Graduating seniors aren’t the only ones who left Marywood at the end of the semester.

The Wood Word has confirmed that at least 10 Marywood professors and instructors will not be returning for the 2017-2018 academic year.

The 10 professors include Associate Professor of Social Science Dr. Brian Monahan; Assistant Professor of Social Science Dr. Samantha Christiansen; Associate Professor of Mathematics/Computer Science Dr. Thomas Kent; Associate Professor of Psychology/Counseling Dr. Francis DeMatteo; Assistant Professor in the School of Business and Global Innovation James Biagi; Clinical Instructor in the Physician Assistant program David Isgan; and Instructor of Religious Studies Tamara Amosson.

Additionally, Dr. Philip Jenkins, chair of the philosophy department, confirmed Associate Professor of Philosophy Dr. John DePoe has left at the end of the spring semester. Chair of the business department Dr. Art Comstock confirmed that Clinical Assistant Professor in the business department Dr. Murray Pyle will also not be returning for the fall semester.

According to Chair of the foreign language department Dr. Ann Cerminaro-Costanzi, Professor of Foreign Language Dr. Jose Reyes retired at the end of the semester. Comstock also confirmed that Dr. Charles Lipinski, who was a half-time pro-rata faculty member in the business department, retired at the end of the fall 2016 semester.

Some professors said they chose to leave Marywood for personal reasons.

Instructor in the Physician Assistant program David Isgan said he is leaving Marywood to move closer to his family.

“It’s sort of bittersweet. I would love to stay. I want to stay,” said Isgan. “In the perfect world, it would be to pick Marywood up and move [it] with me.”

Isgan said he was one of the faculty representatives on the Strategic Resource Allocation (SRA) support task force, a process the university is completing to find ways to save the university money. According to Isgan, he put a lot of time into working on “how to make Marywood better.”

Isgan will be going to work full-time in clinical practice.

“I’m always going to be supportive of Marywood,” said Isgan. “It’s always going to have a special place in my heart.”

Instructor of Religious Studies Tamara Amosson is moving to Texas because her husband’s job was relocated.

Amosson said she is sad to be leaving and only has positive things to say about her time at Marywood.

“The thing I love the most about Marywood is the community of people,” said Amosson.

Similar to Isgan and Amosson, Assistant Professor in the School of Business and Global Innovation James Biagi is also moving to be closer to his family and friends.

Biagi had an opportunity to receive a promotion and a pay raise at a job closer to where he currently lives, which is in the Hudson Valley area.

“I really loved my time here. It’s a wonderful institution,” said Biagi.

Associate Professor of Mathematics/Computer Science Dr. Thomas Kent and Associate Professor of Psychology/Counseling Dr. Francis DeMatteo both said Marywood’s financial challenges are part of the reason they decided to leave at the end of the spring semester.

Kent said he is leaving Marywood because he hasn’t had a pay raise “in quite a while.”
He added that he recently had a new daughter and with his cost of living increasing, and no pay raise, remaining at Marywood is not feasible for his family.

When reflecting on his time at Marywood, Kent said, “For the most part, it’s been really good. I’ve really enjoyed it here. Things got tight the past few years, and I’m very excited about our new president.”

Kent will be returning to school and enrolling in a master’s program in applied statistics at Penn State University.

DeMatteo said he is leaving Marywood because he still has many years ahead in his career and needs a place “to grow.”

He said when he first came to Marywood, he thought he would be able to grow the psychology and counseling program with his efforts, but said “[with] the actions and the direction that the university has taken, I don’t see it growing in any way.”

According to DeMatteo, his main reason for leaving is faculty working conditions, which he described as having “deteriorated tremendously.”

He said he thinks the morale of the faculty is very low and that it has impacted students. DeMatteo lost his graduate assistant this year, which he said is one example of how things are being taken away from students.

“[Students are] paying a tremendous amount [for their education], and I can’t watch that happen. I can’t be a part of that,” said DeMatteo.

Additionally, DeMatteo cites retirement cuts and lack of pay raises as other factors that influenced his decision to leave.

DeMatteo has accepted a position at Humboldt State University in northern California as a psychology/counseling professor.

Associate Professor of Social Science Dr. Brian Monahan and Assistant Professor of Social Science Dr. Samantha Christiansen declined to comment beyond confirming their departures.

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Twitter: @RLookerTWW