Valpo Professor Pens New Book to Better Teach Game Theory

Valparaiso University mathematics and computer science professor Dr. Rick Gillman recently published "Models of Conflict and Cooperation," focusing on game theory – the mathematics underlying decision-making in situations where the outcome is influenced not only by one's actions, but also by the actions of the other players. Read more.

Hampton Professor Appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force

President Barack Obama has appointed Associate Director of the Hampton University William R. Harvey Leadership Institute and Honors College Dr. Jarris L. Taylor, Jr., as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Strategic Diversity Integration, Washington, D.C. Read more.

Sage Dean Presents Harvard Research at University of the West Indies

Assistant Dean Vincent Porfirio of The Sage Colleges, presented cell phone and body image research to the faculty and students of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Institute for Gender and Development in November. The University of the West Indies St. Augustine campus (located in Trinidad and Tobago) is the home of the Institute and is a leader in gender research worldwide. Read more.

Professor's Book Examines Social Context of New Testament

Elon Professor Emeritus David Noer receives "Leading Thinker Award" from Best Practice Institute

David Noer, professor emeritus in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business at Elon University, has received the Best Practice Institute’s 2009 "Leading Thinker Award" at the institute’s Nov. 11 Senior Executive Board meeting. The Institute is an association of more than 46,000 executives, leaders and experts around the globe who share and pioneer new methods of organizational change. Read more.

Valparaiso Professor Marcia Bunge Examines Children and Childhood in World Religions

What major religions of the world say about children and childhood is examined in a new book, “Children and Childhood in World Religions”, co-edited by Valparaiso University professor Dr. Marcia J. Bunge. Read more.

University of Scranton Faculty Member Wins Nursing Education Award

The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA) presented Marian L. Farrell, Ph.D., professor of nursing at The University of Scranton, with its 2009 Nursing Education Award. The award recognizes a member of PSNA who contributes to the advancement of nursing education and demonstrates strength of character, commitment and competence. Read more.

Before There Was Fodor’s

Read novels from Victorian England, and in many instances, characters leave for or arrive home from what was then the British colony of Australia. But it’s almost impossible in the same books to find an accurate description of life there. Janet Myers, an associate professor of English at Elon University, tackles that fact in her first book, Antipodal England: Emigration and Portable Domesticity in the Victorian Imagination. Published by SUNY Press as part of the Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century series, Antipodal England uses novels, newspapers, pamphlets, emigrant letters and art to compare and contrast how the colonies are used as a plot device with the way the British truly perceived those who would move to the other end of the globe. Read more.

Drury Professor Awarded $229,184 in Grants for Undergraduate Research

Drury University Chemistry Professor Dr. Rabindra Roy has received two grants totaling $229,184 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund undergraduate student chemistry research at Drury. Read more.

And the Indiana Author Award Winners Are...

James Alexander Thom ’60 and Professor of English Susan Neville of Butler University have received the top prizes in the first Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award competition.

Thom won in the National Author category, which honors a writer with Indiana ties whose work is known and read throughout the country. He received a $10,000 prize.

Neville won the Regional Award prize, a $7,500 award given to a writer who is well known and respected throughout the state of Indiana.

Both authors also receive a $2,500 grant to be given to their hometown public library.

"I was particularly honored to be on the stage with the other regional finalists, Jared Carter and James Madison, writers I greatly admire," Neville said. "In my teaching and reading life, I am grateful for writers who have dedicated their talent to a particular place and recorded what might have gone unrecorded or unseen, or once seen and then forgotten.” Read more.

Associate Dean Honored for Leading Experiential Learning at Elon

The National Society for Experiential Education has selected Elon University’s Associate Dean of Students Rex Waters as a co-recipient of its 2009 Higher Education Leader of the Year Award. Read more.

Professor’s Eye for Design Grabs Honors from Associated Press

Wagner College journalism professor Claire Regan ’80 won honorable mention in the New York State Associated Press Association’s spot-news presentation category for a page she designed for the Staten Island Advance, where she is associate managing editor. Read more.

Schultz Awarded Second Fulbright Scholarship

Hamline University professor David Schultz is headed back to Eastern Europe after being awarded his second “Senior Specialist” Fulbright scholarship. Shultz will headquarter at Corvinus University in Budapest this fall where he will research administrative law reform in former soviet-bloc countries. Read more.

