Congratulations to the current and former members of the faculty who have been recognized by the Ithaca College Board of Trustees. At its February meeting, the board awarded promotions and tenure to eight, designated two as Dana professors, and granted emerita/emeritus status to four retired faculty members.
The biographies of the faculty members were provided by their respective schools.
TENURE AND PROMOTION TO ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
The following were awarded tenure and promoted from assistant to associate professor. Criteria for promotion to associate professor include a sustained record of teaching excellence, evidence of significant scholarly or appropriate professional attainment, and evidence of service to the college and profession.
Board of Trustees Recognizes Faculty Members at February Meeting
By Dave Maley, February 10, 2026
Promotions, tenure, emerita/emeritus, and Dana status awarded.
Roy H. Park School of Communications
Allison Frisch
Department of Journalism
Allison Frisch (M.B.A., Rochester Institute of Technology) teaches courses ranging from introductory writing and media literacy to advanced newsroom and capstone experiences.
A community-engaged teacher-scholar, she emphasizes experiential journalism, with students producing work for real communities and audiences. Her scholarship examines local news ecosystems, journalism innovation, and the ethical use of AI, advancing nonprofit and public-interest journalism models that connect student learning with civic impact.
School of Health Sciences and Human Performance
Bonnie Riley
Department of Occupational Therapy
Bonnie Riley (PPOTD, Virginia Commonwealth University) emphasizes empathy, student growth, and reflective practice in her humanistic, constructivist teaching.
She integrates clinical experience and research into occupational therapy coursework. Her scholarship on child health and culturally accessible play is globally recognized, and has numerous publications, presentations, and grants. She actively supports student research, mentoring over 45 student projects. She guides students in providing screenings at the Special Olympics and evaluations at the Family Reading Partnership alongside her service contributions to the college.
Eber Beck
Department of Physical Therapy
Eber Beck (Ph.D., University of Kansas Medical Center) has evolved his student-centered teaching from remote instruction to integrating virtual reality and 3D printing in graduate physical therapy courses such as Neuroscience and Neuromuscular Foundations.
He also teaches in the Summer College for High School Students. His scholarship, focused on the role of sleep in physical therapy, has resulted in multiple publications, presentations, and grants. He serves as the Faculty Advisor to the IC Brazilian Association, among other service activities.
Teresa Szu-Hua Chen
Teresa Szu-Hua Chen (Ph.D., University of Oregon) teaches graduate coursework in physical therapy bridging theory and clinical practice through inclusive, student-centered learning.
She created the popular Biomechanics in the Wild course, where students apply biomechanics principles to everyday activities. Her scholarship in biomechanics and movement control is nationally recognized, with multiple publications and grants. A service highlight is as a JED Foundation mental health trainer.
School of Humanities and Sciences
Shuzhan Li
Department of Education
Shuzhan Li (Ph.D., Syracuse University) offers courses that span the Education curriculum, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Students applaud the compassion and humanity with which he teaches, and they appreciate his openness and authenticity in the classroom.
Shuzhan’s research involves educating culturally and linguistically diverse learners, and he has received a competitive Spencer Foundation grant to support his work with teachers in rural upstate NY. Reviewers praise his research as critically important, and they commend his support for teachers in rural environments. Shuzhan’s warm generosity extends to his service, which includes advising both IC Bigs and the IC Chinese Students and Scholars Association, and mentoring first-generation students.
Joash Geteregechi
Department of Mathematics
Joash Geteregechi (Ph.D., University of Florida) teaches classes serving multiple audiences, including statistics courses that he has specifically tailored for students in the health and life sciences and in Psychology.
One of his teaching goals is to help students see the value of mathematics beyond the classroom, and students commend his success in this regard, noting that he helps them see the “why” behind their learning. His research area is math education with a focus on reasoning and creativity, and reviewers call his work rigorous, substantive, and impactful. He has been a devoted citizen of the college, serving on the H&S Curriculum and APC-Curriculum committees during one of the busiest times in their history.
