Meet Our New Faculty!

     Mairin Barney has already been at Roosevelt for a few years as an adjunct, and is now a full-time faculty member. She has also taught at Truman College, Northeastern Illinois University, and Northern Arizona University. Compared to the other schools she’s taught at, Roosevelt stands out to her as being a very open and accepting community. She describes RU as being a really nice place to be and to work—the place she always wanted to come back to.

      Mairin is teaching English 101 and English 201 courses this semester. She urges students, in the writing program especially, to use the incredible resource of the Writing Center. She loves teaching writing courses in particular because she views writing as the cornerstone of social justice. She believes that writing is what gives people a voice in the world, and she loves taking part in giving that voice to others. In her new position at Roosevelt, so far she has really been enjoying the community of teachers and the great level of support that she and her coworkers have been receiving in the Department of Literature and Languages. One unique thing about Mairin is that she has no casual interests. When she gets interested in anything—from comic books to baseball to literature to movies—she gets completely immersed in it. 

     Ji-Hyae Park taught composition and literature at the University of Michigan for a year before joining us at Roosevelt. Born in South Korea, she grew up and went to college in Buffalo, New York then completed her Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. She was attracted to Roosevelt because of the social justice mission and the diversity of our urban campus, and also because she’d heard great things about the students and especially the teachers, who struck her as being very involved, conscientious, and invested in helping students.

      This semester, Ji-Hyae is teaching English 101 and English 102 courses. She advises her students to come see her right away if they’re having any problems, because she’d love to help! One of the things she likes about teaching is the excitement of witnessing and being a part of students’ progress. She also really enjoys class discussion, because it’s an opportunity to hear a lot of different perspectives on the same group of texts. During her first few weeks at Roosevelt, she has been very happy with her colleagues, who are great people and great resources, and also with the diverse mix of students, who have helped to create lively classroom discussion. Ji-Hyae loves The Simpsons and tends to think of quotes and laugh at inappropriate times. So if she’s ever laughing at an inappropriate moment, don’t take it the wrong way—she’s probably just thinking of The Simpsons. 

     Matt Pavesich comes to us from the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he recently completed his Ph.D. He taught classes as a TA and worked in the writing center at UIC, and he has also taught at Malcom X City College. Matt’s initial attraction to Roosevelt University stemmed from working with Carrie Brecke, a mentor of his, in the writing center at UIC. He was also attracted to the social justice mission and feels that there is a good combination of social activism and lively scholarship at RU.

      Matt is teaching English 100 and English 201 courses this semester, and he encourages his students to engage, to participate, and to use the Writing Center. As a teacher, he likes class discussions that go off in their own direction, and he likes putting texts together in unlikely ways and seeing what happens. In his first few weeks here he’s been especially enjoying his students, who have been eager to participate in class, and his fellow staff members, who have been very welcoming and helpful. And he’s also been enjoying the views and architecture of downtown Chicago. Matt wants you to know that if he ever looks “rumpled and crazy,” it’s because he rides his bike to school every day and changes clothes on campus. 

      Amanda Wornhoff is a Roosevelt alum. Originally from Indiana, she’s lived in Chicago for eleven years. She recently earned her Master’s degree at Roosevelt, and has taught as an adjunct both at RU and at the College of Lake County. In addition to being an alum, she was enticed to continue on at Roosevelt as a teacher because she is really committed to the social justice mission. In her experience thus far as a faculty member, she’s especially been enjoying the open, supportive environment for new faculty.

      Amanda is currently teaching English 100 and English 101 courses, and her best advice for students is to not get discouraged easily, because things that have value and that are most useful in life only come from hard work. She also encourages her students to use her as a resource for help. Of the many things she enjoys about teaching, she particularly likes the social, interactive nature of teaching and the opportunity to help newer students become acclimated to college life. An interesting fact about Amanda is that she and her husband were Oprah car-winners (they kept one and sold the other).

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