2021-2022 Faculty Fellows

Michael G. Azar holds a PhD in New Testament from Fordham University (2013) and an MA in theology from St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (2005). His current research focuses on ancient and modern Christian-Jewish interaction, particularly in light of Orthodox Christian (روم أرثوذكس) hermeneutics and historic presence in the Holy Land. His other scholarly pursuits focus on New Testament studies, especially apocalyptic thought and the "parting of the ways," as well as the effects that contemporary sociopolitical policies have on scholarly understandings of the ancient world. He is currently a Faculty Fellow at the Gail and Francis Slattery Center for the Ignatian Humanities (University of Scranton) and an NEH Faculty Fellow at the Orthodox Christian Studies Center (Fordham University). His research is supported by a CCD Grant from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Biblical Association.

Dr. Meghan Ashlin Rich has been teaching in the University of Scranton’s Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Criminology Department since Fall 2007. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and a certificate in Women’s Studies from the University of Maryland – College Park (1997), a M.A. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (1999), and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Delaware (2008). Before coming to the University of Scranton, she taught courses at University of Delaware, College of Notre Dame, Maryland, and Towson University.
Dr. Rich teaches many different classes in Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies, including: Collective Behavior & Social Movements, Gender in Society, Introductory Sociology, Race & Ethnic Relations, Sociological Theory, and Urban Sociology. She also serves as an active member of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program and within professional organizations, such as the Eastern Sociological Society and Society for the Study of Social Problems.
Dr. Rich’s research focuses on neighborhood development and gentrification in cities, with a particular focus in declining cities and arts and culture-based revitalization. Her work has been published in numerous journals and books, including International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, International Journal of Cultural Policy, Journal of Urban Affairs, and The Routledge Companion to Urban Imaginaries (edited by Christoph Lindner and Miriam Meissner, Routledge 2019). In the 2021-2022 academic year Dr. Rich is on sabbatical, studying the effect that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on arts and culture-themed neighborhoods and artists in New Orleans.

Andrew LaZella received his B.A. from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN with a double major in Philosophy and History (2002) and his PhD from DePaul University in Chicago (2010). Prior to his graduate studies, he studied on a Fulbright Scholarship at the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. Dr. LaZella’s research focuses on the areas of medieval philosophy, especially medieval metaphysics, and 19th and 20th century continental philosophy.