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Undergraduate Catalog 2024-2025




Faculty — R

Rayess, Nassif E.

Nassif E. Rayess

Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering, received his bachelor and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Wayne State University. His areas of interest are noise, vibration and harshness (NVH), acoustics, finite element and boundary element methods and mechanical design. Rayess teaches senior design, mechanical measurements, dynamics and a graduate course in NVH. His current research is focused on theoretical and experimental work in the areas of acoustic holography and coherence techniques for complex acoustic fields. He joined the University in 2001.

rayesna@udmercy.edu

Razmus, Ivy

Razmus, Ivy

Assistant Professor, McAuley School of Nursing.  

Ivy Razmus, RN, Ph.D., CWOCN is an Assistant Professor at the Áù¾ÅÉ«Ìà where she is currently teaching in the BSN Nursing program, at McAuley School of Nursing, College of Health Professions. She has taught Simulation, Pediatrics, Health Assessment, Informatics, Population Health, Community Health, and Medical-Surgical Nursing.

Ivy's previous research has focused on patient safety, prevention of falls in pediatric patients, and pediatric pain management from newborns to critically ill children.  She has experience as an Assistant Director and manager of Pediatric populations both neonatal and pediatric intensive care; as a quality analyst within a health system focusing on nursing-sensitive quality indicators and root cause analysis; and as a CWOCN in the acute, critical and outpatient settings in the adult population.

Ivy received her BSN and MSN from Grand Valley State University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas Medical Center.

She is currently working on neonatal pressure injury prevention practices and interprofessional research within the College of Engineering on pediatric pressure points, wheelchair pressure points, and developing a dressing for vulnerable patient populations. She is currently on the Journal of Wound Ostomy Continence editorial board and serves on their education committee.

razmusij@udmercy.edu 

Reid, Holly

Holly Reid, RDH, BASDH, MPH

Assistant Professor, Division of Dental Hygiene, course director for Concepts in Community Health, Community Oral Health Education I & II (DHY 8220 and DHY 8230), Clinical Dental Hygiene I (CLN 8140) and co-course director for Clinical Dental Hygiene I-IV (CLN 8150, 8260, 8270). Holly serves as the Clinical Hygiene Coordinator for first-year dental hygiene students, as well as the Clinical Hygiene Co-Coordinator for the second-year dental hygiene students. She served in the United States Air Force for 13 years, after which she graduated with her Associates Degree in Dental Hygiene from Gulf Coast State College - Panama City, Florida in 2011, her Bachelor's of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene from Saint Petersburg College - Saint Petersburg, Florida in 2013 and her Master's in Public Health from A.T. Still University, College of Graduate Health Studies in 2021. Holly has been with the Áù¾ÅÉ«Ìà in the Division of Dental Hygiene since 2021.

reidhl@udmercy.edu 

Resnick, Noah S.

Noah S. Resnick

Professor and Associate Deancurrently teaches and practices in the city of Detroit, Michigan. He is a partner at Laavu (Laavustudio.com), A DETROIT-BASED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN PRACTICE, ROOTED IN CITY-BUILDING, which operates under the interrelated concepts of the architectonics of multiple scales; the architect as urban collaborator; and the architect as community builder. Resnick grew up in Miami, Florida, where he attended the Design and Architecture Senior High magnet school (D.A.S.H.). He earned his B.Arch. from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, graduating at the top of his class, for which he was awarded the AIA Henry Adams Medal of Excellence. Resnick completed his Master of Science in Architecture Studies (SMarchS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Architecture + Urbanism stream. This degree culminated in an urban design thesis that focused on the potential of transit oriented development nodes in the city of Detroit. In addition to Detroit, Noah has lived and practiced in Chicago, Boston, and New York, as well as Berlin, Germany where he worked in the studio of Daniel Libeskind.

Resnick’s 15-plus years of research in the area of urban theory and history -initially as a graduate student at MIT, and for eight years as the director of the Graduate Architecture Program at Áù¾ÅÉ«ÌÃ- parallels the central themes at the root of Detroit based projects, and directly informs his professional design practice. This research currently focuses on community centered developments along Detroit’s commercial and transit corridors and the role that establishing a positive identity plays in the success of a neighborhood scale design.

resnicns@udmercy.edu

Richards, Michelle L.

