Academic Affairs Leaders

Kim Derrickson is an associate professor of biology currently serving in an administrative role, associate vice president for academic budgets, data, and governance. Within Academic Affairs, he provides oversight and planning of academic budgets, coordinates data analyses and modeling for academic projects, and, as the academic liaison to governance, assists the governance bodies with maintenance of governance documents, research on historical governance decisions, and as parliamentarian. Prior to assuming this role, he was the Chair of the Department of Biology. As a faculty member he recently taught an introductory course on ecology, evolution and biodiversity and upper level courses in animal behavior and evolution. He has also taught upper level courses in avian biology, ecology, conservation biology, and exploring ecosystems where he took classes to the Amazon Rainforest and our Desert Southwest. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and Smithsonian Institution. He has published over 20 scientific papers and given numerous professional presentations on the behavior of two local species, the Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) and Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina). Kim is recognized as one of the world’s experts on the Northern Mockingbird, a species with an exceptionally large vocal repertoire. He also participated in a long-term study at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute on the singing behavior and mating system of a Panamanian species, the Dusky Antbird (Cercomacra tyrannina). Colleagues have recognized his research and appointed him an Elective Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union. Dr. Derrickson earned his B.Sc. degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He was a Research Associate at the National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institute, before joining the faculty at Loyola.

Tracey Frey joined Loyola in 2009 to support the University’s institutional accreditation efforts for the 2010 Middle States Self-Study. She reported on progress of the 2008 Grounded in Tradition, Educating for the Future strategic plan, coordinated efforts for the 2015 Middle States Periodic Review Report, and served on the drafting committee for the University’s 2015-16 strategic planning efforts. She returns to Loyola after serving as Director of Accreditation and Compliance Services at Towson University, where she worked on the University Assessment Council and the Subcommittee on Institutional Effectiveness, coordinated the academic program review process, and maintained institutional accreditation. She joins the Office of Academic Affairs to strengthen a division-wide assessment system and to integrate program review and accreditation processes, as appropriate.

Frank D. Golom, Ph.D., joined the Loyola community in 2013 as a member of the department of psychology. An organizational psychologist by training, his expertise sits at the nexus of group dynamics, workplace diversity, and organizational change. Prior to becoming dean, Dr. Golom served as chair of the department of psychology, and as a member of the university’s strategic planning steering committee, where he led data collection and analysis efforts for Loyola’s current strategic plan. Dr. Golom holds a B.A. in psychology, summa cum laude, from Loyola, and a Ph.D. in Social-Organizational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. As dean, he provides strategic vision and leadership for Loyola College of Arts and Sciences, including the humanities, natural and applied sciences, and social sciences divisions.

Afra Ahmed Hersi is the Dean of the School of Education at Loyola University Maryland and a Professor in Literacy Teacher Education. Dr. Hersi joined the Teacher Education department faculty in 2007, received tenure and promotion to associate professor in 2013, and was promoted to professor of literacy teacher education in 2021. Dr. Hersi earned her B.A. in Social Studies and Secondary Education from Radford University, her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Boston College, and her Ph.D., in Curriculum and Instruction: Language, Literacy, and Learning from Boston College. Over her the career, Dr. Hersi served as a classroom teacher, curriculum developer, research associate, and as an administrator for a community-based organization. Dr. Hersi has published research in the areas of immigration and education, literacy and language development for bilingual learners, culturally and linguistically responsive practice, and teacher education. Her focus is on academic opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students and research that expands the educational and life opportunities of marginalized children, their families, and communities. Founded in 2009, the School of Education offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. Within the Jesuit traditions of intellectual excellence, social justice, ethical responsibility, and cura personalis, the School of Education promotes leadership and scholarship in the development of teachers, counselors, administrators, and other educators.

Beth Kotchick is a professor of psychology currently serving as the associate vice president of graduate academic affairs.  She received her B.A. and M.A. from Loyola College in Maryland and earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Georgia. She joined Loyola as an assistant professor in the psychology department in 2003, was tenured and promoted to associate professor in 2009, served as department chair for six years and associate chair for two years, and was promoted to professor in 2020. Trained as a scholar-practitioner and licensed as a psychologist in the state of Maryland, she has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses on psychopathology, evidence-based practice with children and adolescents, and research methods, and has served as a clinical supervisor of doctoral students for the Psychology Division of the Loyola Clinical Centers. Her scholarship examines risk and protective factors that predict psychosocial functioning among children and adolescents with a focus on parenting and reflects her commitment to social justice, community-engaged research, and student mentoring. Within Academic Affairs, Dr. Kotchick supports the Loyola Clinical Centers, Office of Digital Teaching and Learning, and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, and provides strategic support for a variety of university-wide faculty-development initiatives and academic events.

Cheryl Moore-Thomas joined the Loyola faculty in 2000 in the department of education, was tenured and promoted to associate professor in 2007, and promoted to full professor in 2017. She served at Loyola as program director, department chair, associate dean of the School of Education, associate vice president for graduate academic affairs and diversity, and chief equity and inclusion officer. She now serves as Loyola's Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Moore-Thomas received her B.A. and M. Ed. from Loyola, and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland College Park. She is a nationally certified counselor. Her research focuses on multicultural counseling, racial identity development, and college and career access and counseling for K-12 populations. Before joining Loyola’s faculty, Dr. Moore-Thomas worked in public education as a classroom teacher, school counselor, and district level administrator.

