People Whose Affiliation with the Center is Senior Vincentian Research Fellow

• Ed.D., Instructional Technology and Media, Columbia University Teachers College

Assistant Professor

• Advancing the design, development, implementation and inquiry of meaningful technology-supported online, hybrid and face-to face learning environments

"I welcome this opportunity to contribute to the Vincentian vision and spirit within the University and to work with the Fellows to advance equal opportunities of excellence to disenfranchised communities and students through education aided by technologies. "

St. John's University

During her nearly 20-year long professional career, Dr. Brenda I. López Ortiz has worked as middle school teacher helping low income students learn English language skills, as teacher professional developer, educational website developer/editor and instructional technology assistant professor. Her research interests focus on online collaboration to foster meaningful learning helping students bridge social, cultural, economic, gender-based and digital divides.

• M.F.A., Visual Journalism, School of Visual Arts, NYC

Professor

• Pursuing the supernatural through the real in painting and teaching

"Being a Vincentian Fellow has provided me with a framework and a support system by which I may expose my students to, and involve them in the issues of social justice and poverty, both material and spiritual that we as a global community are called to confront."

St. John's University

Joseph L. Adolphe joined the faculty in the Department of Fine Arts in St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2000. Named a Senior Vincentian Research Fellow in 2006, he continues to explore the spiritual in art and the creation of a moral society. In addition to his teaching, Professor Adolphe exhibits his paintings regularly and his illustrations appear in numerous local and national journals and publications. He holds an M.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts, NY. He lives with his wife and five daughters in New Haven, CT.

• Ph.D., Theological Ethics, Boston College

Associate Professor, Theology, St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Examining how moral formation and the cultivation of virtue intersect with the ways in which people approach social ethical issues such as war, the common good, and care of the dying. 

"Being a Fellow has provided an invaluable opportunity to establish connections with faculty from disciplines across the University who share my interest in the serious, scholarly analysis of moral issues."

St. John's University

Christopher P. Vogt is an Associate Professor of Moral Theology in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies in the St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at St. John’s University and is a Senior Research Fellow of the Vincentian Center for Church and Society. He is the author of Patience, Compassion, Hope and the Christian Art of Dying Well (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004). His research and publications focus on Virtue Ethics, Catholic Social Thought, Fundamental Catholic Moral Theology, and Healthcare Ethics. His recent work includes “Fostering a Catholic Commitment to the Common Good” (Theological Studies, 2007), “Catholic Social Thought and Creation” and “The Use of Scripture in the Ars Moriendi Tradition” (both forthcoming 2011). He served on the Catholic Theological Society of America’s administrative team for Catholic Social Thought. Dr. Vogt earned a Ph.D. in Theological Ethics from Boston College.

• Ph.D., Social Work, Fordham University

Assistant Professor, Director, Human Services Program

• Disparities in health care for minorities, women and children with a specific focus on women and families affected by HIV/AIDs.

"As a new Fellow, I look forward to learning from the sharing of information, and research and teaching activities of my colleagues. I will integrate this experience into the courses I teach broadening my students' education, while expanding my own research horizons."

St. John's University

Joan S. Tropnas, Associate Professor and Director of the Human Services Program in the College of Professional Studies at St. John’s University, holds a M.S.W. and Ph.D. from Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service and a M.P.A from New York University. Named a Vincentian Research Fellow in 2008, Dr. Tropnas’ research interests are in the area of medical and mental health disparities among minorities, women, and children. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Dr. Tropnas is an expert on Women at the Holy See Mission to the United Nations. Her professional career as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (New York State) has included working in medical and mental health organizations, child welfare agencies, and in research.

• Ph.D., History, New York University
• P.D. Education, Administration and Supervision, City University of New York

Professor of History

• Civic Engagement and Political Responsibility in Contemporary American Society
• The human cost of war in the American experience.

"The Vincentian Center has blessed me with many benefits, one of which is to participate in intense intellectual conversation with colleagues passionately sharing mutual concerns about social justice and the role of the Church in today's world."

St. John's University

Robert R. Tomes is a Professor of History in the College of Professional Studies and a Senior Vincentian Research Fellow. His research interests include the social and moral costs of war in the American experience and political activism in youth. He is a member of the American Historical Association. Dr. Tomes holds a Ph.D. in History from New York University. He is the author of Apocalypse Then: American Intellectuals and the Vietnam War and is co-author of an American history textbook now in its 5th edition, American Issues.

