Jul 15, 2025  
2025-2026 Catalog 
    
2025-2026 Catalog

Department of Humanities Faculty & Staff


Note: For all faculty listings in this section of the catalog, the year when a faculty member joined the Academy staff follows each name. Other information includes the individual’s faculty rank, degrees earned, where obtained, professional licenses held, and military affiliation. In a department that includes more than one discipline, the faculty member’s area of specialization is indicated.

Superscripts used in this listing are:

1faculty member has received the Academy’s Vice Admiral Gordon McLintock Award for Exemplary Leadership
2faculty member has received the Academy’s Sue Alice McNulty Award for Distinguished Teaching.
3faculty member has received the Captain C.A. Prosser Award for Student Service.
4faculty member has held command at sea of an unlimited tonnage vessel.


Department Head

Paul Devlin (2015)
(English)
B.A., St. John’s University
M.A., St. John’s University
Ph.D., Stony Brook University

 


Assistant Department Head

Diana Filar (2022)
(English)
B.F.A., Emerson College
M.A., University of New Mexico
Ph.D., Brandeis University

 


Professors

Melanie Ross (2004)
(English)
A.B., Princeton University
M.A., New York University
Ph.D., New York University

Joshua Smith (2003)
(History)
M.A., (Honours), University of St. Andrews
A.S., Maine Maritime Academy
M.A., East Carolina University
Ph.D., University of Maine

Gregory F. Sullivan (2006)
(History)
B.A., University of California, Berkeley
M.A., Yale University
Ph.D., Yale University

Jeffrey F. Taffet (2002)
(History)
B.A., Franklin and Marshall University
M.A., Georgetown University
Ph.D., Georgetown University

 


Associate Professors

Jonathan Arnett (2023)
(History)
B.S., United States Air Force Academy
M.S., Air Command and Staff College
M.S., Joint Military Intelligence College
Ph.D. (Political Science), University at Albany

Susan Comilang (2015)
(English)
B.A., Columbia Union College
M.A., Washington State University
Ph.D., George Washington University

 


Assistant Professors

Keith Aksel (2023)
(History)
B.A., The Ohio State University
M.A., New York University
Ph.D., University of Colorado, Boulder

Yonina Hoffman (2022)
(English)
B.A., West Virginia University
M.A., The Ohio State University
Ph.D., The Ohio State University

 


Instructor 

Daniel Irving (2018)
(English)
B.A., Queens College
M.A., Binghamton University
Ph.D., Stony Brook University

 


Administrative Assistant 

Vacant

 


Professors Emeriti

Jane Pacht Brickman
(History, 1981-2017)
B.A., Queens College
M.A., Ph.D., CUNY Graduate Center

Arthur L. Donovan
(History, 1988-2003)
A.B., Harvard University
M.S., University of Wisconsin
Ph.D., Princeton University

Robert P. Gardella
(History, 1977-2006)
B.A., Rice University
M.S., Ph.D., University of Washington

Laury Magnus
(English, 1981-2022)
B.A., Brooklyn College
M.A., Ph.D., CUNY Graduate Center