This fall semester, Farmingdale State College’s (FSC) campus community has grown by 14 new faculty members, including eight assistant professors, two lecturers, and four visiting assistant professors, in support of its student-centric academic programs. The esteemed faculty additions will cover an array of disciplines across FSC’s School of Business, Santmann School of Health Sciences, Pasternack School of Engineering Technology, and School of Arts and Sciences.

 “Our newest faculty cohort brings a passion for teaching and advanced scholarly work that spans multiple disciplines, departments, and schools,” said Senior Vice President and Provost Sean Lane, PhD. “We are proud to welcome them to our campus community.”

Over the last decade, the number of full-time FSC faculty has increased 39% overall with the College’s current student-to-faculty ratio now at 19:1.

“It is a great pleasure to welcome this exceptional new talent to FSC,” said Assistant Provost Christopher LaBarbera, PhD, who recently cohosted a New Faculty Orientation event in Greenley Library with Jennifer Jaiswal, director of FSC's Faculty Center. The orientation, along with FSC’s New Faculty Mentoring Program, provides a forum for new faculty members to learn more about the College, ask questions of their peers and mentors, and support their professional development.

“We look forward to supporting our faculty’s work to create educational opportunities that will make a lasting difference in the lives of our students,” said LaBarbera.

New Faculty Perspectives:
“I'm very happy I'm here. I have many years of engineering experience and I'm very excited to bring all those practical experiences into the classrooms,” said incoming Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering Technology Sophie Eftekhari, PhD. “I'm looking forward to meeting the students and working with everyone. This is a very kind, supportive community and it's really, really my honor to be here.”

“Farmingdale is a special place,” agreed new Assistance Professor of Biology Bjarne Bartlett, PhD, who joined FSC in 2024 as a fellow. “I’m really looking forward to expanding what I offer the students outside the classroom with regard to research and research experiences,” he added of his current studies investigating the use of cone snail venom to develop non-opioid pain medications. “I’ve been doing this research since I trained in Hawaii, and I’m super excited to get students more involved in all different aspects.”

“I'm so excited,” shared incoming Assistant Professor of Science, Technology, and Society Lindsay Weinberg, PhD. “Everyone has been incredibly welcoming and kind and they are clearly dedicated to students. And that's the type of community I want to be part of. New York's also home for me, so it's a long time coming. I grew up in Westchester, so I'm also just delighted to be back in what feels like my community.”

Weinberg added she is also looking forward to empowering others with her research in the ethical challenges and societal impacts of artificial intelligence (AI). “My work is very much about helping us feel like we can navigate this moment collectively,” she said.

New faculty joining FSC include:

Assistant Professors

• Prof. Jessica Campbell, Nursing
• Dr. Sophie Eftekhari, Civil Engineering Technology
• Prof. Sean Garvey, Nursing
• Dr. Boyao “Peter” Li, Economics
• Ms. Brianna Paoli, Senior Assistant Librarian
• Dr. Tao Wang, Computer Systems
• Dr. Lindsay Weinberg, Science, Technology, & Society
• Dr. Yihe Zhang, Computer Security

Lecturers

• Prof. Courtney Braun, Psychology
• Dr. Christie Mulligan, Psychology

Visiting Assistant Professors

• Dr. Andrea Adams, Nursing
• Prof. Clifford Daly, Aviation
• Prof. Judit Heller, Nursing
• Dr. Caroline Mason, Science, Technology, & Society

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