Meet Our Faculty & Staff

Daniel Meyers is director of the The Compass Center, which helps Butler students, faculty, and staff explore multifaich communities, interfaith engagement, the pursuit of meaning and purpose, and spiritual life. A graduate of Willamette University (Oregon) in Biochemistry and Religious Studies, Meyers earned a Master of Divinity at Yale Divinity School, was ordained in the United Church of Christ, and completed a two-year position as Earl Hall Religious Life Fellow in the Office of the University Chaplain at Columbia University. He has served in his current role at Butler University since June of 2015.

Marguerite Stanciu is assistant director of The Compass Center at Butler University. She graduated from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and English and the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco with a Master of Arts in Intercultural Philosophy and Religion. Marguerite is an authorized meditation instructor and teacher in the Buddhist and Shambhala (secular) traditions. Her interest in social justice issues reflects her commitment to valuing community and honoring varieties of religious, cultural and vocational experiences that call us to be more of who we are and to contribute to the greater good when we are able. Marguerite serves as staff adviser for Butler Meditation.

Imam Anisse Adni has served the Central Indiana and DFW areas for over 15 years as a religious leader and community organizer. Imam Anisse graduated from Marian University and studied Islamic Theology and Sciences at the Qalam Seminary in Texas. Passionate about facilitating meaningful conversations and helping others wherever they are on their journey, Imam Anisse strives to maintain a safe and welcoming environment where everyone can freely share and express themselves without fear of judgment or reprisal. Currently, he serves as the Imam of the Alsalam Foundation in Carmel, the Muslim Life Advisor at Butler, and the Executive Director of Inspyred, an initiative addressing the socio-spiritual needs of Muslim youth, young adults, and families, inspiring and empowering them to develop and sustain a proud and reflective American Muslim identity.

Michael Aronson joined The Compass Center as Jewish Life Advisor in April 2023 during a Future Faculty Teaching Fellowship year at Butler University’s College of Communication. Michael holds a master’s degree in Jewish Studies from Hebrew College in Newton Center, Massachusetts, and is working towards his doctorate in Media Studies at Indiana University-Bloomington. Michael serves the Jewish community at Butler by channeling his passions for living in community, Jewish learning, adult education and pluralism towards helping The Compass Center create an inclusive and loving environment for all people at Butler. 

Biography

Born and raised in southcentral Pennsylvania in one of only two counties in the Commonwealth without a traffic light, Brent Hege earned his BA in Religion and History with a minor in Classics from Gettysburg College (PA) in 1998. He completed the Zentrale Mittelstufenprüfung Diplom (German Language Certificate) at the Goethe Institut in Dresden, Germany, in 2000 while completing his MA in Historical Theology with a minor in New Testament at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (PA). He earned his PhD in Theology with Distinction from Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, VA, in 2007. His dissertation was awarded the 2010 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise by the Forschungszentrum Internationale und Interdisziplinäre Theologie at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. He was honored by his alma mater with the 2013 Gettysburg College Young Alumni Achievement Award and in 2015 he was elected an honorary member of Butler’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. In 2017 he received the Outstanding Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching from Butler’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and in 2024 he received the Butler University First-Year Impact Award for his work teaching and mentoring first-year students at Butler. In 2017 he was appointed The Compass Center Scholar in Residence and in 2020 he was promoted to Senior Lecturer in Religion. He has taught at Butler since 2008. 

Teaching Duties

As a faculty member of Butler’s Religious Studies program, Hege teaches the yearlong First Year Seminar, “Faith, Doubt, and Reason,” the Texts & Ideas (TI) course, “Religions of the World,” online every summer, and the following 300-level Religious Studies courses: God, Theologies of Liberation, Evil, Religious Pluralism, and Ecotheology. Hege has directed several offerings of the Butler Series on Religion and Society, including “Religion, Race, and Culture” (2015-2016), “Sacred Spaces: Intersections of Religion and Ecology” (2018-2019), and “Faith and Activism” (2022-2023). Hege is also the Compass Center Scholar in Residence, where he works with a cohort of student Scholars on issues of interfaith engagement and vocational discernment. Hege holds affiliate faculty status in the programs of Race, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Science, Technology, and Environmental Studies, and the Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability. In 2022, Hege successfully chartered Butler’s chapter of Theta Alpha Kappa, the national honors society for Religious Studies and Theology, for which he serves as faculty advisor. Hege is also the faculty advisor of Grace Unlimited, Butler’s Lutheran-Episcopal campus ministry. 