Sumru Atuk
Department of Politics
Sumru Atuk (Ph.D., The Graduate Center, CUNY) teaches courses in feminist political theory and gender-based violence, serving students in Politics; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and the ICC. Students admire her ability to keep them “in a positive space” despite the weighty topics her courses engage, and they find her passion for her subject inspiring: “It’s like she almost knows the historical figures we talk about personally.”
Her research involves femicide and its relationship to the institutional practices that enable it. Reviewers commend her scholarship as pertinent, timely, and illuminating. In her service to the college, Sumru is best known for having created the much beloved and highly successful Work in Progress series in H&S.
Department of Psychology
Natasha Bharj (Ph.D., University Kansas) is jointly appointed in two programs and offers courses serving both, ranging from General Psychology to a seminar titled Queery-ing Psychology. Students appreciate the joy she brings to her teaching, the elegance with which she approaches contentious topics, and the ways her courses broaden their worldview. In her scholarship, Natasha integrates decolonial and feminist theory with a cultural psychological approach. Reviewers find her research insightful and critically important. Natasha’s service work is cohesively intertwined with her teaching and scholarly interests and includes serving on the Sexual Violence Prevention Committee and the Advocacy Center of Tompkins County.
Dana Professors
Jorge Grossmann
Dana professorships are awarded for a five-year term to selected professors who have demonstrated a continued record of excellence as well as a promise of outstanding future contributions in teaching and service.
Jorge Grossmann, Professor of Composition and Music Studies, School of Music, Theatre, and Dance
An internationally renowned composer and pedagogue in music composition, Jorge Grossmann’s compositions have received awards and have been published and recorded by the most prestigious labels and publishing houses.
He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship during which he completed three new musical works, has twice received Fulbright scholarships, has held several residencies and fellowships among other featured roles, and has had his work commissioned and performed on five continents. He has also served as the liaison between Ithaca College and the Heckscher Foundation, securing yearly grants to support the college composition program and connecting our students with Pulitzer Prize, MacArthur, and Guggenheim-winning composers.
He will be working on a new composition for pre-Columbian ceramic instruments and string quartet, and will continue to work on new compositions integrating non-European instruments and techniques that broaden the canon of contemporary classical music.
Shaianne Osterreich
Shaianne Osterreich, Professor of Economics, School of Humanities and Sciences
An internationally recognized Indonesianist economist and feminist economist scholar specializing in Southeast Asia, Shaianne Osterreich is a research affiliate at Cornell’s Southeast Asia Program, where she was Visiting Scholar during her most recent sabbatical. She is regularly invited by Cornell to meet with visiting Indonesian dignitaries, governmental officials, and scholars.
She is regularly invited by Cornell to meet with visiting Indonesian dignitaries, governmental officials, and scholars. She is a prominent figure in many journals and has served the college in several distinguished roles: Director of the Ithaca College Seminar program for first-year students across the college, department chair, chair or co-chair of numerous important school and college committees, and as a mentor of students in numerous ways.
The Dana professorship will enable her to pursue a book project about gender and economics in Southeast Asia with the Routledge Feminist Economics series, identifying a co-editing team, refining the book proposal, recruiting prospective authors, and coordinating workshops for them. The support from the professorship will aid in allowing her to travel to Indonesia and to facilitate translation support for contributing authors for whom English is not a first language. She will also be able to advance her Indonesian language skills, aiding her scholarly collaborations.
Professors Emeriti
The following were named professor emerita or emeritus. This is an honorary title awarded after retirement to those who have made sustained contributions to Ithaca College and/or to their profession in teaching, scholarship, and service.
• Stewart Auyash, associate professor of health sciences and public health, who retired in 2025.
• Don Beachler, associate professor of politics, who retired in 2025.
• Barbara Belyea, professor of physical therapy, who retired in 2024.
• Phoebe Constantinou, professor of health sciences and public health, who retired in 2024.