Lecturers

Lecturer: Prof. Dan Fellner, Arizona State University, AZ
Course: 1: Intercultural Communications: How to survive and thrive in the global workforce

Dan Fellner, a faculty associate at Arizona State University, has researched and written about cultures around the world for the past 25 years. He has visited more than 110 countries as a corporate spokesman for a major multinational corporation, a two-time Fulbright Scholar, and a frequently published travel writer.

He began his career as a television news and sports reporter for stations in four different American cities. He later spent 10 years in corporate public relations with the Dow Chemical Company, where he held a wide variety of positions, including manager of news media relations. In 1998 Mr. Fellner joined Arizona State University as a faculty associate and currently teaches courses in Intercultural Communications and English in the Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication unit at ASU's Polytechnic Campus. He also is a faculty affiliate with ASU's Melikian Center for Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies.

Mr. Fellner is a two-time Fulbright Scholar and two-time Fulbright Senior Specialist. During his Fulbright grants, he taught courses in journalism and public relations at universities in Latvia, Lithuania and Moldova. In 2011 he was named to the Road Scholars Speakers Bureau of the Arizona Humanities Council and gives presentations about Eastern Europe to audiences throughout Arizona. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Mr. Fellner is a freelance travel writer and photographer for American newspapers and magazines. He has had more than 60 articles published on such diverse destinations as Greenland, Swaziland, the Republic of Srpska, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Kosovo and Japan. His published work can be viewed at www.Global-Travel-Info.com.

Lecturer: Dr. Danail Danov, Senior Project Consultant, Communications and Human Resources Development Center, Sofia
Course: 2: Project Writing and Project Management

Danail Danov works as an international consultant in media and communications. Over the last ten years he has designed and implemented dozens of projects both in Bulgaria and abroad. Those projects carried out within the framework of OPAC, OPHRD, MATRA Program, European Commission, to mention just a few, cover different fields such as media, communications, education and training, as well as public awareness campaigns.

Dr. Danov has taught project writing, media studies and effective communications techniques at Sofia University, Cornell University and the Fulbright International Summer Institute. Consultant in media and communications projects for BBC WS, Deutsche Welle, RNTC, Open Society Institute, GTZ among many others, he has published and translated numerous articles and books on various aspects of the media, journalism, PR, project management, training and education.

Lecturer: Prof. Chenchu Bathala, Cleveland State University, OH
Course: 3: Personal Finance and Investing Decisions

Born and raised in India, Professor Chenchuramaiah (Chenchu) Bathala, graduated from A.P. Agricultural University with bachelors and masters degrees in agriculture. Leaving a successful career in Union Bank of India, he moved to the United States for pursuing higher studies and realizing his ambitions. His academic career began in 1990 after earning M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Finance from Texas Tech University. Later, in order to further enhance his academic and professional credentials, he successfully completed the CFA program and received the CFA charter in the year 1997.

Since 1998, Prof. Bathala has been at Cleveland State University where he currently holds the position of the Chairman and Professor of the Department of Finance, Monte Ahuja College of Business Administration. At CSU, he is also serving as the Faculty Advisor to the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) with a diversified holding of equities and ETFs totaling to approximately $440,000 managed by select group of students in its BBA and MBA programs. Prior to joining CSU, he held full-time faculty positions at North Dakota State University, Texas Tech University, and Eastern New Mexico University.

Prof. Bathala’s primary teaching and research interests are in corporate finance, small firms, investments, and emerging markets. His research articles have been published in several prominent academic journals which include Financial Management, Journal of Financial Research, Financial Review, Research in Finance, Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Managerial & Decision Economics, Journal of Investing, Journal of Business Ethics, International Journal of Social Economics, and Finance India. During 2008-2010, he served as the Editor of the Afro-Asian Journal of Finance and Accounting, a refereed journal from the Inderscience Publishers. Currently, he serves on the editorial review boards of the Journal of Business Research, International Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, and The CFA Digest.

Lecturer: Dr. James Deutsch, Program Curator, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Washington, DC
Course: 4: Hollywood in the 21st Century

James Deutsch is a curator and editor at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, where he has helped plan and develop programs and exhibitions on the Peace Corps, Hungary, Apollo Theater, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Mekong River, U.S. Forest Service, World War II, Silk Road, and White House workers. In addition, he serves as an adjunct professor—teaching courses on American film history and folklore—in the American Studies Department at George Washington University. During the 1998-99 academic year, Deutsch served as a Fulbright professor in Bulgaria, teaching courses on American film, history, and literature) full-time at the SS Cyril and Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo and part-time at the St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia. He has also taught American Studies classes at universities in Armenia, Belarus, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Poland, and Turkey.

