CA&S Today Saint Joseph’s University
New communication studies minor focuses on ethics and commitment to social justice
Spring 2010
College of Arts and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences Dean William Madges, Ph.D. Associate Deans Paul Aspan, Ph.D. – Humanities Jeanne Brady, Ph.D. – Education Nancy Fox, Ph.D. – Social Sciences Michael McCann, Ph.D. – Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS Actuarial Science, Acting Director Deborah Lurie, Ph.D. Aerospace Studies (AFROTC), Chair Lt. Col. Joan Y. Fournier American Studies, Director Jeffrey Hyson, Ph.D. Ancient Studies, Director Bruce Wells, Ph.D. Asian Studies, Director David Carpenter, Ph.D. Biology, Chair Karen Snetselaar, Ph.D. Chemical Biology, Director Mark Reynolds, Ph.D. Chemistry, Chair Roger K. Murray, Ph.D. Classics, Director Maria S. Marsilio, Ph.D. Computer Science, Chair Jonathan Hodgson, Ph.D.
Medieval/Renaissance/ Reformation Studies, Director, Alison Lewin, Ph.D. Philosophy, Chair Julie M. McDonald, Ph.D. Physics, Chair Paul Angiolillo, Ph.D. Political Science, Chair Lisa Baglione, Ph.D. Psychology, Chair Donald Leitner, Ph.D. Sociology, Chair Raquel Kennedy Bergen, Ph.D. Special Education, Chair Cathy Spinelli, Ph.D. Teacher Education, Chair Althier Lazar, Ph.D Theology, Chair Shawn Madison Krahmer, Ph.D. GRADUATE PROGRAMS Associate Dean and Executive Director Sabrina DeTurk, Ph.D. Biology, Director James Watrous, Ph.D. Computer Science, Director Jonathan Hodgson, Ph.D.
Criminal Justice, Director Raquel Kennedy-Bergen, Ph.D.
Criminal Justice & Public Safety Institute, Director Patricia Griffin, M.S.
Economics, Chair George A. Prendergast, Ph.D.
Education, Director Teri Sosa, Ph.D.
English, Chair Jo Alyson Parker, Ph.D.
Educational Leadership, Chair Ray Horn, Ph.D.
Environmental Science, Director Jean Smolen, Ph.D.
Gerontological Services, Director Catherine Murray, Ph.D.
European and French Studies, Director Thomas J. Donahue, Ph.D.
Health Administration/ Health Education, Director Nakia Henderson, M.S.
Faith-Justice Institute, Director Virginia Johnson, Ph.D. Fine and Performing Arts, Chair Deron Albright, M.F.A. Foreign Languages and Literatures, Chair, Robert Daniel, Ph.D. Gender Studies, Director Catherine Murray, Ph.D. History, Chair Katherine A.S. Sibley, Ph.D. Honors Program, Director Maria Marsilio, Ph.D.
Math Education, Director Sandy Fillebrown, Ph.D. Nurse Anesthesia, Directors John J. Newhouse, Ed.D. Joan Woods, C.R.N.A., M.S.Ed. Online Accelerated Teacher Certification (OATCERT), Instructional Technology, Director Stephen Gary, M.Ed.
Special Education Cathy Spinelli, Ph.D.
Interdisciplinary Health Services, Director, Sally Black, Ph.D.
Teacher Education, Chair Althier Lazar, Ph.D
International Relations, Director Benjamin Liebman, Ph.D.
Training and Organizational Development, Director Felice Tilin, Ph.D.
Mathematics, Chair David Hecker, Ph.D.
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The College of Arts and Sciences at Saint Joseph’s University has a rich legacy of providing a broad-based liberal arts education that inspires our students to become, in the truest sense, men and women who contribute to the greater good. At the foundation of all the curricula offered by the College is a commitment to educating women and men to understand the principles of ethics, and how they can be used not only in their work lives, but also in their personal lives. In the current issue of CA&S Today, you will read about our new multidisciplinary communication studies minor. Driven by student demand, we initiated this course of study in the fall of 2009. While many American universities and colleges have programs in this exciting field, communication studies at Saint Joseph’s is distinctive because of its emphasis on ethics. As our students are trained to use innovative information technologies, they learn to do so responsibly. But they are also encouraged to use their newly acquired communication knowledge to promote social justice, which is not only one of the hallmarks of a Jesuit education, but is also a focus that our world sorely needs. You will also read about other new College initiatives that seek to make the world a better place. It is my great pleasure to work with the dedicated faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, who are united in their commitment to the common good, as they transform the hearts and minds of tomorrow’s leaders. I hope you enjoy this glimpse of our journey together.
Psychology, Director Jodi Mindell, Ph.D.
