Wyoming Catholic College- Staff Directory

A.A. (Liberal Arts), Casper College; B.A. (English), University of Wyoming; M.P. (Comparative Literature and English), University of Kansas; Ph.D. (Comparative Literature and English), University of Kansas

Dr. Robert K. Carlson taught philosophy and literature for 29 years at Casper College in Casper, Wyoming. In addition to his regular teaching duties, he founded, directed, and taught in Casper College’s Summer Humanities Program in Europe (Italy) for many years. He has lectured at the University of Notre Dame, the University of Kansas, Simpson College, Magdalen College, the University of Wyoming, and Notre Dame Seminary. Among his academic honors are memberships in Phi Theta Kappa and Phi Beta Kappa, nominations to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, and invitations to speak at the International Humanists Congress in Montepulciano, Italy, and the First World Meeting of University Professors in Rome (in celebration of the Jubilee Year). He is one of the founders of Wyoming Catholic College and the Wyoming School of Catholic Thought, a summer academic and spiritual retreat sponsored by the Diocese of Cheyenne. His articles have appeared in publications such as Homiletic and Pastoral Review, The Wanderer, and Crisis. He published the book Truth on Trial: Liberal Education Be Hanged in 1995.

Jennifer C. Celani, Lecturer in Art History

B.A. (Art History), Maryland University College; M.A. (Art History), Dominican University

Professor Jennifer C. Celani comes from Florence, Italy, where she probed into Italian art, especially that of the Italian Renaissance. Born in New York and reared in both Europe and the United States, she pursued classical studies at the Liceo, acquiring both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Art History as well as a Laurea candidacy at the University of Florence. In 1983, she became an assistant professor for the Syracuse University Abroad Program in Florence and for many years was an adjunct professor in Casper College’s Summer Humanities Program in Europe (Italy); at the same time she joined the Florentine State museums as a free-lance researcher involving the Medici collections; in 1989 she was hired by the Ministry of Public Education as a tenured English professor for the state Licei. In September 2004 the Ministry appointed her Assistant Director of the Education Department at the Uffizi, which manages art history tailored to school programs for all the Florentine State museums. Professor Celani has published much in the field of art history.

Jeremy Holmes, Assistant Professor of Theology

B.A. (Liberal Arts), Thomas Aquinas College; S.T.M. (Theology), The International Theological Institute, Gaming, Austria; Ph.D. (Biblical Studies), Marquette University

Dr. Jeremy Holmes spent much of his childhood two miles outside the tiny town of Redfield, Arkansas, under the tutelage of goats, cows, chickens, ducks, dogs, cats, and all manner of wildlife. He received his bachelors in liberal arts from Thomas Aquinas College in California, his masters in theology from the International Theological Institute in Gaming, Austria, and his doctorate in theology with specialization in biblical studies from Marquette University in Milwaukee. From 2006 to 2008 he was Assistant Professor of Theology at Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida, teaching courses in Christology, biblical studies, and patristic and medieval exegesis. Dr. Holmes has published a number of articles in scholarly and popular journals.

Mitchell A. Kalpakgian, Professor of Humanities and the Trivium

B.A. (English), Bowdoin College; M.A. (English), University of Kansas; Ph.D. (English), University of Iowa

Dr. Mitchell A. Kalpakgian is a native of New England, the son of Armenian immigrants. He was Professor of English at Simpson College (Iowa) for 31 years and was appointed a visiting professor at Christendom College (Virginia) for two years, and then served two years as a tutor at Magdalen College (New Hampshire). He subsequently became Academic Dean, Athletic Director, and a teacher of English and Latin at Mt. Royal Academy (Sunapee, New Hampshire), a private Catholic school. During his academic career, Dr. Kalpakgian received many academic honors, among them the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar Fellowship (Brown University, 1981); the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship (University of Kansas, 1985); and an award from the National Endowment for the Humanities Institute on Children’s Literature. Dr. Kalpakgian has widely published in many journals and his latest book is An Armenian Family Reunion: A Lifetime of Unforgettable and Delightful Stories (Neumann Press, 2004).

