Lakeland College Japan Faculty
The faculty of Lakeland College Japan are committed to providing
intellectual, moral, and professional leadership for their students.
They draw upon a wide diversity of experience of living and
learning in Japan and around the world. With the College's small
class sizes, faculty are amply accessible to students.
Dr.
Emmanuel Opare-Addo
Assistant Professor of Math & Science
Emmanuel Opare-Addo completed his PhD in Geology at the University
of Cambridge in 1992, and was subsequently a post-doctoral research
fellow at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken)
between 1992-1993. He worked as a Research Associate at the
University of Electro-Communications (Tokyo) from 1993 to 1998.
Over the past years, Dr. Opare-Addo has presented his work
at the Universities of Tokyo, Nagoya and Kyoto, among others.
He is a fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, Cambridge
Commonwealth Society, American Geophysical Union, Geochemical
Society of America and Mineralogical Society of America.
Since joining Lakeland College in 1994, Dr. Opare-Addo has
taught courses in both Science and Mathematics. Dr. Opare-Addo
has lived on all the major continents of the world, likes to
do geological fieldwork and pursue his research interests in
his spare time. His other hobbies include reading, watching
animals, traveling and sharing time with people.
Ms.
Barbara Turoff
Assistant Professor of History & Humanities
Barbara K. Turoff grew up in New York City where she studied
Music and frequented the museums, concert halls and theaters
on and off Broadway. At Douglass College of Rutgers University,
she majored in Literature and History, and upon graduation in
1960, embarked upon a career in education. She has held teaching
positions in high schools, community colleges, and universities
in the United States, Spain, and Japan.
Turoff's special field is the History of American Women. In
addition, she has a strong interest in Holocaust studies and
in the 1980's with several colleagues engaged in an oral history
project interviewing Holocaust survivors in the Ohio area.
Since her appointment at Lakeland College, Turoff has primarily
taught the Humanities and History. Not an advocate of passive
learning, Turoff steers away from lecture. She encourages dialogue
in the classroom and requires extensive research so that students
can explore their own interests in depth.
Turoff's interests outside the classroom are, for the most
part, an extension of her professional activities. She often
travels to Europe to attend art exhibits, concerts and theater
productions. A favorite pastime is poking around in secondhand
bookstores looking for books by and about women. At home, she
enjoys puttering with plants, jogging along the river, and keeping
in touch with family and friends, including former students.
Mr. Luis Poza
Assistant Professor of General Studies
Mr. Poza holds a Master's degree in English (concentration in
TESOL), and a Bachelor's degree in Japanese Language (summa
cum laude) from San Francisco State University. For more than
four years, Mr. Poza served as the Academic Coordinator for
Lakeland College Japan, overseeing the academic program during
a period of sustained growth, and actively promoting student
activities as well as the campus Internet and computer services.
Mr. Poza is the chief designer of the English-language web site
for LCJ.
Mr Poza has travelled extensively over the past few decades
in Japan, and has long held a strong personal interest in its
language and culture. He came to work at Lakeland College permanently
after more than a decade of work and study in Japan.
Ms. Tracey Woodson
Assistant Professor of General Studies
Ms. Woodson was raised and educated in Austin, Texas. She studied
Anthropology, Political Science, and Latin American Studies
at the University of Texas, where she received her M.A. in 1996.
Before coming to Japan, Ms. Woodson taught Comparative Politics
and Academic Writing in Mexico at the University of the Americas
and the Monterrey Technological Institute.
Ms. Woodson is committed to helping her students pursue the
integration of their activities, values, and relations with
others. Toward this end, she regularly organizes educational
gatherings and field trips. An avid artist, Ms. Woodson enjoys
helping her students find ways to express themselves through
creative projects. Her hobbies include painting, carving, and
writing.
James Mark Shields
Assistant Professor of Religion and Humanities
In 1993 Mr. Shields earned an M.A. in social and political
philosophy at the University of Cambridge, where, under the
tutelage of Anthony Giddens, Director of the London School of
Economics, he focused on fundamentalism as a religious and political
phenomenon with roots in the Reformation. He continued his studies
of religion in Canada, his home country, receiving an M.A. from
McGill University in 1997. In the fall of 2000, Mr. Shields
was awarded a Japanese Government Fellowship to study at the
Institute of Japanese thought at Kyoto University, Japan. His
doctoral research was directed toward a recent movement in Japanese
Buddhist scholarship known as Critical Buddhism.
Mr. Shields has published widely on his areas of interest and
research, and speaks German, Spanish, French, and Japanese in
addition to his native English.
Mr. Andrew Conning
Academic Coordinator
Andrew Conning has been involved in international education
for the past twelve years as a student, researcher, teacher,
advisor, and manager. In 1993 he received his B.A. from Georgetown
University, where he studied languages and international affairs.
In 1995 and 1996, he established and managed a program for international
study and volunteer service in Mexico City. Between 1997 and
1999 he researched issues of cultural adaptation among rural-urban
migrants from the Mixtec region in Southern Mexico. In 1999,
he received his M.A. in Cultural Anthropology and moved to Japan,
where he has helped hundreds of students obtain the rewards
of international education and global citizenship.
Mr. Conning enjoys challenge and adventure in any form, and
sharing his challenges and adventures with others. He encourages
participants in the Study Abroad program to seek their own personal
and intellectual challenge in Japan and to leave their assumptions
at the door!