James Filippelli
B.A. – St. Leo College – Theatre/Speech & English Education
M.F.A. – Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Performing Arts Administration
P.D. – Professional Diploma – Fordham University
Educational Administration
Ed.D. – Manhattanville College – Educational Leadership
Dr. James Filippelli retired as an English and Performing Arts teacher after over 35 years at Walter Panas High School in the Lakeland Central School District. The Performing Arts Center at the high school was recently named in his honor, thus renaming the facility as the Dr. James Filippelli Performing Arts Center. Dr. Filippelli began his career at Dominican University in the fall of 1979, initially directing only for The Aquin Players theatre group. In 1980, he developed the entire theatre curriculum that exists today and has grown through the years. He served as an Adjunct Instructor of Communications from 1980 through the fall of 2016. In 2016, he was appointed an Assistant Professor of Fine and Performing Arts. In 2022, he was granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor. He developed the Theatre Minor and co-collaborated with colleagues to develop the Film-Studies Minor. He is presently working with colleagues to develop a dance and music minor. In his 45-year association with Dominican, Dr. Filippelli has had the pleasure to direct many main-stage musical productions involving students from all of the fine arts disciplines – art, music, dance, and theatre.
Kathleen Hickey
B.A. – Queens College, CUNY
M.S. – Queens College, CUNY
Ed.D. – Teachers College, Columbia University
As an educator for 40 years, Professor Hickey has taught a variety of students, ranging from traditional-aged students to returning adults, both undergraduate and graduate students. Her research interests include reading and writing with special emphasis on “remedial” work at the college level. She was instrumental in revamping Dominican University’s Freshmen Writing Sequence to accelerate students with their remediation so they could swiftly proceed with their college careers.
Additional research interests span the gamut from at-risk students to multicultural aspects of literature. She is a member of NCTE—National Council of Teachers of English, the NYCLA—New York College Learning Association, and NADE—the National Association of Developmental Educators. Yearly, she judges The Global Undergraduate Awards, an international competition of undergraduate papers from around the world. Additionally, each fall, she participates in the NCTE Day of Writing, submitting entries for their National Day of Writing.
Her outside interests include traveling, attending plays, reading, listening to all genres of music, and generally being active.
Giovanna R. Czander
B.A. – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy (Philosophy)
M.A. – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy (Philosophy)
M.A. – Fordham University (Theology: Biblical Studies, Old Testament)
M.Phil. – Fordham University
Ph.D. – Fordham University (Theology: Biblical Studies, Old Testament)
Dr. Czander joined the faculty of DC in 2009. She brings to the Religious Studies Department a longstanding interest in philosophy and pedagogy and an active engagement with interreligious and intercultural dialogue. Courses she teaches include: Old Testament, New Testament, Religion and Human Experience, Religion in America, World Religions. Her research centers mainly on the Old Testament, particularly the prophetic and wisdom literatures, pentateuchal studies, and the theological interpretation of biblical law. Recent articles include “Of Donkeys and Witnesses: Interpolation or Interpretation? The Laws in Exod 23:1-9” (chapter in A Land Like Your Own, Wipf and Stock, 2010) and “The ‘Messianic Secret’ as Pedagogical Entryway into the Gospel of Mark” (Limina: A Journal of Theology, Winter 2014, St. Joseph’s College, ME; online). Dr. Czander has taught at Marist College, Iona College, Manhattan College, Fordham University, New York Theological Seminary, the Deaconate Program of the Archdiocese of New York, and overseas. She is an active member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Catholic Biblical Association, and the College Theological Society, and reviews articles submitted for publication for the journal Scriptura Sacra (University of Opole, Poland). She is a member in the Focolare Movement’s Abba School, an international interdisciplinary study center, and has worked as a translator and live interpreter for the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor and the beatification cause of Vietnamese Card. Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (1998-2002).
Peter A. Antich
B.A. – University of Dallas (Philosophy)
M.A. – University of Kentucky (Philosophy)
Ph.D. – University of Kentucky (Philosophy)
Peter Antich joined Dominican University in 2022. He teaches classes throughout Philosophy, from Logic to Medieval Philosophy to Bioethics. His research focuses on Phenomenology and the Philosophy of Perception and is centered around the way meaning emerges within our embodied, perceptual experience. His recent work has investigated the Philosophy of Race, in particular the way in which racialized or racist habits can permeate perception. Prior to joining Dominican, he taught at Trinity College (Hartford) and Marquette University.
Peter recently published a book, Motivation and the Primacy of Perception: Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Knowledge (Ohio University Press, 2021), which took a Phenomenological approach to questions about the relation between knowledge and experience. He is currently working on another book on the Philosophy of Perception.
Outside of teaching and research, Peter enjoys reading, baking, and playing (overly complicated!) board games.