Nalini N. Rao, PhD
Nalini N. Rao joined the Soka University of America faculty as professor of world art in September 2000. Rao came to SUA from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she taught cou...
Faculty & Staff
Faculty and Staff
Soka’s 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio means something here. Browse faculty by concentration or research interest and find the people who will know your work as well as you do. You’ll also find the staff who support everything that happens outside the classroom.
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Ian Olivo Read, PhD
Associate Dean of Faculty
Co-Director of the Center for Race Ethnicity and Human Rights (REHR)
Soka Institute for Global Solutions (SIGS) Senior Research Fellow
Brazil Collaboration Project Faculty Liaison
Professor of Latin American Studies
I am a scholar–teacher whose work bridges history, sustainability, and the ethical use of new technologies in education. My research began with the study of Latin America’s history, and especially Bra...
Antoinette Rossman
As House Manager, Antoinette Rossman is responsible for ensuring the safety and security of patrons attending the Soka Performing Arts Center. Antoinette oversees the orderly management of front of ho...
Don Ryan, MFA
Don Ryan was born in Newport Beach, California, and fell in love with ceramics as a high school student in 1974. He received his BFA in ceramics from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1985, and his MFA...
Faculty News
Feb 13, 2026
8 Min Read
From Office Hours to Published Book: Faculty-Student Collaboration Spans a Decade
When Max Bieganski ’19 M.A. ’22 walked into Professor of Political Science Peter Burns’ office during their first week at SUA, neither knew that it would be the start of an intellectual partnership cu...
Read More
Feb 13, 2026
3 Min Read
Powering the Renewable Energy Transition: George Busenberg Examines Global Solar Policy
“Renewable energy gives us the opportunity for a new global industrial revolution,” said George Busenberg, associate professor of environmental management and policy in the Environmental Studies Conce...
Read More
Oct 6, 2025
3 Min Read
SUA Faculty Textbook Reaches New Audiences with Korean Translation
Korean-speaking audiences now have access to a seminal textbook that embodies the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary approach to education at SUA. “The Pacific Basin: An Introduction,” originally pu...
Read More
Oct 1, 2025
9 Min Read
Meet Foroogh Farhang, Assistant Professor of Middle East and North African Studies
Assistant Professor of Middle East and North African Studies Foroogh Farhang joined SUA’s faculty this summer. Before teaching in the International Studies Concentration at Soka, Farhang taught anthro...
Read More
May 23, 2025
2 Min Read
What Can You Learn in 90 Seconds?: SUA Professors Bring Big Ideas to NPR’s “The Academic Minute”
This May, six SUA faculty members were featured on NPR’s nationally syndicated program “The Academic Minute,” offering bite-sized insights from their latest research to listeners across the country.Th...
Read More
Mar 7, 2025
8 Min Read
Igniting Passion for Urban Nature: An Interview with Associate Professor Deike Peters
Deike Peters, associate professor of environmental planning and practice, spent her sabbatical last year researching the proposed ecological restoration of the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, the...
Read More
Dec 16, 2024
7 Min Read
Cultivating a Global Perspective: An Interview with Assistant Dean of Global Citizenship Sandrine Siméon
How can earning a B.A. in liberal arts at SUA help students become global citizens who are actively engaged with issues in social justice, sustainability, and peace? At the start of this academic year...
Read More
Nov 12, 2024
6 Min Read
Supporting Students Beyond Graduation: An Interview with Assistant Dean Lisa MacLeod
How can a liberal arts education at SUA prepare students for living a contributive life? This fall, Lisa MacLeod, associate professor of international studies and director of the International Studies...
Read More
Sep 3, 2024
3 Min Read
Summer Research in a Special Region
This summer, SUA Professor Shane Barter conducted fieldwork and in Southeast Asia with support from the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS). IHS is a non-profit organization at George Mason University ...
Read More
Jan 31, 2024
6 Min Read
Translating SUA’s Mission Into Action: An Interview With Dean Hamersley
M. Robert Hamersley, who was named Soka University of America's dean of faculty in June 2023 after 16 years teaching and serving in a variety of leadership roles at SUA—including two years as assistan...