Interdisciplinary Health Care Ethics, Director, Peter A. Clark, S.J.
Latin American Studies, Director Richard Warren, Ph.D.
Letter from the Dean
Writing Studies, Director Ann E. Green, Ph.D.
William Madges, Ph.D., Dean
On the cover and at right: Stills of students’ videos entered in PROJECT: REPORT, a journalism contest sponsored by YouTube and Pulitzer Center. All videos have social justice themes.
A Distinctive Position: Educating Ethical Communicators
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here’s a new conversation on Saint Joseph’s campus, and you won’t find it in just one place. It’s personal but public, technical yet creative; our students are the authors and the audience is the world. In the thick of a digital media revolution, SJU students are communicating – and blogging, and tweeting and posting – their way to a new kind of education. Communication studies, a multidisciplinary minor established in the 2009 fall semester that spans academic departments and the College of Arts and Sciences and the Erivan K. Haub School of Business, is growing successfully, thanks to high demand from students and strong institutional support. With 55 minors declared and an Opportunity Fund award of $177,000, which provided technical equipment and laboratory space, SJU students are gaining an edge. Beyond three core courses of communication ethics, theory and practice and an internship, students choose from classes in English, fine and performing arts, history, philosophy, theology, linguistics and marketing to focus their studies on individual interests and career goals. Rather than concentrating solely on marketing or print-centric courses, students diversify their perspective of the communications field with classes like visual rhetorics or video production. Though a rigorous course load, the goal of combining so many disciplines, says Owen Gilman, Ph.D., professor of English and director of communication studies, is to provide students with multiple skills. “Many dimensions of communications are burgeoning,” says Gilman. “We hope to provide students with skills for an industry that changes all the time, which requires collaboration.” Deron Albright, M.F.A., chair and associate professor of fine and performing arts, teaches courses in cinema and media production, and emphasizes the importance for this generation of communicators to possess a portfolio of varied technological skills and knowledge. “When students engage seriously in media production as a means of both
expression and communication, I don’t think there’s a discipline that is more demanding,” says Albright. “In making media, students need to function as writers, managers, designers, visual artists, coaches, technicians; the list goes on. It’s a lot to ask, but there may be no better training for life after school – no matter where it may lead.” Collaboration is so important to the field that many of the classes focus on group work, though some of the platforms used – such as Facebook and Second Life – usually cater to individuals within a network. Rather than have students build independently, and then communicate using these media, teachers like Jennifer Spinner, Ph.D., and Aimée Knight, Ph.D., assistant professors of English, ask students to work together because, as Knight explains, communication is about the conversation. “It’s a very exciting time to be at the base of this kind of project,” says Knight. “There are more questions than answers, and no one knows what the future will show. But the students are up and buzzing around, interacting. That’s what communication does.” For Spinner, bringing students together has a greater impact than inspiring discussion. When so many are connected through blogs, Facebook statuses and Twitter posts, it’s easy for poor or reckless decisions to be made, and perhaps worse, observed by a wide audience. Listening to such a variety of voices is good, she says, but challenging. By practicing ethical communication in the classroom, students develop a foundation that is relevant to their careers, to their lives today, and to the lives of others. “We are not just training our students to prepare for jobs, but to be engaged with the world, and engaged smartly. We want them to be cutting-edge, but also grounded in what will not change – in skills that transcend technology and adapt to changing communication,” says Spinner. Diverse as communication is, some believe that classroom-style study may not be important: most students have never known a life without the Internet, smartphones and home computers. Shouldn’t these digitalnatives already know what they’re doing? J. Michael Lyons, assistant professor of English, stresses the danger in such an assumption: knowing how to do something (continued on page 8)
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Saint Joseph’s Opens Kinney Center for Autism Education and Support
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he numbers are terrifying – one in 110 children has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD); one in 94 boys; ten percent of all eight-year-olds. With nearly 70 diagnoses each day, the need for support is clear. SJU began answering the call for help last fall, when it opened the Kinney Center for Autism Education and Support, located in Cynwyd Hall on the James J. Maguire ’58 Campus. Established with multiple gifts in excess of $8 million, with lead support from Paul ’70 and Margaret Hondros, the Center offers a unique mix of services to families, educators, practitioners and service providers. Hondros – chair of the University’s Board of Trustees – and Margaret have a son who was diagnosed at the age of three. The Center was named for Hondros’ mother, Dorothy Kinney Hondros. “There are many centers and institutes where the specialization is research and medicine,” says M. Michelle Rowe, Ph.D., executive director of the Center and professor of health services. “What’s missing is a safe place to turn following a diagnosis; a place where the only agenda is to provide support and information.” With its roots in the Jesuit mission of service and cura personalis, or care for the whole person, the Kinney Center addresses the needs of those who struggle with autism, either as individuals or caregivers. It draws on the University’s strengths in health services, education and psychology to provide resources relevant to working with people with ASD throughout the spectrum and the life cycle. A certificate in Autism Studies for undergraduates is planned, and graduate coursework would apply toward a master’s degree in special education. Other initiatives include after-school programming and summer camps for students with ASD, which will be staffed by the Center’s Kinney
Children interact with a Smart Board at the Kinney Center.