Michelle L. Richards

Associate Professor of Law, received her B.A. in Social Science, Multidisciplinary Studies, with special emphasis on Political Science, Economics and Psychology, from Michigan State University. She received her J.D. from the Áù¾ÅÉ«Ìà School of Law. Richards previously served as Director of Regulatory & Legal Affairs for the Midwest Division of Comcast. She also served as Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Detroit, and as a senior associate at Harvey Kruse in Troy, Michigan. She teaches Applied Legal Theory and Analysis, Civil Procedure, and Torts, and developed a course in Pre-Trial Litigation Skills, in which students explore basic litigation skills in a problem-based context. She joined the University in 2006.

streicmi@udmercy.edu

Rihana-Abdallah, Alexa N.

Alexa N. Rihana-Abdallah

Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, teaches courses on water and wastewater treatment, environmental chemistry, environmental microbiology and bioremediation, as well as other environmental related topics. Her publications and presentations deal with analytical analysis of heavy metals in water, field and laboratory analysis of natural and engineered degradation of hydrocarbons and chlorinated compounds in groundwater and subsurface, and clean energy technology. Rihana is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She joined the University in 2000.

rihanaa@udmercy.edu

Robinson-Dunn, Diane L.

Diane L. Robinson-Dunn

Associate Professor of History. Robinson-Dunn is a scholar and historian who specializes in the British Empire, more specifically the study of transnational, cross-cultural movements that developed in the context of imperial expansion in the Middle East and South Asia during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Robinson-Dunn holds a doctorate from Stony Brook University and studied Arabic at the Arabic Language Institute, American University in Cairo. She is interested especially in Orientalisms and relationships between Muslims and non-Muslims in these contexts. She authored The Harem, Slavery, and British Imperial Culture: Anglo-Muslim Relations in the Late Nineteenth Century in 2006 and her second and current book-length project is titled Universalist religious movements and nationalist debates: Bahá’ís, Muslims, and Jews in Britain’s eastwardly expanding empire during the first world war. She is a lifetime member and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a member and contributor to le Groupe de recherche Achac and is the faculty leader and director of the University’s international experience in India. She joined the University faculty in 2001.

robinsod@udmercy.edu

Roberts-Kirchhoff, Elizabeth S.

Elizabeth S. Roberts-Kirchhoff

Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Assistant Dean for Academics for the College of Engineering & Science, teaches allied health chemistry and biochemistry. Her interests include inclusive teaching strategies in the college classroom and institutional policies and practices that support diverse faculty and students especially in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Roberts-Kirchhoff received a B.S. in Chemistry from Texas A & M University and Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from University of Michigan. She completed postdoctoral research at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan. Roberts-Kirchhoff joined the University in 1997.

robkires@udmercy.edu

Roche, Jason John

Jason John Roche

Associate Professor of Communication Studies, teaches courses in audio production, video production (studio and field), visual communication, electronic music production, fundamentals of speech, mass media and documentary film production. Roche's research includes documentary film production and media content analyses. His most recent documentary, Stealing Home was named best feature documentary at the 2014 Detroit Dreaming Film Festival and won the “Best of the Festival” award at the 2014 Freep Film Fest. The film was a 2014 selection for the 9th annual Baseball Film Festival at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. In 2016 Stealing Home was nominated for a Michigan Emmy Award. In 2017 Roche published a chapter titled "Preserving Its Baseball History" in the book Why Detroit Matters: Decline, Renewal, and Hope in a Divided City (Brian Doucet, ed., 2017. Policy Press. Bristol, UK and Chicago, US). Roche has been experimenting with cell phone video documentaries. In 2021 he completed a feature length documentary about his family's 2020 year. He used his experiences to develop a course in cell phone video production.

rochejj@udmercy.edu

Rombes, Nicholas D.