Scholarship

Hege’s research focuses on the history of Christian thought and contemporary Christian theology, with special focus on 19th- and 20th-century liberal Protestant theology, continental philosophy and philosophical theology, contemporary constructive theology, Lutheranism, and theology and culture. In addition to his award-winning first book, Faith at the Intersection of History and Experience: The Theology of Georg Wobbermin (Wipf and Stock, 2009), he has published articles and invited review essays in a number of European and American journals, including Zeitschrift für Neuere Theologiegeschichte/Journal for the History of Modern Theology, Theologische Zeitschrift, Theology and Science, Radical Philosophy Review, Politics and Religion, and Teaching Theology and Religion. He is also a frequent reviewer of books on historical and contemporary theology for Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology. He has presented papers at national and regional academic conferences, including The American Academy of Religion and The Southwest Popular Culture Association and The American Culture Association, as well as being a frequent guest lecturer and panel member for school, church, and community programs. His second book, Myth, History, and the Resurrection in German Protestant Theology, was published by Pickwick Press in 2017. His most recent book, based on the first semester of his popular Butler First Year Seminar, is Faith, Doubt, and Reason (Wipf and Stock 2020). In 2020 he was elected to the editorial council of Dialog: A Journal of Theology, the world’s premier journal of Lutheran theology. 

Randall Ojeda is a proud alum (MS ’18) who is honored to serve as a Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion here at Butler University! His work in leading the Efroymson Diversity Center while also providing strategic operational direction to the Division of DEI continues to be the highlight of his career. In his role, Randall directly advises individuals and student groups, leads a team of passionate professional staff, collaborates with a wide variety of departments throughout campus, and strategizes key ways to continue the institution’s profound legacy of priortizing equity. 

Randall and his husband, Gabriel (currently Butler MBA student), live in downtown Indianapolis with their twin cats, Alison & Ander. He loves US Presidential Trivia, reality tv shows, Orangetheory Fitness, and is in a kickball league.

Mikala Lain (she/they) has served as the Assistant Director of the Efroymson Diversity Center since 2023. She graduated from Butler University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Business Administration. They then went on to Seattle University to earn a Master of Nonprofit Leadership. She enjoys spending time with family in Southern Indiana, attempting to not kill house plants and garden vegetables, traveling to national hiking spots, and crafting such as punch needling.

Miah McLaurin (she/they) is the Diversity Programs Coordinator in the Efroymson Diversity Center. She is an Indianapolis native and has been with Butler since September 2023. Miah primarily oversees the diverse scholarship programs at Butler; collectively known as the Butler Blue Scholars. They are passionate about increasing college access to marginalized groups through reduced financial barriers as well as student belonging. 

Danny Kibble (he/him) serves as the Senior Executive Director of DEI Initiatives and Engagement at Butler University. Prior to this role, Danny
served on the senior leadership team in the Division of University Advancement for more than seven years initially leading the reorganization of the alumni
relations and engagement strategy in preparation for the successful completion of the Butler Beyond comprehensive fundraising campaign which raised more than
$263M from a $250M goal. While leading the alumni relations and engagement enterprises, Danny successfully refocused the University’s alumni relations
strategy and the Butler University Alumni Association as effective partners in helping the university reach its most pressing priorities. For their efforts,
Danny and his team earned multiple awards and recognitions from region five of the Council for Advancement in Secondary Education.  Danny earned a Master of Public Affairs degree with a concentration in nonprofit management from the Indiana University Paul O’Neill School for Public and Environmental Affairs. He is a life member of the Indiana University Alumni Association and a Federal Club member for the Human Rights Campaign.     

Azure resides in Indianapolis Butler-Tarkington community with her daughter. She is a member of ATIXA and a Stewards of Children^® facilitator. Azure joined Butler in August 2023 from her previous role with Indianapolis Public Schools where she served as the Deputy Title IX Coordinator and Employee Relations Specialist in the K-12 environment. She is dedicated to creating and maintaining equitable conditions and safe environments campus wide for students and staff.

 Judie has practiced law for over thirty years as a trial court litigator. She has also served in numerous positions as a Superior Court Magistrate and as an Administrative Law Judge for Marion County and the State of Indiana. Most recently, Judie served as a Marion County Deputy Prosecutor in the Major Felony Division of the Marion Superior Counts.  

Judie has returned to Butler after having previously been employed as an Executive Career Mentor in the Lacy School of Business. She affectionately calls Butler her “Happy Place” and is dedicated to ensuring that every student, faculty, and staff employee regardless of race, gender identity, or social status is given equal access to the quality education that Butler is known to provide. 

Judie is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She and her husband reside in the Oaklandon area and are faithful members of Phillips Temple CME Church in Indianapolis. They are both strong and focused community advocates committed to justice and equality for every citizen. 

