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Faculty & Staff

Faculty and Staff

Soka’s 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio means something here. Browse faculty by concentration or research interest and find the people who will know your work as well as you do. You’ll also find the staff who support everything that happens outside the classroom.

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P

Image of Katherine Perry.

Katherine Perry, PhD

Associate Professor of Mathematics

I am a mathematician specializing in graph theory, design theory, and combinatorics. I am especially interested in breaking apart graphs into smaller subgraphs with special properties. I have a BA in ...

kperry@soka.edu

949-480-4050

Deike Peters, PhD

Associate Professor of Environmental Planning & Practice

Director of Environmental Studies Concentration

dpeters@soka.edu

949-480-4013

Hung Phan, PhD

��Ůing Assistant Professor of Chemistry

I am a scientist and an educator working on the research & education at the interface of chemistry, drug discovery, and computing. My current explorations aim to use artificial intelligence tools ...

hphan@soka.edu

949-269-5573

Watchara Phomicinda

Manager of Digital Media

wphomicinda@soka.edu

949-480-4284

Avelino Pitts

Assistant Director of Admission Operations

apitts@soka.edu

949-480-4046

darlene prescott

Darlene Prescott

dprescott@soka.edu

Alisa Proctor, MS

Assistant Director of Internships

aproctor@soka.edu

949-480-4406

Q

Veronica Quezada, PhD

Associate Professor of Spanish Language and Culture

vquezada@soka.edu

949-480-4392

R

Nalini N. Rao, PhD

Associate Professor of World Art

Nalini N. Rao joined the ��Ů of America faculty as professor of world art in September 2000. Rao came to SUA from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she taught cou...

nrao@soka.edu

949-480-4034

Image of Kaveh Razaghi.

Kaveh Razaghi, MA

Evening Athletic Equipment & Operations Coordinator

krazaghi@soka.edu

949-480-4169

Collage photo of Professor Burns and student Max

Feb 13, 2026 8 Min Read

From Office Hours to Published Book: Faculty-Student Collaboration Spans a Decade

When Max Bieganski ’19 M.A. ’22 walked into Professor of Political Science Peter Burns’ office during their first week at SUA, neither knew that it would be the start of an intellectual partnership cu...

Read More

Professor George Busenberg observing the solar panels on the roof

Feb 13, 2026 3 Min Read

Powering the Renewable Energy Transition: George Busenberg Examines Global Solar Policy

“Renewable energy gives us the opportunity for a new global industrial revolution,” said George Busenberg, associate professor of environmental management and policy in the Environmental Studies Conce...

Read More

The textbook, “The Pacific Basin: An Introduction" is photographed in front of a white and green bokeh background.

Oct 6, 2025 3 Min Read

SUA Faculty Textbook Reaches New Audiences with Korean Translation

Korean-speaking audiences now have access to a seminal textbook that embodies the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary approach to education at SUA. “The Pacific Basin: An Introduction,” originally pu...

Read More

Foroogh Farhang crosses her arms and smiles at the camera outside on SUA's campus.

Oct 1, 2025 9 Min Read

Meet Foroogh Farhang, Assistant Professor of Middle East and North African Studies

Assistant Professor of Middle East and North African Studies Foroogh Farhang joined SUA’s faculty this summer. Before teaching in the International Studies Concentration at Soka, Farhang taught anthro...

Read More

Composite image of the 6 featured professors, Shane Barter, Ryan Allen, Marie Nydam, Katherine Perry, Sandrine Siméon, and Deike Peters

May 23, 2025 2 Min Read

What Can You Learn in 90 Seconds?: SUA Professors Bring Big Ideas to NPR’s “The Academic Minute”

This May, six SUA faculty members were featured on NPR’s nationally syndicated program “The Academic Minute,” offering bite-sized insights from their latest research to listeners across the country.Th...

Read More

Mar 7, 2025 8 Min Read

Igniting Passion for Urban Nature: An Interview with Associate Professor Deike Peters

Deike Peters, associate professor of environmental planning and practice, spent her sabbatical last year researching the proposed ecological restoration of the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, the...

Read More

Sandrine Siméon, associate professor of French language and culture and director of the Language and Culture program stands in front of various countries' flags in Founders Hall.

Dec 16, 2024 7 Min Read

Cultivating a Global Perspective: An Interview with Assistant Dean of Global Citizenship Sandrine Siméon

How can earning a B.A. in liberal arts at SUA help students become global citizens who are actively engaged with issues in social justice, sustainability, and peace? At the start of this academic year...

Read More

Nov 12, 2024 6 Min Read

Supporting Students Beyond Graduation: An Interview with Assistant Dean Lisa MacLeod

How can a liberal arts education at SUA prepare students for living a contributive life? This fall, Lisa MacLeod, associate professor of international studies and director of the International Studies...

Read More

Shane Barter poses with scholars during the Association for Asian Studies in Asia annual conference

Sep 3, 2024 3 Min Read

Summer Research in a Special Region

This summer, SUA Professor Shane Barter conducted fieldwork and in Southeast Asia with support from the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS). IHS is a non-profit organization at George Mason University ...

Read More

Dean Hamersley poses in front of glass windows on ��Ů of America's campus

Jan 31, 2024 6 Min Read

Translating SUA’s Mission Into Action: An Interview With Dean Hamersley

M. Robert Hamersley, who was named ��Ů of America's dean of faculty in June 2023 after 16 years teaching and serving in a variety of leadership roles at SUA—including two years as assistan...

