Academic Affairs

Academic Credentials

Academic Credentials

Biography

Dr. Bradley Fuster joined Keuka College as Provost and Vice President in Fall of 2018. Fuster's career in higher education began in 1999 when he served as Assistant Professor of Music and eventually interim Department Chair at Montana State University. 

In 2005, Fuster was appointed Founding Department Chair of Music at SUNY Buffalo State. As Chair, Fuster fundraised $1,425,000 in endowed scholarships by naming six renovated performance spaces. The Music Department grew from 40 undergraduate majors to 125 undergraduate and 35 graduate majors. Fuster added new performance ensembles, degrees in digital music production, and one of the first 100% online Masters in Music Education in the world, as well as authoring the self-studies to attain initial accreditation and continuing accreditation from the National Associations of Schools of Music (NASM).

Subsequently, Fuster was promoted through a series of senior leadership roles from 2013-2018. These roles included Interim Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management, Special Assistant to the Provost for Innovative Learning, Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness, and Interim Vice President/Chief Information Officer. In 2016-2017, Fuster completed an ACE Fellowship at Vassar College. 

At Keuka College, Fuster has worked with the faculty to expand the program array, adding many new degrees in the areas of Allied Health and eSports Management, as well as several certificate offerings. 

Professional Interests

As a thought leader in higher education, Fuster serves as a peer reviewer and visiting reaccreditation team member for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and has authored numerous articles published in US News & World Report, eCampus News, and Inside Higher Ed.

Academic Credentials

Biography

Dr. Sanders teaches Introduction to Theater at Keuka College and serves primarily in an administrative capacity including as liaison to the New York State Education Department and as Accreditation Liaison Officer to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.  

His varied interests and curiosities led him to a thirty-year dual career working in higher education and the entertainment industry. He started his entertainment career as a bassoonist, moving on to ballet, and musical theater before discovering his passion in theater production and engineering work. He has worked on over 500 productions in the stage, film, television, dance, and opera industries.

As part of a Glasnost cultural exchange, he was a visiting scholar at the Moscow Art Theatre School/Studio in the former Soviet Union, and was a Fulbright-Hays Scholar at National Taiwan University. He has served in a variety of capacities in higher education, including overseeing the construction and renovation of numerous academic facilities.

Sanders’ roots are in Appalachia and he takes great pride in his commission as a Kentucky Colonel by Governor Martha Layne Collins. His life-long drive is discovering the wonders of the great outdoors where he spends time hiking, backpacking, fishing, and generally getting lost in the woods.

Academic Credentials

Biography

Dr. Tim Sellers is the Associate Provost and Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at Keuka College. He is the founder and director of the Center for Aquatic Research at Keuka College and the head science advisor for the Keuka Lake Association. Dr. Sellers has a B.A. in Environmental Science from the University of Colorado, an M.S. in Biology and a Ph.D. in Environmental Biology from the University of Louisville, and was a post-doctoral fellow in Oceanography at Texas A&M University. He has conducted aquatic and water quality research on Keuka Lake and the other Finger Lakes for 15 years.

Professional Interests

Limnology, oceanography, ecology

Academic Credentials

Biography

Dr. Malia Spofford Xavier teaches Spanish language, Latin American literature, and intercultural communication courses at Keuka College. Born in New York and educated at Cornell University, Malia has since traveled to dozens of countries and six of seven continents. After living and teaching in Brazil for six years, she returned to the United States in 2015 to join the faculty of Keuka College. She enjoys working with students of all backgrounds to expand their understanding and experiences of our globalized world and its cultures and languages. 

Malia’s scholarship grew out of a deep interest in the colonial period of Spain in the Americas, exploring how concepts of human rights, capitalism, and sovereignty developed in tension with plural identities during that violent, unstable time. Her publications and presentations include articles on teacher education, social justice, and community-engaged pedagogy. Her classes encourage students to explore diversity and critical perspectives on culture and literature.

The Spanish program incorporates community-engaged and experiential learning through Field Periods, short-term travel abroad, local projects, and co-curricular activities. Recent trips abroad have included Nicaragua with the Four Walls Project, Spain, and Costa Rica. Malia is also a member of the Board of Directors of Literacy Volunteers of Ontario-Yates Counties, which has an English Language learner program. Many Keuka College students have worked with local Spanish-speaking community members who are seeking to apply for US citizenship or improve their English language skills.

Prior to her career in higher education, Malia was an officer in the US Navy during Operation Iraqi Freedom. She has two children, Nicholas and Olivia. In their free time, you can find them camping, swimming, hiking, and skiing.