SouthernLife
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 501 NEW HAVEN, CONN.
A NEWSPAPER FOR THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Southern Connecticut State University
JULY 2013 • Vol.16 No. 7
inside:
5 A Final Wish Comes True 5 Living The Dream
Book It! Buley Library Groundbreaking Set for July 17
Southern
is on course in less than two years
to be home to a state-of-the-art library
that will offer students the latest in media technology in a modern and attractive facility. The project to renovate the 98,000-square-foot older wing of Buley Library has begun, according to Robert Sheeley, associate vice president for capital budgeting and facilities operations. The $31 million project will enable the university to boast a library that is 245,000 square feet, which includes the original wing, as well as the 135,000-square-foot addition that was completed in 2008. It also will include a new 12,000-square-foot area encompassing an atrium and skywalk connecting the two sections of the building on the first and third floors. “I am confident that we will have a library that Southern will be truly proud to call its own,” Sheeley said. A ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony has been scheduled for 9:30 a.m. July 17 at Buley Library. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is scheduled to speak at the event, as are campus, local and other state officials. Following the groundbreaking, a ribbon cutting for the new 1,257-space Wintergreen Parking Garage is scheduled to take place at about 11 a.m. “It is going to be a beautiful building that will be the academic hub of the campus,” said Christina Baum, director of library services at Buley. “I really think it will be a more inviting and approachable facility for our students.” The Buley renovation is the second major project to commence on campus this summer. A four-level, 98,332 Library
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6.
Strengthening Minds and Bodies Nursing, Exercise Science Pair Earn Outstanding Teaching Award
Their
fields focus on the physical,
while their roles as educators help train students’ minds.
But Bernadette Madara, professor of nursing, and Brenda Harrison, a part-time faculty member in exercise science, have used that dual background to make a difference in the lives of their students. In so doing, they are helping to improve the lives of everyday people. Madara and Harrison were recently selected as this year’s recipients of the J. Philip Smith Award for Outstanding Teaching. They were recognized at Southern’s undergraduate commencement ceremony May 17 at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. “Both faculty members exemplify the qualities of great teaching -- namely engaging and challenging their students in the learning process in a way that enables them to reach their full potential,” said President Mary A. Papazian. Madara, selected as the full-time faculty member recipient, began teaching at Southern in 2005. She is a licensed R.N. and A.P.R.N. who is board certified for medical-surgical nursing. She holds an Ed.D. in higher and adult education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Madara teaches gerontology, integrated pathophysiology/ pharmacology and adult health nursing. She is also a clinical supervisor for student nurses at Yale-New Haven Hospital – both at the main campus and at the St. Raphael campus. She has developed a reputation for challenging her students in some complex courses, but has earned their respect for her commitment to them. “’Bunny’ is a popular
advisor because she pushes her students to do their best work and simultaneously provides unwavering support,” said Sandra Bulmer, professor of public health, who wrote a letter of nomination for Madara. In fact, students who wrote (Left photo) Bernadette Madera, professor of nursfaculty recipient of the honor. (Right photo) President letters on her behalf for the ing, reflects upon being awarded the J. Philip Smith Mary A. Papazian pauses for a moment with Brenda Award for Outstanding Teaching during the underHarrison, this year’s part-time faculty winner of the award often referred to her as graduate commencement. She is this year’s full-time award. Harrison teaches exercise science. “the best professor ever,” and typically referred to a course they have had with her as “the best class ever.” eration of nurses. Their intellectual curiosity journey was so appreciated by them that they Madara said words cannot fully express and enthusiasm for nursing makes teaching a took the time to nominate me.” what the award has meant to her. “It was the pleasure. I view our teacher/student relationOutside the classroom, Madera serves as pinnacle of my teaching career,” she said. “I ship as a team effort and am thankful that my thesis adviser for several nursing students in Outstanding continued on page 6. consider it a privilege to teach the next genteaching style and interest in their educational
A Resource for Educators Statewide Tools for Teaching English Language Learners Going Online
Even the most experienced teachers can find it challenging to communicate effectively with students whose native language is not English. As part of an effort to help teachers, as well as their students who are learning English, Southern’s Training for All Teachers (TAT) program has been stockpiling instructional units (grades K-12) created by graduate students pursuing their master’s degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and bilingual education. Those units provide teachers with lesson plans, and various handouts for the students, such as easier-to-read summaries of the lessons and listening guides. They also give teachers an outline of teaching strategies and objectives, and other information that can be valuable in the learning process. And now TAT is taking that library and increasing its accessibility to Connecticut’s teachers by placing those instructional units online, according to Lorrie Verplaetse, TAT program creator/project director. Educators
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6.