Susan R. Adams, Ph.D. is Professor of Education in the College of Education. Dr. Adams’ teaching responsibilities in the Butler University College of Education regularly include teaching educational foundations, introduction to secondary education (ED227), multicultural education (ED398/ED497), ESL methods (ED498), and graduate courses. She is currently the COE Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. 

A former urban secondary ESL teacher and instructional coach, Dr. Adams’ research and professional interests include race, critical pedagogies, equitable access to the curriculum and to academic success for all students and transformative adult learning. She is an experienced critical friendship coach and facilitator with the School Reform Initiative, a Teacher Consultant with the National Writing Project, and a site leader of the Hoosier Writing Project. 

Dr. Adams’ publications are included in Theory into Practice, English Journal, SAGE Sociology of Education, EBSCO Research Starters, The Brock Education Journal, Writing and Pedagogy, AILACTE Journal, Critical Literacy: Theories and Practices, and The New Educator. Dr. Adams and her co-author, Jamie Buffington-Adams, Ph.D. published their book, Race and Pedagogy: Creating Collaboration for Teacher Transformations, Lexington Books, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, as part of Roland W. Mitchell and Kenneth J. Fasching-Varner’s series, Race and Education.

Dr. Adams was selected for the 2012 ATE-I Anne Patterson Paper Award for her scholarly paper, “Whiten Up! An Autobiographical Exploration of the Impact of White ESL Teachers’ Race, Privilege and Positionality on English Language Learners in K-12 Schools” and was chosen for the 2014 Association of Liberal Arts Colleges of Teacher of Education (AILACTE) Scholar Award. In 2015, Dr. Adams and her colleague, Dr. Brooke Kandel-Cisco were awarded a Desmond Tutu Fellowship and was selected as a 2016 Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) Clincal Fellow. She also served as Butler University Co-Faculty Development Fellow with Dr. Elizabeth Mix (2013-2014) and with Dr. Jane Gervasio (2014-2015). To visit Dr. Adams’ Digital Commons Scholarly Works page, please click here.

Office hours are arranged by requesting an appointment through email: sradams@butler.edu 

Google Scholar Page

My research interests include the history and culture of Japan, the anthropology of sport, the anthropology of science, gender studies, feminist theory, historical anthropology, mass/popular culture, theories of embodiment, urban anthropology, and visual culture. Most of my fieldwork has focused on cultures of sport in Japan and while I study and teach about all kinds of sport, football (soccer) is my ultimate passion. I continue to work on my primary project about soccer, corporate sport, the recession of the 1990s, and national identity in Japan, but have also written recently about the new professional women’s soccer league in Japan and the history of women’s professional soccer/football globally; I’m also interested in issues related to trans* athletes in Japan and the U.S.

Dr. Fletcher is a historian of race, gender, and confinement. She holds a Ph.D. in History from Indiana University.

Before entering the academy, Charlene led a domestic violence/sexual assault program and a significant reentry initiative in New York City, assisting women and men in their transition from incarceration to society, and served as a lecturer of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York. Charlene’s forthcoming book Confined Femininity: Race, Gender, and Incarceration in Kentucky, 1865-1920, explores the experiences of confined African American women in Kentucky from Reconstruction to the Progressive Era, explicitly illuminating the lives of confined Black women by examining places other than carceral locales as arenas of confinement, including mental health institutions and domestic spaces. Charlene’s newest research project is rooted in her grandmother’s memories, takes a transnational approach to race and confinement in the American South, and builds on Charlene’s interest in Italian history. The project, Down in the Delta: Race Relations between African and Italian Americans in Mississippi, 1880-1940, explores Italian migration and experiences in the Mississippi Delta between the late nineteenth and the mid-twentieth centuries. It interrogates the Italian padrone system as a form of confinement. It examines relationships between Italians and African Americans because of shared proximity and experience in the rural Jim Crow South.

 In addition to her research, Dr. Fletcher is a Community Scholar at the Center for Africana Studies and Culture at Indiana University Indianapolis. She also serves on the editorial boards of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and the Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. She is an elected member of the National Council of Public History (NCPH) Board of Directors.

To learn more about Charlene and her work, visit www.charlenejfletcher.com  

Dr. Ronia Hawash is an Associate Professor of Economics in the Lacy School of Business. Dr. Hawash holds a B.A. in Economics from Cairo University (Egypt); an M.A. in Economics from the American University in Cairo (Egypt); and a Ph.D. in Economics from Indiana University (Indianapolis). Her primary teaching areas are Microeconomics, Economic Development, Health Economics, and Econometrics. Dr. Hawash’s main areas of research are focused on socioeconomic problems in developing countries including poverty, inequality, poor health and education outcomes, political conflict and refugees, and climate change. Her research has been published in Applied Economics, Journal of Social Entrepreneurship,  International Journal of Happiness and Development, Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, Eurasian Economic Review, International Journal of Development and Conflict, Social Business, and Journal of the Knowledge Economy. 

