New faculty & staff

Highlighter & Laureate,
Fall 2003

With the start of the new school year, six new faculty and staff members have joined the College of Liberal Arts & Education:

Steve Coddington was recently hired by the University Admissions Department to serve as a full-time graduate admissions counselor for the College of Liberal Arts & Education. He will be responsible for organizing and managing all graduate programs student applications to the College.

Marcia Davis recently joined the University as the College of Liberal Arts & Education’s budget manager. She oversees the overall budget for the College as well as processes check requests, inderpartmental fund transfers and travel reimbursements. Prior to joining the College, Davis had retired from Detroit Edison after 28 years. There, she most recently served as a technical trainer and developer.

Donald DiPaolo (photo right) has joined the College of Liberal Arts & Education as the new chair of the Education Department. For the past three years, DiPaolo had been the University Field Instructor at the University of Michigan School of Education. He oversaw practicum and student teaching experiences in the Detroit, Ann Arbor, Saline and Wayne-Westland school districts. He also served as a field liaison and fostered collaborative relationships between local high schools, secondary teachers and the university. He was honored with the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor award by U of M and the North American Interfraternity Conference Award of Distinction. DiPaolo is presently completing his requirements for a Ph.D. in Education at the University of Michigan. He earned his M.A. from Eastern Michigan University.

Heather Hill-Vasquez (photo right), assistant professor of English, teaches courses in medieval studies. She earned her Ph.D. in English at University of Washington, where her dissertation research focused on “The Possibilities of Performance: Mediatory Styles in Middle English Religious Drama.” She also earned her Master of Arts in English from the University of Washington. Hill-Vasquez has a wealth of teaching experience, and most recently served as an assistant professor at Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts.

Diane Manica (photo right), assistant professor of Education, has taught as an adjunct faculty member in the UDM College of Liberal Arts & Education since 1999. However, this past fall, she began a tenure-track position in the Education Department. Manica has also served for the past two years as an independent consultant for Multi-Training Systems, LLC and for Signature Training and Resources, Inc. She recently served as head of public programs for the Institute of Science at Cranbrook Educational Community. Manica is presently a doctoral candidate at Wayne State University, where she will earn her Ed.D. in Education/Organizational Development. She received both her master’s and bachelor's degrees in education from the University of Detroit.

Margaret Roytek(photo right) joined the Education Department as an assistant professor, where she teaches instructional technology. She has a long history of teaching in the Warren Consolidated School System, at General Motors and most recently at Wayne State University and Marygrove College. Wayne State honored her with the Outstanding Technology Doctoral Award in recognition of her scholarly achievement. Roytek earned her Ph.D. and Education Specialist from Wayne State University. She received a M.A.T. from Oakland University.