College of Arts and Sciences Newsletter – Winter 2024 | Valparaiso University

The Pharos

Newsletter for the College of Arts and Sciences.

A message from the Dean

Winter 2024

Greetings from the College of Arts and Sciences! The semester is in the home stretch and the possibilities dreamt of at the start of the year are coming into focus. Papers, group projects, tests, cold pizza, and a whole lot of coffee are the norm these days. Resumes for internships, post-college careers, and study guides for graduate and professional schools just add to the mix. Is it stressful? Yes. Do you miss those days?

We celebrated the Fall Internship and Research Symposium (FIRES) on November 1, 2024. Students presented information regarding their summer internships and gave posters resulting from their summer research collaborations with Valpo faculty. I learned about medicinal plants, air quality efforts, and about binary stars.

I strongly recommend coming to campus for this Spring’s Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE) sponsored in part by Arts and Sciences, if you are in the area on April 24,2025. Similarly, the Dean’s Fund also supported the Forensic Biology program’s student trip to the Forensic Anthropology Center, which was led by Dr. Kristi Bugajski, aka Dr. Bugs, just after Fall Break. Thanks to your generosity, student musicians also learned from worldrenowned experts thanks to your generosity. Students also continue to bless us, and surrounding states, with their gifts. The Chamber Concert band had a mini-tour during Fall Break with concerts in IL, WI, and MO. I am also looking forward to the Christmas at Valpo-a Vespers Concert on December 6 and 7, 2024. Please come enjoy a concert if you are in the area.

The College’s faculty and staff continue to impress. For example, Dr. Betsy Burow-Flak tirelessly coordinated a week of classroom visits and a performance of Twelfth Night by the Actors from the London Stage. Thanks again to all who donate to the Dean’s Fund; these donations make such events possible.

Moreover, Dr. Patrice Bouyer recently earned the University’s first National Institute of Health grant, while Dr. Lucas Kelley has a forthcoming book titled Making Native Borders. I bet he would sign a copy if you ask him to! I would be remiss if I did not mention the staff. Our lab technicians make STEM research possible, while our administrative assistants do everything from fixing musical instruments to baking muffins to running photo booths at Halloween events.

Thanks for your feedback on past issues. We are always striving to improve. Remember that each newsletter features about one-quarter of our departments, so if your department isn’t featured here, it will be featured in a future issue.

As my dad used to say…

Have a good one, Gregg “Bagel” Johnson

Dean Gregg “Bagel” Johnson

Department of

Curriculum

CVA

Graduates

Dreams come true for VU Communications and Visual Arts students! Just ask Addy Bates (B.A., ’23), who wanted to work in sports media.

Addy graduated from VU and landed a job at SiriusXM as an Associate Producer for MLB Network Radio.“Working at WVUR for three years allowed me to get my dream job with MLB Network Radio and I am so grateful for those at Valpo who helped along the way,” Bates said.

One of the highlights of her job is that she produces the channel’s “Road to Cooperstown” podcast, where she works with a different MLB Hall of Famer each week and shares their stories.

Benjamin Brobst-Renaud

improvisational collaborations, and writing and illustrating individualized projects.“Comics are a really unique form of storytelling,” says Brobst-Renaud. “They operate in a space that has different parameters from novels, film, or social media, and it’s exciting to see the ways that students think about images and words in combination.” “Making Comics” is open to students from all disciplines.

Faculty

Addy Bates

Department Need The student staff of WVUR-FM, VU’s campus radio station, has been struggling for years with an out-of-date computer system used to program their music and allow them to stay on-air even when no one is in the station.

The staff are also frustrated with the inability of the current system to let them remotely control the studio, such as when they are broadcasting “in the field” for athletics, lectures and other campus events. The upgrade they need to use the latest version of the program costs $12,000.

“Getting that upgrade would allow our staff to take WVUR’s programming to the next level,” station manager Patrick Malone said.

Comics aren’t just fun to look at; they’re the subject of a new topics course taught by Communication and Visual Arts instructor Benjamin Brobst-Renaud. His “Making Comics” class invites students to explore visual storytelling, which includes creating projects, such as daily diary comics, short documentaries in graphic form,

Richard Wolff

Dr. Richard Wolff, CVA professor and chair, is working on a book examining film from a Lutheran perspective, tentatively titled Martin Luther Goes to the Movies.

The volume includes films such as Groundhog Day, The Truman Show, Doubt, and It’s a Wonderful

Life, and looks at these in terms of Lutheran understanding of free will, sin, good works, repentance, and justification.“The aim,” Wolff says, “is to help Lutheran theology come alive, to use cinematic stories to make concepts of faith more accessible.”

Imagine.

Department of

Economics

Curriculum

Economics influences nearly every aspect of our lives, making it essential for students to understand key economic concepts, especially in personal decision-making.

