Enhancing the College’s Reputation for Teaching Excellence

This year, County College of Morris has hired 11 new leading faculty members in the Divisions of Business, Mathematics; Division of Health and Natural Sciences; and Division of Liberal Arts.

“These 11 new faculty members will contribute significantly to CCM’s mission of providing a quality higher education and further enhancing the college’s reputation for teaching excellence,” noted Dr. Edward J. Yaw, CCM president.
The new faculty members are:

Sheila Barbach, assistant professor, biology – Barbach received her M.A. in anthropology in the biological anthropology track from Kent State University and her B.A. in anthropology with a concentration in biological anthropology from Boston University. For the past seven years, she has been an adjunct faculty member at CCM in the Department of Biology and Chemistry. She also has four years of teaching experience at the high school level.

Jutta Braun, assistant professor, nursing – Braun earned her M.S. in nursing, magna cum laude, from Rutgers University and her B.S. in nursing, cum laude from Seton Hall University. For the past 15 years, she has taught nursing students both in the classroom and clinical areas at Mountainside Hospital School of Nursing. She also has worked as an adjunct professor in the CCM Weekend Nursing Program. Her areas of expertise include medical-surgical and psychiatric nursing.

Terence Duncan, dance coordinator and assistant professor, dance – Duncan received his MFA in dance from Florida State University and his BFA in dance from Towson University. He has performed as a principal dancer with the New York Theatre Ballet (Oklahoma!, Dream Ballet, Judgment of Paris, Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty) and as a company member with the New York Baroque Dance Company, Dance Repertory Theatre at Florida State University, and Towson University Dance Company. He has taught dance at Florida State University, the University of Hartford and Hofstra University, and in a number of professional and pre-professional programs at Ballet School New York, New York Theater Ballet, The Tallahassee Ballet, and South Georgia Ballet.

John Hurd, assistant professor, criminal justice – Hurd received his M.A. at Centenary College, his B.A. from Thomas Edison State College, and his Associate of Science in criminal justice from CCM. He has taught at CCM as an adjunct professor and was a D.A.R.E. middle school instructor. Before teaching, he was a sergeant for the Chester Township Police Department and served as a classroom and firearms instructor for the Basic Police Class at the County of Morris Public Safety Training Academy.

Jenifer Martin, assistant professor, biology – Martin received her M.S. in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University. She has eight years of teaching experience including working as an adjunct professor teaching Cell Biology and Human Anatomy and Physiology at Kean University and General Biology and The Human Body at Bergen Community College. She has also taught Molecular Biology and the Biology of Human Sexuality courses to community college students. In addition to her teaching experience, Professor Martin has research experience at a major biopharmaceutical company.

Peter Nirchio, assistant professor, chemistry – Nirchio earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in organic chemistry from New York University, and his B.S. in chemistry from Ramapo College. He comes to CCM with extensive experience as a research scientist in industry. He also has taught as an adjunct professor at Raritan Valley Community College, in addition to teaching at the high school level.

David Pallant, assistant professor, English – Pallant received his M.A. from the New York Institute of Technology and his B.A. from the University of Massachusetts. He has worked for Google Inc, Fox Sports Network and on Howard Dean’s Presidential campaign. He also has taught communications courses at Bergen Community College and William Paterson University.

Buffy Reilly, assistant professor, nursing – Reilly earned her M.S. and B.S., magna cum laude, in nursing from St. Peter’s College after receiving her nursing diploma from Holy Name Hospital. She currently attends Concord Law School where she plans to earn her Juris Doctorate with a concentration in healthcare law. She has taught nursing students both in the classroom and clinical areas for the past four years at Holy Name Hospital. She has also worked as an adjunct professor in the CCM Weekend Nursing Program. Her areas of expertise include medical-surgical and obstetrics and pediatric nursing.

Kathryn Shuck, instructor, mathematics – Shuck holds an M.S. in electrical engineering from California Institute of Technology, an MBA from Indiana University, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from Purdue University. Her work experience includes AT&T in New Business Development, Lucent Technologies and VTech as a product line manager and director. She has been an adjunct faculty member at CCM since 2008.

Ronald Statton, assistant professor, mathematics – earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from Northwestern University, M.S. in engineering and computer science from the University of Pennsylvania and bachelor’s degree from SUNY Binghamton. His previous teaching positions include assistant professor of mathematics at Bentley College, and visiting professor at Howard University. He also has worked as a technical manager at AT&T/Lucent Technologies and, most recently, as network administrator at Clark Public Schools.

Kelly Whalen, assistant professor, visual arts – Whalen received her Master of Industrial Design from Pratt Institute and her B.A. from Caldwell College. She has been an adjunct professor at CCM for the past five years. Before teaching, she worked at various companies as a design consultant, industrial designer, set designer and creative director. She has several patent pending designs and has contributed art pieces to local restaurants.