenwood has served in five Pennsylvania districts in a variety of capacities: secondary English teacher, middle level reading teacher, and elementary reading specialist. Most recently he was the K-12 supervisor of language arts in the Downingtown School District. He has over 25 publications to his credit, and has been a frequent presenter at state and national conferences. His research interests are word study/vocabulary, assessment, and reading comprehension.

Sunita Nayar Mayor, Ed.D, University of Cincinnati

Associate Professor, Department Chair
smayor@wcupa.edu

Teaching the Language Arts, Diagnosis and Remediation of Reading Problems, Writing Development and Instruction

Dr. Mayor holds a BA in History and Economics from Calcutta University, India, a M.Ed. from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio and a Doctorate in Special Education from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. Dr. Mayor began her teaching career as an Elementary School teacher and worked with adult ESL learners. She taught for a year at St. Rita School for the Deaf in Cincinnati working with children with multiple disabilities. As a Graduate Assistant at the University of Cincinnati she taught graduate classes in Special Education. She taught at the Lewis Clark State College in the Elementary Department focusing on Assessment of Literacy Development, Literacy Development in ESL learners and supervising students in their internship. Her research interests are Language and Literacy Development in young children with a focus on classroom communication patterns and its role in scaffolding student learning.

Diane Santori, Ed.D., University of Pennsylvania

Assistant Professor
dsantori@wcupa.edu

Diane Santori earned her BS in early childhood and elementary education from Temple University, her reading specialist certification and MS in education from St. Joseph’s University, and her Ed.D. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Reading, Writing and Literacy program. She began her college teaching career as an adjunct here at West Chester. In addition to her higher-education teaching experience, Dr. Santori brings background as an elementary classroom teacher in the School District of Philadelphia. She has a number of publications and presentations to her credit and is currently the research coordinator and primary researcher for one of the National Writing Project’s Local Site Research Initiatives. This current research explores the influence of Philadelphia Writing Project sponsored professional development on middle-grade students’ writing development and their disposition towards writing.

Dr. Heather Schugar, Ph.D., University of Maryland

Assistant Professor
hschugar@wcupa.edu

Dr. Schugar’s research interests include informational reading materials, content area literacy, comprehension, and large-scale reading assessments.

Carol A. Smith, Ed.D., Widener University

Assistant Professor
csmith3@wcupa.edu

Research interests: digital literacies for the 21st century, global learning via information communication technologies,social justice and equity in the age of digital communication, portraiture methodology.

Robert J. Szabo, Ed.D., Lehigh University

Associate Professor, Graduate Program Coordinator
rszabo@wcupa.edu

Introduction to Reading, Diagnosis and Remediation of Reading Problems, Foundations of Reading, Reading in the Content Areas, Problems in Literacy Development, Literacy Practicum and Seminar I and II

Dr. Szabo’s research interests include diagnosis of reading difficulties and reading expository texts.