• Ph.D., Higher Education Finance and Administration, Columbia University

Professor and Chair

• Transparency and Accountability in Accounting Practices in developing countries, non-profits and Churches
• The development of graduate study programs in accounting in underdeveloped countries.

"I am honored to be included as a member of the Vincentian Center. The greatest benefit I have received is the interaction with faculty outside the business school. To hear faculty from other colleges in the university discuss their experiences helping the poor forces me to consider how financial management and control can be applied to assist those in need."

St. John's University

• J.D., Law, Harvard Law School

Dean, John V. Brennan Professor of Law and Ethics

• Criminal punishment and sentencing, prosecutorial decision-making, and the intersection of retribution, remorse, and religion.

"My experience as a fellow has enriched my research by deepening my awareness of the multiple ways in which poverty affects social justice and by always challenging me to examine the social justice implications of my work."

St. John's University

Michael A. Simons is the Dean of Law and a Brennan Professor of Law and Ethics at St. John's University School of Law. He teaches courses in Evidence, Criminal Law, and Sentencing. He was appointed a Senior Vincentian Research Fellow in 2003 pursuing his research interest in the role of remorse in sentencing. He clerked for the Honorable Louis F. Oberdorfer of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and later served as a staff attorney for The Washington Post as an associate at Stillman, Friedman & Shaw, and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York. He holds a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School where he was also editor of the Law Review.

• Ph.D., Italian, New York University

Professor, Academic Coordinator of the Study Abroad in Italy, and Coordinator of the Summer program in Rome of the Master in Global Development and Social Justice

• Language as a key to understanding persons and culture.
• Recently awarded a grant by the Department of Education, Title VI program, to create a new BA in Global Development and Area Studies for my College

"Being a Vincentian Fellow has given meaning to what I teach, what I write, what I do. And working with the Vincentian Center has made me understand the mission of our university and the commitment in my classroom to promote a culture of closeness which can break down differences and build up our commonalities in the human family."

St. John's University

Dr. Sacca is a Professor of Italian Language and Literature, the Academic Coordinator of the Study Abroad in Italy, and the Coordinator of the Summer program in Rome of the Master in Global Development and Social Justice.

• S.T.D. Biblical Studies, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy

Associate Professor

• Theology of Human Migration
• Hispanic/Latino theology and ecumenical/interfaith dialogue.

"Being a Vincentian Research Fellow has convinced me that our University's Mission Statement is more than just words on paper. Working with faculty colleagues whose teaching and scholarship in so many different disciplines is marked by our Vincentian commitment to embody the Church's teaching on social justice energizes my own current research on theological approaches to migration and stretches my imagination as a biblical scholar."

St. John's University

Jean-Pierre M. Ruiz, a Roman Catholic priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at St. John’s College and a Senior Vincentian Research Fellow. His research is focused in three areas: the Theology of Human Migration, Hispanic/Latino theology, and ecumenical/interfaith dialogue. Father Ruiz recently published readings include: From the Edges: The Bible and People on the Move (Orbis, 2011). Jean-Pierre Ruiz is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology, Associate Editor of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, and a Past-President of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS). In addition to his numerous publications, Fr. Ruiz has hosted and co-hosted a number of radio and television programs. Father earned his S.T.D. in Biblical Studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy.

• Ph.D., Latin American History, Columbia University

Associate Professor, Social Sciences

• Urban migration and poverty in Mexico

"My work as a Vincentian Research Fellow enhances my research in Mexico and my teaching because I am compelled to confront questions about the persistence of poverty in the past and present and what can be done to relieve poverty for the urban poor from the Vincentian perspective of charity and justice."

St. John's University

Jaime E. Rodriguez holds a Ph.D. in Latin American History from Columbia University. He is on the faculty at the College of Professional Studies as an Assistant Professor of History in the Division of Social Sciences. His research interests include cities, migration and poverty in Mexico. His scholarly work has focused on the history of Monterrey, Mexico from 1876 to 1910 and how factors such as public order, public health, poverty and migration shaped its development. Dr. Rodriguez is a Senior Vincentian Research Fellow.

