Centenary Faculty

I earned a M.S. in Biological Sciences and a Ph.D. at the University of Pavia, Italy, specializing in Physical Anthropology and Ancient DNA research and contributed to the establishment of the McMaster Ancient and Forensic DNA Centre. Later, I pursued my postdoctoral research at the University of Delaware and NYU School of Medicine, focusing on cancer metastasis and endometrial carcinoma. After a career break to raise my family, I started teaching, becoming an adjunct professor and biology tutor and joined Centenary University in Fall 2023.

Dr. Keith Morgen is a tenured Professor of Counseling and Director of the Graduate Counseling Programs at Centenary University where he is a prior recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award. Dr. Morgen is the author of over 40 scholarly articles and book chapters in the areas of trauma, older adult mental health care, prison-based mental health/addiction issues, and co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders. In addition to authoring the first and second editions of Substance Use Disorders and Addictions (Sage), Dr. Morgen is also the co-author of the book Aging Behind Prison Walls: Studies in Trauma and Resilience (Columbia University Press) which was the 2022 recipient of the Society for Social Work and Research Book Award. Dr. Morgen is the current President of the New Jersey Addiction Professionals Association (NAADAC affiliate), a member of the NAADAC older adult standards of care committee, and a former President of the International Association of Addictions and Offender Counselors (a division of the American Counseling Association). Dr. Morgen is a Licensed Professional Counselor (New Jersey), Approved Clinical Supervisor, and operates a counseling practice with clients diagnosed with co-occurring substance use/addiction and mental health disorders. Dr. Morgen received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology (Lehigh University) and was a Pre-Doctoral and Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Behavioral Science Training in Drug Abuse Research Program that was housed at the former National Development and Research Institutes (and now housed at New York University).

School counselor since 2015, teaching at centenary since 2021, grew up in Warren County

Owner/Chiropractor at Functional Chiropractic

Dr. Frites obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. His doctoral research focused on photoelectrochemical water splitting to generate hydrogen using semiconductor electrodes. He later accepted a postdoctoral scholar position at the California Institute of Technology, where he worked on the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to value-added products. Dr. Frites has extensive experience teaching Chemistry and laboratory techniques. He is committed to students' success at Centenary University.

Research interests include child stress, neurodevelopment, and intervention research; Licensed Clinical Social Worker for 20+ years and has provided evidence-based treatment to children, families, and adults in a variety of settings.

Dr. Cha began her career as a scientist specializing in eye research, where she quickly established strong affinity to myopia research. Through active participation in symposiums and conferences, Dr.Cha showcased her research findings and received awards and prestigious fellowing, including the Wellcome Trust Post Doctoral fellowship to Imperial College, London,UK. Driven by a passion for education, Dr. Cha transitioned into teaching, sharing their expertise with students at various universities and high schools. Currently, Dr. Cha is faculty member at Centenary University, where she teaches Biology and Animal behavior. Dr. Cha takes great pleasure in mentoring students, particularly in supervising research projects. Since 2022, several of her students have presented their research findings annually at the ICUNJ Undergraduate Research Symposium, reflecting Dr. Cha's commitment to fostering academic excellence and a love for scientific inquiry among their students.

Lisa is currently a business professor and Dean, Academic Innovation and Instructional Design at Centenary University. In prior positions as a Human Resources Information Systems professional, she gained significant experience in project management, systems implementation, and strategic planning. She worked in the retail, financial services, software, utilities, and pharmaceutical industries, as well as a number of other types of organizations, including the United Nations. She ran her own consulting firm and co-founded and managed an online business with a colleague. She has published several articles and contributed to two books on HR systems. Lisa has a Doctorate in organizational leadership, an M.B.A. in personnel administration, a B.S. in business administration, and an A.A. in fashion merchandising, as well as graduate certificates in instructional technology and in neuroscience and online learning and instruction, plus a certificate in Happiness Studies. She is a member of several professional associations and has served as volunteer board member of Dress for Success and the Friends of the Library. 

Dr. Carter is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice & Public Administration, Director of the Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership program, Director of the Master of Arts in Leadership and Public Administration program, and Director of the Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) program, who retired after 25 years of law enforcement service. He began his career as a police dispatcher with the Rutgers University Police Department and was later promoted to police officer, serving on the Emergency Response Team. He later joined the Franklin Township Police Department, Somerset County, New Jersey and served in the Patrol Division, Administrative Division, and K-9 Unit as a certified K-9 handler. As a sergeant he served as a patrol squad supervisor and was later assigned as the communications supervisor. He managed the Communications Center, including the call-taking/dispatching staff, 9-1-1 system, police, fire, and EMS radio systems. As a lieutenant, he served as computer system administrator, patrol shift commander, Administrative Division commander, and the Professional Services Division commander, where he was responsible for the daily operations of the Bureaus of Administrative Resources, Technology & Communications, Public Affairs, Records & Information, K-9 Unit, Neighborhood Police Teams, and the Office of Emergency Management. He oversaw the deployment of a multi-million-dollar digital trunked radio system, 9-1-1 Communications Center upgrade, and a new CAD/RMS system.