A Message from the President
President Mary A. Papazian
Dear Colleagues, Now that summer is upon us, I hope that all of you will take the opportunity during the next couple of months to take a breath, relax and reflect on a job well done. Our vibrant commencement ceremonies at Lyman Center and the Webster Bank Arena summed up a year full of high points. They were both poignant – with the posthumous honors awarded to the four graduate school alumni who died in the Newtown shootings – and joyous, with the distribution of diplomas and ice cream at the undergraduate commencement making for a festive mix. Jerry Greenfield, the keynote
President Mary A. Papazian and Jessica Scibek, Fitness Center coordinator, enjoy some ice cream and conversation during a kickoff ceremony for the New Student Orientation. The social enabled staff members to get to know this year’s orientation ambassadors.
SouthernLife
Published by the Southern Connecticut State University Office of Public Affairs Patrick Dilger, Director EDITOR
Patrick Dilger WRITERS
Betsy Beacom Mike Kobylanski Joe Musante Villia Struyk DESIGNER
Janelle Finch PHOTOGRAPHER
Isabel Chenoweth Alisha Martindale SouthernLife is published monthly when classes are in session, from September through June, by the Southern Connecticut State University Office of Public Affairs, 501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT 06515-1355. News and calendar inquiries should be addressed to Wintergreen 162, campus mail, or call 392-6586. Story ideas, news items and comments can also be e-mailed to the editor at DILGERP1. The editor reserves the right to consider all submissions for timeliness, space availability, and content.
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SouthernLife • JULY 2013
speaker and co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., delivered to our students a message of entrepreneurial acumen, environmental awareness and socially responsible business practices. I am very pleased to report that we have successfully completed searches for several key leadership positions. This month, we welcome to campus our new Chief Information Officer Pablo Molina; Vice President for Student Affairs Tracy Tyree and Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Steven Breese. In August, they will be joined by Robert Stamp, vice president for institutional advancement, and Pam Lassiter, director of diversity and equity. All of these individuals bring skills, experience and leadership qualities that will enhance our mission and move the university forward. As we enter the summer months, there is still abundant activity on campus. The most visible sign, of course, is the work surrounding our two major construction projects – the renovation of the original portion of Buley Library and site preparation for our new academic and laboratory science building. The long-awaited completion of the library – a building that physically and practically has served as the academic hub of our campus for more than 40 years – is welcome news for all members of our community. When finished in two years, the new Buley will be double the size of the original library, and provide the best possible environment for teaching, learning and research. I hope that those of you who are on campus this week will attend the groundbreaking for the library renovation at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 17 in front of Buley. This event will be followed at 11 a.m. by a ribbon-cutting for the new 1,200-space parking Wintergreen Parking Garage that opened last week. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will attend both events, and this is a time to showcase our com-
munity spirit and highlight our commitment to building a 21st-century campus. We must take every opportunity to reinforce the message that an investment in Southern is an investment in Connecticut’s future. Later this summer, we will begin to make plans for our own future as we prepare for the launch of our new strategic planning initiative. As was the case with the preceding plan, the development of a new document charting the university’s course for the next decade will be an inclusive effort. It will allow us to align our goals and objectives with other major initiatives, including the revision of our master plan and the university’s first major capital campaign. Finally, as we look ahead to the fall, I alert you to several key upcoming events: On Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 1 p.m., I will present the State of the University address, giving an overview of our current position and our goals for the new academic year. Two days later, on Friday, Sept. 20, we will celebrate the groundbreaking for our new Academic Science Laboratory Building – again at 1 p.m., in front of Jennings Hall. On Oct. 11, we will hold a daylong series of events marking the 40th anniversary of the groundbreaking Title IX legislation. And on Monday, Oct. 21, at 6:30 p.m. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will speak on her autobiography “My Beloved World,” as part of the 2013 Common Read for first-year students. In the meantime, I hope you have an enjoyable and relaxing summer with friends and family. Sincerely,
Mary Papazian, Ph.D. President
News from the Vice Presidents’ Offices ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Peter Seldin, distinguished professor of management emeritus at Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y., will be the keynote speaker for the upcoming Forum sponsored by the Office of Faculty Development. His talk, “Apprehending Teaching Excellence,” is scheduled for Aug. 27 in Engleman Hall, Room C112. A continental breakfast will begin at 8:30 a.m. and a luncheon will follow the program at 1 p.m. in Engleman, Room B121. In addition to being a former professor, Seldin also had served as an academic dean and department chairman. He also has been a consultant on higher education issues to more than 350 colleges and universities throughout the United States and in 45 countries. He is the author or co-author of many books, including “The Academic Portfolio: A Practical Guide to Documenting Teaching, Research and Service (2009),” and “Evaluating Faculty Performance.” He also has written articles on the teaching profession, educational practice and academic culture in a variety of publications, including The New York Times and the Chronicle of Higher Education. For additional information, please contact the Office of Faculty Development at 3925358.