Thaddeus J. Kozinski, Assistant Professor of Humanities and Trivium

B.SC. (Comprehensive Science), Villanova University; M.LA. (Liberal Arts), St. John’s College Graduate Institute; Ph.D. (Philosophy), The Catholic University of America

Dr. Thaddeus J. Kozinski has taught courses in the humanities, the trivium, and philosophy for over ten years at the secondary and postsecondary levels, including medieval and modern philosophy, logic, and ethics at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy in Barry’s Bay, Ontario, medieval philosophy at Christendom College, and philosophy and mathematics at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. Dr. Kozinski was also the Assistant Headmaster and Director of Curriculum at The Montfort Academy, a Great Books-oriented Catholic preparatory school in Katonah, New York. Here he taught Socratic conversation classes in several areas of the humanities and created a monthly lecture and discussion series, the disputatio, modeled on the famous medieval disputations. He has published in both Catholic and secular venues and is particularly dedicated to political philosophy.

Peter A. Kwasniewski, Associate Professor of Theology and Philosophy; Instructor in Music History and Theory

B.A. (Liberal Arts), Thomas Aquinas College; M.A. and Ph.D. (Philosophy), The Catholic University of America

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski was born in Chicago and grew up in New Jersey. After attending Thomas Aquinas College and The Catholic University of America, he taught courses in natural philosophy, philosophical anthropology, metaphysics, moral theology, social ethics and Catholic social doctrine, fundamental theology, Christology, ecclesiology, sacramental theology, eschatology, and biblical theology at the International Theological Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family in Gaming, Austria, from 1998 to 2006. During this period he also lectured on medieval philosophy for the Austrian Program of Ave Maria University, on human rights for the Phoenix Institute Europe Foundation, and on music history for the Austrian Program of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Dr. Kwasniewski has directed Gregorian scholas and mixed choirs continuously from 1990 to the present and is currently director of the Wyoming Catholic College Choir. His articles on philosophy, theology, and music have appeared in many scholarly and popular journals; he has published two books (one as editor, one as translator and commentator) with The Catholic University of America Press: Wisdom's Apprentice: Essays in Honor of Fr. Lawrence Dewan, O.P. and On Love and Charity: Readings from the Sentences Commentary of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Nancy E. Llewellyn, Assistant Professor of Latin

B. A. (Latin), Bryn Mawr College; Licenza (Christian and Classical Letters), Pontifical Salesian University; Ph.D. (Classics), University of California, Los Angeles

Dr. Nancy Llewellyn is a California native who has studied the Latin language and Latin literature of all periods for over twenty years. After earning her bachelor’s degree at Bryn Mawr, she studied with noted Vatican Latinist Fr. Reginald Foster for three years in Rome. She earned her Licenza in Christian and Classical Letters at the Pontifical Salesian University under the direction of Fr. Cletus Pavanetto, President of the Vatican’s Latinitas Foundation. During her graduate studies at UCLA, she was awarded the prestigious Luckman Fellowship for Distinguished Teaching. In 1997 she created SALVI, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to promoting the speaking of Latin, under whose aegis she conducts annual spoken-Latin workshops that attract teachers and students from around the country. She taught at Loyola Marymount University and, most recently, served as Project Coordinator of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Latina initiative at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities. Dr. Llewellyn’s interests include language pedagogy, Neo-Latin literature, paleography, and archaeology.

Matthew McGee, Instructor in Mathematics and the Natural Sciences; Outdoor Adventure Program Manager

B.S. (Wildlife Biology), University of Montana; M.S. (Zoology and Physiology), University of Wyoming; M.Ed. (Curriculum and Instruction), Montana State University

Matthew McGee, a native of Virginia, has lived in the Western U.S. for the past eleven years. He has conducted field biology research in Montana, Wyoming, California, and Alaska, including studies of coyotes, wolves, cougars, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and bats. Mr. McGee has worked as a naturalist for many organizations, including the National Park Service at the Grand Teton National Park, the Teton Science School, the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, the National Audubon Society in California, and the Murie Science and Learning Center in Alaska. Most recently Mr. McGee has been involved in designing and teaching the math and science curriculum for a new charter high school on the Wind River Indian Reservation. McGee is an avid outdoor adventurer, having completed a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail (2,100 miles) and graduated from a wilderness course with NOLS. He enjoys backpacking, rock climbing, and telemark skiing in the mountains of Wyoming. McGee manages WCC’s outdoor adventure program, which involves requisitioning equipment, setting up trip logistics, and offering guidance to students.

