Full Time Faculty and Staff
Dr. Kristi Dionisio
Lecturer
219 Chase Building
Kristi.Dionisio@oneonta.edu
607-436-3595
Dr. Kimberly Fierke
Assistant Professor and Department Chair
200 Chase Building
Kim.Fierke@oneonta.edu
607-436-3563
Kim Fierke, Assistant Professor for Sport Management, is a 23-year veteran of NCAA Division III programs where she has served as a student-athlete, assistant coach, head coach and administrator. She comes to SUNY Oneonta from Hartwick College where she served as Director of Athletics and Chair of Physical Education since 2010. From 2005-2010, she was the Director of Athletics and Physical Education at Salem College in North Carolina. Prior to her appointment at Salem, Kim served as Assistant Athletic Director and Women’s Basketball Head Coach at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. She received her Doctor of Education degree in Leadership from Saint Mary’s University and her Master’s degree in Sports Management from Western Illinois University. She is and has been active on NCAA, NADIIIAA, and NACWAA national committees as well as local boards and community committees.
Dr. Katie Griffes
Assistant Professor
205 Chase Building
Katherine.Griffes@oneonta.edu
607-436-2105
Katie Griffes is an Assistant Professor in Sport and Exercise Sciences. Prior to joining SUNY Oneonta, Katie was the Director of Shaw Wellness Institute at Colgate University, and served as the program director for both Exercise and Sport Studies and Physical Education at Benedictine University. She values strong ties to her community, and has previously served on the Board of Directors for the Defiance YMCA, was a member of the Community Advisory Board for the Special Olympics, and served as a Faculty Advisor for Chicago Public Schools Physical Education Advisory Board. She has been involved with international travel and research, leading several student groups on service trips to Tanzania. Katie has been involved with high school and collegiate tennis programs since 2009 and is currently the Assistant Tennis Coach at Hartwick College, bringing mental skills training to the program. Her research interests include leadership development, particularly related to sport and military leadership, as well as Positive Youth Development and using sport as a vehicle for character and life skill development.
Katie is from Eaton Rapids, MI, and has a PhD in Kinesiology, with a concentration in Sport Psychology, from Michigan State University. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Olivet College.
Matthew Hazzard
Lecturer
135 Physical Science
Matthew.Hazzard@oneonta.edu
607-436-2612
Dr. Lisa Rusch
Assistant Professor
208F Chase Building
lisa.rusch@oneonta.edu
607-436-3536
Lisa Rusch, Assistant Professor for Exercise Science, is a clinical exercise physiologist certified by the American College of Sports Medicine with a diversity of both teaching and practical experiences in the health and fitness field. Prior to teaching, she developed and directed a cardiac rehabilitation program for a cardiologist’s office and a wellness program for a local community hospital. She then taught for 11 years at SUNY Morrisville, developing their first Bachelors of Science degree in Human Performance and Health promotion. As part of this program, she oversaw the opening and directorship of a program-associated wellness center which provided her students practical hands-on experience working with patients and clients. To expand her expertise in health and physical activity to encompass both individual and population level work, she accepted a fully funded position in the University of Connecticut’s doctoral program in Public Health in 2013. She completed her PhD in July 2021. Her dissertation, entitled “Stress in American Workers” included analyses on the effects of physical activity on outcomes of job psychological and physical demands including nonrestorative sleep and burnout. The first paper of her dissertation was published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in April 2021 and was entitled, “Leisure-Time Physical Activity and General Health Mitigate Effects of Job Demands on Nonrestorative Sleep: CDC National Healthy Worksite Project.” In 2019, the year prior to coming to SUNY Oneonta, she taught at Denison University in Granville, Ohio as a Visiting Assistant Professor in their developing Health, Exercise and Sport Studies program. She educates young adults on the universal power of physical activity to improve both physical and mental health. She strives to empower these future fitness leaders to produce positive and lasting transformation in the health and wellness of the American population by exposing them to avenues by which they can alter participation in health behaviors as physical activity on either an individual or a population level.
