Faculty — R
-
Ray, E. Todd
E. Todd Ray
Assistant Professor, College of Health Professions. E. Todd Ray teaches across disciplines in the College of Health Professions. His interests focus on health care policy from local, national and international perspectives. Dr. Ray has practiced in Germany, England and the U.S. Additional research interests include cultural impacts on health outcomes. Recent activities have focused on improving mental health and other health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Ray holds graduate degrees in Nursing, Business and Public Health from the University of Michigan.
-
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.
-
Razmus, Ivy
Razmus, Ivy
Assistant Professor, McAuley School of Nursing, teaches primarily pediatric, community, health assessment, nursing informatics, and medical surgical nursing. Nursing specialties include neonatal and pediatric intensive care, wound and ostomy care. She received her Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Nursing from Grand Valley State University,and PhD from University of Kansas. Her research interests include patient safety, nursing quality, pain management, pressure injury prevention in younger populations.
-
Resnick, Noah S.
Noah S. Resnick
Professor and Associate Dean, currently 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 University of Detroit Mercy- 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. -
Richards, Michelle
Michelle Richards
Associate Professor, received her undergraduate degree in Social Science, Multidisciplinary Studies, with special emphasis on Political Science, Economics and Psychology, from Michigan State University. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit Mercy 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 Detroit Mercy Law in 2006.
-
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.
-
Robinson-Dunn, Diane L.
Diane L. Robinson-Dunn
Associate Professor of History, is a historian and scholar 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 received her Ph.D. 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.
-
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.
-
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). Assistant Professor 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.
-
Rombes, Nicholas D.
Nicholas D. Rombes
Professor of English and Co-Director of the University Honors Program, researches and teaches interests such as 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, most recently, in 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.
-
Rosenbaum, Daniel
Daniel Rosenbaum
Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and his B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis. He joined the University in 2020.
-
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 College 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 2017-2019. He earned his Ph.D. in Nursing Theory/Research from the University of Missouri, St. Louis in 2010. 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. Actively engaged in nursing scholarship, his research focuses on factors that contribute to safe, effective, and sustainable infant feeding practices among West African women living with HIV, to reduce maternal-child post-natal HIV infection. 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.
-
Ross, Robert
Robert Ross
Professor of Physics, teaches general and modern physics courses. He has 14 years of industrial research experience in the field of thin film amorphous silicon photovoltaic devices. He served on the Utica Community Schools Board of Education from 2004 to 2014 as trustee, treasurer and president. His recent research in physics education is focused on innovative curriculum development, active-learning strategies, and assessment. He is an officer of the Engineering Physics and Physics Division of the American Society for Engineering Education. Ross holds B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Wayne State University. He joined the University in 1995.
-
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 Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. She joined the University in 1999.
-
Ruel, Jennifer L.
Jennifer L. Ruel
Clinical Associate 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 University of Detroit Mercy. 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.