During the final 3-years of his law enforcement career, Dr. Carter was assigned to the Somerset County Police Academy, a division of the Raritan Valley Regional Public Safety Institute, where he served as the continuing education administrator. He was responsible for managing the Institute’s continuing educating programs, including police instructor certification programs. He traveled across the United States, Canada, and Europe providing crisis communications training to 9-1-1 call-takers for PowerPhone, Inc., where he also conducted online practicums for 9-1-1 call-takers seeking recertification in law enforcement dispatch protocols. He continues to instruct at the police academy as well.

Dr. Carter served for 10 years as an elected fire commissioner, is a life-member of a volunteer fire company, and a former president and line officer of a volunteer first aid squad. He holds several emergency services certifications. He is a member of the New Jersey Association of Criminal Justice Educators and several other professional organizations. He served on college-level criminal justice and service-learning advisory boards. Drawing on practical experience, he developed a computer-based recertification training program in Advanced Law Enforcement Dispatch and co-developed a 15-credit college-level certificate program relating to emergency management and preparedness studies. He assisted with revising Centenary’s PLA program and now serves as program director. He previously served as Chair of the Department of Social Sciences and the Department of Criminal Justice, Law & Government.

Dr. Barnett joined the Centenary faculty in 1997, following ten years of teaching and administration of international educational exchange programs in Fukuoka, Japan, New York, and London. Interdisciplinary studies at the undergraduate and graduate level highlight her interests in classical and multicultural literature, intercultural experiences, and education; current research interests include representation of nature and of disability in children’s literature. She teaches composition and rhetoric, children’s literature, and humanities and partners with Abilities of Northwest Jersey in interactive service-learning projects. Dr. Barnett is also a founder and trustee of Ridge and Valley Charter School, an innovative K-8 public school in Blairstown, NJ, with a mission of ecological literacy and sustainability.

Dr. Barnett joined the Centenary faculty in 1997, following ten years of teaching and administration of international educational exchange programs in Fukuoka, Japan, New York, and London. Interdisciplinary studies at the undergraduate and graduate level highlight her interests in classical and multicultural literature, intercultural experiences, and education; current research interests include representation of nature and of disability in children’s literature. She teaches composition and rhetoric, children’s literature, and humanities and partners with Abilities of Northwest Jersey in interactive service-learning projects. Dr. Barnett is also a founder and trustee of Ridge and Valley Charter School, an innovative K-8 public school in Blairstown, NJ, with a mission of ecological literacy and sustainability.

I have worked full-time for Centenary University since Fall 2006.  I am currently an Associate Professor of Mathematics in the School of Business, Media & Writing, where I teach a variety of courses in Statistics and Data Analytics and provide academic statistical consulting services.  My primary areas of expertise and interest are statistical consulting and statistics education.  I was a co-developer of the Data Analytics Business concentration, minor and certificate program and, I enjoy creating engaging projects and materials for the Data Analytics courses that I teach.  Over the past 11 years, I mentored 21 undergraduate students as they conducted the data analysis for their undergraduate research.  These students went on to present their work at a wide range of international, national, regional and local conferences.  I also serve as a member of the Centenary University Stats Clinic, providing statistical consulting for doctoral candidates in the Educational Leadership program who are conducting their dissertation research.     My education consists of earned degrees in the fields of engineering and statistics.  I hold a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University and a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, which was awarded jointly by Rutgers University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.  While earning this degree, I was a member of an inter-disciplinary team that designed and built a prototype of a fully implantable left-ventricular assist device (partial artificial heart), which was then tested for proof of concept.   Later in my career, I earned a M.S. in Biostatistics from the Rutgers University School of Public Health and received Graduate Statistician accreditation from the American Statistical Association. In addition to my experience in academia, I worked for the Army Armament Research, Development & Engineering Center at Picatinny Arsenal as a Mechanical Engineer for the Flame & Pyro section.

I worked in the electric power industry for more than a decade, gaining experience in data analytics, database administration, and data science. I Have conducted projects for research institutes, utility companies, and power plants. I teach R programming at the Workforce Development at County College of Morris. 