SCHOLARS – Students Committed to Helping Others Learn about Autism Research and Support. A licensed psychologist and a certified behavior analyst supervise the SCHOLARS. Sixteen undergraduates with majors in special education, psychology and interdisciplinary health services have been accepted into the SCHOLARS program, and are training for their roles in the after-school program and summer camps. SJU will also collaborate with other universities to create a model program for college-age students with Asperger’s Syndrome, or high-functioning autism, that will help them successfully complete undergraduate education.
SJU Sponsors Scholars’ Conference on the Holocaust
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Presenter Suzanne BrownFleming of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
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he Annual Scholars’ Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches, an international conference dedicated to teaching, learning and remembering the lessons of the Holocaust while examining the churches’ struggle and failure to confront Nazi anti-Semitism, was sponsored by SJU March 6-8, marking the fifth time it was held on campus. The conference was co-founded by the late Franklin H. Littell, universally acknowledged as the father of Holocaust studies in America. This year’s theme, “Crisis & Credibility in the JewishChristian World: Remembering Franklin H. Littell,” honored his life and work.
University President Timothy R. Lannon, S.J., was honorary chair. William Madges, Ph.D., dean of CAS, and Nancy Fox, Ph.D., associate dean, were overall conference co-chairs. Rabbi Richard Libowitz, Ph.D., adjunct professor of theology, who introduced the first Holocaust course taught at SJU, was program chair. Twelve SJU faculty and administrators participated as presenters or chaired individual sessions. This conference, the 40th annual, brought international scholars, experts, survivors and community leaders to speak on topics ranging from the failure of mainstream media to cover the fate of European Jews during World War II to contemporary Holocaust denial.
Innovative ACE Pilot Program to Train Elite Catholic Educators
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his summer, SJU is set to launch the pilot program for the Alliance for Catholic Education — ACE — with its first cohort of 15 fellows. A two-year graduate education program, ACE was originated by the University of Notre Dame in 1994, and has an impressive track record of training a corps of quality Catholic schoolteachers and principals. According to Jeanne Brady, associate dean of education, ACE fellows will receive full tuition, free housing and a stipend, and will complete course work in a master’s degree in education over two summers. In turn, candidates will teach at a Catholic elementary school, with the school covering the cost of his or her health benefits. The schools will realize a tremendous cost saving in teacher salaries. Brady and Daniel Joyce, S.J., assistant to the Vice President for Mission and Identity, worked with the University of Notre Dame and Fox Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania to replicate the ACE model in Philadelphia, and in the future, possibly Camden, N.J. “As a Catholic, Jesuit university, congruent with our mission, we do a lot of work with Catholic schools in the Philadelphia area, but we wanted to create a formal partnership to better serve urban youth, focusing specifically on under-resourced Catholic schools,” says Brady. “By training excellent teachers and principals, our goal is to ensure that all schoolchildren receive the best possible educational foundation.” The ACE program focuses on five core pillars: teaching, education, community, spirituality and vocational discernment.
Education Forms Three Departments; Poised for National Accreditation
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quipped with a new associate dean and a revamped structure, the education department, which is currently the College of Arts and Sciences’ largest concentration and home of its only doctoral program, is now better positioned for continued growth and success. Brady Formerly, the department consisted of three major areas: teacher education, special education and educational leadership. Under that model, all three areas were the responsibility of a single chairperson, overseeing curriculum development, assessment and accreditations and faculty mentoring for nearly 20 full-time faculty and more than 50 affiliate faculty. The new model calls for three separate departments, each with its own chair, under Jeanne Brady, Ph.D., former education chair, who was named the new associate dean of education in December. “Jeanne Brady has been a member of the SJU community for 10 years, and in that time has led the department to a new level of excellence,” says William Madges, Ph.D., dean of CAS. “This is an important step for the department, whose mission of providing a quality education to those who will educate future generations is a priority for SJU.” The new model also includes the Office of Accreditation, Certification and Partnerships, under the direction of Joseph Cifelli, Ed.D., assistant professor of education, who is responsible for the ongoing efforts for national accreditation, the extensive program development mandated by the new certification programs standards, and the operation of the University’s various local school partnerships. The establishment of three departments within education and the acquisition of national accreditation is critical to enhancing recruitment efforts and opening a wide range of opportunities for obtaining funding through grants and other non-tuition resources. The reorganization is the first step in the exploration of establishing a College of Education. A feasibility study is currently under way. In addition to the appointment of an associate dean of education, new chairs have been named for each department. Althier Lazar, Ph.D., professor of education, will chair the teacher education department; Cathleen Spinelli, Ph.D., professor of education, will head special education; and Raymond Horn, Ph.D., associate professor of education, will chair educational leadership.