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Timothy Ilg, University of Dayton, OH
Course: 5: Crisis Management: Prepare for the Unknown

Timothy J. Ilg is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership in the School of Education and Allied Professions at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. His research interests include distance learning, transformational change, and crisis management. He is the author or co-author of over 50 articles and chapters in books. He was an editorial consultant for the journal Today’s School. He also served as a peer reviewer for The Journal of School Leadership and Education and Urban Society.  He teaches courses in supervision, public relations, administration, crisis management, and the change process. He was a lecturer in the FISI 2003, 2006, 2007, & 2009 Institutes, and assisted in the development of an online administrator preparation program for Bulgarian directors. In addition to his university experience, he has 30 years experience in public education, including seven years as a school superintendent. He coordinated his department’s online Master’s degree and Principal Licensure programs and assisted the KnowledgeWorks Foundation, through a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in the creation of small urban high schools and Early College High Schools associated with local universities throughout the state of Ohio.

Lecturers: Prof. Brenda Tooley, Monmouth College, IL; Prof. Ludmilla Kostova, University of Veliko Turnovo
Course: 6: Writing Bulgaria in English

Brenda Tooley is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Director of the Grants Program and Coordinator of International Recruitment at Monmouth College. She holds a Ph.D. in 18th Century British Literature and Critical Theory from the University of Notre Dame. Her scholarly interests lie in eighteenth-century British literature (particularly the early novel and Transatlantic cultural exchange), literary theory, and fictional representations of immigrant experiences, memories and portrayals of the country of origin. Her most recent publication is Gender and Utopia in the Eighteenth Century, co-edited with Nicole Pohl (Ashgate, 2007). Dr. Brenda Tooley has a deep interest in contemporary higher education, faculty and curriculum development, best practices in faculty mentoring, the future of the liberal arts, undergraduate student-faculty research, and international partnerships and collaborations.

Ludmilla K. Kostova is Professor of British literature and cultural studies at St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of VelikoTurnovo, Bulgaria. She has published extensively on eighteenth-century, romantic and modern British literature and as well as on travel writing and representations of intercultural encounters. Her book Tales of the Periphery: the Balkans in Nineteenth-Century British Writing (St. Cyril and St. Methodius University Press, 1997) has been frequently cited by specialists in the field. Together with Charles Forsdick and Corinne Fowler, she is editor of Travel Writing and Ethics. Theory and Practice (Routledge, forthcoming).

Kostova isa member of the editorial boards of Journal of Multicultural Discourses,the Internet journal TRANS, Word and Text. A Journal of Literary Studies and Linguistics and The Annals of Ovidius University Constanta – Philology. Her most recent interest is in writing in English by Eastern European migrant writers.

Lecturer: Dr. George Kosar, Associate Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, ÌÀ
Course: 9: Philanthropy and Fundraising for NGOs

George Kosar is Associate Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at Tufts University, where he focuses on fundraising for international programs, in particular the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, the first graduate school of international relations in the United States. He teaches fundraising courses as an Instructor at the Harvard Extension School and Harvard Summer School, and as a Graduate Lecturer at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies.

Previously, he served as Major Gifts Officer at the Harvard Kennedy School, concentrating on attracting financial support from corporate CEOs and other private-sector leaders. His higher education work has encompassed fields including strategic marketing, distance-learning administration, and admissions.

Kosar is an Associate of Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. His scholarly specialization, based on research conducted in Russia and the United States, centers on the Russian Revolution of 1917-1918. He has written and edited portions of many history, political science, and social science textbooks and reference works.

He has taught history, international relations, writing, and religion at various institutions, including Bentley College, Tufts’ Fletcher School, Brandeis University, and Emerson College. He has a Ph.D. in Comparative History (Russian and European) from Brandeis University, an M.A. in History from Boston College, and a B.A. in Russian Studies from the University of Virginia.

Lecturer: Dr. Maria Petrova, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, ÌÀ
Course: 10: Eco-Entrepreneurship

Maria A. Petrova is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Boston (fletcher.tufts.edu/CIERP/People/bios/petrova). Petrova focuses on renewable energy technology innovation and policies, seeking to understand the most effective ways to move from policy creation to idea implementation. Her current work aims to understand what it takes for new technologies to be successfully and sustainably launched—including both for technology developers and for local communities. She is also interested in comparative renewable energy technology policy studies, mainly between the United States and the European Union, and in identifying best practices for advancing renewable energy technologies development and deployment.

