William Lahar, Mount Saint Mary College.
With the Spring 2025 semester at an end, Mount Saint Mary College bids a fond farewell to three outstanding faculty members with nearly a century of service to the college community between them.
The Mount thanks each of these professors for their many years of dedication to the college.
William Lahar – 50 years
Lahar served as a professor of Chemistry for five decades, inspiring countless Mount students in both the Natural Sciences and other majors. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Physical Chemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Stonehill College. His research interests include Investigating metal ion binding in biological systems using fluorescence spectroscopy and metal ion binding in substituted porphyrins.
Monica Merritt – 17 years
Merritt, an associate professor of Education, has an extensive background in her field, including nearly two decades as a mathematics teacher in elementary, middle, and secondary schools. She earned a Doctor of Education from Columbia University, a Master of Science from Bank Street College of Education, and a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University. Her research interests include problem-solving and problem-posing in mathematics, rehumanizing mathematics, and storytelling in mathematics.
Glenn Reynolds – 17 years
Reynolds, a professor of History, enjoys research in the field of African Film Spectatorship. He has published three books: Colonial Cinema in Africa: Origins, Images, Audiences (2015), Africa's Last Romantic: The Films, Books and Expeditions of John L. Brom (2014), and Images Out of Africa: The Virginia Garner Diaries of the Africa Motion Picture Project (2011). He earned a Doctor of Philosophy in History from SUNY Stony Brook and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley.
In addition, the following four employees completed their time as full-time faculty at the Mount at the end of this academic year. The college wishes them the best in their future endeavors.
Victor Azuaje – 17 years
Azuaje, a professor of Hispanic Studies, earned his PhD in Spanish from Temple University in Pennsylvania. His areas of research are Latin American literature, politics, and religion. The native of Venezuela won the Enrique Bernardo Nuñez Biennial Essay Award for his book La Critica de la Obra Ausente (The Criticism of the Absent Work) and the José Antonio Ramos Sucre Biennial Essay Award for his book Bajo la Sombra de Azazel: Sacrificio, Alegoría y Conflicto Social en Ramos Sucre (Under the Shadow of Azazel: Sacrifice, Allegory and Social Conflict in Ramos Sucre.)
James Phillips – 16 years
Phillips, a professor of Theatre, earned a Master of Arts in Theatre Education from Emerson College, a Master of Fine Arts in Directing from the Catholic University of America, and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre for Radio and Television from Morehead State University. He is currently active as a freelance director, actor, and sound designer, working at regional theatres from New Hampshire to California. His research specialty is comedy, particularly the role of the servant class in English language comedy. Phillips earned the Mount’s Faculty Award for 2025 at the recent Commencement ceremonies.
Scott Russell – 9 years
After working as a computer programmer for 15 years, Russell, an associate professor of Sports Management, decided to follow his passion for sport and enrolled at Purdue University's graduate program in Health and Kinesiology. He believes athletics and physical education are an important part of collegiate academics, but not at the cost of academic success. He earned a PhD in Athletic Administration and a Master of Kinesiology from Purdue University. He also earned a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from the University of Michigan.
Sonya Abbye-Taylor – 14 years
Taylor, an associate professor of Education and Chair of the Division of Education, is a former special teacher and crisis intervention counselor. She has worked with children from preschool through high school with a variety of abilities and disabilities in school districts with a wide range of demographic conditions. She worked closely with Bishop Dunn Memorial School to develop programs and support professional development initiatives. She earned an Ed.D, in Organizational Leadership from Northcentral University.