John Gill ’01, with students at Philadelphia’s Gesu School.
Spring 2010 |
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NSF Grant Supports Expanding Math, Science Education Program
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five-year math and science education program will expand its efforts to train teachers to serve in Philadelphia and other high-need school districts, thanks to a $748,182 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Scholarship program. The NSF project will recruit current and incoming undergraduate students to the University’s five-year bachelor’s/master’s program in mathematics and science secondary education by providing teaching internships early in their studies at SJU, and scholarships in the final two years. In exchange, scholarship recipients will commit to teach in Philadelphia and other high-need areas for two years for each year they received financial assistance. A minimum of 19 students will benefit from the grant through the 2013-14 academic year.
Scientists Publish in Nature, Journal
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t’s something that everyone has experienced at some point, whether stuck in a bottleneck approaching roadwork or trying to get a powdered substance out of a jar by tapping on the bottom. But from a scientific perspective, the phenomenon of “jamming” has received little attention until recently. Thanks to a paper co-authored by Piotr Habdas, Ph.D., associate professor of physics, the scientific community may be closer to understanding the occurrence.
Habdas
Biologist Receives NIH Funding to S Fillebrown
“There is a great need for highly qualified mathematics and science teachers at the secondary level across the country, especially in school districts like Philadelphia,” says Sandra Fillebrown, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics, and one of the project’s initiators. “SJU addresses this need by designing the five-year program to help prepare teachers with a strong background in the subject areas as well as in pedagogy. This funding will allow us to attract more students to these programs, and to strengthen ties with the School District of Philadelphia.” Students will gain teaching experience through internships. Recently, students worked with Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia, a program that targets underprivileged middle school students who have high academic interest. Relationships with other schools and programs are in development. The project has received funding for the next three years, for essential lab equipment and supplies and two summer scholars.
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he National Institute on Aging (NIA), one of the 27 centers and institutes that comprise the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded a $163,000 grant to Julia Lee, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, to pursue research in cancer and aging. Her work focuses on the maintenance of chromosome ends – called telomeres – and how telomeres function in both the aging process and the growth of cancer cells. The telomeres studied in Lee’s project act as a protective cap for chromosomal ends – much like the plastic aglet at the end of a shoelace – allowing cells to retain biological information. Still, Lee says, telomeres shorten with each round of cell division, limiting the life span of the cell. When a telomere can no longer protect the end of the chromosome, the cell dies. Yet in stem cells and cancer cells, an enzyme called telomerase is present that helps extend the telomeres and therefore the life of the cell. Lee hopes her research will lead to a better understanding of this natural maintenance. “The life span of a cell may be
of Zoology The paper, “Thermal vestige of the zero-temperature jamming transition,” published in Nature on May 14, 2009, defines jamming as “structural arrest in various disordered materials: foams, sand, regular glass or colloidal suspensions,” according to Habdas. To better understand how materials become jammed together, the study introduced a simple system of soft spheres, which were exposed to different temperatures and monitored on a microscopic level. When observed at high temperatures, the structural properties of the spheres gave clues about the structural elements that arise in the zero-temperature jamming transition. From a practical perspective, Habdas explains that these experiments will help us understand the molecular reasons that, for instance, honey will not flow when refrigerated. On the scientific front, the paper will “provide new clues for scientists and engineers about the connections between jamming, the glass transition and the routes to realize them, in particular, explaining why previous studies never observed structural signatures when cooling,” he adds. In addition to being published in Nature, Habdas also co-authored a paper in the October 2009 issue of the Journal of Zoology with Jonathan Fingerut, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, entitled “Role of silk threads in the dispersal of larvae through stream pools.” Also contributing to the paper were SJU senior Michele Mestrinaro, biology graduate student Lindsay Schamel and Anthony Faugno ’08. “Dr. Habdas and I were pleased that students from both majors had the opportunity to work together,” Fingerut says. “The benefit of interdisciplinary work is that students share and learn from their different perspectives on an interesting piece of research at the intersection of both of their disciplines.”
