It’s that time of year again where we welcome the newest members of Wilkinson College and asked them a few questions. We wanted to find out why they chose Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and what it means to be a part of the heart and soul of Chapman University. Not to worry, we threw in some “fun” questions along the way!

Monique Charles

Monique Charles
Assistant Professor of Sociology

Voice of Wilkinson: Wilkinson is the heart and soul of Chapman University. What does being a part of the heart and soul of this amazing university mean to you?  

Monique Charles: Being part of the heart and soul means Wilkinson has a very special place in the very fabric and ethos of Chapman. Wilkinson has an important role in contributing to Chapman values and perspectives, a soft, but very much needed power.

VoW: What’s your favorite book?  

MC: One fiction book I really enjoyed was Sistah Souljah’s ‘The Coldest Winter Ever’.

VoW: What would the personal section of your Wikipedia page say?  

MC: ‘Brainy, Brawny, Beautiful’ It would list my intellectual ‘Brainy’ interests, my ‘Brawny’ interests and the things in life that are ‘Beautiful’ including the ways I add beauty to life and the things that bring me joy and happiness.

VoW: Share a fun fact with us.  

MC: I have many hats and love to always learn something new – I am a cardologer, a sound therapist, a reverend and I love to sing as well.

Jamie Campbell

Jaime Campbell
Instructional Assistant Professor of English and Writing Center Director

Voice of Wilkinson: What does being a part of the heart and soul of this amazing university mean to you?

Jaime Campbell: I am proud and grateful to be a part of Wilkinson. In addition to teaching both creative writing and composition and rhetoric, running the Writing Center allows me to participate in enriching the student experience across disciplines and in a variety of settings.

VoW: Tell us the most interesting place you have traveled to.

JC: I’m going to go with the most surreal place I’ve traveled….A road trip from Moab, Utah to the Grand Canyon took me through seemingly endless terrain of red rocks and rust-colored dust that made me feel as if I might be on Mars.

VoW: What’s your favorite movie and/or book?

JC: My favorite book is A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. I am a quarter of the way through her most recent novel The Book of Form and Emptiness right now.

VoW: Share a fun fact with us.  

JC: I am good at impersonations but rarely share them with anyone other than my children.

Justin de Leon

Justin de Leon
Director of Ethnic Studies

Voice of Wilkinson: What does being a part of the heart and soul of this amazing university mean to you?

Justin de Leon: Being part of the heart and soul of Chapman means, to me, that we have the responsibility to help our students further develop a moral compass and/or ethnical framework that guides their intellectual curiosities.

VoW: Tell us the most interesting place you have traveled to.

JD: Having worked in the development and the peace and conflict resolution fields has taken me to many places of the world, primarily through South East and South Asia and East Africa. It would be great to get to travel back to many of those locations after being away for many of years, to “re-see” those spaces and to visit with old friends.

VoW: What’s your favorite movie and/or book?

One of my favorite books is Leanne Simpsons (2011) Dancing on Our Turtle’s Back, a beautiful book that speaks to the power of storytelling, healing of intergenerational trauma, and the importance of cultural resurgence. It is a book that brings me hope and a feeling of being seen.

VoW: Share a fun fact with us.  

JD: I recently finished a short film about two friends who support each other through a healing process. We have been learning about the power of community-based filmmaking and the film showing in film festivals later this fall.

VoW: Why Chapman?  

JD: Chapman, and more particularly Wilkinson forwards interdisciplinarity, which is central to providing students who are curious, passionate, and social justice oriented a nourishing space where they can bring their whole selves.

Patrick Hunnicutt

Patrick Hunnicutt
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Policy

Voice of Wilkinson: Wilkinson is the heart and soul of Chapman University. What does being a part of the heart and soul of this amazing university mean to you?

Patrick Hunnicutt: Two things about Wilkinson College inspire me: its commitment to providing students with a true liberal arts education and its sense of community. So, to me, being part of Wilkinson means teaching and conducting research in a way that promotes a more nuanced, rigorous, and empathetic understanding of complex problems like climate change. Bringing students into the research process is an important component of this and something that I am excited to facilitate during my time in Wilkinson.

VoW: Tell us the most interesting place you have traveled to.

PH: My research often takes me to Liberia’s capital city of Monrovia and its surrounding areas. One day, I hope to travel further into Liberia’s interior (and, with any luck, see a pygmy hippopotamus that is endemic to the country’s forests).

VoW: What would the personal section of your Wikipedia page say?

PH: I imagine it could go something like “…an accident-prone east coast transplant who can be found running, biking, or climbing in California’s mountains. Likes dogs; loves cats.”

VoW: Share a fun fact with us.  

PH: I was a rather serious flute and piccolo player growing up, participating in various symphonic orchestras and marching bands throughout Virginia.

Sara Mattavelli

Sara Mattavelli
Assistant Professor of Italian Studies

Voice of Wilkinson: Tell us the most interesting place you have traveled to.

SM: One of the most interesting places is Seoul, South Korea where I lived for three months a long time ago. I hope to go back soon.

VoW: What’s your favorite book? 

SM: One of my favorite books is I giorni dell’abbandono (The Days of Abandonment) by Italian author Elena Ferrante.

VoW: What would the personal section of your Wikipedia page say?  

SM: Born and raised near Milan in Italy, Sara’s life changed after completing  study abroad experiences in England and Spain. When she came to the US for a one-year scholarship program, she did not know she would stay long term! She has lived on the West and East Coast, as well as in the Midwest.

VoW: Why Chapman?  

SM: I chose Chapman because of its vibrant Italian Studies program, and I look forward to creating exciting opportunities to learn more about Italian language and cultures in and around campus.

Kyndra Rotunda

Kyndra Rotunda
Professor of Military & International Law

Voice of Wilkinson: Wilkinson is the heart and soul of Chapman University. What does being a part of the heart and soul of this amazing university mean to you?  

Kyndra Rotunda: Go big or go home! Who wouldn’t want to be at the center of the action?  I’m very excited to be part of Wilkinson.

VoW: Tell us the most interesting place you have traveled to. Where do you hope to travel one day?  

KR: I love to travel, by land, air, sea, whatever.  It’s hard to pick just one interesting place, but, the one that stands out most is Mount Fuji!

VoW: What would the personal section of your Wikipedia page say?  

KR: I (somehow) have a Wikipedia page, so check it out for yourself!

VoW: Share a fun fact with us.  

KY: I’m a Cowgirl through and through – born and raised in Wyoming! You can take the gal out of Wyoming, but you can never take the Wyoming out of the gal.