Academics
King’s College today recognized four faculty members with promotions and tenure for the 2025-2026 academic year based on their teaching effectiveness, scholarship, professional development, and community service.
Gerardo Giordano, Ph.D., was promoted to Professor of Physics.
Dr. Giordano has been teaching at King’s College since 2011. He earned both his Ph.D. in Physics and M.Ed. in Physics Education from the Pennsylvania State University, a B.S. in Physics from NJIT, and a B.S. in Mathematics from Rutgers University.
During his time at King’s College, Professor Giordano has taught nearly every course in the physics department from introductory courses for non-majors to advanced topics like thermodynamics and quantum mechanics for physics majors. At the heart of his teaching philosophy is making these classes accessible to learners of all backgrounds, involving students in the learning process, and bringing physics to life with interactive demonstrations in the classroom. He also regularly involves motivated students in research opportunities including building a cosmic ray detector, helping them present their research at nationally recognized conferences, and publishing articles in major physics journals.
Dr. Giordano has also published several articles on classroom techniques and physics course pedagogy in the Physics Teacher journal and presented research at numerous conferences. He is currently working on his next article describing a novel way of introducing continuous probability distributions into an Introductory Quantum Mechanics course and he is writing a physics chapter for a handbook on teaching about warfare at the undergraduate level.
Engaging with the college community and the surrounding areas has always been a priority for Dr. Giordano. He routinely serves as a representative on Faculty Governance Committee and chaired the Academic and Professional Affairs Committee. Each summer, he presents the Academic Session for new student orientation, helping to ease their transition to King’s College and introduce them to all King’s has to offer. He also routinely brings physics to the surrounding communities with lively physics demonstrations for students in grade schools.
Professor Gerardo Giordano was born in New Brunswick, N.J. and raised in a small town named Dunellen, N.J. Prior to teaching at King’s College, he was a graduate student at the Pennsylvania State University where he taught several introductory physics courses.
Victoria Estrada-Reynolds, Ph.D., was promoted to Associate Professor of Psychology and granted tenure.
Dr. Estrada-Reynolds began teaching at King’s College in Fall 2020. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Wyoming and M.A. in Experimental Psychology and B.A. in Psychology from the University of Texas at El Paso.
She teaches courses that serve both the general student body and psychology majors and minors to include Introductory Psychology, Statistics and Research Methods, and topics in Social, Cognitive, and Forensic Psychology. Further, she is passionate about mentoring students to better prepare them for life after graduation. For example, she organized and made available resources for applying to graduate school in psychology, has supervised students placed at a variety of internship sites ranging from clinical to legal positions, and has involved several students in her research projects, with one project receiving internal funding through the King’s College Summer Undergraduate Research Program. She is also the faculty advisor of the Psychology Club.
Dr. Estrada-Reynolds has published 14 peer-reviewed articles and three chapters in edited volumes and has presented her research at national and regional conferences. Some representative publications include: “Is all prejudice created equal? The role of modern and aversive racism in mock juror decisions” published in Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law; “Xenophobia, prejudice, stigma, and the COVID-19 pandemic” published in The Social Science of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call to Action for Researchers; “Changing views of sex offender policies: A counterevidence based intervention” published in Basic and Applied Social Psychology; “Does being guilty cause police avoidance?” published in the International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice.
Dr. Estrada-Reynolds has also served as a faculty representative for the DEI committee, a Division B representative for the Curriculum and Teaching committee, acts as a mentor to pre-tenured faculty, and is currently a program evaluator for the King’s Noyce Scholars program and is a Division B representative for the CELT board.
Dr. Estrada-Reynolds was born in El Paso, Texas and raised in a small border town called Fabens, Texas. Prior to teaching at King’s College, she was an assistant professor at Stockon University in Galloway, New Jersey.
Heather Kearney, J.D. was promoted to Associate Technical Professor of Management.
Professor Kearney, J.D. has been teaching at King’s College for 10 years. She earned her J.D. in Law from Widener University Delaware School of Law and B.S. in Civil Engineering from Penn State University.
Her teaching spans undergraduate-level courses including Business Law I, Business Law II, Labor Employment and Sports Law, Business Communications and Mentoring, Globalization, Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Linear Mathematics.
Heather was born and raised in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Before working in academia, she gained practical experience working as a corporate attorney and clerking for the judges in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. She maintains a private practice and sustains an active license with the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
Linette Rayeski, Ph.D., was promoted to Associate Professor of Accounting and granted tenure.
Dr. Rayeski returned to the faculty at King’s College in 2018 after serving in the role from 2013-2015. She earned her Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Scranton, M.B.A. from Columbia University, and B.S. in Accounting from King’s College.
Her teaching spans undergraduate–level courses that are business foundations or major requirements within Accounting, Finance, and Management – Entrepreneurship for all business degrees. She also served as a faculty mentor for two students who received internal funding to pursue research through the King’s College Summer Undergraduate Research Program.
Dr. Rayeski’s scholarship and professional development portfolio includes the co-authored, peer-reviewed journal articles “Integrating ESG into the Accounting Curriculum: Insights from Accounting Educators” published in Issues in Accounting Education and “ESG Reporting May Come Easier with the Balanced Scorecard” published in the professional-oriented Pennsylvania CPA Journal. Her portfolio also includes four international and national presentations, three unpublished case studies adapted for teaching, two professional credentials, three academic and professional certificates, as well as numerous continuing education events in both academic and professional contexts.
From a college-service perspective, Dr. Rayeski is an academic advisor and mentor to dozens of students who seek her advice on educational pathways and career opportunities to capitalize on their areas of personal interest. She also serves as the current chair-elect of Faculty Council, committee member on the TIAA Investment Oversight Committee, member of the AACSB Accreditation Group D Engagement and Societal Impact, and a King’s College delegate and fellow to the Moreau Mission Collaborative. Previously, Dr. Rayeski served as advisory board member for the McGowan Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility, faculty advisor for the Barron’s Investment in Education program, and Division D representative on Faculty Council. In the local community, she serves on the American Cancer Society Northeast PA Board of Advisors as chair.
Linette was born and raised in Mountain Top, PA. Before working in academia, she spent 20 years working across the globe in Fortune 500 companies including Ingersoll-Rand, Revlon, and ANN Inc. in progressively expanding roles to the level of Vice President.
