Four Doctoral Degrees to be Awarded at ESU’s Spring Commencement

Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on April 24, 2018, No Comments

Four doctoral degrees in administration and leadership studies will be awarded during graduate commencement exercises at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania on Friday, May 4, at 6:45 p.m. in Koehler Fieldhouse. The doctoral candidates are Madeline S. Demmerle-Acosta, Katie S. Quartuch, Isabel C. Resende, and Gregory A. Troxell.

Madeline S. Demmerle-Acosta is the director of elementary education and federal programs for the Stroudsburg Area School District. Prior to her recent position she was the principal of Arlington Heights Elementary, also in Stroudsburg. Her previous experiences include being an ESL teacher, dean of students, and assistant principal for the Allentown School District. She started her career in education as an elementary classroom teacher in Brooklyn, N.Y. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Queens College of the City University of New York. Madeline currently resides in East Stroudsburg with her husband, Miguel, and their three children: Donavin, Aaron and Angelynn. She is passionate about serving the children of her community especially those that are typically underserved. She also enjoys reading, dancing and visiting the beach with her family. In the future, she hopes to teach in higher education.

Katie Quartuch is a social studies teacher and the gifted coordinator at Southern Lehigh High School. She completed her B.A. in political science and her B.S. in secondary education- social studies at East Stroudsburg University. She has taught at Southern Lehigh High School for the past 13 years. She also earned her M.A. in political science from ESU. Quartuch resides in Bethlehem with her husband, Matthew, and their three children: Sophia, Logan, and Reed.

Isabel Resende is the assistant superintendent of the Nazareth Area School District. She completed her undergraduate degree at Moravian College earning a B.S. in biology. She worked as a genetic researcher and was published in Nature Genetics before entering the field of education. Resende earned her M.A. in secondary education and an M.A. in educational leadership from Lehigh University. She holds a supervisory certificate in curriculum and instruction, a K-12 principal certificate, and a letter of eligibility for the superintendency. With 17 years in public education, Resende has served as a high school biology teacher, K-12 math coordinator, K-12 supervisor of curriculum, K-12 director of math, science, technical arts, and educational technology. Resende resides in Nazareth with her husband, Pedro, and daughter, Sofia.

Gregory A. Troxell is the superintendent of schools for the Phillipsburg School District in Phillipsburg, N.J. After graduating from the Pennsylvania State University in 1994, Troxell began teaching in September 1995 as an eighth grade science teacher at the Phillipsburg Middle School. After earning his master’s degree in educational administration at East Stroudsburg University in 1998, Troxell was promoted to assistant principal at the Phillipsburg Middle School in 1999. In fall 2004, he moved to Phillipsburg High School as an assistant principal. In 2009, he became the principal at Phillipsburg High School, serving in this position for six years before becoming assistant superintendent of schools for the Phillipsburg School District in July 2015. Troxell resides in Palmer Township, Pa. with his wife, Shannon, and their three children: Brooke and twins, Cael and Grace.

About the Doctoral Program in Education Administration and Leadership

The professional and secondary education department at ESU developed a doctoral degree program to meet the demonstrated need for the Ed.D. in educational leadership and administration. The program was previously a collaborative effort with Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). In 2017, ESU graduated the first students to complete the program solely under ESU.

The three-year academic package is designed to provide continuous skill development in leadership, writing, reading, and research. The program is intended for leaders in education wishing to further their knowledge, skills, and expertise in the area of educational leadership.

For more information about the doctoral program, including applying for admission/acceptance, contact Dr. William Bajor, director of graduate and extended studies at 570-422-3588 or wbajor@esu.edu or Kevin Quintero, associate director of graduate and extended studies at 570-422-3890 or kquintero@esu.edu.