Charles B. Strozier, Director
Charles B. Strozier is a professor of history at John Jay College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. He is also a practicing psychoanalyst and a training and supervising psychoanalyst at TRISP in New York. Much of his work has focused on apocalyptic violence and related issues of terrorism, including Apocalypse: On the Psychology of Fundamentalism in America (Beacon, 1994, newly issued 2002). He co-edited three books with Michael Flynn in 1996 and 1997: Genocide, War, and Human Survival; Trauma and Self; and The Year 2,000: Essays on the End. He has also written widely about Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War, e.g., Lincoln's Quest for Union: Public and Private Meanings (1982, new edition 2001), and aspects of the history of psychoanalysis, e.g. Heinz Kohut: The Making of a Psychoanalyst (2001). Strozier is deeply involved in the mission of the Center on Terrorism. He is directing the center's major psychological study of the World Trade Center disaster, as well as a number of studies that are underway on subjects as varied as "The Mind of the Terrorist," "Therapists and 9/11," and "The Meaning of Security in Homeland Security." He teaches a two-course sequence on terrorism that focuses in its first semester on issues of politics and history, and in the second semester on the more psychological aspects of terrorism and apocalyptic violence. Finally, Strozier actively runs the Terrorism Seminar Series that is geared primarily for graduate students in criminal justice and especially those working for the "M.A. Certificate Program in Terrorism."
Michael Flynn, Associate Director
Michael Flynn is an Associate Professor of Psychology at York College and CUNY. He is the co-editor (with Charles B. Strozier) of Genocide, War and Human Survival," "Trauma and Self," and "The Year 2000: Essays on the End." He is the editor of "The Second Nuclear Age: Political and Psychocultural Perspectives." His research interests include the psychological and political economy of urban violence; the psychological effects of living in a nuclearized world; literary, autobiographical, and psychohistorical approaches to the self and trauma; and the public and media role of the psychologist. Michael Flynn holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Duquesne University and a B.A. from the College of Idaho. Dr. Flynn teaches several of the core terrorism certificate courses including Psychology of Cults, Terrorism and Politics, and Psychology of Terrorism.
Andrea Matten Fatica, Executive Director
At the CoT, Andrea oversees research, staffing, curriculum and administration. Andrea has a background in communications and psychology; She received an M.A. in Forensic Psychology in conjunction with the Certificate in Terrorism Studies from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and obtained her B.S. in Communications from Northeastern University. Throughout graduate school she worked primarily with adolescents at an acute psychiatric hospital and was a volunteer court advocate for women in family court. In addition to the study of terrorism, her research experience and interests include motivations for group and interpersonal violence, criminal behavior and forensic psychological evaluation.
Sarah Bennett, Doctoral Research Assistant
Sarah Bennett is currently working on her doctorate in Criminal Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She earned her MA and BS in Criminal Justice from Arizona State University. Her interests include political violence, fragile states, the evolution of terrorist organizations and national security issues pertaining to energy.
Oliger Abdyli, Program Assistant
Oliger Abdyli is currently working on a MA in Criminal Justice at John Jay College. Mr. Abdyli, holds a MA in Public Administration, Inspector General Track—International Inspection and Oversight from John Jay College and is the recipient of the Certificate in Terrorism Studies offered by the Center on Terrorism. In 2007, he earned a BA in Government—Political Science from John Jay College as well. In the near future, Mr. Abdyli intends to pursue a PHD in Political Science. His research interest include politically motivate terrorism and state response to terrorist activities, political utilization of fear and paranoia to induce groupthink and social compliance, as well as corruption and larger governance issues.
