Office of the Provost Staff
Professor Ifland, a successful entrepreneur and private equity investor, started a company that automated the mortgage credit industry, eventually selling it to a Fortune 500 company. He has since invested in over 30 companies as the general partner of Oxford Holdings LLC. He also serves as the President of Barna Global LLC (https://www.barna.com) and as the CEO of Omega Ophthalmics LLC (http://www.omegaophthalmics.com). The holder of over 40 domestic and international patents, and over 30 patents pending, Professor Ifland seeks to make a difference. He’s led and established non-governmental organizations to help the poor in the Middle East and Africa and takes a group of students to create new companies in Haiti each Spring. For his humanitarian work, he was awarded a Doctor of Science (honoris causa). He graduated from Westmont, earned an MBA at the University of Kentucky and earned a Master of Studies in international law at Oxford University.
Contact: rifland@westmont.edu
Phone: (805)565-6007
Patti Hunter joined the Provost's Office in 2011, having served as a professor of mathematics since 2000. A graduate of Westmont, she earned a master's and doctorate in mathematics from the University of Virginia, specializing in the history of American mathematics. Her research has focused on the development of the mathematical statistics community in the U.S. and on the contribution of American philanthropic foundations to the development of university science programs in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America during the Cold War. In her role as vice provost, Dr. Hunter oversees Westmont's study abroad programs. She was a director of Westmont in Mexico in 2009 along with her husband Dave Hunter, a mathematics professor.
Contact: phunter@westmont.edu
Phone: (805) 565-6076
Dr. Nazarenko joined Westmont College in 2010 as Dean of Curriculum and Educational Effectiveness. She works with all curricular and co-curricular departments on their assessment and program review plans. Prior to coming to Westmont, she served as a faculty and administrator at research universities and junior colleges. She also brings to the position her experience in interdisciplinary teaching and research, global education and curriculum development gained at several educational institutions in the US and Canada. Dr. Nazarenko received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Alberta (Canada) and her Ph.D. in English Philology from the National University of Kyiv. She holds masters’ degrees in Educational Leadership from the University of Washington and in English Studies and Education from the National University of Kyiv.
Contact: tnazarenko@westmont.edu
Phone: (805) 565-6070
Dr. McQuade joined the Provost's Office in June of 2016 but has been a professor in the Biology department since 2004. She continues to teach in the classroom (Cell Biology and Genetics) and maintains a research program studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms of autoimmune disease. She received her PhD in Immunology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. She was a visiting professor for a one-year appointment at University of California at San Francisco for her last sabbatical in 2010-2011. Since returning, Dr. McQuade has worked closely with the Provost's Office, first as a department chair (2011-2015) and then as Vice Chair of the Faculty (2012-2013).
Contact: mcmahon@westmont.edu
Phone: (805) 565-6117
Jaron Burdick joined the Provost's Office in the spring of 2017. Prior to working at Westmont, he served as the Pastor of College Ministries at Community Covenant Church in Goleta, California. He earned his master of divinity degree at North Park Theological Seminary in 2011, and served as the pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Covenant Church in Franklin Park, Illinois. In addition to Jaron's work in the Provost's Office, he stays busy keeping up with his wife and four young children.
Contact: jburdick@westmont.edu
Phone: (805) 565-6007