Rate My Professor Anthony Kapolka

Dr. M. Anthony Kapolka III serves as Associate Professor of Computer Science in the Department of Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science at Wilkes University, where he joined the faculty in 1996. He earned his B.S. from Lebanon Valley College, M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Pittsburgh, M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and M.A. and M.F.A. from Wilkes University. His doctoral dissertation, titled "Forming Dynamic User Models Via Structured Concept Clustering," reflects his early work in computer science. Throughout his career at Wilkes, Dr. Kapolka has demonstrated a commitment to broad pedagogical excellence, teaching over 30 distinct courses. These include six different multidisciplinary first-year foundation courses, showcasing his versatility across computer science, mathematics, physics, and interdisciplinary subjects. He currently holds the position of Director of the University's First-Year Foundations program, guiding new students in their academic transition.

Dr. Kapolka's research interests are notably cross-disciplinary, bridging computer science with humanities and data analysis. His current projects involve applying data science methods to a corpus of Jesus Novels, investigating how narrative form follows narrative function. He maintains a long-term interest in semiotics and its parallels to computer science concepts. Dr. Kapolka supervises independent study endeavors for students in artificial intelligence and related fields. He is an active member of the Wilkes University Data Science Collaboration Group as Associate Professor of Math and Computer Science and contributes to the Cloud Computing major. Notable contributions include donating the Wilkes Pet Image Dataset (Version 1.0, October 1, 2017), used for image processing research. He has co-authored publications such as "Students' Perceptions of Waste and Social Responsibility for Environmental Problems: Lessons from a Project" (2014). Beyond research, Dr. Kapolka has instructed creative nonfiction and social media writing workshops through the Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Wilkes University. He promotes opportunities like the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and serves as an elected councilor for the Mathematical, Computing, and Statistical Sciences Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research, fostering undergraduate research initiatives.