Study Genetics of Cancer and Aging determined by the shortening of the telomeres,” says Lee. “While shortening the telomeres is beneficial to turn over aging cells, when it comes to cancer cells, maintaining telomeres could allow them to live indefinitely. “It’s a catch-22,” notes Lee. “How do you try to shorten the telomeres of bad cells while prolonging the life of good ones?” Lee’s research will look at two specific proteins to learn how they are involved in telomere maintenance. By removing yeast proteins, then placing mutated forms of the proteins into yeast cells, Lee hopes to determine how the absence, alteration or presence of the proteins affects telomere maintenance. Knowing which parts of which proteins are necessary to protect chromosome ends could lead to advancement in understanding the aging process and the destruction of cancer cells. Lee’s project has received funding for the next three years, which will not only go toward essential lab equipment and supplies, but also fund two summer scholars.
Microbiologist Receives Carski Award
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rofessor of Biology John Tudor, Ph.D., was named the 2010 laureate of the Carski Foundation Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award. Administered by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), the award honors an educator for outstanding teaching of microbiology to undergraduate students and for encouraging them to subsequent achievement. “John exemplifies excellence as both an inspiring teacher and meticulous and innovative research scientist for students preparing for careers in biomedical fields,” says William Madges, dean of CAS. “It is wonderful that the Carski Foundation and the ASM recognized his work.” Tudor, who received SJU’s Tengelmann Award for Distinguished Teaching and Research, has been teaching microbiology to undergraduates for 40 years. He has spent 33 years at SJU, where his classes are in high demand. He developed and taught courses in molecular genetics, molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis and microbiology for non-science majors. Additionally, he has taught core courses in cell biology and genetics and general microbiology for biology and other majors. More than half of Tudor’s estimated 1,000 students in microbiology have completed advanced degrees in the biomedical sciences. “I am honored to receive the Carski award,” says Tudor, who noted that he has been fascinated with microbes, especially bacteria, since he was an undergraduate. “I love opening the minds of my students to the incredible contributions bacteria make to our lives, as well as the intricate strategies many of them exhibit in causing us harm.” Tudor has published numerous articles in journals, books and symposium proceedings, often including as coauthors one or more of the 80 undergraduate students he has mentored. His research, which has focused on the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, has been supported by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health, and smaller grants from other sources.
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Flamingo Watching Yields Surprising Discoveries
Williams ’10 and Anderson at the Philadelphia Zoo.
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atthew Anderson, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, became intrigued with aspects of flamingo behavior while visiting the Philadelphia Zoo with his young daughter, who was fascinated by a captive group of 17 Caribbean flamingos. “They are beautiful birds, and their behavior is very interesting,” Anderson says, describing what sparked his initial curiosity about the bright pink birds. “They travel in flocks of thousands and thousands and are in tune to social behavior.” Anderson and his team of students began his research by setting out to determine if flamingos showed lateral preference when curling their necks during rest. “In addition to shedding light on the general behavior of flamingos, we aimed to examine the possibility that group-level lateral behaviors are related to a need for social cohesion in nature,” Anderson says. Studying the Philadelphia Zoo’s flamingos, the researchers observed resting birds daily, noting which were consistently curving their necks in a certain direction to determine individual birds’ preferences, as well as the general preference of the group.
“We found that the majority preferred curving their necks to the right, which is similar to a lateral bias found in humans, who tend to be right-handed,” Anderson says. “We also noticed that flamingos that curved their necks to the left were more likely to be involved in aggressive encounters with other birds.” With evidence of lateral preference, Anderson moved to the birds’ lower bodies to determine their preference for which leg they choose to stand on. Though the researchers were surprised to find that flamingos showed no preference in legs, they found a reason for the previously unexplained mystery of their iconic balancing act. So why does the flamingo stand on just one leg? Anderson and students discovered it helps the birds control body temperature. “The research pointed to it as a mode of thermoregulation,” Anderson says. “When it’s colder, they stand on one leg and tuck the other closer to their bodies. When it’s warmer, they are more likely to stand on two legs. Birds’ legs are typically not very well insulated, so that’s how they keep warm when in colder locations, such as standing in water.”
So why does the flamingo stand on just one leg? Anderson and psychology graduate student Sarah Williams ’10 spent hours upon hours watching the behavior of the group and each individual bird. To reach their conclusion, they monitored how temperature and wind speed corresponded with the birds’ behaviors. The research was published in Zoo Biology and Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition. The findings garnered attention from numerous media outlets, including National Public Radio’s Science Studio, BBC Earth News, USA Today and MSNBC.com.