Lisa Oberbroeckling is an associate professor of mathematics currently serving as the associate vice president of undergraduate academic affairs. She received her B.S. in mathematics from the University of Iowa. She worked at the Clinical Trials Data Management Center (now the Clinical Trials Statistical and Data Management Center) at the University of Iowa both as an undergraduate researcher and full-time research assistant. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Oregon. She has been at Loyola since 2002. She designed the course Programming in Mathematics which is required of all mathematics majors. She wrote the textbook Programming Mathematics Using MATLAB (Academic Press, 2021) and co-authored an Open Educational Resource Applied Calculus currently used as the text for Loyola’s Applied Calculus course. Her original research was in functional analysis and operator theory and then brought that expertise to research in numerical analysis; specifically using finite element methods to approximate solutions to systems of differential equations. She was co-author and Investigator on an NSF S-STEM grant that started Loyola’s CPaMS Scholars program, a scholarship program for computer science, physics, mathematics, statistics, and data science majors. She is currently Co-Director of the program. She has served as Interim Co-Director of Messina and as the Class Dean of the Class of 2022.

Michael Puma was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and is a graduate of Fordham University (BS, Psychology & American Studies) and Syracuse University (MsEd, Higher Education). He is currently completing a doctoral degree in Higher Education Administration at the University of Maryland, College Park. He spent his first nine years at Loyola in the Office of Student Life serving as both an Assistant Director and Associate Director for Living-Learning Initiatives. In 2011, Puma was named the Student Development Director of Messina. As Director of Messina, he designed and implemented yearly training and professional development opportunities for over 200 faculty, administrators, staff members and student leaders. Additionally, organized programming associated with the first-year Common Text, facilitated academic support sessions for Summer Orientation and Fall Welcome Week and served as a resource for first-year advisors. In 2017, he was recognized as an Outstanding First-Year Advocate Award by the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. In his role as Dean, Mike works closely with the Academic Advising and Support Center, The Study, and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies to help individual students in their formation during challenging times and to develop programs and practices that raise the academic success of all students. At Loyola, Mike has also served as president of Loyola's Phi Beta Kappa chapter and is a member of OUT Loyola - Loyola's LGBTQ group for faculty, staff and administrators. He also is a trained Loyola Safe Zone and Step Up! Bystander Intervention Facilitator and a member of the Strategic Plan steering committee.

Mary Ann Scully is the Dean of the Joseph A. Sellinger, S.J., School of Business and Management at Loyola University of Maryland. She is tasked with leveraging the historical strength of both the undergraduate and graduate programs with renewed focus on the needs of employers and the success of a new generation of students. Her executive experiences combined with her deep business connections inject a new perspective. 
She is a successful entrepreneur and “intrapreneur” who started, scaled, and sold a financial service company that had achieved regional brand recognition and impact. She has successfully led both large and small organizations working with local, national, and international client.
She was the co-founder of Howard Bank. She was the Chief Executive Officer of Howard Bank/ Bancorp and Chairperson of its board of directors until its merger with FNB of Pennsylvania in 2022.
A lifelong banker with more than 40 years of varied executive experiences in the Maryland marketplace, Mary Ann led teams responsible for both Howard Bank’s organic growth and repeated strategic acquisitions that created the Greater Baltimore region’s largest locally headquartered banking company and Maryland’s third largest locally headquartered bank with more than $2 billion in assets.
Prior to  Howard, Mary Ann was employed by Allfirst Bank. She served in a number of senior positions including, Executive Vice President for Regional Banking, Executive Vice President for Community Banking, Senior Vice President for Strategic Planning, Senior Vice President for Mergers and Acquisitions, and Senior Vice President of International Banking.
Mary Ann is a trustee and member of the Executive Committee of the Enoch Pratt Library,  vice chair of the Mount Saint Joseph board and a board member of Capital Bancorp and CapitalBank She is a past president of the board of Catholic Charities,  past chair of The Community Foundation of Howard County and past chair of the Maryland Bankers Association ,  as well as a  past  board member of the Baltimore Federal Reserve and  served as a Community Advisory board member for the FDIC. She also was a member of the Maryland Economic Development and Business Climate Commission. She is a 2007 graduate of Leadership Maryland. 

Mary Ann has been recognized publicly for her achievements in business and for her works in the community.  She was given a lifetime achievement award as the CEO of the year by the Baltimore Business Journal in 2022.  In 2021, she was ranked as #14 in the Daily Record Power 100 listing .In 2022, Mary Ann was inducted into the Business Hall of Fame by the Maryland Chamber of Commerce , and in  2020, Mary Ann was inducted into the Business and Civic Hall of fame by the Baltimore Sun, while and in 2018, she  received the Industrialist of the Year award from the Baltimore Museum of Industry. She was named one of the Top 25 Women to Watch in Banking by American Banker newspaper in 2016 and 2017. 
She received her MBA from Loyola and her BA from Seton Hill University. She is a Loyola University Alumni laureate and a Seton Hill University Distinguished Alumna.

Christina Spearman serves as the Assistant Vice President for Career Development, which includes oversight of the award-winning Rizzo Career Center and collaborative efforts to integrate career development across the institution. She earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from East Carolina University. She joined the Loyola community in 2007 and has held various administrative positions, including Director of Sophomore Initiatives, Director of Student Life, and Dean of Students. Dr. Spearman is a Global Career Development Facilitator, a Certified Federal Job Search Trainer, and a Certified Federal Career Coach. As part of Loyola’s team, she completed the AAC&U Curriculum to Career Institute, and she currently leads the LCAS Career Faculty Fellows program. She is also the project lead for an AAC&U grant focused on “Implementing Equitable and Inclusive Curriculum-to-Career Models.”