CLAS Graduate Studies Year in Review
A Message from Dr. Emory Woodard
When I think about the graduate students in Villanova’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, a few qualities immediately come to mind. Yes, they’re curious and ambitious—always eager to learn more and grow both personally and professionally. But what truly stands out is something deeper: They care. They’re engaged with the world around them and deeply committed to making it better.
That spirit is at the heart of our graduate community, and we continue to nurture it while also reimagining what graduate education can be. We’re introducing new academic pathways and innovative curricula that respond to the changing demands of today’s workforce. We’re expanding mentorship efforts to help students find clarity and confidence in their career goals. And we’re nurturing even more opportunities for our students to conduct research, publish their work and collaborate across disciplines.
As we continue to forge ahead, we’re excited to build on this momentum while remaining focused on what makes our graduate community special. With curiosity, connection and support, we’re creating a space where every student can thrive.
Our momentum is real, which is why we’re not only excited for what we’ve achieved over the past year, but also for what lies ahead.
Sincerely,
Emory H. Woodard IV, PhD
Dean of Graduate Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
ACADEMICS
Our academic programs are evolving to meet students where they are and prepare them for where they want to go. New degrees, innovative curricula and interdisciplinary approaches are opening doors to meaningful careers and purposeful impact. We're developing fresh approaches to student engagement and growth.
- With a new Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies, students can design a customized academic path by combining two distinct graduate certificate programs, allowing them to shape their learning around their career goals.
- Emphasizing ethical and responsible use, the new Graduate Certificate in AI and Machine Learning prepares graduates to bring practical, data-driven solutions to organizations and communities.
- New tracks of study have been established in Applied Statistics, Biostatistics and Data Science.
- Counseling once again earned full CACREP accreditation maintaining the highest standards in counselor education.
- Education added a concentration in Educational Policy and a Principal Certification program.
- Environmental Science has developed a new Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information System (GIS) Analysis.
- Public Administration created the Impact Lab, allowing tuition scholars to work with community partners on projects.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Funding is essential to making graduate education affordable and accessible. Villanova supports graduate students through competitive tuition scholarships and graduate assistantships with stipends, as well as awards for research.
Last year, the Office of Graduate Studies...
- Dedicated $3.6 million to students through 73 tuition scholarships and 187 graduate assistantships.
- Awarded 36 Alexander and Johannes Scholarships (from an endowed fund supporting graduate students) at $5,000 each.
- 32 Summer Research Fellowships were awarded (Six at the doctoral level and 26 at the master’s level), amounting to $93,000 in support.
- 68 conference travel funding awards totaling more than $50,000 allowed students to bring their research to national and global audiences.
MENTORSHIP
Mentorship plays a vital role in graduate education. A strong faculty mentor sees students as future colleagues and helps them tackle challenges, build confidence and find direction as they navigate their academic and career journeys. It’s not just about guidance—it’s about being present and leading by example.
- The Office of Graduate Studies’ Blue Ribbon Panel of faculty are committed to creating more intentional, student-centered graduate mentorship approaches throughout the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
- To help facilitate mentorship opportunities, the Grand Rounds series offers faculty a dedicated space to explore the complexities of mentoring.
- Take Your Grad Students to Lunch encourages informal mentorship by inviting faculty and students to connect over lunch or coffee.
- Villanova faculty are gaining certification and access to national resources to help expand mentorship capacity across the University through the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research.
STUDENT RESEARCH
Research tells a compelling and often complex story. Graduate students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are constantly challenged to forge meaningful connections between their scholarly work and the world around them. Their efforts are visible, influential and deeply relevant.
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences graduate students published at least 22 peer-reviewed journal articles or books last year. Some of those publications include:
Gary Nicolau, Biology
Phillips JR, Nicolau GK, Ngwenya SS, Jackson EA, Womack MC. Habitat and respiratory strategy effects on hypoxia performance in anuran tadpoles. Integrative and Comparative Biology. 2024 Aug;64(2):336-53.
Nicolau GK, Jackson EA, Bauer AM. Eswatini’s only endemic vertebrate is no more: new record extends the range of the Swazi Flat Gecko, Afroedura major Onderstall, 1984, into South Africa. Herpetology Notes. 2025 Mar 26;18:247-52.
