Congratulations to our Retiring Faculty

Dr. Ann Boyd began her career at Hood College in 1976 as an adjunct lecturer in the department of biology. She has served as department chair, dean of the graduate school and associate vice president of academic affairs. She teaches at both the undergraduate and graduate level and makes the classroom an interactive learning environment that respects diverse opinions and celebrates student success.

Dr. Terry Martin joined the College in 1987. He has published widely on the topics of thanatology and gerontology and developed and taught several new graduate courses in thanatology. He was instrumental in developing Hood’s Summer Institute in thanatology. He consults with several local hospices, nursing homes and the U.S. Veterans Administration, and volunteers for Camp Jamie, a weekend camp for bereaved children sponsored by Hospice of Frederick County.

Dr. Kathy Falkenstein joined Hood in 1981 and served as chair of the biology department for 18 years. She actively participated in the planning of two renovations of Hood’s Hodson Science and Technology Center. Her research interests include plant physiology and molecular biology. Falkenstein has been awarded grants for research, course development, and the Summer Research Institute. She has also given numerous talks on plant biology, and she has several published works to her name.

Since joining the Hood faculty in 1983, Dr. Allen Flora has taught physics courses as well as courses for the Honors Program and First-Year Seminar. His research has focused on computational fluid dynamics and quantum modeling. In his spare time, Allen performs in a variety of operatic productions.

Dr. Kathleen Bands joined Hood College in 1984. She has taught leadership development inside and outside the classroom and has served as the associate dean and dean of the Graduate School and the vice president for enrollment management. Most recently, she developed and implemented Frederick's first doctoral programs. In 2020, Kathleen had the honor of seeing her first students defend their dissertations and received their doctoral degrees.

Dr. Frederick Bohrer joined the College in 1989 and served as department chair from 1999 to 2006. Fred has published two books on historical imaging and more than dozen magazine and journal articles. He created an exhibit which was on display at the Smithsonian before going on a three-year US tour. He has given dozens of lectures and presentations world-wide

Dr. Mark Sandona arrived at Hood College in 1990. He has served in several leadership positions, including director of the master’s program in humanities, chair of the Department of English and Communication Arts and chair of the faculty senate. His scholarly work has been in the intersection of art and literature.

Dr. Wayne Wold came to Hood in 1990. He is an active composer, author, performer, church musician and clinician. He is the author of three books, numerous articles and dozens of anthem and hymn texts. His published compositions number more than 400 and include works for organ, adult and children’s choirs, and various instrumental ensembles, plus a children’s musical and psalm settings and hymn tunes that appear in numerous hymnals in the U.S. and Australia. Wold has also been the concert manager and co-director of Hood’s Summer Chamber Music Festival, bringing hundreds of live concerts to campus.     

Dr. Ricky Hirshhorn has been at Hood since 1992. She was director of the biomedical science program for many years, and she is the only Hood faculty member to be awarded a grant funded by the National Institutes of Health. She has published many peer-reviewed research publications, and she has mentored many undergraduate and graduate student research experiences. Ricky  has served as chair of the faculty senate three times, and on almost every faculty committee at Hood. She has led multiple revisions of the faculty code and the faculty handbook under multiple administrations and has served on a multitude of faculty search committees.

Dr. Emilie Amt joined Hood in 1998 and teaches courses in ancient history, medieval history and early modern Europe. She has worked with students on independent study projects, honors papers and the Summer Research Institute. Her historical research has focused on African Americans in western Maryland in the era of slavery. She gives frequent talks within the community.

Vince Kohl has been at Hood since 2008. He introduced two popular literature-based classes: Humans with Insides, whose title comes from an essay by the religious philosopher William James; and Literary Encounters with the Real World. In 2013, by student request, Kohl was inducted as an honorary member of Alpha Lambda Delta, the National Honor Society for First-Year Students.