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
Robert Sheeley, associate vice president for capital budgeting and facilities operations, has announced that the Wintergreen Parking Garage is open and ready for use. The garage is located on the former lot next
to the Moore Fieldhouse. It includes 1,200 parking spaces – a net increase of about 800 spaces compared with the former lot. The four-level garage includes various amenities, including LED lighting, a lobby and the installation of more than 50 cameras and blue lights in case of emergencies. “The LED lighting will save us a considerable amount of money on lighting consumption costs,” Sheeley said. “At the same time, those lights are very bright.” Executive Vice President James E. Blake said the combination of better lighting, cameras and blue lights are intended to maximize safety in the garage. The entrance and exit ramps are located on the westernmost side of the building (farthest from Moore Fieldhouse).
INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT
In an emotional tribute conducted during graduate commencement exercises for the School of Education, the Distinguished Alumni Award was presented posthumously to four educators who died during the shooting tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. The award — the highest honor bestowed by Southern upon a graduate — was presented in memory of principal Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, M.S. ’97, 6th Yr. ’98; teacher Anne Marie Murphy, M.S. ’08; school counselor Mary J. Sherlach, M.S. ’90, 6th Yr. ’92, and teacher and master’s degree student Victoria Soto. “There could be no other choice than to recognize the four courageous alumnae who lost their lives protecting the children in their care,” said President Mary A. Papazian, speaking
at the event. The ceremony was held on May 16 at the Lyman Center for the Performing Arts. A master’s degree in education also was posthumously awarded to Soto at the ceremony and accepted by members of her family. The ceremony was attended by Soto’s parents -- Carlos and Donna -- and her siblings, Jillian, Carlee and Carlos. Murphy’s four children -Kelly, Colleen, Paige and Thomas -- accepted the award on their mother’s behalf.
STUDENT AND UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS
Students enrolled in SEOP (Summer Educational Opportunity Program) and ConnCAS (Connecticut College Access and Success Program) have arrived on campus, and their classes are now under way, said Peter Troiano, interim vice president for student and university affairs. Both SEOP and ConnCAS help newly admitted students ease the transition from high school to Southern by providing services such as orientation, academic support, academic and personal advising, among others. “These students come to campus to do some coursework, have the opportunity to earn college credits and generally prepare for the fall semester as freshmen,” Troiano said. He says the programs have been in place formore than 20 years and for most of those years were coordinated by James Barber, now director of community engagement; Chaka Felder, coordinator of access programs, oversees them today. Troiano said these programs run on campus for six weeks, and a closing ceremony at the end of the summer celebrates the students’ success and looks ahead to their return in the fall semester.
Serving it Up for Southern
Advisor, Mentor and Advocate
They
During his 35 years at Southern, Leon Yacher has traveled countless miles navigating the globe – from the
may be two of the most rec-
o g n i z a b le fa c u lt y m e m b e r s o n campus.