Read More

Eight members of a research team wearing summer attire smile at the camera in front of palm trees, a docked boat, and light blue water in Belize.

Sep 21, 2023 2 Min Read

Faculty Spotlight: Marie Nydam and Biodiversity Research in Belize

Marie was part of an interdisciplinary team funded by a National Science Foundation grant: two professors and a graduate student from University of North Carolina Wilmington in North Carolina, and one...

Read More

Professor Hortense J. Spillers gestures with her hand as she speaks into a microphone

Mar 21, 2022 11 Min Read

Transformative Scholarship Beyond the Ivory Tower: A Conversation with Dr. Hortense J. Spillers

In her 1987 essay, "Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: An American Grammar Book,” Hortense J. Spillers, distinguished visiting professor of literature at SUA, dismantled prevailing ideas about gender and Blac...

Read More

Collage photo of Professor Burns and student Max

Feb 13, 2026 8 Min Read

From Office Hours to Published Book: Faculty-Student Collaboration Spans a Decade

When Max Bieganski ’19 M.A. ’22 walked into Professor of Political Science Peter Burns’ office during their first week at SUA, neither knew that it would be the start of an intellectual partnership cu...

Read More

Professor George Busenberg observing the solar panels on the roof

Feb 13, 2026 3 Min Read

Powering the Renewable Energy Transition: George Busenberg Examines Global Solar Policy

“Renewable energy gives us the opportunity for a new global industrial revolution,” said George Busenberg, associate professor of environmental management and policy in the Environmental Studies Conce...

Read More

The textbook, “The Pacific Basin: An Introduction" is photographed in front of a white and green bokeh background.

Oct 6, 2025 3 Min Read

SUA Faculty Textbook Reaches New Audiences with Korean Translation

Korean-speaking audiences now have access to a seminal textbook that embodies the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary approach to education at SUA. “The Pacific Basin: An Introduction,” originally pu...

Read More

Foroogh Farhang crosses her arms and smiles at the camera outside on SUA's campus.

Oct 1, 2025 9 Min Read

Meet Foroogh Farhang, Assistant Professor of Middle East and North African Studies

Assistant Professor of Middle East and North African Studies Foroogh Farhang joined SUA’s faculty this summer. Before teaching in the International Studies Concentration at Soka, Farhang taught anthro...

Read More

Composite image of the 6 featured professors, Shane Barter, Ryan Allen, Marie Nydam, Katherine Perry, Sandrine Siméon, and Deike Peters

May 23, 2025 2 Min Read

What Can You Learn in 90 Seconds?: SUA Professors Bring Big Ideas to NPR’s “The Academic Minute”

This May, six SUA faculty members were featured on NPR’s nationally syndicated program “The Academic Minute,” offering bite-sized insights from their latest research to listeners across the country.Th...

Read More

Mar 7, 2025 8 Min Read

Igniting Passion for Urban Nature: An Interview with Associate Professor Deike Peters

Deike Peters, associate professor of environmental planning and practice, spent her sabbatical last year researching the proposed ecological restoration of the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, the...

Read More

Sandrine Siméon, associate professor of French language and culture and director of the Language and Culture program stands in front of various countries' flags in Founders Hall.

Dec 16, 2024 7 Min Read

Cultivating a Global Perspective: An Interview with Assistant Dean of Global Citizenship Sandrine Siméon

How can earning a B.A. in liberal arts at SUA help students become global citizens who are actively engaged with issues in social justice, sustainability, and peace? At the start of this academic year...

Read More

Nov 12, 2024 6 Min Read

Supporting Students Beyond Graduation: An Interview with Assistant Dean Lisa MacLeod

How can a liberal arts education at SUA prepare students for living a contributive life? This fall, Lisa MacLeod, associate professor of international studies and director of the International Studies...

Read More

Shane Barter poses with scholars during the Association for Asian Studies in Asia annual conference

Sep 3, 2024 3 Min Read

Summer Research in a Special Region

This summer, SUA Professor Shane Barter conducted fieldwork and in Southeast Asia with support from the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS). IHS is a non-profit organization at George Mason University ...

Read More

Dean Hamersley poses in front of glass windows on ��Ů of America's campus

Jan 31, 2024 6 Min Read

Translating SUA’s Mission Into Action: An Interview With Dean Hamersley

M. Robert Hamersley, who was named ��Ů of America's dean of faculty in June 2023 after 16 years teaching and serving in a variety of leadership roles at SUA—including two years as assistan...

Read More

Eight members of a research team wearing summer attire smile at the camera in front of palm trees, a docked boat, and light blue water in Belize.

Sep 21, 2023 2 Min Read

Faculty Spotlight: Marie Nydam and Biodiversity Research in Belize

Marie was part of an interdisciplinary team funded by a National Science Foundation grant: two professors and a graduate student from University of North Carolina Wilmington in North Carolina, and one...

Read More

Professor Hortense J. Spillers gestures with her hand as she speaks into a microphone

Mar 21, 2022 11 Min Read

Transformative Scholarship Beyond the Ivory Tower: A Conversation with Dr. Hortense J. Spillers

In her 1987 essay, "Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: An American Grammar Book,” Hortense J. Spillers, distinguished visiting professor of literature at SUA, dismantled prevailing ideas about gender and Blac...

Read More