Faculty & Research

More than one third (1/3) of Chatham's faculty are affiliated with the Women's Institute.

The following faculty are affiliated with the Women's Institute as scholars and teachers interested in gender research and pedagogical practice:

Each year the Women's Institute hosts Visiting Scholars working on cutting-edge gender research.

The Visiting Scholar Program hosts scholars interested in women's leadership and gender equity who are not otherwise affiliated with Chatham University. The program provides a rich intellectual environment for Visiting Scholars to pursue their own research agenda and to participate in the activities of the Women's Institute and affiliated Centers and programs. Chatham students, faculty, and the broader community benefit from the intellectual engagement with the Visiting Scholars, who will present their work in talks on campus and at the annual Gender Scholars Symposium. 

Program Overview & Application Procedures (pdf)

Erin Tunney (2019-2020) has a Ph.D. from Emory University in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies and an MA from American University in International Peace and Conflict Resolution. She has published research on violence against women in post-conflict Northern Ireland and post-Apartheid South Africa as well as efforts to transform militarized masculinity in youth work in Northern Ireland. She has taught Women’s Studies, Sociology and International Peace and Conflict Resolution courses for Carlow University in Pittsburgh, Emory University in Atlanta, and North-West University in South Africa.

She recently returned to her hometown of Pittsburgh after working as a Researcher for the Institute for Conflict Research in Northern Ireland. There, she led research on gaps within peacebuilding training of European Union personnel, advocated for greater sensitivity toward gender and culture within trainings, and wrote reports for the EU on best practices in peacebuilding training.

A long-time advocate for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, she has supported women who have experienced such violence at Women’s Aid Armagh-Down, conducted trainings and workshops to educate the public on these issues through the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, and served as Vice-Chair on the Board of Belfast-Lisburn Women’s Aid. Additionally, she has published research on efforts to combat dating violence through bystander awareness education on college campuses.

Nicole M. Elias (2019-2020) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY and Co-Director of Women in the Public Sector at John Jay College. Dr. Elias earned her MPA and Ph.D. in Public Administration and Affairs from the Center for Public Administration and Policy at Virginia Tech.

While at Virginia Tech, she also received the Women’s and Gender Studies Graduate Certificate and served as managing editor of Administration & Society for three years. Her research focuses on social equity in public administration and policy, with an emphasis on the ethics of administration, management of human resources in public organizations, and public policy impacts on different populations. She regularly collaborates with practitioners in government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

She is a Research Fellow with the U.S. Department of Defense’s Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) and Research Partner with the New York City Commission on Gender Equity. Dr. Elias held a Research Fellowship at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office and served as the Lead Faculty Advisor to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management on the 2016 Government-wide Inclusive Diversity Strategic Plan. She is the winner of the 2019 Audre Lorde Award for Social Justice and co-recipient of the 2018-19 Inaugural Presidential Student-Faculty Research Collaboration Award for her work examining gender equity in municipalities.

Dr. Elias is the author of numerous journal articles, book chapters, government reports, and practitioner training modules on sexual orientation, gender identity, and means of fostering greater representation and inclusion in public service. Her recent work appears in Administrative Theory & Praxis and Teaching Public Administration. Dr. Elias is the co-editor of a special issue symposium on the future of women in public administration appearing in Administration & Society. Her current research projects include two co-edited books: Ethics for Contemporary Bureaucrats: Navigating Constitutional Crossroads, to be published in 2020 and Handbook of Gender and Public Administration, to be published in 2021. 

The Scholar-in-Residence works closely with students and gives public lectures.

Each year, the Women's Institute hosts a Scholar in Residence for a week or more on campus bringing outstanding national women leaders to work closely with students. The Scholar in Residence gives guest lectures in classes, advises and mentors small groups of students, and also gives a public lecture. The residency is by invitation only.

Njaimeh Njie, Artist-Scholar-in-Residence, Spring 2020

The Women's Institute and Immersive Media program are thrilled to welcome artist Njaimeh Njie to Chatham University as an Artist-Scholar-in-Residence for the Spring 2020 semester. This residency is supported through a grant from the Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh Initiative, funded by the Pittsburgh Foundation and the Heinz Endowments. Ms. Njie will be creating new immersive media pieces while on campus, helping to shape the new immersive media academic program, working with students, giving lectures and public talks, and exhibiting her work.  

Njaimeh Njie is a photographer, filmmaker, and multimedia producer. A native of Pittsburgh, her practice centers everyday people, narratives, and landscapes, with a particular focus on how black people perceive themselves and their experiences in the cities they call home. Njaimeh is the Founder/Lead Producer of the nonfiction storytelling company Eleven Stanley Productions, and she earned her B.A in Film and Media Studies from Washington University in St. Louis in 2010.

Her work has been exhibited at SPACE Gallery, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Future Tenant, Carnegie Museum of Art Storyboard Blog, the August Wilson House, Kelly Strayhorn Theater, Gallery 102, and others. Njaimeh is the recipient of numerous grants, residencies, awards and commissions including: Pittsburgh Center for the Arts’ Emerging Artist of the Year, Brew House Association Distillery 10 Cohort residency, Who’s Next in Pittsburgh Art, New Pittsburgh’s Courier’s 40 Under 40, and the Creative Industries Network Creator of the Year.