Lauren Stephenson
Assistant Professor
134 Physical Science
lauren.stephenson@oneonta.edu
607-436-3604
Brandon Barber
Administrative Assistant 1
200 Chase Building
Brandon.Barber@oneonta.edu
607-436-3595
Part Time Faculty
Howard Ashford
Assistant Professor
43 Bacon Hall
howard.ashford@oneonta.edu
607-436-3266
Valerie Bolger
Adjunct Assistant Professor
211B Chase Building
Valerie.Bolger@oneonta.edu
607-436-3595
Valerie was born and raised in Central New York, with a family who believes health is our temple. She is an Alumna of SUNY Oneonta with a Bachelors in Sociology and an Alumna of SUNY Cortland with a Master of Science and Teaching, and is passionate about teaching students how to utilize tools and strategies to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle. In 2019, she was invited to attend an OPEN SUNY conference for being recognized as an Online Teaching Ambassador. In 2020, she was awarded the Simphiwe Hlatshwayo Award for Outstanding Part-Time Instructor.
Iain Byrne
Lecturer
Head Coach, Men's Soccer
308 Alumni Field House
Iain.Byrne@oneonta.edu
607-436-2102
Cameron Conover
Lecturer
Head Coach, Men's Basketball
307 Alumni Field House
Cameron.Conover@oneonta.edu
607-436-3280
Mitchel Couch
Adjunct Lecturer
Associate Coach, Track & Field
209 Alumni Field House
mitchel.couch@oneonta.edu
607-436-2436
Ashley Coyle
Lecturer
Head Coach, Women's Volleyball
307 Alumni Field House
Ashley.Coyle@oneonta.edu
607-436-2145
Mack Culpepper
Adjunct Assistant Professor
200 Chase Building
Mack.Culpepper@oneonta.edu
607-436-3595
Sara Curran-Headley
Adjunct Lecturer
201 Chase Building
Sara.Headley@oneonta.edu
607-436-3590
Alexis Davis
Adjunct Lecturer
200 Chase Building
Alexis.Davis@oneonta.edu
607-436-3595
Nate Getman
Adjunct Lecturer
200 Chase Building
sport-exercisesciences@oneonta.edu
607-436-3595
Nate Getman is an Attorney with the New York State Unified Court System. Prior to law school, he competed on the Syracuse University Varsity Cross-Country and Track & Field Teams, where he was named Team Captain. He continues his connections to the sport by coaching, writing articles for New England Runner magazine and doing television commentary for WKTV’s coverage of the Utica Boilermaker. He’s honored to teach at SUNY Oneonta and explore with students the many ways law and sports intersect.
Chris Gondek
Adjunct Lecturer
200 Chase Building
607-436-3595
Ben Grimm
Adjunct Lecturer
Head Coach, Baseball
102 Chase Building
Ben.Grimm@oneonta.edu
607-436-2661
Heather Knapp
Adjunct Lecturer
200 Chase Building
heather.knapp@oneonta.edu
607-436-3595
Lonnie Mitchel
Adjunct Lecturer
200 Chase Building
Lon.Mitchel@oneonta.edu
607-436-3595
John Mushtare
Adjunct Lecturer
200 Chase Building
John.mushtare@oneonta.edu
607-436-3595
Diana Nicols
Adjunct Assistant Professor
200 Chase Building
diana.nicols@oneonta.edu
607-436-3595
Courtney Place
Adjunct Lecturer
211B Chase Building
Courtney.Place@oneonta.edu
607-436-3595
Duane Ritter
Adjunct Lecturer
Head Coach, Wrestling
106G Chase Building
Duane.Ritter@oneonta.edu
607-436-2100
Ralph Ritton
Adjunct Lecturer
200 Chase Building
ralph.ritton@oneonta.edu
607-436-3595
Chris Schuler
Adjunct Lecturer
Head Coach, Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving
104 Chase Building
Chris.Schuler@oneonta.edu
607-436-2505
Andy Spence
Adjunct Assistant Professor
209 Chase Building
Andrew.Spence@oneonta.edu
607-436-3595
Kelly Vincent
Adjunct Lecturer
Associate Coach, Track & Field
209 Alumni Field House
kelly.vincent@oneonta.edu
607-436-2469
Nicholas Weir
Adjunct Lecturer
200 Chase Building
nicholas.weir@oneonta.edu
607-436-3595