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About featured professors
David Bowie
Professor and English Department Chair David Bowie, Ph.D., has taught linguistics and related courses at UAA since 2009. He graduated with a doctorate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland College Park and an associate’s degree from Prince George’s Community College.
UAA is not the first, but the third university Bowie has taught at, including Brigham Young University and the University of Central Florida.
“I joke that I’ve spent my early teaching years running from tenure,” Bowie said.
Bowie described his teaching style as “overly comprehensive.” He gives time to topics that students may not be responsible for knowing but he believes are important.
“I don’t like to gloss past things,” Bowie said.
He also incorporates humor into his lectures.
“There was one student who [said that I had] ‘a dry enough sense of humor that you’ll need moisturizer,’” Bowie said.
Overall, Bowie’s goal as a professor is to share his passion for linguistics with his students.
“I don’t pretend to believe that any student who takes a linguistics course from me is going to fall in love with linguistics and make it their career like I did,” Bowie said. “But I do hope that they get from it that even if they find it completely uninteresting, they can come out of a class with me understanding why some particularly strange sorts of people would really really enjoy it.”
Outside of teaching, Bowie researches issues in dialect contact (when people with different dialects communicate), language aging (shifts in language abilities over a lifetime) and dialectology (the study of dialects). He also enjoys cooking for his children and classical music composition.
Nalinaksha Bhattacharyya
Professor Nalinaksha Bhattacharyya, Ph.D., has degrees in mathematics, engineering, a master’s degree in business administration and two doctorate degrees in finance from the University of Calcutta and the University of British Columbia.
Bhattacharyya started teaching in India in 1989 and has been teaching at UAA since 2007. After trying different fields, he found his passion for finance.
“This is my perfect fit in an imperfect world,” Bhattacharyya said.
While his teaching style is lecture heavy, he adds humor to lighten the information overload. He also shares his ratings on Rate My Professors with students.
“I talk about the bad ratings because they are funny,” Bhattacharyya said.
In his free time, Bhattacharyya reads books about the history and culture of Bengal, politics and science fiction and plays bridge online.
James Muller
Photos by Caleigh Jensen
Professor James Muller, Ph.D., teaches political science courses at UAA. After earning a doctorate degree in political science at Harvard University, the attraction of living in Alaska led him to accept his teaching position at UAA in 1982. He enjoys passing on the appreciation for quality literature that he gained in college.
“It’s been exciting being here,” Muller said. “One of the favorite parts of teaching is watching students [learn and grow] and figuring out what happens to them long after they are in their classes. It’s really amazing.”
While Muller teaches in a traditional lecture-style format, he follows the advice of one of his former professors: adding variation to accommodate different learning styles and capture attention.
“Students are always amazed when suddenly you do something they didn’t expect,” Muller said. “Then they pay close attention.”
Muller would like students to know that they hold power over their education, regardless of natural gifts of intelligence or curiosity.
“The other thing that helps a lot and makes a big difference is hard work… and trying always to do your very best,” Muller said.
Muller has written many published works and currently studies Winston Churchill. In his free time, he enjoys theater, as his daughter is a stage manager.
Shannon Donovan
Associate professor Shannon Donovan, Ph.D., teaches geography and environmental studies at UAA. She has a doctorate degree in environmental science from the University of Idaho, a master’s degree in recreation, parks and tourism resources from West Virginia University and a bachelor’s degree in wildlife management from the University of New Hampshire. Her interest in Alaska solidified her decision to work at UAA in 2009.
“I was always interested in coming to Alaska,” Donovan said. “I really fell in love with the landscape.”
Donovan stresses the importance of professional development and critical thinking to her students. She encourages students to treat class like a job.
“I think it’s really important to practice [professional development] because we are really living in an era where maybe people aren’t getting taught that as much or we have a much more informal society,” Donovan said. “When you get a job, you are still expected to act professionally.”
Donovan enjoys teaching students new aspects of environmental studies and, most of all, conducting community-engaged service learning projects. She found that her field is very important in today’s world, especially as it relates to climate change and policies.
“I love that it is of interest to people, and I feel really honored to be a part of it,” Donovan said.
Donovan is currently involved in an invasive species project with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington State and the Anchorage Climate Action Plan. Donovan has two sons and spends her free time running, skiing, berry picking, cooking and enjoying the outdoors.