Signum University

Position/Title: At-Large Board Member

  • Alex is in a library, need we say more? He's a man of European descent with dark short hair, dark-rimmed glasses, an open necked button down shirt and a rather nice grey jacket. He's got a smile on and is looking directly at you with a pleased expression in his eyes as though he just found the book he was searching for and wants to tell you about it.

    Alexander Petrov

    Alexander “Alex” Petrov joined Signum’s Board of Visitors in Fall 2024 as an at-large Board Member. He has a strong interest in innovative approaches to higher education which improve the sustainability of the university sector while making it more accessible to a broader range of students. Alex has a BSc from the University of London…

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  • Peter Rybski is a man of European descent posed in front of a black background and dressed professionally in a dark suit, cheery red tie, and a blue shirt that matches his twinkly eyes!

    Peter Rybski

    Peter is a lifelong Tolkien fan who has spent more than twenty years in the U.S. Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer and Nuclear Engineer. Peter is a graduate of the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Power Program and has a BS in Economics from the United States Naval Academy, a Masters in Engineering Management from Old…

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  • Dr. Matt DeForrest is sitting for a formal portrait, but that doesn't stop him from wearing a purple shirt and tie to remind us that he's not just a professor and Board member, he's an author, husband, mentor, and sweet guy. He's bearded, bespectacled, and of European ancestory.

    Matthew M. DeForrest

    Dr. Matthew M. DeForrest is Interim Director of the Edward E. Crutchfield Center for Integrated Studies and Professor of English at Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU). His recent published works have appeared in The Yeats Journal of Korea, The Yeats Annual, W. B. Yeats’s A Vision: Explications and Contexts, and Tolkien Studies. His recent presentations…

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  • Dr. Liza Gold (pronounced LEE-za) has a broad smile and dark hair swept back. She is somewhere in front of a bookcase, guarding her books like a dragon with its hoard.

    Liza H. Gold

    Liza H. Gold, MD is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Georgetown University School of Medicine. Dr. Gold has a private practice in general and forensic psychiatry in Arlington, Virginia and is an award winning author and editor. Most recently, Dr. Gold edited and contributed to Gun Violence and Mental Illness (American Psychiatric Publishing,…

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