Communication Studies Minor (continued from page 3)
doesn’t anticipate its being done well, or with the effects it will have on others in mind. Part of media literacy is knowing what the implications of using media are, from copyright infringement to promoting social justice. “There’s a responsibility in education to know the impact you have on the world. We have a responsibility to use education to help other people, to do good with it,” Lyons says. “These communication and information technologies have become a central way people try to influence our world,” says ethicist Jim Caccamo, Ph.D., associate professor of theology. “That influence can be good or bad. We want to make sure students have thought long and hard about what
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his or her influence will be as communicators, and are equipped to make decisions for the common good throughout their careers.” This attention to the ethical dimension of communication is an essential part of the program’s curriculum, and is emphasized by every professor and every class involved. According to Gilman, the emphasis is a reflection of the Jesuit commitment to social justice, and sets SJU’s program apart. “This is our place to contribute to the area of communication studies,” says Gilman. “It’s a distinctive position. There are many, many programs that can teach students how to communicate. We ask them to consider what it means to communicate.”
College Programs Grow with Opportunity Fund
Aimée Knight, assistant professor of English, works with students in the communication studies lab.
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n the fall of 2008, University President Timothy R. Lannon, S.J., announced the creation of the Opportunity Fund, established to provide incentives for the development of new programs that generate revenue and fund future projects. Program participation requires a three-year repayment plan, similar to programs at other Jesuit universities, according to Paul DeVito, Ph.D., vice provost and chair of the Opportunity Fund. Once repaid, the surplus revenue will be shared between the Fund, the new program and the originating department and college, DeVito says. Over the next three years, several new CAS initiatives will be supported, beginning with the communication studies minor, which received more than $177,000. Professor of English Owen Gilman, Ph.D., director of communication studies, stresses that it was important for the program to have the necessary resources with its initial offerings to be competitive with established programs at other universities. To ensure this, the Fund supported the purchase of video cameras, editing software and laptops for a computer
lab that is open four nights a week. In addition, the program brings in industry specialists to teach. The department of computer science will receive $45,000 for new course offerings and technology upgrades. “We felt there was a market for shorter offerings than a degree program in computer science, and thought students would be interested in electives in computer gaming,” says Jonathan Hodgson, Ph.D., chair and professor of computer science. Hodgson adds that the computer science program is exploring creating two first-level courses, possibly in digital photography and elementary video gaming, that do not require a programming background. He also suggested that the courses could attract new computer science majors. In addition to course development, Hodgson says the department will use a portion of its support to purchase new software and hardware, including computers with high-resolution and high-performing graphics. The newly created educational leadership department will make use of $78,000 of Opportunity Fund money over two years by establishing the
Institute for Educational Leadership, which will provide research and consulting services. The Institute will serve a variety of functions, says Robert Palestini, Ed.D., who will oversee it with Associate Dean of Education Jeanne Brady, Ph.D., and Ray Horn, Ph.D., chair of educational leadership. Among its functions are educational research, providing professional development for principals and school officials and conducting superintendent searches. “The Institute will also contain the Center for Catholic Urban Education,” Palestini says. “We’re exploring ways of operating parish schools in urban areas without many Catholics as a way of sustaining Catholic education.” Palestini adds that the Institute will have a strong international presence, noting connections with universities in Chilé and Bolivia. It will also play a role in SJU’s efforts to support a school in Haiti, as part of its long-term recovery efforts there.
University College Renamed College of Professional and Liberal Studies Saint Joseph’s University Board of Trustees approved the renaming of University College to the College of Professional and Liberal Studies, effective with the fall 2009 semester. The new name and rebranding effort – Your Degree, Your Way – illustrates the University’s renewed commitment to adult undergraduate education. SJU’s original Evening Division was the first in the region, and has been serving the adult continuing education market since 1915. Several new academic concentrations are being developed in emerging fields in response to new technologies to prepare students for in-demand jobs.
Your Degree. Your Way. Spring 2010 |
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Mainstream and Scholarly Presses Publish CAS Authors
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ver the past year, CAS faculty members published books with wide-ranging topics. From the rural brain drain to a consideration of Reconstruction as a continuation of the American Civil War, SJU authors help explicate our complicated world. Maria Kefalas, Ph.D., professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Violence Research and Prevention, coauthored with Patrick Carr the critically acclaimed Hollowing Out the Middle: The Rural Brain Drain and What it Means for America (Beacon Press, 2009), which chronicles what happens to rural communities after young, creative and productive residents migrate to cities across the country. “When first visiting the small town of Ellis, Iowa, [made possible with funding from the MacArthur Foundation], the issue hit me between the eyes. It’s the paradox of the small town,” says Kefalas. Kefalas and Carr found that adults in rural America participate in the towns’ decline by pushing the “best” of the young people to leave, and by under-investing in those who stay. The book garnered praise from national media, including The Wall Street Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, NPR’s Radio Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education and Midwest Book Review. Recovering Solidarity: Lessons from Poland’s Unfinished Revolution (University of Notre Dame Press, 2010) by Gerald Beyer, Ph.D., associate professor of theology, provides a contextualized and ethical treatment of solidarity, focusing on Poland’s Solidarity movement. Beyer describes solidarity as an anthropological fact, an ethical principle and a principle concretized in legislative policies and institutions. He explores how the movement originally embodied the Catholic social tradition of solidarity – human participation in the common good – but abandoned it during the country’s transformation to a capitalist democratic society. “I gained a deep appreciation for the Solidarity movement and met some of its heroes during my trip to Poland,” says Beyer. “I was dismayed to witness the demise of its ethic after 1989.”
