Dr. Matt Park (Director of the Bard Sequence) oversees the Bard Sequence program in collaboration with Sequence professors, partner schools, and funders. He previously served as an Assistant Professor in African History and Global Social Science and taught courses in African history, literature, and film at BHSEC Newark from 2012-2021 and served as the Program Chair of Second Year Seminar for Bard Early College. Matt is passionate about curricular and pedagogical reform at the college and K-12 level, particularly with historically marginalized students.
Dr. Dumaine Williams (Vice President and Dean of the Early College) oversees academic programming across the Bard Early College campuses and promotes the Sequence’s academic quality and integration with the broader Bard network. Dr. Williams was previously the founding dean of Bard High School Early College Newark and principal of Bard High School Early College Cleveland.
Alysa Campbell-Hutson (Director of Policy and Strategy, Bard Early College) With a B.A. in Public Policy Analysis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law, Alysa oversees the legal and strategic aspects of the Bard Sequence including MOUs with Sequence partners. Alysa enjoys supporting schools and programs to run best-in-class, tuition free college courses, particularly in service of students from historically underrepresented communities. She is excited about expanding Sequence to new markets.
Dr. Benjamin Bagocious (Associate Professor of the Humanities) Education: PhD in English, Indiana University; MA in English, Indiana University; MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry), The New School, New York, NY; BA with distinction in English, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH. Sequence Partner: Thurgood Marshall Academy, IDEA Public Charter School. Research and Teaching Interests: Dr. Benjamin Bagocius writes and teaches broadly across literature, spirituality, and queer thought. His book of poetry, The Canaanite Woman, was published by Wipf and Stock Publishers in 2022, and his second book of poetry, The Gospel According to B., is forthcoming from Unsolicited Press in 2024. Dr. Ben’s academic research appears in top-tier scholarly journals including Modernism/modernity, Criticism, Studies in the Novel, and is forthcoming in Modern Fiction Studies, and his poetry and essays appear in On Being, Tiferet, Santa Clara Review, Untold Volumes, The Other Journal, and elsewhere. Learn more and reach out at BenjaminBagocius.com.
Professor Andrew Worthington (Associate Professor for the Bard Early Colleges Sequence Dual Enrollment Program) Sequence Partner: Orange High School, Orange NJ. Education: B.A., Literature, Bard College; M.F.A., Creative Writing, City College of New York; M.S., Special Education, Hunter College. Research Interests: Mr. Worthington is the author of a novel and a short story collection, along with numerous pieces of short fiction, drama, cultural reportage, and political and labor commentary. His current projects include several fiction manuscripts and a monograph on American rank-and-file school worker organizing.
Professor Kevin Doyle (Assistant Professor, Bard Sequence) Sequence Partner: Urban Assembly School for Music and Art. Education: M.A.T., Literature, 2008 Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, B.S., Neuroscience, 2001 Trinity College, Hartford, CT, A.A., with Honors, 1998 Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington, MA.
Dr. Mahmoud M. Abusultan (Assistant Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences) Sequence Partner: Plainfield High School, Plainfield, NJ. Dr. Abusultan earned his PhD in Theatre from Bowling Green State University, where he taught undergraduate courses in Theatre History, Acting, and Performance Studies. His first manuscript, Performing Resistance in Palestine: Here We Stand, is forthcoming with Bloomsbury. Dr. Abusultan’s research focuses on Palestinian performance culture and anti-colonial techniques of nonviolent resistance. In addition to his scholarly work, he is an active theatre director whose creative practice informs his research and teaching.
Dr. David Copenhafer (Professor of Literature) Sequence Partners: Explorations Academy High School and Bronx Envision Academy, Bronx, NY. After receiving a PhD in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley in 2004, David taught for three years (in Music, Cinema Studies, and Comp Lit) at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2008, he moved to New York City to help found Bard High School Early College Queens. In 2023, he moved to Ithaca to be with his wife, Sarah, who recently graduated from Cornell Law School. David has written articles for both academic and popular journals (including Hyperallergic and Camera Obscura) and is working on a book called The Literary Acoustic: Figures of Music and of Sound in Kafka, Joyce, Proust, and Ellison. He teaches guitar privately and has played both guitar and bass in several bands. In 2012, David released a solo album, Don’t Call it the Moon. A second album will be out soon. David is glad to be back in New York City and working within the universe of the Bard Early Colleges once again.
Deanne Battle, MFA
Dr. K “Yawa” Agbemabiese: (Faculty in Special Education and Global Studies, Program Chair, Bard High School Early College; Camden School District) Sequence Partner: The Next Step Public Charter School, Washington DC. Education: BA, Ohio State University; MA, PhD, Ohio University. Sequence Electives: Gender Studies, Civic Engagement and Social Change, History of Disease, Medicine, and Society. Research and Teaching Interests: Current research focuses on education and gender dynamics amongst the Anlo Ewe of Ghana. Dr. Yawa, also known as Mama Dunenyo, carries the title of Queen Mother of Aborkutsime and is married to Torgbui Azaglo I (Dr. Padmore Agbemabiese). She is the founder of the Charles A. and Norma J. Grooms Education Foundation, which sponsors girls’ education in Abor, Ghana, and the owner of Dunenyo Education and Training Center, Abor, Volta Region, Ghana, West Africa.
Dr. Hany Eldeib: (Faculty in Mathematics, Computer Science, and Robotics) Sequence Partner: Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Washington DC. Education: M.S. and PhD. Systems Engineering, University of Virginia B.S. and M.S. Electrical Engineering, Cairo University Sequence Elective: “Computer Science”. Research and Teaching Interests: Teaching and Equity in Computer Science and Engineering at the High School and College levels.
Professor Sweer Shah: (Assistant professor of Mathematics) Sequence Partner: Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Washington DC. Education: B.E Electrical Engineering, M.S Mathematics, MEd Curriculum & Instruction Sequence Elective: “College Algebra” “Introduction to Statistics and Probability”. Research and Teaching Interests: A wide variety of college courses ranging from remedial math to advanced math courses. Research interests include: Applications of differential equations in science and engineering and Mathematics education and mathematical problem-solving.
Dr. Paul Hansen: (Faculty in Literature) Education: PhD in English, University of Wisconsin-Madison; BA in English and Photography, Oberlin College; AA, Bard College at Simon’s Rock Sequence Elective: Writing and Composition. Research and Teaching Interests: Research interests include contemporary American literature, interdisciplinary humanities, and ongoing changes in higher education. Since 2017, he has taught Second Year Seminar and electives focused on Midwest Regionalism.
