This spring, Pennsylvania College of Art & Design welcomes seven new faculty members to the College, teaching courses in business, film, art history, science, mathematics,  esports management, and drawing. 

Mehrnoosh Fetrat

Fetrat will be directing an International Cinema course for PCA&D students this semester. She has extensive experience teaching at the university level, including courses in film and video analysis, videography, lighting, race and ethnicity in cinema, Middle Eastern cinema, audio, and electrical engineering. 

In addition, Fetrat has written, directed, and produced several award-winning short films (War Game, America, and Copsi) which have screened internationally. A Production Assistant for the Apple TV series Invasion, Fetrat’s experience also includes serving as Film Critic for Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art magazine, Book City magazine, and Angah magazine, Iran; and as an electrical engineer at Niroo Research Institute, Iran. 

She has an MFA in Film and Media Arts from Temple University, where she was awarded a University Fellowship, and a Master’s degree in Cinema from Tehran University of Art (Iran). Fetrat also has degrees in electrical engineering and power systems engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran) and University of Manchester (England)  respectively.

More information: here

Mehrnoosh Fetrat website: here

Mehrnoosh Fetrat at imdb.com: here

Links to America, and Copsi, at the Sundance Institute, here

Catherine Hartkorn

Hartkorn is joining PCA&D to instruct Biological Sciences this term. Currently an award-winning college professor teaching online biology courses at New Mexico State University-Alamogordo, she has more than a decade of experience developing and instructing online biology and laboratory undergraduate courses.

Hartkorn also serves as an expert/content reviewer for textbooks and projects for Pearson Education Inc. 

A graduate of Johns Hopkins University with a master’s degree in biotechnology, Hartkorn earned her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College (Massachusetts). 

“In my teaching,” Hartkorn writes, “I prefer to use the application approach. I also like to include interconnections between biology and other relevant sciences, such as chemistry, physics, and mathematics.” When not in the classroom, Hartkorn enjoys reading, swimming, hiking, and playing the piano.

Brad Kuhbander

Kuhbander is joining PCA&D for the Spring 2021 term to instruct Introduction to Esports Management. 

Currently an adjunct professor at Adrian College in Michigan teaching Introduction to Marketing, Kuhbander most recently also served as Manager of Media Relations for Michigan International Speedway for the NASCAR-circuit track. His extensive experience as a professional in the field also extends to more than a decade with the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, first as a Seasonal Assistant and Research Coordinator and, ultimately, as Manager of Football Information. There, he worked with both players as well as members of the media, and managed all public relations operational functions. 

Kuhbander earned his MBA from Baker University (Kansas),, and his undergraduate degree in Sport Management from Baldwin Wallace University (Ohio). 

Maren Less

Less joins PCA&D for the Spring 2021 semester to instruct Drawing II. 

A former adjunct professor at The Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Less also has served as studio assistant to artists Dona Nelson and Peter Cusack and as a Post-Baccalaureate Fine Art Liaison at Maryland Institute College of Art. She has been published online, has served as an Artist in Residence, and has exhibited extensively, for almost a decade and internationally.

Maren Less website: here

On Instagram: @Marenless

Cynthia McCombs

McCombs will instruct Business Mathematics during the Spring 2021 semester at the College. 

Currently an Adjunct Mathematics Professor at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, Lancaster, McCombs has offered academic seminars on topics such as time management, effective studying, overcoming test anxiety, and budgeting.

She also has served as a Mathematics Graduate Assistant at Millersville University, tutoring undergraduate students, and has taught mathematics at the K-12 level. 

In addition to her teaching career, McCombs has worked as a marketing research associate, and in finance and sales. 

McCombs earned her master’s degree in Mathematics from Millersville University, and has two undergraduate degrees: in Marketing, from Penn State University, and in Elementary Education from Millersville, where she was inducted into the Kappa Delta Pi National Education Honor Society. 

When not in front of a classroom, McCombs enjoys beekeeping, hiking in national parks, international travel, and NYT crossword puzzles. 

On Instagram: @cindy_mccombs

Kristina Murray

Murray is joining PCA&D’s faculty for the Spring 2021 semester to teach Introduction to Western Art.

Currently Teen Programs Coordinator for Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Murray has extensive experience in a variety of museum and teaching capacities, from designing exhibition materials, serving as co-curator, and delivering in-person and virtual public lectures and programming, to developing guidelines for college-level courses for high school students and directing programming for Student Docents.

Murray also has experience teaching English at all levels of high school, from English language learners to college and ACT prep.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Xavier University (Ohio);  is certified in Secondary English (West Chester University); and earned her master’s degree in Art History from Temple University with a concentration in American Art. 

Patrick Quinlan

For the Spring 2021 semester, Quinlan will teach Principles of Marketing, a course within the College’s new Business in Creative Industry minor. 

Quinlan is a longtime member of the faculty of Adrian College, Michigan, where he served as Department Chair and President of the teachers’ union. He has extensive experience teaching courses in Principles of Marketing, Sales Management, Advertising and Promotion Management, Consumer Behavior, and Marketing Research. 

Quinlan earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Business from The University of Toledo (Ohio), and a law degree from Northwestern California School of Law.