Villa Maria College welcomes Dr. Ryan Hartnett as the new Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, new Director of Career Services Blythe Kaczmarczyk, and Daniel Hopen as Animation Instructor.
Hartnett brings with him to Villa ten years of higher education experience as a professor and an academic administrator, most recently at Trocaire Collge. His experience includes providing leadership in directing academic advising, instructional technology, distance learning, lifelong learning, and workforce development as well as development of new curricula. In 2010, Hartnett received a B.A. in Philosophy and Psychology as well as a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
With over ten years of experience at Baker Victory Services, Kaczmarczyk comes to Villa Maria with nearly as much experience assisting, mentoring and advising traditional, international and under resourced college students. Most recently she was a Mentor in the College Opportunity Mentoring Program Achieving Student Success (COMPASS,) at Buffalo State College, where Kaczmarczyk is completing her M.S. in Higher Education & Student Affairs Administration. She received a M.B.A. from Canisius College and a B.A. in Business Administration from the State University of New York College at Fredonia.
Most recently a professor at DeTao Masters Academy in Beijing, Hopen has nearly 20 years of experience in animation both in the classroom and as an entrepreneur. He has been on two Emmy award-winning animation teams, and currently serves as the president and principal at Great Big TV, an animation company located in New York. Hopen received a M.A. in Animation from the New York Institute of Technology, a diploma in Classical Animation from Sheridan College, and a B.A. in Fine Art and Drama from the University of Toronto.