Beyer maintains that capitalist societies can learn from Poland’s Solidarity movement. “Capitalism by nature doesn’t have to eliminate all forms of solidarity. Conversely, solidarity and freedom depend on one another.” Katherine Sibley, Ph.D., chair and professor of history, presents a new look at a scorned first lady in First Lady Florence Harding: Behind the Tragedy and Controversy (University Press of Kansas, 2009). By dispelling old myths and clichés, Sibley argues that oftmaligned caricatures associated with Mrs. Harding have prevented history from acknowledging her vital impact on the role of first lady. “Was she always likeable? No. But she did make important contributions to the first lady position while embracing the role of political activist,” says Sibley. “Despite this, she continues to be frozen in time and shown in a very limited scope.” Turning to overlooked primary sources, Sibley revealed Harding’s support for racial equality, her lobbying for better treatment of female prisoners, and her role as the first first lady to deliver speeches while traveling with the president. The Great Task Remaining Before Us: Reconstruction as America’s Continuing Civil War (Fordham University Press, 2010), co-edited by Professor of History Randall Miller, Ph.D., and Paul Cimbala ’74, is a collection of essays and case studies that remap considerations of the Civil War and Reconstruction era, exploring the question, “What did freedom mean?” “Usually, scholars view [the Civil War and Reconstruction] as two separate entities,” Miller says. “We’re suggesting that these eras should be studied through a series of lenses and prisms; people grappled with the question of freedom in different ways, considering where they lived and who they were.” Miller notes that scholars should be wary of over-generalizing. “Race, localities and war need to be studied in context to understand that freedom was a moving target during this time. Some people were in a better position to acquire it than others.”
More faculty books Milicia Bookman, Ph.D., professor of economics, Economics in Film and Fiction (Rowman and Littlefield Education, 2009). Jay Carter, Ph.D., professor of history, 1989: End of the 20th Century (Norton, 2010) with Cynthia Paces. George W. Dowdall, Ph.D., professor of sociology, College Drinking: Reframing a Social Problem (Praeger, 2009). Terrance Furin, Ph.D., assistant professor of education, Combating Hatred: Educators Leading the Way (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2009). Jodi Mindell, Ph.D., professor of psychology, A Clinical Guide to Pediatric Sleep: Diagnosis and Management of Sleep Problems, 2nd ed. (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009) with J. Owens.
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Robert H. Palestini, Ed.D. ’63 (B.S.), ’67 (M.A.), associate professor of education, Practicial Leadership Strategies: Lessons from the World of Professional Baseball (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2009). David R. Sorensen, Ph.D., professor of English, senior editor, The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle, vol. 37 (Duke University Press, 2009) with Ian Campbell and Aileen Christianson. Bruce Wells, Ph.D., assistant professor of theology, Everyday Law in Biblical Israel: An Introduction (Westminster John Knox Press, 2009) with Raymond Westbrook.
Journal/Research Highlights CAS Faculty Publish in Many Scholarly Journals Phyllis Anastasio, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, Environment and Behavior. Mary DekontyApplegate, Ed.D., professor of education, The Reading Teacher. Gerald Beyer, Ph.D., associate professor of theology, Journal of Catholic Social Thought. Sara Black, Ph.D., associate professor of health services, Family Violence Prevention and Health Practice E-Journal, Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice. James Boettcher, Ph.D., associate professor of philosophy, Metaphilosophy, Philosophy & Social Criticism. James Caccamo, Ph.D., associate professor of theology, Journal of Business Ethics. Jay Carter, Ph.D., professor of history, Journal of Global Buddhism. Peter Clark, S. J., professor of theology and director of the Institute of Catholic Bioethics, AMOS International Journal 3, Hastings Center Bioethics Forum, Medical Science Monitor. Philip Cunningham, Ph.D., professor of theology and director of the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations, Modern Judaism, Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations. Tenaya Darlington, M.F.A., assistant professor of English, The Sun. Babak Forouraghi, Ph.D., professor of computer science, ICTAI 09. Jonathan Fingerut, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, Ecology. Terrance Furin, Ph.D., assistant professor of education, The School Administrator. Vincent Genovesi, S. J., professor of theology, Chicago Studies.
