Meet Our Faculty & Staff
Daniel Meyers is director of the Center for Faith and Vocation. 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 Center for Faith and Vocation 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 Center for Faith and Vocation 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 CFV 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. In 2017 he was appointed Center for Faith and Vocation 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,” occasionally teaches the introductory course in world religions, and teaches the following upper-division courses: God, Theologies of Liberation, Evil, Religious Pluralism, and Ecotheology. In 2015-2016 he directed the Butler Seminar on Religion and World Civilization on the topic “Religion, Race, and Culture” and in 2018-2019 he directed the newly renamed Butler Seminar on Religion and Global Affairs on the topic “Sacred Spaces: Intersections of Religion and Ecology.” In 2022-2023 he directed the Butler Seminar on Religion and Global Affairs on the topic of “Faith and Activism.” Hege is also the Center for Faith and Vocation Scholar in Residence, where he works with a cohort of student CFV 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 and current board president 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.
Dr. Terri Jett is originallyfrom Richmond, California and has a B.A. in Ethnic Studies, an M.P.A. fromCSU-Hayward and a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Public Administration from AuburnUniversity. She is a Professor of Political Science, an affiliate facultymember of the Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program, the Peace andConflict Studies Program and the Faculty Director for the Butler University Hubfor Black Affairs and Community Engagement.
Dr. Jett is the twice- Emmy nominated moderator of WFYI Simple Civics http://www.wfyi.org/programs/simple-civics and serves on a number of boards includingIndiana Humanities and the Federation of State Humanities Councils.
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.
Office of Institutional Equity
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.
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, 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 on the Korean Peninsula, US-China relations, global education, and the well-being of faculty in teaching-focused institutions. 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 Mochi (aka Momo). 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 and is a member of the Indiana Association of Chinese Americans and the National Asian and Pacific American Women’s Forum.
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
Susan R. Adams, Ph.D. is Associate 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@blvmarketing.com
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.
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.