University, Professors Hope to Benefit from New Mentoring Program

Nine second-year faculty members at Belmont University are paired with mentors selected from experienced faculty on campus through the new Mentoring for Mission program. Read more.

Arcadia University English Professor Named Finalist for 2009 PEN Award

Arcadia University Adjunct Professor of English Randall Couch was named one of two finalists for the 2009 PEN Award for Outstanding Book of Poetry in Translation for his translation of Gabriela Mistral’s Madwomen. Read more.

Elon University’s Business School Dean Mary Gowan wins Women in Business Award

Mary Gowan, dean of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business at Elon University, has been named to The Business Journal of the Triad’s 2009 list of Women in Business, an annual award honoring the region’s most accomplished female leaders in education, law, medicine and industry. Read more.

Hamline Professor Awarded Prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship

Hamline University College of Liberal Arts anthropology professor Kathryn Linn Geurts has been named a 2009 Guggenheim Fellow by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for her ethnographic work on disability in Ghana. Read more.

Butler University Professor Pens New Book on French Revolution

More than 200 years after the French Revolution ended, it’s still a source of debate for historians. Specifically: Why did it happen and what made it so violent? Butler University History Professor Paul Hanson examines those issues in Contesting the French Revolution (Wiley-Blackwell), his fifth book on the subject. Read more.

National Science Foundation Awards University of Evansville Professors $150,000 to Resequence Calculus

Two University of Evansville mathematics professors are working to change how calculus is taught across the country, thanks to a generous grant from the National Science Foundation. Read more.

Butler Professor to Attend Frye Leadership Institute - Receives $5000 Mellon Scholarship

Butler University Assistant Professor of Education Jody Britten has been chosen to participate in the 2009 Frye Leadership Institute this summer at Emory University in Atlanta. She has also received a full scholarship from the Mellon Foundation, covering the $5,000 cost of the program. Read more.

Drake Pharmacy Professor Receives Inaugural Leadership Award

Drake University professor Robert Soltis recently was named the first recipient of the C. Boyd Granberg Professional Leadership Award for his service to professional pharmacy organizations. Read more.

Valparaiso Professor Helping Church Draft Criminal Justice Statement

Dr. Dawn Jeglum Bartusch, assistant professor of sociology and criminology, at Valparaiso University, is one of 19 people serving on a recently formed Evangelical Lutheran Church in America task force charged with drafting a statement that will express the views of the ELCA on criminal justice issues. Read more.

Professor Bauman's Book Wins Award

Butler University Assistant Professor of Religion Chad Bauman’s book Christian Identity and Dalit Religion in Hindu India, 1846-1947 has won the 2006-2008 Best Book in Hindu-Christian Studies Award from the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies (SHCS).

The SHCS will organize a panel on his book at its next meeting, which meets concurrently with the American Academy of Religion. His book also will be featured in the next issue of the Journal of the SHCS.

More info about this award is available here.

Bauman’s book examines the interactions between Hindus and Christian missionaries from about 1870 through 1940 in a region of India called Chhattisgarh. Read more.

Williams Named 2009 Ned R. McWherter Leadership Award Winner

Dr. Susan G. Williams, professor of management in Belmont University’s Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business, was named today the 2009 Ned R. McWherter Leadership Award Winner by the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE).

The Ned R. McWherter Leadership Award annually recognizes an individual who exemplifies outstanding leadership in the pursuit of performance excellence. Winners are dedicated to the principles of the Criteria for Performance Excellence, have furthered performance improvement beyond the boundaries of their organizations and are committed to the core values of the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence program. Read more.

Pam Kiser Wins Statewide Service-Learning Honor

An Elon University faculty member was honored this week by the North Carolina Campus Compact for her dedication to the practice of service-learning in higher education. Pam Kiser, a professor of human services, received the 2009 Robert L. Sigmon Service-Learning Award at a Feb. 11 campus luncheon as part of an NCCC statewide conference.

The award has been given annually since 2006 “to an individual who has made significant contributions toward furthering the practice of service-learning.” NCCC is a coalition of colleges and universities collaborating to increase campus-wide participation in community and public service, and the organization is a member of National Campus Compact, which has over 1,100 presidential members and 34 state offices. Read more. Read more.