• Ph.D., Library and Information Science, The University of Texas at Austin

Associate Professor

• Social justice issues related to information access
• Information technologies as tools of social and economic development in both local and international contexts
• Models of human information behavior.

"Being a Vincentian Research Fellow has allowed for close collaboration on social justice projects with a number of knowledgeable colleagues. These projects have vastly expanded my awareness and conceptions of social justice work' ideas which I readily bring into the classroom."

St. John's University

Kevin S. Rioux is an Associate Professor in the Division of Library and Information Science in St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at St. John's University. He is also a Senior Vincentian Research Fellow. His research focuses on social justice issues related to information access and information technologies as tools of social and economic development in local and international contexts. He has lectured and presented internationally on needs, seeking, and use of information literacy and information access. Dr. Rouix holds a Ph.D. in Library and Information Science from the University of Texas at Austin.

• Ed.D., TESOL/Spanish, Columbia University Teachers College

Professor of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

• First and second language acquisition
• Standard English as a second dialect

"Becoming a part of the Vincentian Fellow's Program will enable me to further focus attention and expand the scope of what has been a lifelong personal mission: to be an ear for the unheard and a voice for the voiceless members of our diverse community."

St. John's University

Yvonne Pratt-Johnson is a Professor in the School of Education and has just attained the rank of Senior Vincentian Research Fellow. She has taught English as a Second Language for over 30 years and has been the recipient of several research grants. Through her research, presentations, and publications, she has raised awareness of the special needs of second language learners, especially the English/Creole-speaking population in U.S. Schools. Dr. Pratt-Johnson serves as a consultant for the NYC Board of Education and holds a Ed.D from Teachers College, Columbia University.

• Ph.D., Organization and Policy Studies, City University of New York

Dean and Professor of Management

• Culture’s economic consequences
• Socio-economic development projects
• Service-learning.

"The Vincentian Fellows are actionoriented, operationalizing St. John's mission and making a real difference in the everyday lives of others."

St. John's University

• Ph.D., Police Science and Administration, Sam Houston State University

Associate Professor

• Policing a free society: restorative justice and the relationship of criminal justice and social justice.

"The Vincentian Fellows Program promotes academic interactions that are truly interdisciplinary and based in reason, intellectual rigor, and faith.As a result, my commitment to and ability to study, practice, and teach justice have been profoundly enhanced."

St. John's University

• M.F.A. Photography, New York University

Associate Professor

The potential of photography to inspire, to provoke positive change, and to stimulate in students a positive outlook toward humanity and a richer understanding of society

"It is important to remind our students that the visual language holds no barriers. Regardless of our spoken language, as long as we have sight, each of us is affected by images.Photography's visual language is strengthened in that photographs hold within them a little piece of history, a moment preserved. They remind us that things not familiar to us, do in fact, exist; that our very humanity calls us to solidarity and that we are all ultimately accountable to one another."

St. John's University

Belenna M. Lauto is an Associate Professor of Photography in St. John's College and a Vincentian Research Fellow. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and is in several museum and private collections including the Center for Photography at Woodstock, NY, Islip Art Museum, and the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art. For the past ten years she has been documenting the work of Mommas House, an organization that helps to educate homeless, single young mothers, in all aspects of life. She also coordinates the Very Special Arts Queens Festival, which provides a venue of art education for children with special needs.

• Ph.D., ABPP Clinical Psychology, New York University

Clinical Professor of Psychology

• Advancing our understanding of the extent to which social economic status and cultural and ethnic backgrounds impact on the cognitive and emotional development of children and adopted children
• The study of the impact of violence exposure on children and adults in the multicultural context

"Being a part of the many discussions with other Fellows and the different conferences sponsored by the Center creates an atmosphere that encourages the scientific consideration of issues of class and culture poor persons as important to our academic pursuits."

St. John's University

Rafael Javier is a Clinical Professor, Psychology and Director of the Psychological Services Center at St. John's University.   He holds a B.A. from Herbert H Lehman College, received his M.A. and Ph.D. from New York University, and is a graduate of NYU's post-doctoral program. Dr. Javier is a tenured professor of psychology and has presented extensively on evaluation and treatment with particular emphasis on linguistic and cultural issues. His most recent publication is Personality Development and Psychotherapy in our Diverse Society:  A Source Book .