Petrova completed her Ph.D. in Environmental Science at Oregon State University, where she also earned Certificates in Marine Resource Management and Global Information Systems. Her doctoral work spanned five disciplines—management, economics, sociology, political science, and engineering. She won the inaugural Robert Malouf scholarship, awarded by a nationwide network to advance research and to promote marine energy technologies.

Petrova has a Master’s degree in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Sheffield. She has worked as an International Affairs Officer at CITY College, Greece, conducting marketing campaigns and setting up international offices. She has taught Integrated Marketing Communications to advanced students, as well as sustainability and comparative environmental courses. Petrova has made numerous presentations at energy and sustainability conferences in the U.S. and Europe. She is an alumna of the first graduating class of the American University in Bulgaria, where she earned a B.A. in Business Administration and Southeast European Studies in 1995.

Lecturer: Dr. Syed Hussain Shaheed Soherwordi, University of Peshawar, Pakistan
Course: 11: Peace and Conflict Resolution in the 21st Century

Dr. Syed Hussain Shaheed Soherwordi studied History at Edinburgh University and International Relations in the University of Peshawar. He started his academic career 1996-2004 in International Relations at the University of Peshawar. He has been teaching in the Edinburgh University on part-time basis since 2005. His subjects include: New World Order, War on Terror, Conflict Resolution, Theories of Peace and Theories and Practices of International Relations. He recently completed work on Pak-US relations in historical perspectives 1947-65, published by Oxford University Press in December 2010.

Lecturer: Prof. George Siedel, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, MI
Course: 12: Negotiation and Conflict Resolution

George J. Siedel focuses on legal issues that relate to international business law, negotiation, and dispute resolution. Recent publications include legal aspects of cross-border subsidiary management and issues relating to the use of law to gain competitive advantage. His work in progress includes piercing the veil concerns in an international context, high-low contracting, the impact of litigation on large corporations, and the impact of discovery on electronic communications.

Professor Siedel has been admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and in Michigan, Ohio, and Florida. Following graduation from law school, he worked as an attorney in a professional corporation. He has also served on several boards of directors and as Associate Dean of the University of Michigan Business School.

Professor Siedel has served as the chief editor of the Michigan Real Property Review and special editor of the American Business Law Journal. The author of numerous books and articles, he has received several research awards, including the Faculty Recognition Award from the University of Michigan and the Hoeber Award from the Academy of Legal Studies in Business. The Center for International Business Education and Research selected a case written by Professor Siedel for its annual International Case Writing Award. His research has been cited by appellate courts in the United States and abroad, including the High Court of Australia.

Professor Siedel has served as Visiting Professor of Business Law at Stanford University, Visiting Professor of Business Administration at Harvard University, and Parsons Fellow at the University of Sydney. He has been elected a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University's Wolfson College and a Life Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation. As a Fulbright Scholar, Professor Siedel held a Distinguished Chair in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Lecturer: Prof. Alexander Gungov, Sofia University “St. Kl. Ohridski”
Course: 13: Philosophical and Social Dimensions of Imagination

Alexander Gungov graduated from Sofia University with Ph.D. in Philosophy and M.A. in Philosophy and English. His research interests include logic in the Continental Philosophy, application of logic to social and political issue and to medicine; he has studied intensively Giambattista Vico’s ideas and is a co-translator of La Scienza nuova into Bulgarian. Dr. Gungov is the Editor of Sofia Philosophical Review, a peer reviewed journal indexed by The Philosopher’s Index and The MLA International Bibliography Index.

Dr. Gungov teaches Logic (including Logic in the Continental Tradition, Logical Techniques of Manipulation in the Public Discourse and Logical Methods in Medicine) at Sofia University as well as Philosophy of Culture, Continental Philosophy, and Renaissance Humanism. His international experience includes a Senior Filbright Scholar visit to Emory University’s Institute for Vico Studies in the spring of 1999 and several other long term visits to the same School. He has taught a number of courses at LaGrange College, GA. Dr. Gungov has taught with DAAD support at the Pedagogical University of Freiburg. He has lectured within the CEEPUS Scheme at the Palacký University and within Erasmus Program at the University of Freiburg, University of Amiens, the University of Rouen, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

His major publications include books on Logic in Medicine: Approaches to Patiens Safety and Logic of Deception as well as two collections of essays on The Addressees of the EU Internal and External Policy: De Jure and De Facto and on Rights and Values in Expanding Europe: A Mutual Enrichment through Different Traditions.