HU Dean Honored as Humanitarian

Hampton University Nursing Dean and Professor Dr. Pamela Hammond was one of six persons selected for the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities 2009 Humanitarian of the Year award. The 41st Annual Peninsula Chapter Humanitarian Awards Dinner is Feb. 26 at the Newport News Marriott at City Center.

Since 1963, the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities has presented Humanitarian Awards annually to one or more persons. The Humanitarian Awards Dinners honor individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to the promotion of respect and understanding among people of diverse racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, according to the organization’s website. Read more.

Westminster Professor’s Album Nominated For Two Grammy Awards

As Utah’s only private, liberal arts college, it’s only befitting that Westminster have its share of talented and artistic faculty and staff -- and Christopher LeCluyse is no exception. Not only is he a gifted English professor, but his amazing vocals and performances with a professional choir, Conspirare, have recently helped earn the group two Grammy nominations for “Best Classical Album” and “Best Choral Performance.”

In October of 2008, LeCluyse and Conspirare recorded Threshold of Night in Troy, New York, at the Troy Saving Bank Music Hall, a 19th-century auditorium where classical artists such Yo-Yo Ma prefer to record because of its high-quality acoustics. Threshold of Night features choral music by Tarik O’Regan, a young British composer.

“I feel truly privileged to have been able to keep my music going alongside my work as an English professor and writing center director,” he explained. “I'm also grateful that Dean Mary Jane Chase and Peter Goldman, the chair of the English Department at the time, who supported my taking the time to make the recording. Since we’re a liberal arts school, I think it's good to show the students that professors should be well-rounded, too.”

Hickman Work Will Be IRA April Book of Month

Dr. Peggy Hickman, Associate Professor of Education at Arcadia University, co-authored a new book, Dynamic Read-Aloud Strategies for English Learners: Building Language and Literacy in the Primary Grades, with Sharolyn D. Pollard-Durodola. The book is being published by the International Reading Association (IRA). It will be the IRA’s April Book of the Month selection, sent to 5,000 members of that worldwide professional association. The goal of this book is to demonstrate to teachers how a read-aloud activity that most of them use in the classroom every day can be employed as a strategy to help second-language learners develop English listening comprehension and oral language proficiency in a culturally and linguistically appropriate way. Dynamic Read-Aloud Strategies is intended to provide teachers with both the theoretical knowledge they need to understand the process of second-language development and a collection of proven strategies that will help them effectively apply that knowledge to their work with English language learners.

Elon Instructor wins National Award for Dissertation

An Elon University adjunct instructor was honored this fall for her research on the way companies describe themselves, and how those descriptions give consumers a better understanding of what the business is really saying about its products and services. Linda Gretton, in the School of Communications, won the Association for Business Communication’s Outstanding Dissertation Award at its annual conference.

This is the second year in a row that an Elon faculty member has won the award.

Gretton’s doctoral dissertation for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro profiles the rhetorical strategies of the biotechnical and pharmaceutical industries and how those strategies inform public perception.

Art History Professor's New Novel Released

Wagner College Professor Laura Morowitz’s new novel, “The Miracles of Prato,” was released today for sale. Co-written with Laurie Albanese, the book is published by William Morrow.

The authors will read from their new novel and autograph copies of the book on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. at Watchung Booksellers, 54 Fairfield St. (Watchung Plaza), Montclair, N.J.

Celebrating the art, passion, and culture of 15th century Italy, “The Miracles of Prato” brings to life the romantic story of the famed painter-monk Fra Filippo Lippi and the beautiful Florentine nun who was to become his muse, lover, and the mother of his children.

To read a preview written by Laurie Albanese and published in the March 2, 2008 issue of the New York Times, click here.

Simmons Alumna Gwen Ifill Releases New Book on "Obama-era" Politics

On the same day that President Barack Obama was sworn in as the country's 44th president, Simmons alumna Gwen Ifill '77 released her new book, "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama" (2008, Doubleday). The highly respected senior correspondent for PBS's The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and managing editor of Washington Week, Ifill moderated the a vice presidential debate last October between Senator Joseph Biden and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Professor Named Chair-Elect of National Pharmacy Organization Continuing Education Section

Carriann Richey, director of outreach and assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Butler University, has been appointed chair-elect of the Continuing Professional Education Section of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP).

