Faculty Spotlight

This academic year, we welcomed four new COST faculty members: Jennifer Peteya, Ph.D., Satyendra Biswas, Ph.D., Abdulrahman Abumurad, Ph.D., and Matthew Rodrigues Ph.D. Though many students will have met these talented individuals throughout the fall semester, we wanted to take the opportunity to introduce them to the wider population of the College of Science and Technology now.

Dr. Jennifer Peteya has joined our Biology Department as an Assistant Professor at the Bloomsburg Campus.

She began her higher education journey at Mount Union College in Ohio, where she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Geology. While pursuing her bachelor’s degree, she also had a second major in Art and a minor in Biology. At Ohio State, she gained her Master of Science in Earth Science. She then earned her Ph.D. in Integrated Bioscience at the University of Akron.

When asked what led her to her research interest in ancient fossils, paleontology, and exceptional preservation, she tells a story from her childhood where her mother would take her out fossil hunting in Ohio, where she was born. During these excursions, she would find small invertebrate fossils and mammal bones from the last ice age. In her words, “these experiences led to a massive obsession with extinct organisms that blossomed into three degrees and now a career.”

As an educational professional, Dr. Peteya has been an adjunct professor in Biology at John Carroll University, Oberlin College, Ursuline College, and Stark State Community College. She has done many educational outreach programs for students as young as 4 years old through high school age. She says what she loves most about teaching is watching a student have their “ah ha” moment. According to her students, “she loves the material she is teaching and cares about her students.” While a grad student, she was quoted saying, “The number one goal that I would like to accomplish in my life is sparking interest in the sciences in young women.”

When asked what led her to pursue a position at Commonwealth University, she stated “that finding an academic job is difficult no matter your field and when she saw that the Bloomsburg campus was offering an opportunity in their Biology Department that would allow her to pursue her interests; she jumped on it.” Though Dr. Peteya has spent the majority of her life in Ohio she says, “that when she interviewed for the position and saw the campus and met her future colleagues, she knew it was the place she wanted to be. She considers herself very lucky to be here doing what she loves.”