Scholarship & Excellence

Dr. Linda Kuechler, a long-time professor of Accounting, who passed away unexpectedly in January, has been posthumously granted the distinction of professor emeritus by the Daemen College Board of Trustees. President Gary Olson recommended Dr. Kuechler be granted emeritus status based on her many years of exemplary service, leadership, and excellence in the classroom.

Kuechler’s tenure at Daemen spanned more than 34 years, during which she was active in program development, served as department and divisional chair, as well as on a number of college committees. She received the President’s Medal, Outstanding Teaching Award, Outstanding Faculty Award, and the Community Service Award and is remembered as a tireless mentor to Daemen students. She also served on a number of professional boards, often lending her accounting expertise to serve as Treasurer.

The first in her family to attend college, Kuechler earned a B.A. in English from Canisius College. She later went on to earn an M.B.A. in accounting from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in international trade and business from the University at Buffalo. She was a Certified Public Accountant, as well as a Certified Management Accountant. Early in her career, Kuechler worked as a public accountant for the prestigious CPA firm of Haskins & Sells, one of the international ‘Big 8’ accounting firms.

In memory of Linda, a Daemen scholarship she established in her father’s name has been renamed the Linda Eckert Kuechler and Herbert B. Eckert Memorial Scholarship.

Dr. Denise G. Mills retired from Daemen College in 2019, ending a notable teaching career of 31 years. She earned a B.A. in Modern Languages from LeMoyne College in Syracuse and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Spanish from the University at Buffalo.

Among her accomplishments, Dr. Mills revamped the modern language curriculum, incorporating study abroad as a component of the major’s requirements. Daemen’s involvement in a trinational U.S. Department of Education FIPSE grant with Canadian and Mexican universities in 2003 led to a college-wide commitment to enhance global education. Mills furthered global education at Daemen by facilitating connections with faculty, students, international organizations, and universities abroad. She helped establish the Global Programs Office in 2007, which has since greatly expanded Daemen’s international footprint. Mills’ family has established the Gianadda Study Abroad Scholarship.

Dr. Mills’ scholarly and research interests are grounded in Spanish drama, yet the needs of the department led her to two National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institutes, one on Mesoamerican Archeology and Art and another on Contemporary Latin American Fiction. These institutes resulted in several national presentations and the creation of three new courses at Daemen.

Dr. Mills dedicated her career to curricular excellence and was a strong contributor to Daemen’s Learning Community courses, often collaborating with other faculty members. Along with History Professor Bill Predmore, Dr. Mills taught a course on the Colombian exchange. She created a course linked with the Freshman Seminar called The American Identity, which she taught at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine as well. More recently she taught Women and Girls in Literature & Film with Dr. Penny Messinger, Director of the Women’s Studies Program. In addition, Mills contributed to the college-wide creation of +PLUS Pathways and 4+1=3 degree programs.

During her tenure, Mills served as Chair for the Humanities division and on the Faculty Senate and Educational Policy Committee. Dr. Mills was recognized for her contributions to Daemen with the Outstanding Faculty Award in 2002.

Dr. Peterson completed her service as Arts and Sciences Divisional Dean in May 2019, having served for two consecutive three-year terms. Peterson was recognized by Dr. Michael Brogan, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, for her deep commitment to the liberal arts as the foundation of a Daemen education. As an advocate for faculty and students, Dr. Peterson was devoted to the spirit of higher education and pedagogical rigor at Daemen. As Dean, she was actively involved in Title III initiatives, program and curricular development, Global Studies activities and overall assessment of the Arts & Sciences Division. She facilitated faculty development and research opportunities, while reinforcing the importance of the Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and STEM.

Dr. Peterson is a graduate of Syracuse University, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English. She was awarded her Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Delaware in 1990 and joined Daemen the same year. Dr. Peterson served for several years as Chair of the English Department and was promoted to full professor in 2016. In addition to participation in freshman learning communities, her teaching reflects interests in Irish literature, film, gender studies, creative writing, detective fiction, and trauma studies. She is co-editor of a scholarly collection entitled Unmanning Modernism: Gendered Re-Readings and has published several articles and book chapters on film, women’s suffrage literature, popular culture, and Irish literature. She regularly presents at national and international conferences.

Dr. Matthew S. Ward was elected to serve as the Arts and Sciences Divisional Dean for a three-year term beginning June 1, 2019. Dr. Ward is an Associate Professor at Daemen College and served as the Director of the Daemen College Honors Program. Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Hiram College (with Honors), Dr. Ward earned his Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh. After completing his Ph.D., studying ruthenium complexes as potential treatments for cancer or toxic shock, Dr. Ward accepted a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Postdoctoral Fellowship at Furman University in South Carolina to investigate DNA free radicals using Matrix Isolation Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy at a primarily undergraduate institution. In 2003, Dr. Ward joined the faculty at Daemen College. Currently, Dr. Ward collaborates with researchers at Sam Houston State University and The Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science Facility studying human decomposition to determine new time of death estimates in criminal investigations.

As a graduate of a small liberal arts college with a strong background in undergraduate research, Dr. Ward provides Daemen students the foundation to pursue goals beyond their initial expectations. In the classroom, Dr. Ward infuses inquiry-based learning and the joy of discovery in an inverted or flipped setting to provide feedback and direction with problem-solving strategies. Dr. Ward’s student researchers present their results at regional and national meetings of the American Chemical Society and have been accepted to graduate school with full tuition waivers and stipend support.

Dr. Lisa Parshall, Professor of Political Science, was named Outstanding Faculty Member at President Olson’s State of the College Address in April 2019. Parshall, who joined Daemen in 2000, has teaching expertise in American Politics, Public Policy, Public Law and Judicial Behavior, and State and Local Politics. She is a 2018–2019 Richard P. Nathan Public Policy Fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government and has served as Section Chair of State and Local Politics for the New York State Political Science Association (NYSPSA) as well as a Key Votes (New York State) Advisor for Vote Smart. Dr. Parshall is the First Vice President and 2019 Program Chair for the Northeastern Political Science Association (NPSA). She has served on multiple college-wide committees, including the Faculty Senate to which she was elected Vice President for the 2019–2020 academic year. She has served as the director of pre-law studies since 2000.

Dr. Parshall is a graduate of the University at Buffalo (Ph.D. and M.A.) and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (B.S.).