Johanna Asante, Chemistry
Johanna Y. D. Asante,^ Caroline M. Casey, Elise L. Bezold, Asantha Fernando, Diana McDonough, William M. Wuest, Kevin P. C. Minbiole. Resorcinol-based Bolaamphiphilic Quaternary Ammonium Compounds. ChemMedChem 2025 Apr 14;20(8):e202400932.
Avery Peffer, Counseling
Schmidt, C. D., Misurell, J. R., Feder, M. A., Peffer, A., & Grigg, J. (2025). Helping Children Heal: Counseling Interventions for Divorce-Related Family Disruption. The Family Journal, 0(0).
Alexis McClatchy, Counseling
Malott, K. M., Wahesh, E., Paone, T., & Haley, A. S., McClatchy, A. (2025). “I feel as though I would not be able to empathize”: Intersectionality and counselor intergroup anxiety. Teaching and Supervision in Counseling, 7(1), 14-27.
Malott, K. M., Wahesh, E., Haley, A. S., Havlik, S., & McClatchy, A. (2025). Mitigating biased feedback toward minoritized instructors: Examining the impacts of an instructor feedback training intervention. Innovative Higher Education.
Kaitlyn Kempf, Counseling
Kempf, K, Havlik, S, Yee, T. & Schmidt, C. (2024) “You feel a lot of different emotions:” Examining a mindfulness-based group for elementary school students. Journal of Child and Adolescent Counseling, 10:1, 15-28, DOI: 10.1080/23727810.2023.2265764.
Lauren Ondrejack, Counseling
Wahesh, E., & Ondrejack, L. (2025). Intolerance of uncertainty dimensions and alcohol problems: The effects of coping motives and heavy drinking. Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling, 46(1), 89-114.
Julianna Chen, Education
Conner, J., Chen, J.*, Mitra, D., Holquist, S. (2024). Student voice and choice in the classroom: Promoting academic engagement. In K. Carbonneau (Ed.) Instructional Strategies for Active Learning. IntechOpen.
Rachel Rhee, Education
Snyder, L., Shamis, C., Fanega, D., Marco-Bujosa, L. M., & Rhee, R.* (In press). Designing science instruction for youth empowerment: Evidence-based activism to use science to address social injustice. The Science Teacher.
Shayna Federico, Philosophy
“Ambiguity and Artifacticity: Beauvoir and an Existentialist Ethics of Translation,” Special Issue on Translation & Philosophy for The Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics 48, no. 1.
Brendan Rome, Philosophy
Translation (French to English) of “Psyche and Her Other: The Savage,” accepted for publication by the peer reviewed Q1 journal Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society. Co-translated with Shawn Huberdeau.
Our students shared their research with the broader academic and professional communities in forums such as:
- American Chemical Society national meeting and exposition
- American Educational Research Association annual conference
- American Psychological Association
- Irish Theatre Summer Studio
- NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education annual conference
- Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools Three Minute Thesis Competition
- Pacific Modern Language Association conference
- The Society for Human Resource Management
Highlights from 2025
The 48th edition of our peer-reviewed research journal, CONCEPT, featured 12 published student authors in print and online, and 27 peer reviewers and faculty and student editors.
Drew Doughan ’25 MA and Nicole Roldan ’25 MA participated in the Council of Graduate Schools Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., discussing issues impacting graduate education.
Several Villanova faculty members joined the Healthy Research Teams & Labs initiative to promote inclusive and supportive research environments for graduate students.
In November, 32 students participated in the annual Graduate Research Symposium, while last spring, a CLAS student won the University's 3MT competition for the sixth straight year.
Celebrating Student Achievement
Our Vibrant Community
We're cultivating a dynamic graduate community—one that fosters belonging, supports student growth and prepares graduates for meaningful impact. Over the past year, students have engaged more deeply in campus life, University-wide initiatives and professional development. Additionally, more than 300 prospective and admitted students attended our Graduate Open House and Preview Day events. In 2024-25, there were nearly 900 graduate students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, representing 40 states and 14 foreign countries.