With the appointment comes a three-year leadership commitment to AACP, first as chair-elect, then chair and finally immediate past chair. Richey’s responsibilities during the three years include such things as overseeing educational programs and serving as the liaison between the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) and AACP.

Richey’s appointment marks the second time a Butler faculty member has been elected to an AACP section. Associate Professor of Pharmaceutics Sudip Das recently completed his duties as the immediate past chair of the AACP’s Pharmaceutics Section.

Westminster Professor Achieves National Recognition as ‘Certified In Public Health’

The National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE) announced that Dr. George White, director of Westminster College’s public health program, has achieved the recognition of being Certified in Public Health (CPH). He is further recognized with the special honor of being in the Charter Class of CPH. The inaugural CPH exam was administered to nearly 700 professionals throughout the country during August 11-30, 2008.

White came to Westminster in 2008 to help start the college’s new public health program. In 2004, the Utah Public Health Association awarded him its highest honor, the Theodore Bruce Beatty M.D. Award, and in 2007, he was chosen as “Utah Best of State” in the college/university teacher category. White is also a graduate of the prestigious National Public Health Leadership Institute, and has served on the Utah Health Advisory Council since 2002.

Sage Professor Authors Sports Medicine Book

Esther Haskvitz, associate professor of physical therapy at The Sage Colleges as well as an athletic trainer and exercise scientist, recently co-authored a book called "Applied Sports Medicine for Coaches."

"The goal of the book is to teach coaches enough about sports medicine to help prevent athletes from injuring themselves on the playing field," said Haskvitz. "Injuries from sports cost millions of dollars a year and can have lifelong negative effects, including limiting the ability to participate in physical activity as one grows older."

"Applied Sports Medicine for Coaches" was published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Haskvitz co-wrote the book with her former colleagues, James H. Johnson and Barbara Brehm.

Professor of American Literature Honored by Emerson Society

The Emerson Society has presented Len Gougeon, Ph.D., distinguished university fellow and professor of American literature at The University of Scranton, with its Distinguished Achievement Award. The award recognizes scholars who have made important contributions to Emerson studies.

Chemistry Department Receives Second NSF Grant

Butler University’s Chemistry Department has received its second National Science Foundation grant of 2008, a $149,819 award to purchase an instrument called a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer mass spectrometer and to integrate the organic and inorganic chemistry courses.

The grant to Department Chair Stacy O’Reilly, Associate Professors Anne Wilson and John Esteb, and Assistant Professor LuAnne McNulty will help make the chemistry curriculum more relevant and challenging by enabling students to create molecules on their own rather than simply carry out rote experiments.

The gas chromatograph mass spectrometer mass spectrometer takes minute samples of material of a solid or liquid and turns them into gas. In the gas phase, the GCMSMS separates it into its different components, identifies the different components and quantifies them.

Having the GCMSMS on campus will expose students to the kind of equipment that’s used in industries such as pharmaceuticals.

Drake's Fred Arroyo Named One of Top 10 New Latino Authors

Fred Arroyo, assistant professor of English at Drake University, recently was selected by LatinoStories.com as one of the 2009 Top Ten New Latino Authors to Watch (and Read).

The selection is based on Arroyo's first novel, "The Region of Lost Names," which was published earlier this year by the University of Arizona Press.

"I have to say that I rarely have so many colleagues recommend the same book," said Jose B. Gonzalez, founder and editor of LatinoStories.com, as well as editor of "Latino Boom: An Anthology of U.S. Latino Literature."

In this case," Gonzalez added, "they knew talent when they eyed it. This is a riveting book with characters of all ages who nevertheless sound so familiar, it's as if thereader has grown up with them."

At Drake, Arroyo teaches classes in short story writing, writing the personal essay and a First-Year Seminar, titled Mother Tongues, which focuses on bilingual and translingual writers. In the future, he plans to teach courses focused on Latino literature.

"Writing is an act of invention and discovery -- but it arises out of a deep emotional center, a desire to create lives and stories of substance," Arroyo said. "I find teaching important for sharing stories, and for helping students to achieve their own dreams through reading and writing."

North Central College Jazz Faculty Members Play Kennedy Center Honors

North Central College jazz trombone instructor T.S. Galloway and jazz trumpet instructor Doug Scharf performed during the 31st Annual Kennedy Center Honors gala dinner on Dec. 7 in Washington, D.C. as members of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra. This year marks the orchestra’s 20th consecutive appearance at the Kennedy Center Honors festivities.