Read More
Sep 21, 2023
2 Min Read
Faculty Spotlight: Marie Nydam and Biodiversity Research in Belize
Marie was part of an interdisciplinary team funded by a National Science Foundation grant: two professors and a graduate student from University of North Carolina Wilmington in North Carolina, and one...
Read More
Mar 21, 2022
11 Min Read
Transformative Scholarship Beyond the Ivory Tower: A Conversation with Dr. Hortense J. Spillers
In her 1987 essay, "Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: An American Grammar Book,” Hortense J. Spillers, distinguished visiting professor of literature at SUA, dismantled prevailing ideas about gender and Blac...
Read More
Feb 13, 2026
8 Min Read
From Office Hours to Published Book: Faculty-Student Collaboration Spans a Decade
When Max Bieganski ’19 M.A. ’22 walked into Professor of Political Science Peter Burns’ office during their first week at SUA, neither knew that it would be the start of an intellectual partnership cu...
Read More
Feb 13, 2026
3 Min Read
Powering the Renewable Energy Transition: George Busenberg Examines Global Solar Policy
“Renewable energy gives us the opportunity for a new global industrial revolution,” said George Busenberg, associate professor of environmental management and policy in the Environmental Studies Conce...
Read More
Oct 6, 2025
3 Min Read
SUA Faculty Textbook Reaches New Audiences with Korean Translation
Korean-speaking audiences now have access to a seminal textbook that embodies the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary approach to education at SUA. “The Pacific Basin: An Introduction,” originally pu...
Read More
Oct 1, 2025
9 Min Read
Meet Foroogh Farhang, Assistant Professor of Middle East and North African Studies
Assistant Professor of Middle East and North African Studies Foroogh Farhang joined SUA’s faculty this summer. Before teaching in the International Studies Concentration at Soka, Farhang taught anthro...
Read More
May 23, 2025
2 Min Read
What Can You Learn in 90 Seconds?: SUA Professors Bring Big Ideas to NPR’s “The Academic Minute”
This May, six SUA faculty members were featured on NPR’s nationally syndicated program “The Academic Minute,” offering bite-sized insights from their latest research to listeners across the country.Th...
Read More
Mar 7, 2025
8 Min Read
Igniting Passion for Urban Nature: An Interview with Associate Professor Deike Peters
Deike Peters, associate professor of environmental planning and practice, spent her sabbatical last year researching the proposed ecological restoration of the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, the...
Read More
Dec 16, 2024
7 Min Read
Cultivating a Global Perspective: An Interview with Assistant Dean of Global Citizenship Sandrine Siméon
How can earning a B.A. in liberal arts at SUA help students become global citizens who are actively engaged with issues in social justice, sustainability, and peace? At the start of this academic year...
Read More
Nov 12, 2024
6 Min Read
Supporting Students Beyond Graduation: An Interview with Assistant Dean Lisa MacLeod
How can a liberal arts education at SUA prepare students for living a contributive life? This fall, Lisa MacLeod, associate professor of international studies and director of the International Studies...
Read More
Sep 3, 2024
3 Min Read
Summer Research in a Special Region
This summer, SUA Professor Shane Barter conducted fieldwork and in Southeast Asia with support from the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS). IHS is a non-profit organization at George Mason University ...
Read More
Jan 31, 2024
6 Min Read
Translating SUA’s Mission Into Action: An Interview With Dean Hamersley
M. Robert Hamersley, who was named Soka University of America's dean of faculty in June 2023 after 16 years teaching and serving in a variety of leadership roles at SUA—including two years as assistan...
Read More
Sep 21, 2023
2 Min Read
Faculty Spotlight: Marie Nydam and Biodiversity Research in Belize
Marie was part of an interdisciplinary team funded by a National Science Foundation grant: two professors and a graduate student from University of North Carolina Wilmington in North Carolina, and one...
Read More
Mar 21, 2022
11 Min Read
Transformative Scholarship Beyond the Ivory Tower: A Conversation with Dr. Hortense J. Spillers
In her 1987 essay, "Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: An American Grammar Book,” Hortense J. Spillers, distinguished visiting professor of literature at SUA, dismantled prevailing ideas about gender and Blac...
Read More