Nicholas D. Rombes

Professor of English and Co-Director of the University Honors Program. His research and teaching interests include post-digital culture, early American literature and punk as a subculture. He is author of Cinema in the Digital Age (Columbia University Press), A Cultural Dictionary of Punk (Bloomsbury), and the novel, The Absolution of Roberto Acestes Laing (Two Dollar Radio). His book, 10/40/70: Constraint as Liberation in the Era of Digital Film Theory, was translated into Turkish in 2021. He also directed a movie, the lo-fi, sci-fi love story The Removals. He has been invited to speak at several international conferences including Tehran, Iran. Rombes holds a Bachelor of Science from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Arts and a doctorate in English from Penn State. He joined the University in 1995.

rombesnd@udmercy.edu

Rosenburg, Neal S.

Neal S. Rosenburg

Professor, College of Health Professions and McAuley School of Nursing, joined Detroit Mercy in fall of 2017. During his career, he has served as associate dean for Program and Faculty Development in the School of Nursing at Linfield University in Portland, Oregon and as the dean of the School of Nursing at the Nevada State College (NSC). He served as dean for the College of Health Professions and McAuley School of Nursing from 2017-2020. He earned his Ph.D. in Nursing Theory/Research from the University of Missouri, St. Louis.. He also holds an Honor’s B.A. in French Language/Literature from Saint Louis University; B.S. in Nursing and M.S. in Nursing (Nurse Educator) from the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Additionally, Rosenburg is a Post Doctorate Scholar in Nursing Theory from the Watson Caring Science Institute in Boulder, CO. Actively engaged in scholarship, his endeavors span focuses on investigating factors that contribute to safe, effective, and sustainable infant feeding practices among Cameroonian women living with HIV, to exploring end-of-life care and decision-making among the marginalized. Rosenburg is a certified end-of-life doula through the Conscious Dying Institute in Boulder, CO. He is primary author of the following awarded and/or funded grants: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): Nursing Workforce Diversity (NWD): Supporting and Empowering Enfermeras/os for Diversity and Scholarship ($1.5 million); National Institute of Health (NIH): Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Supplemental Grant to funded R01): Men’s Club: Impact of Male Partner Involvement on Initiation and Sustainment of Exclusive Breastfeeding among HIV-Infected Postpartum Women ($517,135.00). Rosenburg has published and presented both nationally and internationally.

rosenbns@udmercy.edu

Rouen, Patricia A.

Patricia A. Rouen

Professor, McAuley School of Nursing, teaches in the Family Nurse Practitioner and the Doctor of Nursing Practice programs. Her areas of interest include health education and management of chronic disease in adults. Rouen earned her B.S.N. from the University of Michigan and her M.S.N. from Oakland University. She holds a post-master’s certificate as a family nurse practitioner from Oakland University and earned the Ph.D. from the University of Michigan School of Nursing. She joined the University in 1999.

rouenpa@udmercy.edu

Rowe, Sarah

Sarah Rowe

Assistant Professor of Psychology, teaches undergraduate and graduate psychology courses and supervises the field experience for first-year school psychology graduate students. Rowe's research examines teachers’ use of and attitudes toward universal screening and progress monitoring data within the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) model. Some of her previous research and teaching awards include the competitive Society for the Study of School Psychology Dissertation Grant and Honorable Mention in the MSU AT&T Fully Online Course: Award of Excellence. She is a nationally certified school psychologist (NCSP). Prior to joining Áù¾ÅÉ«Ìà in 2021, Rowe worked as a school psychologist and MTSS coordinator in the metro-Detroit area for nearly a decade.

rowess@udmercy.edu

Ruel, Jennifer L.

Jennifer L. Ruel

Professor, McAuley School of Nursing, holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice from Oakland University of Rochester MI, a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Phoenix and a Post Master's Certificate - Family Nurse Practitioner from Áù¾ÅÉ«ÌÃ. She holds ANCC board certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner and Emergency Nurse Practitioner. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship and became certified in anti-aging, regenerative and functional medicine. She joined the University in 2008.

Ruel’s clinical experience includes emergency, integrative urgent care, family practice, labor & delivery, and critical care nursing. As a family nurse practitioner, she has practiced mainly in the emergency department along with primary care family practice. Ruel’s practice and research interests include APRN role/advocacy, emergency, advanced procedures & assessment, informatics, women’s health, alternative modalities to health, nutrition, health promotion, wellness and anti-aging management.
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rueljl@udmercy.edu