The annual Honors Gala is the highlight of the Washington cultural year. The President and Mrs. Bush received the honorees and members of the Artists Committee who nominated the recipients, along with the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees at the White House prior to the gala performance. The Honors Gala concluded with a supper dance in the Grand Foyer, for which the Chicago Jazz Orchestra provided the music.

Galloway, a former trombonist with the legendary Count Basie Orchestra, teaches applied jazz trombone, composing and arranging at North Central College. He also directs the NCC Big Band and newly formed NCC New Orleans Brass Band. Trumpeter Scharf, also an arranger and composer, has played trumpet for Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, Elton John and many more, and teaches applied jazz trumpet at North Central and leads one of the NCC jazz combos.

Serving Others a Key to Leadership, Research Shows

Recently published research by a Valparaiso University business professor and student indicates that stewardship, community-building and other traits associated with servant leadership may give a boost to the effectiveness of leaders.

Dr. Michael McCuddy, Morgal chair of Christian business ethics, and Matt Cavin, a 2008 Valpo graduate now working for EMSystems in Milwaukee, presented results of their survey of people involved in church-related higher education or religious life in "Fundamental Moral Orientations, Servant Leadership, and Leadership Effectiveness: An Empirical Test." The paper appears in the current issue of the Review of Business Research by the International Academy of Business and Economics.

"From a pragmatic perspective, our results assert that making decisions and taking actions in light of moral considerations, developing one's behavioral capacity to serve others and leading people effectively do not exist in isolation, but must be understood and utilized in the context of a holistic approach to leadership," said Dr. McCuddy, whose scholarship on business ethics topics has been widely published.

In their research, Dr. McCuddy and Cavin questioned approximately 300 people about their Fundamental Moral Orientations in both personal and work life, practice of servant leadership behaviors and leadership effectiveness.

Key findings of their research show significant positive correlations between leadership effectiveness and 9 of 10 servant leadership characteristics, along with a composite servant leadership score combining those 10 individual characteristics.

Their research also shows a strong and significant positive correlation between a leader's work life Fundamental Moral Orientation (selfishness, self-fullness or selflessness) and the practice of servant leadership behaviors.

Other results demonstrate a small but significant positive correlation between a leader's personal life FMO and his or her practice of several servant leadership behaviors.

Their data also reveals limited support for a potential difference between leaders' personal and work lives with respect to FMO-servant leadership relationships. For example, the characteristics of active listening, empathy, foresight and community-building had significant positive correlations with work life FMO, but not with personal life FMO.

While the study provides support for the benefits of servant leadership, Dr. McCuddy noted that survey respondents were involved in church administration and church-related higher education, and that their responses may not be applicable to a broad range of organizations. Dr. McCuddy previously has done research about individuals' Fundamental Moral Orientation, a concept that reflects differing combinations of concern for one's own interests versus concerns for the interests of others. People are motivated by selfishness at one extreme and selflessness at the other, while a healthy balance of the two is known as self-fullness in the FMO model.

"What's more likely to be beneficial across a wide range of organizations is balancing self-interest with the welfare of the community as a whole," Dr. McCuddy said. "If you are going to be able to effectively serve others you have to protect yourself first so that you have the ability to serve others."

In their paper, Dr. McCuddy and Cavin say its not surprising people who embrace some servant leadership behaviors tend to be more effective leaders, given that leadership is a process involving interacting with and influencing followers. Having a mindset amenable to serving followers can strengthen the quality and effectiveness of that process.

The first key takeaway for business leaders, Dr. McCuddy said, is to recognize the tension between self-interest and serving the good of the broader community or organization.

"If you go too far in either direction it can be detrimental to oneself or to the community," he said. "There's a need to balance these concerns and both have legitimate claims on a person."

Second, business leaders should recognize that the concept of self-fullness is perhaps the best, most useful and most productive moral orientation for people to possess.

"Part of what business education should be in preparing students for future roles is to teach them to be effective stewards of all the resources in their care," Dr. McCuddy said. "To have a strong impact on both personal and community outcomes you should take the middle road of self-fullness."

Subscribe to
News by Email
(Receive email updates when we add a new story to any of the news pages.)