Lecturer: Assist. Prof. Stephanie Bell, Pepperdine University School of Law, CA
Course: 14: Mediation Theory and Practice

Stephanie Bell has recently joined the Pepperdine community as an Assistant Professor of Law and Assistant Director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. She supervises the Mediation Clinic and teaches Mediation Theory and Practice and Criminal Law. Prior to joining Pepperdine, Professor Bell served as the Manager of the King County Alternative Dispute Resolution Program and Interlocal Conflict Resolution Group, a tri-county labor-management and public policy mediation program in the Seattle area. Prior to this she was the Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinator for the City of Seattle where she designed and implemented a labor and employment mediation program for city government. Before joining Straus full time, Bell served as an adjunct at Straus, Seattle University School of Law, and the University of Washington Master’s in Public Administration Program.  Professor Bell earned her B.A. with Honors in American Civilization from Brown University, and her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law.

Lecturer: Prof. Mark Kramer, Harvard University, MA
Course: 15: Ethnic Conflicts and Human Rights in the EU and Its Neighborhood

Mark Kramer is director of the Cold War Studies Program at Harvard University and a senior fellow at Harvard’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. In addition to his posts at Harvard, he has taught as a visiting professor at Yale University, Brown University, and Aarhus University and was formerly an Academy Scholar in Harvard's Academy of International and Area Studies and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.

Professor Kramer is the author or editor of fifteen books and nearly 200 scholarly articles on a wide variety of topics, including ethnic conflicts in the Balkans, the wars in Chechnya, NATO and East European security, post-Communist economic reform in East-Central Europe, social policy in East-Central Europe, income distribution in East-Central Europe, civil-military relations in East-Central Europe, the global arms trade, utility deregulation in Russia, the Cuban missile crisis, the East German uprising of 1953, the 1956 crises in Hungary and Poland, the Soviet-Czechoslovak crisis of 1968, the 1980-1981 Polish crisis, U.S. foreign policy, Sino-Soviet relations, the Soviet and post-Soviet armed forces, the structures of Soviet and post-Soviet foreign policy-making, nuclear proliferation, and international relations theory. His article “Ideology and the Cold War” in the October 1999 issue of the Review of International Studies was awarded a prize by the British International Studies Association for the best article published in the field of international relations in 1999.

Professor Kramer has at various times been a consultant for numerous government agencies and international organizations, including the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Defense Department, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, the U.S. Naval War College, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Japanese Foreign Ministry, the World Bank, and the UN World Institute for Development Economic Research.

Lecturer: Dr. Rossitza Ivanova, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, WI
Course: 16: American Indians in US Popular Culture and in Contemporary American Indian Film

Dr. Rossitza Ivanova was initially educated at the University of Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria. She holds MA and PhD degrees in English from the University of Warwick, UK. Dr. Ivanova is currently an English lecturer at the Department of Languages and Literatures, at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, US.  Her major areas of teaching include courses in American Indian Literature, Introduction to Literature, and freshman and advanced composition. In addition to her teaching duties, Dr. Ivanova has been active in curriculum review and revision, assessment, information literacy, and online education.

Lecturer: Prof. José Gustavo Prieto M., Profesor Simon Bolivar Andean University, Quito, Ecuador
Course: 17: International Investment Law

José Gustavo Prieto is a researcher focused in the areas of International Investment Law and International Economic Law; Professor at the Andean Community University and Pacific University in Quito, Ecuador; Attorney-Consultant in the areas of International Law, Tax Law, International Trade and Intellectual Property.
Gustavo Prieto was invited in 2010 by the Department of State to the “Donahue Institute for American Politics and Political Thought”, University of Massachusetts.
PhD candidate at the University of Verona, Italy;  Master in International Economic Law from Simon Bolivar Andean Community University in Quito, Ecuador; Lawyer and Juris Doctorate from the University of the Americas “UDLA” in Quito, Ecuador.