Director of Academic Affairs for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Faculty Director of Butler in Asia Program, Center for Global Education 

Su-Mei Ooi joined the Department of Political Science and Peace & Conflict Studies program in 2010  as  Assistant  Professor, shortly before earning a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto with a joint specialty in international relations and comparative politics. 

Prior to settling down in Indianapolis, Ooi studied and worked in many different parts of Asia, Europe, and North America. Her lived experiences have shaped Ooi into a dedicated educator who believes strongly in the importance of critical global citizenship education in the United States. At Butler, she teaches courses in international relations and Asian politics with the express purpose of helping students to understand that there are many different ways of being in this world. She particularly encourages students to seek better solutions to global problems by re-imagining new possibilities for a better world. Ooi grew up in Singapore and Malaysia. Since 2017, Ooi has also led students to Malaysia and Singapore on the Butler in Asia program, which offers students the unique opportunity to live and work in Asia for 7 weeks in the summer.

As an affiliate faculty of the Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program, Ooi also believes in a diverse, inclusive, and equitable learning and working environment for all. At Butler, she works closely with senior administration in her role as the Director of Academic Affairs for DEI. In terms of curricular affairs, she is also responsible for Asian and Pacific American representation in the Core Curriculum, as she led a team of excellent colleagues in the development of GHS 212: Asian Americas. She works closely with students as well and is the faculty advisor of the student group Asian and Pacific Islander Alliance (APIA).

Although Ooi’s research expertise is in democratic development and human rights in East Asia, she has expanded the scope of her research in response to issues and problems beyond her core interest. More recently, her scholarship addresses peace building on the Korean Peninsula, US-China relations, global education, the well-being of faculty in teaching-focused institutions  and  the  leadership  experiences  of  minoritized  faculty. She also believes in integrating teaching and scholarship and has mentored students in the research and publication process at Butler.

In her personal time, Ooi enjoys the company of her husband, daughter and a pet hamster named Coco. She is also an active member of the Asian and Pacific American community in Indianapolis. She is on the Board of the Indianapolis Chinese Community Center, Inc.,  the Council of the Indiana Association of Chinese Americans, and is also a member  of  Hoosier  Asian  American  Power.

Teaching Expertise:

International Relations, US-China Relations, East and Southeast Asian Politics, Chinese Politics, Human Rights and Humanitarianism, International Political Economy

Research Specialization:

Comparative Democratization, Transnational Activism, Human Rights, East Asian Politics and International Relations, Global Citizenship Education

Education:

PhD Political Science

University of Toronto (Canada)

MA (Southeast Asian Studies)

National University of Singapore (Singapore)

LLB (Bachelor of Laws, with Honors)

University College London (United Kingdom)

Publications:

http://works.bepress.com/sumei_ooi/

Awards/Fellowships

Korea Foundation Fellowship

Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation Fellowship

Taiwan Foundation for Democracy Fellowship

Dr. David Chu Scholarship

Political Science Award, University of Toronto 

Volkswagen Foundation Fellowship 

Corey Reed is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and steering committee member in the Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (RGSS) program at Butler University. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College, double majoring in English and Philosophy, his Master of Arts degree from the University of Louisville in Comparative Humanities, and his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Memphis with a graduate certificate in Women and Gender Studies. His dissertation was entitled “Black-Male Imagos and Counternarrative Resistance: An Africana Existentialist Framework for Black-Male Analysis.” He specializes in Africana Philosophy and the Critical Philosophy of Race and Racism, with sub-interests in Existentialism, Phenomenology, Feminism/Male Theory, 20th Century French Continental Philosophy, and Aesthetics. Reed is one of three Co-Directors for the Hub of Black Affairs and Community Engagement. 

More information can be found at https://www.coreynreed.com/ 

Derek Reid; Associate Professor, began his training at the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet in his native Washington, D.C. He subsequently studied in intensive dance programs with Rosella Hightower in Cannes, France,Milwaukee Ballet, and Richmond Ballet. He began attending Butler University in 1984, where he received a B.F.A. in Dance. Mr. Reid’s professional dance careers panned over fifteen years, during which time he performed with the Louisville Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal and Ballet Met in Columbus, Ohio. He performed and created leading roles in works by such internationally acclaimed choreographers as Choo San Goh, William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, Nacho Duato, James Kudelka, Mark Morris and Ohad Naharin. His repertoire ranged from the classical to the contemporary. His roles have included the prince in The Nutcracker, Siegfriedin Swan Lake and various roles in works by choreographic masters such as Antony Tudor, Vaslav Nijinsky, Irina Nijinska, Agnes de Mille, and George Balanchine.