Mr. Bove is a Project Manager at large engineering firm. Mr. Bove has over ten years of experience in environemental site investigation, remediation, planning, and noise investigations. 

Professor Yacullo attended Penn State University and then Villanova University School of Law. Working as a defense litigator at McCarter and English, the oldest and largest law firm in New Jersey, he handed cases involving a nationwide class action, ERISA, construction liens, healthcare, consumer protection, copyright, and torts.  At Centenary he served as the Director of Faculty Services and currently is an Associate Professor of Business teaching courses in law and ethics.  In addition he has facilitated corporate trainings on topics such as negotiation, emotional intelligence, and business communications and presentations.  ,  

Dr. Mastrangelo joined the Centenary faculty in 2014, after 15 years of teaching at St. Elizabeth University.  Dr. Mastrangelo currently serves as the Director of Composition and is one of the campus faculty teaching in the Writing Major.  She regularly teaches courses in First Year Writing, Professional Writing, Writing for a Digital World, and Rhetorical Theory.   She presents regularly at national and international conferences.  

During my undergraduate career at Lafayette College, I majored in Anthropology/Sociology and French. I also managed to complete a minor in Mandarin Chinese. During my time at Lafayette, I had the opportunity to work on a number of anthropological/sociological inquiries, including, but not limited to: racial formations of Muslims in 21st century Denmark; social memories of Danish Jews during World War II; media constructions of women in American crime dramas; ethnographic research of Easton, Pennsylvania’s long-lost “Syrian Town”; sociolinguistic identities of Senegalese diaspora members in the United States.      At the University of Chicago, I completed the Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS), where I did more specialized work on West African ethnographies (especially those based in the People’s Republic of China), focusing on linguistic analyses, migration studies, and economic/human development investigations. In my Master’s thesis, I explored the effects of Westernized neoliberalism on racial constructions of African migrant traders and Chinese internal migrants living in various Chinese cities (e.g. Guangzhou; Hong Kong; Shanghai; Yiwu).     Currently, I am a middle school French teacher in Readington Township, NJ, adjunct professor of Sociology at Centenary University, as well as a content contributor for UITAC Publishing. In my free time, I love to read, exercise (especially yoga!), cook, travel, and play the guitar/sing.

Dr. Occhipinti is sports rehab practitioner, strength and conditioning specialist, adjunct professor, and writer. He studied at Rutgers University where he earned a Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science and later attended California University of Pennsylvania, now PennWest California, where he earned a Masters of Science in Exercise Science and Health Promotion.  After working for several years in the fitness industry working as a private and team strength and conditioning coach, Dr. Occhipinti earned his Doctorate of Chiropractic (DC) degree from the University of Bridgeport. There he graduated Summa Cum Laude and was class Valedictorian. Upon graduation he was awarded the Richard E. Vincent Student Leadership award and Student Research Award. He has been featured as an expert in health and fitness in several online publications and media outlets such as the Today Show, CNN, US News & World Report, and LIVESTRONG. Dr. Occhipinti enjoys pursuing a highly active life himself, frequently taking hiking trips with his wife, mountain biking, lifting weights, and playing the guitar.

Boris Gavrilovic is a filmmaker and educator whose award winning films have been shown nationally and internationally in theatrical, festival, and art venues.   His Documentary “My Life as an Underdog” about a performance artist who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome was featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live, G4 network’s “Attack of the Show”, Sirius satellite radio, NPR, Screem Magazine, Weird New Jersey, and many other media outlets. This film was nominated for the best feature documentary at the Atlanta Film Festival and won Best Feature Film as well as the audience award at Microcinefest in Baltimore MD.   Boris’ short experimental films won awards at the Chicago International Film Festival, New York Expo of Short Film and Video and Humboldt International Film Festival. In addition, his work was screened at the Anthology Film Archives, Andy Warhol Museum and numerous other film festivals in the United States and Europe.   His photography work was exhibited in a number of galleries in the US as well as Graz, Austria and Shanghai, China.  Boris recently directed an independent horror film The Haunting of Jessie Ross and teaches film production and theory at Centenary University in Hackettstown NJ.  He holds a BA in Fine Arts and a MA in Cinematography from Montclair State University and is a recipient of the Geraldine R. Doge Fellowship  (Visual Arts/Educator initiative.)

Dr. Poisseroux and a team of students were awarded a patent for a fatigue detection wristband. This is the first patent received by Centenary University.

I have worked, done research and practiced in the field over 30 years. Always learning, always eveloving