Faculty — F
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Faied, Mariam
Mariam Faied
Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Faied joined Detroit Mercy in 2016 and her research interests lie in the broad area of design, analysis, and optimization of planning and control algorithm for robotics. She was a visiting research professor at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. During her doctoral studies, her research was at the University of Michigan Aerospace, Robotics and Control (ARC) laboratory on collaborative control of multiple unmanned vehicles, adversarial strategies, and advanced mission planning. In 2010, she worked as a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Michigan. She supervised undergraduate, master, and Ph.D. students and served as a committee member for doctoral students. She worked as interim director for ARC laboratory for six months. Faied was appointed as an assistant professor in 2012 at Fayoum University-Egypt. She developed Mechatronics Engineering department curriculum, which was audited by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Universities and approved. In 2013, she was selected to serve as Mechatronics program chair at Fayoum University. Faied received outstanding program coordinator honor and best paper in session award at AIAA GNC conference.
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Finkenbine, Barbara T.
Barbara T. Finkenbine
MSN, University of Detroit Mercy
BSN, Bowling Green State University
AAS, Cuyahoga Community CollegeBarbara Finkenbine has worked as an RN for more than 40 years and has taught nursing part-time for more than 20 years. She has been an adjunct at Detroit Mercy since 2001, and full-time faculty since fall 2021. Barbara loves to spend time in her yard and with her family, especially her grandsons. According to Barbara Finkenbine, "One of the best things about Detroit Mercy is that we are a big family and welcome all people, regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation."
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Finkenbine, Roy E.
Roy E. Finkenbine
Professor of History, Department of History Co-Chair and Director of the Black Abolitionist Archive, teaches courses in African American history, modern Africa, slave resistance, the Civil War era and the Underground Railroad. Finkenbine received a doctorate in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University in 1982. While on the editorial staff of the Black Abolitionist Papers Project at Florida State University in the 1980s and 1990s, he coedited the five-volume Black Abolitionist Papers, 1830-1865 (1985-1992) and Witness for Freedom: African American Voices on Race, Slavery, and Emancipation (1993). He authored Sources of the African-American Past (1st ed., 1997; 2nd ed., 2004), as well as more than a dozen articles and book chapters related to the Black abolitionists and the Underground Railroad. He has consulted on museum exhibits, documentary films and television programs on aspects of African American history. His work has been mentioned in Time, Atlantic, the Washington Post and USA Today, as well as on NPR. In 2019, he received the University's Agere ex Missione award. Finkenbine joined the Detroit Mercy faculty in 1996.
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Finkel, Jonathan S.
Jonathan S. Finkel
Associate Professor of Biology, teaches courses in the areas of biology, molecular biology, and microbiology. His research interest focuses on the fact that elevated bloodstream infections are associated with implanted medical devices – such as catheters, artificial joints, and artificial heart valves. Specifically, he seeks to elucidate the adherence and biofilm formation mechanisms of the fungal pathogen Candida albicans, the major fungal pathogen of humans. He received his B.A. from Saint Olaf College in Chemistry and Norwegian, a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and joined the Detroit Mercy faculty in 2016. As a graduate student, he was awarded a National Institute of Health (NIH) Kirschstein National Research Service Award, and as a post-doctoral fellow, he was awarded an NIH Kirschstein National Research Service Award F32 and a National Science Foundation First IV teaching fellowship. As a professor at Carnegie Mellon University Qatar, he was awarded a National Priority Research Program grant from the Qatar National Research Fund.
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Flores, Juan Carlos
Juan Carlos Flores
Professor of Philosophy, teaches introduction to philosophy, ethics and logic, advanced courses in ancient and medieval philosophy, philosophical theology, metaphysics and philosophy of human nature. He grew up in El Salvador and pursued his university studies in the United States and Belgium. Flores has taught in a variety of disciplines, including languages, at St. John's College and at Providence College, where he was an associate professor prior to coming to University of Detroit Mercy. He has published books and articles and has edited Latin texts in the area of medieval philosophy. His research in this field has concentrated on metaphysical themes and on the relation between faith and reason in Scholasticism, especially in Henry of Ghent, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure and Duns Scotus. Flores also studies medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophers and is very interested in ancient philosophy and its timeless legacy. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (with honors) from Connecticut College, a Master of Arts (with distinction) from Boston College, as well as a licentiate and doctorate from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. He joined the University of Detroit Mercy faculty in the fall of 2010.
