Ruth Piatnochka Griffith is an Assistant Professor in the English Department and director of the ESL Program.  She has been a full-time faculty member at Kean University since September 2000.  Prior to her current position, Griffith taught at Columbia University, Union County College and Rutgers University.  She was an adjunct at Kean University from 1987 to 1997.   In addition to teaching ESL, Griffith has taught courses in the MA-TESOL program and in the Master of Holocuast and Genocide Studies program.

Dr. Griffith has traveled extensively to Europe and South America.  She is fluent in Ukrainian and Russian, and she comprehends several other languages.  She earned a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Slavic Languages and Literature at Rutgers University, and an M.A. in Slavic Languages and Literature at Columbia University, where she also studied at the Harriman Institute, focusing on Soviet studies.  She earned her Ed.D. at the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University.

Her research interests at present include: 
    * language acquisition for older international adoptees
    * vocabulary development in ESL students at the college level.

"Traveler, there are no paths . . . paths are made by walking." -- Machado