John R. Mortensen, Assistant Professor of Theology and Philosophy

B.A. (Liberal Arts), Thomas Aquinas College; S.T.M. and S.T.L., International Theological Institute, Austria; Ph.L. and Ph.D., Pontificia Università della Santa Croce, Italy; S.T.D. cand., Universität Freiburg, Switzerland

Dr. John Mortensen grew up in Boise, Idaho, before attending Thomas Aquinas College in California. He spent the next ten years in Europe where he studied theology and philosophy in Austria, Oxford, and Rome. From 2002 to 2007 he was Assistant Professor at the International Theological Institute, an institute of papal right in Gaming, Austria, teaching courses in logic, natural philosophy, metaphysics, fundamental theology, and Trinitarian theology. During these years he also held the positions of Director of Finance and subsequently Vice President of Administration. He completed a doctorate in philosophy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, and is currently working on his doctoral dissertation in theology. He specializes in the work of Aristotle and Aquinas, but his interests also include spiritual theology, music theory, Catholic literature, and computer programming.

Andrew Wilson Smith, Lecturer in Art History

Andrew Wilson Smith is a graduate of St. Gregory's Academy. He continued his education with a focus on sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Art in Philadelphia and the Florence Academy of Art in Italy. Three apprenticeships provided vital additional training. Smith has completed several sculpture commissions including a bronze fountain depicting the Sibyl of Cumea at The American School in Switzerland and has recently finished a set of eight larger-than-life portraits of poets for The California State University at Stanislaus. Mr. Smith has served as a teacher and juror for the South Bend Regional Museum of Art, and has taught art and art history at St. Gregory's Academy.

Staff Biographies

Mr. Mario Coccia, Director of Admissions and Registrar

B.A., English, Kean University of New Jersey; M.A., Theology, Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, Seton Hall University; S.T.M. and S.T.L., International Theological Institute, Austria; S.T.D. cand., Athenaeum Pontificium Regina Apostolorum, Italy

Mr. Coccia worked for many years in pharmaceutical and healthcare marketing and communications in New York and New Jersey. During this time he completed a Masters degree in theology with concentration in biblical studies. In 2003, he moved with his family to Austria to pursue advanced degrees in theology at the International Theological Institute. In his last year of studies he was appointed Assistant Dean, after which he was entrusted with the recruitment, admissions, advisement, and registration of students. Coccia joined the WCC staff in November 2007.

Rev. Robert W. Cook, President

Classical B.A., Regis College; LL.B., Stanford University Law School; M.Div., Sacred Heart School of Theology

Fr. Cook, born in Rifle, Colorado, attended the Catholic liberal arts college of Regis, graduating magna cum laude with a Classical B.A. in 1962. He received his LL.B. (a doctorate equivalent) from Stanford University Law School and practiced law from 1965 to 1970. He then founded Alternatives Inc. in Boulder, Colorado, which offered an alternative to abortion by providing life-supportive solutions to people with “unwanted” pregnancies. Fr. Cook was a monk at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, Abiquiu, New Mexico, for over three years. Thereafter he practiced law in Denver for 19 years. He attended Sacred Heart School of Theology, where he received his M.Div. degree. He was ordained to the Priesthood of Our Lord for the Diocese of Cheyenne on May 11, 2000. Fr. Cook served as an associate pastor at St. Anthony’s and pastor of Our Lady of Fatima, both in Casper, WY, and as the Director of Bishop Ricken’s Wyoming School of Catholic Thought. He has also taught religion in parochial school and biblical studies at Casper College. On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 2005, Fr. Cook was named the first President of Wyoming Catholic College.

Rev. Andrew Duncan, Head Chaplain for NOLS Program

B.S. (Philosophy), University of Wyoming; Pre-Theology Certificate, Conception Seminary College; M.Div. (Theology), St. Thomas Theological Seminary

Fr. Duncan, a Wyoming native, was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Cheyenne in 1993, and now serves as pastor at St. Margaret’s in Riverton. A lover of the outdoors, Fr. Duncan completed his first NOLS course, the Winter Outdoor Educator course, in January of 2006, achieving certification as a leader of novice expeditions. He has accompanied freshmen from the Classes of 2011 and 2012 on their three-week backpacking wilderness expeditions. Fr. Duncan will be a regular participant in these expeditions.