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Fockler, Thomas V.
Thomas V. Fockler
Associate Professor, College of Health Professions. Prior to joining Detroit Mercy in 2011, Fockler served as the administrator for public health administrative services, Oakland County Department of Health and Human Services/Health Division for nearly 12 years. His position at the Oakland County Health Division entailed responsibility for direct oversight of the business and infrastructure functions of the Health Division, including program evaluation, finance, budgeting, personnel, payroll, purchasing, facilities, and information technology. Dr. Fockler also had programmatic responsibility for the Dental, Emergency Preparedness, Jail Inmate Clinic, X-Ray, and Laboratory programs at the Health Division. Dr. Fockler’s research interests include identification and study of the determinants of programmatic, institutional, and system performance within public and private health care settings. These determinants include finance, manager preparation, leadership styles, and the effects of a public or private enterprise environment.
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Foerder, Preston
Preston Foerder
Assistant Professor of Psychology, is a comparative psychologist studying primarily animal behavior and cognition. He has studied animals including otters, wolves, crows, octopuses, penguins, dolphins, cats, and, most recently, therapy dogs. In his doctoral research, Foerder found the first evidence for insightful problem-solving through tool-use in elephants. Most of his research has been conducted at zoos, aquariums and other animal facilities. Previously, he completed his master’s in Animal Behavior and Conservation in the psychology program at Hunter College of the City University of New York. Prior to his academic career, Foerder toured internationally as an award-winning professional puppeteer. He joined the University in 2022.
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Freeman-Hildreth, Yolonda
Yolonda Freeman-Hildreth
Assistant Professor, Physician Assistant Program, teaches PAS 5100, PAS 5200, PAS 5300 Patient Evaluation Practicum I, II, III. Freeman has a background in Internal Medicine and is an alumnus of Detroit Mercy’s Physician Assistant Program and earned her Ph.D. from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. She has conducted research on Type 2 Diabetes Adherence. Freeman’s interests include mentoring others, reading, and research. She has been a faculty member at Detroit Mercy since 2017.
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Friedrich, Klaus
Klaus Friedrich
Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, teaches organic and medicinal chemistry. His research focuses on biological molecules, specifically on drug scaffolds related to neuroprotection, cancer chemotherapy, and the decorporation of radionuclides. Friedrich received a B.S. degree in Chemistry from the Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany, an M.S. in Chemistry and a Dr. rer. nat. in Organic Chemistry from the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität in Bonn, Germany. After post-doctoral training at Duke University in Durham, NC, he joined BASF Group. After 19 years in industry, Friedrich joined University of Detroit Mercy in 2011.
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Frost, Kelli
Kelli Frost
Assistant Professor, Physician Assistant Program, began her career as a registered dietitian in 2004 and worked in an oncology setting providing nutrition education and resources to patients undergoing active cancer treatments. She then earned her Physician Assistant degree in 2009 from University of Detroit Mercy. After graduation, she worked in Hematology and Oncology in the inpatient setting. During that time, she also provided nutrition lectures and supervised clinical site visits for students in the PA Program at Detroit Mercy. In the Spring of 2018, Frost returned to Detroit Mercy as a didactic faculty member. She currently teaches the physical exam practicum course. Frost also continues to work clinically in inpatient Hematology and Oncology. Her professional interests include educational technology, interprofessional education, and lung cancer.
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Fuchs, Wladyslaw
Wladyslaw Fuchs
Professor of Architecture, teaches architectural design, visual communications and Computer Aided Design. His main interests include integrating these subjects across the curriculum of architectural education. Fuchs recently published an article entitled, "Progressive Tradition, focusing on the relevance of the drawing experience in CAD practice." A member of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture, his research includes the design and implementation of the V.C.net, an Internet based educational tool for the architectural community. Fuchs is the director of the School of Architecture’s international programs in Warsaw, Poland and in Volterra, Italy. He earned M.Arch. and Ph.D. degrees from the Warsaw Technical University in Poland. Fuchs joined the University in 1990.