E-mail: gpriet@inteclawgpm.com / njoe80@gmail.com
Twitter: @gpriet
Skype: Gustavo.prieto10
Website: www.inteclawgpm.com

Lecturers: Prof. Emer. Kathryn Jenson White, University of Oklahoma, OK; Assoc. Prof. Maria Neikova, Sofia University “St. Kl. Ohridski”
Course: 18: Media Literacy

Kathryn Jenson White

Academic Positions
Associate Professor of Journalism, Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, The University of Oklahoma. (July 2004-June 2013)
Courses Taught: Introduction to Mass Media, Writing for Mass Media, Feature Writing, Yearbook Practicum, Magazine Practicum, Magazine: Industry and Issues, Magazine Production, Communicating Culture: Travel Writing in Puerto Rico (on-site course in Puerto Rico), Documentary Film
Research/Teaching Focus: Women in Leadership; Leadership Education

Education
1975      M.A., Department of English, Boston University. 
Area Concentrations: Composition, Contemporary Novel. Special Interest: Film. Full scholarship for master’s and doctoral programs. Grading assistantship for master’s year and teaching fellowship for three doctoral years. (From 1975 to 1978, completed all coursework for a doctorate in English at Boston University and passed comprehensive exams. ABD.)
1974      B.A., Department of English, California State University, Fullerton

Publications 1983-Present: Hundreds of feature stories and film reviews for magazines, websites and newspapers; Paperback humor book, Redneckin’: A Hell-Raisin’, Foot-Stompin’ Guide to Dancin’, Dippin’ and Doin’ Around in a Gen-U-Wine Country Way. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Perigee Press. 1983; sold approximately 30,000 copies; supported by two-week, nine-city media tour and more than 40 remote radio appearances

Honors And Awards: Two Presidential Dream Courses; more than 20 medals, plaques and certificates for writing and teaching

Maria Stefanova Neykova

Academic Positions
Associate Professor of International Journalism (2005-Present), PhD in Political Science (2000), Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, Sofia University

Main Courses Taught: Theories of International Relations; World Politics in the Media; The Balkans in the Modern International Relations; Writing on International Topics
Research/Teaching Focus: International Politics and the Media
Previous Faculty Positions: Assistant Professor in International Journalism (1986-2005)

Publications (1986-Present):
Two books on International Journalism – A Point of Intersection (2003) and A Double Challenge (1998), numerous articles on media issues and on international topics in scientific magazines, about a dozen books as a co-author, incl. Refugees and Media (2009), Gender and Media (2003).

Numerous appearances as a commentator on current events and developments in the Balkans in newspapers, on Bulgarian National Radio and various TV stations, as well as on Bulgarian media developments.

The Media Fair at the Faculty – a one-week scientific event aiming at meeting the theory and the practice of journalism and media – was organized annually since 2006 out of my idea.

Lecturer: David Korn, Partner, Phelps Dunbar LLP, USA
Course: 19: D.A.R.E. --- Debate. Argue. Reason. Examine.

David Korn is a Partner with the law firm Phelps Dunbar LLP which has offices throughout the Gulf South of the United States and in London, England. His law practice is concentrated in all facets of labor and employment law. In addition to labor and employment practice, his experience includes a commercial litigation background with emphasis on counseling and negotiation of complex contracts. David represents both public and private employers and he has won major trials for clients in State and Federal Courts in the United States. David has been awarded the “AV” rating by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is the highest possible rating for legal ability and ethical standards for lawyers. In addition to his litigation practice, David often conducts training to publicly traded companies on employment compliance issues and serves as outside counsel to several Universities in Louisiana. David is a frequent speaker to various organizations on cutting edge legal issues and he has authored numerous articles and two treatises on employment law.

David has served as an Adjunct at Tulane Law School where he taught Employment Law and has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of New Orleans where he taught the Law of Higher Education. He was an invited guest speaker at the University of New Orleans summer program in Innsbruck, Austria where he lectured on liability issues facing universities’ international summer school In 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010, David was honored to serve as a guest lecturer through the Fulbright Program teaching students in an international forum about how cases are litigated in the United States.

In addition to his law practice, David is the creator of the web site, www.BeginInvesting.com and the editor of an on-line financial newsletter and a co-editor of The Retirement Advisor. David’s service has been quoted in such online financial publications as CBSMarketwatch.com and TheStreet.com. David’s newsletters and web sites teach investors about the U.S. stock market, global investing and other matters related to personal finance.

David has a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Music from Tulane University and a Juris Doctorate degree from Tulane Law School. David lives in the greater New Orleans, Louisiana area and is helping to rebuild following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.