Rev. Nicholas Gregoris, Chaplain

B.A. (Classical Languages), Seton Hall University; S.T.B. (Theology), Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome; S.T.L. and S.T.D. (Theology), Pontifical Theological Faculty "Marianum," Rome

Fr. Gregoris, a native of New York, was ordained priest on May 26, 1997, in the Diocese of Scranton. He earned a B.A. in Classical Languages at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, an S.T.B. at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and his Licentiate and Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical Theological Faculty Marianum, also in Rome. At the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, he taught courses in Divine Revelation, Christology, Mariology, Sacraments, and Latin, and has conducted summer courses and workshops, particularly in his area of expertise, Mariology (a revised edition of his doctorate, "The Daughter of Eve Unfallen": Mary in the Theology and Spirituality of John Henry Newman, appeared from Newman House Press in 2003). Fr. Gregoris also celebrates the Byzantine Divine Liturgy, holding biritual faculties from the Ukrainian Eparchy of Philadelphia.

Luke A. Macik, Vice President of Administration

B.A., Liberal Arts, Thomas Aquinas College; J.D., University of Missouri, Kansas City

Mr. Macik comes to Lander from Gallup, New Mexico, where he has been a lawyer, litigator, and insurance defense counsel for 14 years, and a partner of the law firm Mason, Isaacson and Macik for 12 years. He worked with the Navajo Nation as manager of their insurance defense. Mr. Macik graduated from Thomas Aquinas College in 1987 and served as Assistant Director of Admissions there from 1987 to 1990. He received his degree in law from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1993 and is admitted to the bar in New Mexico, Colorado, Navajo Nation, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Macik is a board member of the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education and of the planned Transfiguration College in Illinois, and was a founding Coordinator for “Alive in Christ,” a Byzantine Catholic ascetical boot camp for young men. His interests include the Church Fathers, Eastern Catholicism, homeschooling, hiking, camping, and skiing.

Herbert B. Mosher, Vice President of Development

B.A. (Liberal Arts), Bates College; M.A. (English), University of Kansas; M.Ph. (English Literature), University of Kansas

Herb Mosher was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, and received a liberal arts education at Bates College in Maine. He subsequently earned a Master of Arts in English and a Master of Philosophy in English Literature at the University of Kansas. The recipient of numerous awards for excellence as a student and a professor, Mosher taught English composition, literature, and interdisciplinary studies for many years prior to his career as director of development at a variety of institutions. For the past three decades, Mosher has helped raise funds for schools, hospitals, and economic development programs—among them, Tuskegee Institute, the Menninger Foundation, Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services, and the Gallup-McKinley County Chamber of Commerce. Mosher has contributed countless hours to improving health services, substance-abuse programs, and educational opportunities for Native Americans in New Mexico.

April M. Pendleton, Business Manager; Financial Aid Officer

A.A.A. in Data Processing; DIP. in Accounting Bookkeeping, Central Wyoming College

Ms. Pendleton is a native of Lander. She graduated as valedictorian from Central Wyoming College in 1995. Since then she has worked for several entities gaining experience in business administration and accounting. Her conversion to the Catholic faith in 1982 has led her to active participation in parish life and a dedication to passing on the faith. She has taught the first communion class at Holy Rosary Parish since 1987. She enjoys sewing, quilting, gardening, and camping.

Joseph G. Susanka, Assistant to the Vice President of Development

B.A. (Liberal Arts), Thomas Aquinas College

Joseph Susanka, a native of southern California, was homeschooled and attended Thomas Aquinas College. He worked for eleven years in the Development Office of the same college, where responsibilities included foundation and donor research, grant writing and reporting, gift solicitation, and database management. His interests include classical music, writing, photography, and cinematography.

Kyle Washut, Assistant Dean for Student Life

A.A. (Political Science) and A.A. (Spanish), Casper College; B.A. (Liberal Arts), Thomas Aquinas College

A native of Casper, Wyoming, Mr. Washut was homeschooled and attended Casper College where he received two Associate Degrees, one in political science, and one in Spanish. He attended Thomas Aquinas College and received his B.A. in Liberal Arts in May 2007. He brings to WCC his extensive experience as a prefect at TAC. His interests include baseball, rock climbing, camping, hunting, and studying theology.

Jennifer Westman, Executive Secretary

AA Degree (Humanities), Central Wyoming College; Junior Year Abroad, University of Lancaster, England.

Jennifer was born in Wisconsin and raised in Hudson, Wyoming, near Lander. She served for four years in the Army and was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, and the Pentagon in Washington, DC., where she lived for 11 years. A self-described information junkie, she has a great deal of experience working with databases and computers. A convert to the Catholic faith, Ms. Westman enjoys reading, making rosaries, knitting, and riding her motorcycle.