Faculty Spotlight
UOG Welcomes New Faculty and Administrators
Faculty Spotlight
2/5/2018
UOG Welcomes New Faculty and Administrators
Get to know the newest faculty and administrators to join the University of Guam during
the 2017-2018 academic school year! 
Deborah Leon Guerrero
Assistant Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness
Throughout her 15 years at UOG, Leon Guerrero has been the Registrar and most recently
the Director for Academic Assessment and Institutional Research, which she held for
the last 8 years. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Colorado
State University in 1985 and a Master of Business Administration from the University
of Hawaii at Manoa in 1990.Leon Guerrero will continue her work in academic assessment
and institutional research while focusing on monitoring and reporting institutional
accreditation compliance and supporting UOG’s overarching Good to Great initiatives.
Troy McVey, Ph.D.
Interim Assistant Vice President for Academic Excellence/ Director of Graduate Studies
Having served 12 years at the University of Guam as faculty and Associate Dean of
CLASS, his most recent position was Provost Fellow to the Senior Vice President of
Academic and Student Affairs. McVey earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Technology
from Drake University in 1998 and a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Design from Tulane
University in 2004. This year he completed his Doctor of Education in Global Education
from the University of Southern California. 
John Jenson, Ph.D.
Director of the Water and Environmental Institute of the Western Pacific
Jenson, who’s worked for the University for the last 24 years, focuses his research
on island groundwater hydrology and related environmental science.
Jenson earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the U.S. Air Force Academy in
1975. He went on to complete a Master of Arts in Economics in 1976 from the University
of Michigan and a PhD in Geology from Oregon State University in 1993.
Austin Shelton, Ph.D.
Executive Director of the Center for Island Sustainability
Shelton is a graduate of Hawaii Pacific University where he earned his Bachelor of
Science in Marine Biology. He also completed a master's and a doctorate in zoology
from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, specializing in marine biology. Shelton currently
serves as an assistant professor of extension and outreach in the UOG Sea Grant Program.
He also coordinates education, outreach, and diversity activities as a Co-Principal
Investigator in the Guam EPSCoR Program funded by the National Science Foundation.
COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Verna Zafra
Instructor
Zafra earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Master of Arts in English
from the University of Guam. Her research interests include composition practices
and processes, women and gender issues, and poetry. In her spare time, Verna enjoys
traveling and spending time with family. Zafra joined DEAL in Fanuchånan/Fall 2016
where she teaches English composition. She was also tapped to coordinate the first
Triton Summer Bridge Program in summer 2016.
Debra Cabrera, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Sociology
Cabrera most recently taught at St. John’s School while serving as adjunct faculty
for sociology at the University of Guam. Cabrera was formerly the Dean of Academic
Programs and Services at the Northern Marianas College in the Commonwealth of the
Northern Marina Islands.
She has been active in local, regional, and national organizations, namely the Northern
Mariana Islands Council for the Humanities, President Obama’s White House Advisory
Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Humanities Guåhan, and the Scientific
and Statistical Committee for the Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council.
Jose Cruz, Jr.
Instructor, English-Composition
Cruz is from the village of Mangilao. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Communications
from Assumption College in Worcester, MA and a Master of Education from the University
of Guam. His research interests are reading and writing about Guam and the Micronesian
region. His hobbies include poetry, researching, traditional CHamoru Cultural Arts
and Craft, and weaving.
Kenneth Gofigan Kuper
Instructor, Political Science
Kenneth Gofigan Kuper is a Chamoru born and raised in the island of Guåhan. He is
currently in the Ph.D. program in Political Science at the University of Hawai’i at
Mānoa. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the University of Guam and a
master’s degree in Pacific Islands Studies also from the University of Hawai’i at
Mānoa. His research interests include decolonization, the militarization of Oceania,
critical security studies, indigenous politics, and language revitalization.
COLLEGE OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES
Mark Acosta
Extension Agent, Global Food Security and Childhood Obesity Prevention
Acosta joins the University as an extension agent focusing on sustainable agriculture
and childhood obesity prevention. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Tropical Agriculture
from UOG. His current research interests include the locally funded Community Healthy
Living Program which focuses on reducing the risk or prevalence of obesity and cancer
and the Seven Trees’, Seven Practice’s grant funded by Western Sustainable Agriculture
Research and Education (WSARE). 
Michael Orr, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Biology
Orr is motivated by a massive amount of inquisitiveness and the kinds of experiences
that often result in wind-chapped hands and sunburn from long hours on the water or
in the field. He believes every eager student, oceanic mass, threatened species, mountain
range, pristine land track, whipping sail, developing eco-system, and unexplored route
on the tip of the map deserves a champion…actually, a slew of them. That is why he
has dedicated his career to the scientific subject matter that serves as his muse
in the natural world – the fields of neurophysiology, marine biology and environmental
science.
Katrina Marie G. Quinata
Instructor, Mathematics
Quinata is an Instructor/Academic Advisor at the University of Guam. She earned a
Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Master of Arts in Teaching from UOG. Her
research interests include promoting 4-year graduation and retention rates within
CNAS academic programs that contribute directly to the production of skilled and knowledgeable
researchers that can provide their services to Guam’s community.
LaJoy Spears, Ph.D.
Extension Agent, Extension Family Life and Youth Development
Dr. Lajoy R. Spears earned a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics and Business
and a Master of Science in Agricultural and Extension Education from the university
of Tennessee-Knoxville. She also earned a doctorate degree in Agricultural Education
and Curriculum and Instructional Technology from Iowa State University. Her research
interests include International Agricultural/Extension Education and Development,
using online/distance education to educate the community and disseminate research
in agricultural sciences, designing experiential learning for agricultural curriculum.
RFK LIBRARY 
Courtney Marshall
Assistant Professor, Reference Service and Instruction Librarian
Marshall received a Bachelor of Arts in Archeology from the University of Texas-Austin
in 2004 and a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Washington-Seattle
in 2001.
Her specialties include information literacy education, outreach, and cataloging.
Ismael Cruz Perez
Assistant Professor, Reference Service Instruction Librarian
Perez earned his undergraduate degree from Tufts University. He also earned a master’s
from Boston College and a Master or Library Science from the University of North Texas.
His research interests include understanding the information and educational needs
of the people of the region and connecting them with resources, print, electronic,
or otherwise.
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Ujwalkumar D. Patil, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering
Patil received his PhD in Civil Engineering with specialization in Geotechnical Engineering
from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2014. He earned his Master of Science
in Geotechnical Engineering from San Diego State University, California in 2008, and
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Pune University in India. He has Professional
Civil Engineer (PE-Civil) license from the State of Texas, USA. He is a member of
the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Patil has been involved in writing proposals and working on funded research projects
for various funding agencies such as: National Science Foundation, Texas Department
of Transportation, and US Department of Transportation. His research interests include
laboratory soil testing and field instrumentation, static and dynamic characterization
of saturated and unsaturated geo-materials, modeling of hydro-thermo-mechanical behavior
of geo-materials, land-slides and slope stability analysis.