Mr. Reid’s television credits include PBS’s production ofDance Theatre of Harlem’s Fall River Legend, choreographed by Agnes de Mille, as well as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Dancers for Life gala, in which he performed the pas de deux from Nacho Duato’s Rassemblement. A special highlight of his career was dancing Duato’s Cor Perdut at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece with the Gala des Etoiles, sharing the stage with dancers likeDamian Woetzel, Darcie Bussel and Carlos Acosta.

Mr. Reid’s professional teaching career began with the Northwest Florida Ballet in 1985 and continued through his Associate Directorship of the Fort Wayne Ballet from 2000-2004 and his guest/master classes across the country. In his current position as Associate Professor ofDance at Butler, Mr. Reid teaches Dance History, Classical Ballet technique, Classical and Contemporary Pas de Deux, Choreography, and his core curriculum contribution to the university Black Dance in the American Tradition. While creating original choreographic works for Fort Wayne Ballet, Northwest Florida Ballet, and Central Indiana Dance Ensemble, Mr. Reid offers original works to the Butler Ballet in both the classical and contemporary veins. With an eye towards the history and tradition of classical technique, Mr. Reid continues to search for new ideas to stimulate students and advocate for the continued embracing ofthe fine arts.   In 2012 he received a Master of Arts Degree in Organizational Leadership and Service Learning from Gonzaga University.

Dr. Schmelz is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Butler University and practices as an ambulatory care pharmacist at Eskenazi Health. Dr. Schmelz graduated with his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Purdue University and subsequently completed two years of fellowship training in ambulatory care and academia. He has previously practiced as a community pharmacist with Walgreens and as an ambulatory care pharmacist at IU Health and Community Health Network. 

In his current role, Dr. Schmelz is the course director for Diversity and Inclusivity in Healthcare, a required course in Butler’s Doctor of Pharmacy program. He has a deep interest in social justice and health equity issues, particularly as they apply to the patients he serves in his clinical practice, and in 2021 he was selected to serve on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Taskforce for the American College of Clinical Pharmacists (ACCP).

Dr. Schmelz also continues his ambulatory care practice at Eskenazi Health Center Westside, a Federally Qualified Health Center, where he cares for patients in a cardiovascular risk reduction and diabetes management service. Eskenazi Health is the safety-net health system serving the residents of Indianapolis in Marion County with an emphasis on the most vulnerable populations unable to obtain care elsewhere.

Teigha VanHester aka Dr. V (she/they)  is a fierce intellectual; pleasure activist; joyful griot; SoCal native; proud Black, Polynesian femme; proud Cancer; and assistant professor of Race, Gender and Sexuality studies at Butler University. Dr. V’s community-based scholar-activist cultivates an understanding of sovereignty as a literacy, human right, and key component of survival. This work is mainly done through theorizing ecologies of Black femme intellectual ancestry, cultural rhetoric, and antecedent knowledge creation, and grassroots activism. They work to situate joy, rest, creativity, and pleasure as imperative strategies to liberation.. 

Dr. V has presented at several conferences, including the Cultural Rhetoric Conference, the Conference for College Composition and Communication, Community Writing Conference, and the National Women’s Studies Association Conference. They have been a Coalition for Community Writing writer-in-residence and a recipient of the CCW’s Emerging Scholars Award, a recipient of the Conference on College Composition and Communication’s Scholars for the Dream Travel Award and a NAFSA RISE (Representation, Inclusion, Support, and Empowerment) Fellow, and an Indiana Humanities Wilma Gibbs Fellow. Dr. V was the first Forum Editorial Fellow and has served as a peer reviewer for the journal Emerging Voices in Education. Their work has been featured in Race and Yoga; Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture; Community Literacy Journal and Women’s Studies Quarterly. In addition to scholastic work, they loves cave and shipwreck diving, Beyonce, horror films, professional wrestling, the Chicago Blackhawks, Texas BBQ, spades and visiting as many of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants as possible.

Current Research Projects:

• Undercurrents of Resistance
• Wayfinding as Liberation
• Queerness in Professional Wrestling
• Megan thee Stallion
• Identifying Rituals in the Borderlands

Expertise:

• Cultural Rhetorical Theory
• Decolonization and Resistance
• Community Literacies
• Intersectionality/Assemblage
• Black Feminist Ecologies
  

Fall 2024 Office Hours provided