VIRS Faculty Affiliates
The Villanova Institute for Research and Scholarship (VIRS) promotes a culture of research that empowers faculty, postdoctoral fellows and PhD students to pursue their scholarly aspirations sustainably over their careers. Our Faculty Affiliates partner with the Institute to advance this mission by collaborating with us on projects of mutual interest that enrich our capacity to support research, scholarship, and academic career development.
Faculty Affiliates are appointed by mutual agreement for up to one year. VIRS offers Faculty Affiliates a small individual research fund for use at their discretion. All Villanova faculty members are eligible to pursue affiliation with VIRS. To initiate an exploratory conversation about a potential project and affiliation please contact a VIRS staff member directly or reach out to our office email at virs@villanova.edu.
Current Faculty Affiliates
Dr. Helene Moriarty
Dr. Helen Moriarity
Dr. Helene Moriarty, the Diane L. & Robert F. Moritz Jr. Endowed Chair in Nursing Research in the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing is appointed as a VIRS Faculty Affiliate from January-December 2022.
Dr. Moriarty is working in close partnership with Dr. Emily Carson, Associate Director of VIRS, to enrich the VIRS Writing Intensive Proposal Development Seminar (WIPDS). WIPDS is a semester-long program, open to faculty from all colleges, that uses a team-based approach to guide participants toward the goal of drafting a complete proposal for a targeted funding organization. WIPDS is a crucial resource for faculty members at Villanova who are seeking grant funding. As VIRS Faculty Affiliate, Dr. Moriarty is collaborating to redesign and implement the WIPDS curriculum to include greater guidance to participants on the research design component of their proposals and more opportunities for peer-review by Villanova faculty with relevant expertise.
Past Faculty Affiliates
Dr. Gordon Coonfield
Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Dr. Melissa O’Connor
M. Louise Fitzpatrick Endowed Professors in Community and Home Health Nursing in the M, Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing
Dr. Christopher Schmidt
Associate Professor in the Department of Education, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Drs. Coonfield, O’Connor, and Schmidt served as VIRS Faculty Affiliates for one year beginning July 2020. After working closely with VIRS Director Dr. Janice Bially Mattern, to conceptualize and launch Faculty Peer Circles for Associate Professors Drs. Coonfield, O’Connor and Schmidt served as peer circle facilitators during the program’s inaugural year. Their service has made a significant impact on how VIRS supports Villanova’s scholars, establishing a model for other VIRS faculty peer circle programs and giving rise to a VIRS-based collaborative research project on the social dimensions of the faculty work experience.
Dr. Gordon Coonfied
Dr. Melissa O’Connor
Dr. Christopher Schmidt