• Ph.D., Biology, University of Pittsburgh

Associate Professor

• Public health issues involving microbiology and poverty
• How bacterial cells respond on a molecular level to environmental stress
• Food-borne pathogens

"As a Fellow I will continue to sensitize my students to how extreme poverty results in populations being subject to disease. Presently, I begin each class by reading brief sections of "The End of Poverty."

St. John's University

Irvin N. Hirshfield is a Senior Vincentian Research Fellow and Associate Professor, department of Biological Sciences, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He holds a Ph.D. in molecular microbiology and microbial physiology and genetics. He conducts various sponsored research at St. John’s University on the regulation of gene expression in prokaryotes in response to environmental stress with special emphasis on acid stress responses and microbial pathogenesis. His interest as a Vincentian scholar is the relationship between parasitic and bacterial diseases and poverty, especially in developing countries.

• Ph.D., Oncological Sciences, University of Utah

Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

• Molecular biology with specialties in protein biochemistry, bioinformatics, proteomics, toxicology, and public health
• Means of getting science into the hands of those who need it, while training everyone to understand how science affects their lives

"As a Vincentian Fellow my greatest challenge is getting science into the hands of our youngest students in an easy to understand and decidedly interesting way."

St. John's University

Marc E. Gillespie is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in St. John's College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions and a Vincentian Research Fellow. He has also served as the interim director of the Institute for Biotechnology and the chair of the Institutional Biosafety committee at St. Johns. A molecular biologist with specialties in protein biochemistry, bioinformatics, proteomics, and toxicology, Dr. Gillespie leads his own research lab focused on creating affordable high-tech proteomic methods for small laboratories. He teaches gene technology, public health, human anatomy and physiology, and has experience from academia and industry to public health policy. He holds a Ph.D. in oncological sciences from the University of Utah and is currently a Reactome editor, a multinational bioinformatic project. Dr. Gillespie has been developing tools for and teaching science for twenty years.

• J.D., Columbia University Harlan Fisk Stone Scholar

Professor of Law

• Affordable housing initiatives
• Corporate ethics including corporate social responsibility
• Legal protections for vulnerable groups in this society and the role of religious groups in public policy matters

"My involvement with the Vincentian Center has exposed me to the viewpoints of other disciplines, such as theology, that have now informed and influenced my own research."

St. John's University

Professor Vincent DiLorenzo, a Professor of Law at St. John's University School of Law, holds a B.A. from Pace University and a J.D. from Columbia University where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and Associate Articles Editor of the Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems. Before coming to St. John's, Professor DiLorenzo taught at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and practiced real-estate and banking law. He has authored many articles and books in the banking, legislation and real estate areas.

• Ph.D., Biology, City University of New York

Associate Professor

• Technology and its impact on what it means to be human; ways to promote health as a basic human right; impact of poverty and social structure on health

"As technology advances, it is a critical time to relate values and technology. The 21st century challenge is how to utilize technological advances to better serve the good of the global community, especially those living in poverty.I have been pleased to promote this dialogue through coordination of the Religion and Science lecture series."

St. John's University

Pharmaceutical companies are among the world’s most profitable enterprises. Yet, every day we hear about millions of people who barely subsist, let alone have money for medicines. In the Third World they die of diseases developed countries overcame decades ago. They die of diseases whose cures go unresearched because they would turn little profit. Inequities exist as well among the urban poor in our own nation. What’s wrong with this picture? It’s a question that Joanne Carroll wants everyone to consider.
 
“We are facing a crisis in terms of who benefits from the fruits of our technology and knowledge,” she says. “It is a moral, political, and scientific question, and we have to look at how we can incorporate the question of equity in our thinking, our actions and our world view.”
 
During her tenure as a Fellow of the Vincentian Center for Church and Society here at St. John’s, she and a St. John’s College colleague created a lecture and discussion series on how religion and science can combine forces to address poverty. In her required public health course, pharmacy students look at current health issues and analyze not only the medical causes of disease, but also the social, economic and political factors that contribute to health and disease.
 
“We have the resources to reduce or eliminate global poverty, but what is it that we as individuals and a society are willing to do?” she asks. “I don’t have the answers. But, if I can engage in sincere discussion with students and raise awareness of the global situation, maybe some in my class will find a way to become part of the solution.”