Recognizing this impact, Professor Gundersen is developing a Personal Finance course aimed at Economics graduates pursue careers across various fields, empowering students with practical financial skills. This course will cover critical topics like budgeting, managing with some continuing their education in graduate debt, and planning for life after college, providing students programs. A notable example is Michael Hazboun, who double-majored in Economics and Psychology and pursued with the tools to make informed financial choices. By focusing on decisions relevant to students' lives now and in his interest in Industrial-Organizational Psychology by the future, this course aims to bridge the gap between enrolling in a doctoral program at the University of economic theory and real-world application Minnesota–Twin Cities. Reflecting on his experience,

Graduates

Michael shared that his “quantitative background has definitely helped [him] during graduate school,” emphasizing the value of the “SAS and Econometrics” skills he gained in his economics studies. Michael’s example This year, Professor Beck showcased innovative teaching by highlights how our curriculum prepares students for both integrating generative AI into economics teaching. After advanced studies and professional success. leading an “AI in the Classroom” session at the Spring Faculty Workshop, Beck was invited to present this work to the university’s Board of Directors and President’s Council of Advisors. Additionally, a recent publication co-authored with Dr. Brodersen, Generative AI in Economics: Teaching Economics and AI Literacy, was featured by The Economics Network, highlighting AI’s role in education.

Professors Beck and Devaraj also received CELT grants for Sedefka Beck, Michael Hazbiun, and Quality Matters certification, further enhancing the quality Mike Hsu celebrating graduation. of Valpo’s online business and Indiana dual credit programs.

Faculty

Department Need

As part of the Valpo program, economics students complete at least one empirical research paper, with many producing papers of conference-worthy quality if travel funds were accessible. Experiential learning is also essential, providing valuable insights beyond the classroom. Organizing visits to the Chicago Board of Trade and the Federal Reserve Bank would offer memorable experiences and networking opportunities with alumni.

Supporting such educational trips would greatly enhance students’ learning and career prospects.

Create.

Economics faculty members Sedefka Beck, Niru Deveraj, and Mike Hsu, and Sara Gundersen.

Department of Computer and Information Sciences Graduates

Spencer Gannon '24 (who also got a second major in Math) just joined fellow alumnus Nick Koeppen '23 at Column Case Management, where they are working on high integrity tools for law enforcement agencies that need specialized data visualization and information handling for a broad array of audio, video, image, and documentation assets.

Curriculum We are splitting the capstone CS class, CS 358, into two parts to make the tools piece available to students in the Bachelor of Arts option and to increase the overall level of preparation for the project part. Hopefully, this will enhance the job (and class!) preparation level of students and simplify fitting this critical course into schedules as well.

Faculty Professor Rosasco worked with the College of Engineering to secure a Valparaiso University Guild We've successfully moved out of Meier Hall - and the grant. The two new, very changes have given us some new ideas and some high precision multiopportunities for upgrades, as well as some new student computer clocks, are cheerfully running in their project concepts. Looking ahead, there is a possibility of CIS Multi-Computer Clocks some exciting collaborations with (variously)Meteorology new home of Gellersen 227. These new systems create the and Engineering and Chemistry -- all of which will need capacity for the department to do investigations into a variety of intriguing large scale database and cryptography additional computing resources. Any help to support the acquisition of components and to support summer students questions. Professor Rosasco also got to present an impact to help bring that about is always appreciated. We'd also like analysis, done with two recent alumni, of the popular parallel computing topics course at one of the Computing to increase the funding for the Foster Scholarship -our Sciences in Colleges conferences . premier award for students.

Department Need

Professor Nick Rosasco working with a student at their new lab space in Gellersen.

Solve.

Department of

Curriculum

Biology

Biology faculty members, Sara Dick and Danielle Orozco-Nunnelly ('07) codeveloped a new seminar course (BIO-201, Biology in the Community) that they are teaching for the first time this Fall 2024 semester. This seminar is designed for second-year biology majors and focuses on social responsibility, research methods, and

Graduates

Valpo prepared me for my professional life by offering me a position to manage the greenhouse Sara Dick for the Biology Department, information literacy in the context of learning about the including letting me plant my own experiment with sunflowers. This job role of biology in the local community. BIO-201 is part of a Sarah Black larger yearly seminar series that was recently added to the blossomed into a strong interest in botany and ecology that biology curriculum to promote cohort building and create a was encouraged by my professors and mentors. Ultimately, sense of community to help our biology students excel at their belief and advice burgeoned my confidence to apply Valpo and beyond!" for the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates program, which began a decade long career of winning federal funding. My mentors’ recommendations and experiences led me to not one, but two fully funded graduate degrees as well as job in federal service.

Department Need

Danielle Orozco-Nunnelly

The existing greenhouse at Valparaiso University, built in 1966, has become a source of operational and financial inefficiencies, with outdated features like single-pane windows and broken controls. The Biology Department envisions transforming this space into a Campus/ Community Hub for Restoration Ecology, fostering yearround learning and research for faculty, students, and the Northwest Indiana community. Renovations could include meeting and classroom spaces, modernized windows and controls, and an open design. This revitalized facility would celebrate the region’s biodiversity, enhance educational opportunities, and complement Valpo's medicinal plant garden and nearby organizations, positioning the university as a leader in regional ecological restoration.

Fred Myer and Bill Bloom working with students.

Faculty Patrice Bouyer, Associate Professor of Biology has been awarded a R15 (National Institute of Health) grant for his research “Gut clearance and its subversion

by Candida albicans”. The funding, based on undergraduate’s results, aims at studying the regulation of the gut clearance defense Patrice Bouyer mechanism and its subversion by the fungus C. albicans(responsible for numerous nosocomial diseases).

The project provides paid undergraduate research opportunities during the summer and the academic year.

Students engaged on the grant will be trained to lead projects by designing, collecting, and analyzing results.

Students will also learn various techniques (e.g., fluorescence microscopy, electrophoresis/immunoblotting, cell culture) used in academic research and industry.

Students will present their findings at regional/national meetings and co-authored scientific publications.