George Grevera, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science, Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics.
Rommel Regis, Ph.D., assistant professor of mathematics, INFORMS Journal on Computing.
Eileen Grogan, Ph.D., professor of biology, Acta Zoologica.
Mark Reynolds, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
Emily Hage, Ph.D., assistant professor of fine and performing arts, Chance Aesthetics: International Experiments in Modern Art.
Philip Schatz, Ph.D., professor of psychology, Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, American Journal of Sports Medicine.
Rachel Hall, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics, Quaderni di matematica: Theory and Applications of Proximity, Nearness and Uniformity.
Samuel Smith, Ph.D., professor of mathematics, Journal of the Mathematical Society of Japan, Journal of Topology and Analysis.
Allen Kerkeslager, Ph.D., associate professor of theology, Encyclopedia of the Bible, Revue des Études Juives. Chris Lawson, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, Memory & Cognition. April Lindner, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, Apple Valley Review. John McCall, Ph.D., professor of philosophy and management and director of the Pedro Arrupe Center for Business Ethics, Journal of Catholic Higher Education. Thomas McDuffie, Jr., Ed.D., professor of education, Journal of Negro Education, Science Activities. Scott McRobert, Ph.D., professor of biology, Behavioural Processes. Jodi Mindell, Ph.D., professor of psychology, Journal of Clinical Psychology, Journal of Sleep Research, Sleep Medicine. John Newhouse, Ed.D., assistant professor of health services, British Journal of Health Services Research. Jason Powell, D. Phil., assistant professor of English, English Manuscript Studies, 1100-1700, Poetica.
David Sorensen, Ph.D., professor of English, Carlyle Studies Annual 25, La Revue LISA. Teri Sosa, Ph.D., assistant professor of education, Academic Exchange Quarterly, Tech Trends. Kristopher Tapp, Ph.D., assistant professor of mathematics, Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society. Aubrey Wang, Ph.D., assistant professor of education, Early Childhood Education Journal. Bruce Wells, Ph.D., assistant professor of theology, Vetus Testamentum. Wesley Widmaier, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science, German Policy Studies, Politik. Isra Yazicioglu, Ph.D., assistant professor of theology, Journal of Scriptural Reasoning.
CA&S Today Interim Editor Patricia Allen
Photography Melissa Kelly
Managing Editor Harriet Goodheart
Contributors Jennifer Burrini ’10 Tom Clark ’10 Nicole Katze (cover story) Jeffrey Martin ’04, ’05 Kelly Welsh ’05
Design Carol McLaughlin ’80
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Newsmakers College of Arts and Sciences faculty have contributed their expertise to stories appearing in the following media outlets: America Associated Press The Atlantic Monthly BBC Earth News Bioethics Forum Birdwatch Boston Globe Bucks County Intelligencer The Business Review CBC Radio CBS-3 Chronicle Times The Chronicle of Higher Education Consumer Affairs Courier Post Dallas Morning News Discover News Online Drugs and Diseases Edmonton Journal
Forbes Fox News New York Globe and Mail Google News Honolulu Advertiser The Huffington Post Iowa Gazette Jerusalem Post Jewish Exponent Kansas City Infozine News KCUR-FM KYW-AM Labor Notes La Razon LiveScience Main Line Times Medical News Today Military Channel MSNBC National Catholic Reporter
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Faculty members who have been seen and heard in the news include: Mark Aita, S.J. Matthew Anderson, Ph.D. Lisa Baglione, Ph.D. Gerald Beyer, Ph.D. Sara Black, Ph.D. Jim Caccamo, Ph.D. Peter Clark, S.J. Thomas Cronin Phillip Cunningham, Ph.D. George Dowdall, Ph.D.
Joseph Feeney, S.J. Sandra Fillebrown, Ph.D. Patricia Griffin, M.S. Eileen Grogan, Ph.D. Piotr Habdas, Ph.D. Jeffrey Hyson, Ph.D. Maria Kefalas, Ph.D. Allen Kerkeslager, Ph.D. Ron Klein, M.F.A.
Francis Graham Lee, Ph.D. Julia Lee, Ph.D. Richard Libowitz, Ph.D. Benjamin Liebman, Ph.D. J. Michael Lyons William Madges, Ph.D. Mike McCann, Ph.D. Scott McRobert, Ph.D. Randall Miller, Ph.D.
Jodi Mindell, Ph.D. Robert Moore, Ph.D. Michelle Rowe, Ph.D. Katherine A. S. Sibley, Ph.D. Jean Smolen, Ph.D. Karen Snetselaar, Ph.D. David Sorensen, Ph.D. Clint Springer, Ph.D. John Tudor, Ph.D.