Seven new faculty join Bluffton University staff this year
Bluffton University is welcoming seven new faculty members in 2013-14.
Joining the faculty as assistant professors are Jeanna Haggard, in food and nutrition; Dr. Rebecca Janzen, in Spanish; Diana Kleman, in social work; and Amy Mullins, in education.
The other three new faculty are visiting assistant professors—Dr. Deanna Barthlow-Potkanowicz in social work, Mary Kay Combs in education and Dr. Roy Couch in music.
Haggard is returning to campus 20 years after receiving her bachelor’s degree from Bluffton. She was an adjunct instructor at Bluffton, Bowling Green State University—where she earned a master’s degree—and Owens Community College before serving as an instructor for the last five years at Rhodes State College, Lima. She has also been a self-employed dietitian, as well as a dietitian for Health Care Facilities Inc., Shawnee, Ohio, and Blanchard Valley Health Systems, Findlay.
Janzen earned her Ph.D. this year from the University of Toronto, where she also holds a master’s degree in Spanish and Portuguese and has been an instructor. Her bachelor’s degree is from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Mexican literature is her academic specialty, and she has presented papers at a number of conferences. Her community involvement includes volunteer work in 2012 in the Mexico City Quaker House’s Refugee and Migrant Program.
Kleman is completing her doctoral work in The Ohio State University School of Social Work. She has two master’s degrees, one in social work from Case Western Reserve University and one in education from the University of Toledo, where she also received her bachelor’s degree. She previously served as northwest regional director of The Twelve of Ohio Inc., which offers foster care and other services to children and families, and is a member of the Sisters of St. Francis, Tiffin, Ohio.
Mullins is also finishing her Ph.D., in curriculum and instruction, at Toledo. She has a master’s degree in education from Ohio State and a bachelor’s degree from Morehead (Ky.) State University. She is a former elementary teacher and assistant curriculum director who holds elementary principal certification as well. She is also a consultant for the Asia Society, a nonprofit organization promoting closer ties between Asia and the West through education and other outreach.
Barthlow-Potkanowicz has a background in psychology. She earned a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in clinical psychology, both from Kent State University, along with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Lycoming College, Williamsport, Pa. She was a psychologist at the Institute for Public Safety Personnel Inc. in Indianapolis, Ind., and at Ohio University before opening a private practice in Bluffton last January. She has been a guest lecturer at both Ohio and Ohio Northern universities.
Combs retired last year after 15 years as a school psychologist for the Hancock County Educational Service Center (ESC). She worked in several county school districts as well as in Findlay City Schools. She had previously been at the Putnam County ESC for three years, and earlier spent nine years as a teacher in Wapakoneta (Ohio) City Schools. She has a bachelor’s degree from Miami University and a master’s degree in school psychology from Bowling Green.
Couch is conducting Bluffton’s concert band in addition to teaching. He was previously an assistant professor at Cameron University in Lawton, Okla., for five years. His degrees are in tuba performance, including a bachelor’s from Kent State University, a master’s from the University of Akron and a doctorate from the University of North Texas. He was principal tuba in the Allen (Texas) Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and the Firelands Symphony Orchestra in Sandusky, Ohio.
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Monday, June 30, 2025
Sunday, June 29, 2025
Saturday, June 28, 2025
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Friday, June 27, 2025
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Thursday, June 26, 2025
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- Send July 2025 Community Calendar items to the Icon
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