William Faraclas, chairman of the Public Health Department, and Michael Shea, chairman of the English Department, are so ingrained into the Southern culture that it would be challenging to find a significant number of faculty and William Faraclas staff members who do not know who they are. They are also well-known among the student body. And for good reason. The long-serving faculty members have served Southern in multiple capacities. For their record of service, they were chosen as the co-recipients of this year’s Robert E. Jirsa Service Award, given specifically to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the university,
as well as for having demonstrated outstanding leadership in service to the campus community. During his tenure at Southern, Faraclas has been responsible for the creation of departmental scholarships Michael Shea and research days, as well as a variety of novel educational opportunities, such as an international outreach program. His service extends to the community by being a member of various professional state and national boards. His various letters of support for the award describe Faraclas as an ideal mentor, a champion for students, a visionary and “the hardest working man on campus.” “He views service as integral to his role of teacher, and thus is an ideal role model Faraclas/Shea
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at Southern. “In my graduating class of 1980, Dr. Yacher was very popular,” she wrote in a letter of nomination for the award. “He was South American highlands to the arid lands of easy to talk to, a good listener and non-judgCentral Asia to the African rain formental. The academic environment est. Most of those trips have been he created was compelling: interestfocused on the exploration of the ing, inspiring and encouraging – all geography, anthropology, sociology without being intimidating.” and politics of nation upon nation. In addition to academic But despite an unquenchable advisement, he regularly connects thirst for research and knowledge, students to research projects, Yacher has not forgotten his role graduate programs and professional as a teacher. His passion to inspire opportunities. students has remained unwavering. Students who wrote nominaIn fact, his connection to them — as tion letters typically used phrases a friend and mentor — frequently like “passionate about student sucLeon Yacher continues well beyond the day cess,” “extremely knowledgeable,” they march to “Pomp and Circumand “the go-to guy.” stance” and receive their diploma. “He is truly a mentor rather than an advisor For this unwavering commitment to the and he will go out of his way to make sure that students, the professor of geography has students are successful at SCSU and beyond,” been selected as this year’s recipient of the said one nominator. Outstanding Academic Advisor. Yacher said he is honored to receive the Suzanne Hetric, an alumna, remembers award. “I was surprised because there were Yacher continued on page 7. Yacher from his early days as a faculty member
With High Tech and High Regard
Rising Faculty Stars
It’s
Two
a brave new
world century
in
21st
A merica
– replete with technological advancements that society could only dream of a few decades ago. Academia has not been immune to these changes. And while exciting and increasingly important, these changes can also be a bit scary. But Elizabeth Rodriquez-Keyes, asso- Elizabeth Rodriquez-Keyes ciate professor of social work, has not flinched. In fact, her knowledge and application of the new technology to bolster classroom learning has been met with appreciation from her students and colleagues. For her efforts, she has been named as this year’s Technological Teacher of the Year. Colleagues have said that Rodriguez-Keyes has had a beneficial effect on their own teach-
ing. She has created course templates for others to use and has taught faculty how to use new tools that engage students more directly in the learning process. “Dr. Rodriguez-Keyes reinvigorated the teaching of those she has mentored,” said Todd Rofuth, chairman of the Social Work Department, in his letter of nomination. She has conducted extensive research with Elizabeth Keenan and Dana Schneider, both faculty members in the Social Work Department. In fact, they co-presented at four conferences run by professional social work organizations on hybrid learning. Their research also led to many journal articles. Rodriguez-Keyes regularly uses more than 12 technology tools in her instruction, including Audacity, e-portfolios and Xtranormal. In students’ letters of support for her, they typically commented about the effectiveness of online learning in generating deep discussions and team work, as well as creative learning activities offered in her courses. “It was an honor to learn that so many Rodriguez-Keyes
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7.
at
relatively new faculty members
Southern
hoping to break new
with research projects – one in biology and the other in philosophy – have been selected as this year’s recipients of the Junior Faculty Fellowship. Elizabeth Lewis Ro b e r t s , a s s i s t a n t professor of biology, and Chelsea Harry, assistant professor of philosophy, will b e grante d nine cre dit hours of release time by the university to help them focus on their Elizabeth Lewis Roberts projects. Roberts plans to seek a bio-remediation system that removes Atrazine from the soil. Atrazine is an “anti-weed” herbicide commonly used in the United States on plants, especially corn, sorghum and sugar cane. Concerns have been raised about the potenground
tial health hazards associate d with long-term exposure to this product. She will study the use of grasses and spe cialize d bacteria that consume a chemical released from the plants. Genetically modified versions of these bacteria Chelsea Harry are believed to convert Atrazine chemically into a harmless derivative. She hopes that by planting the grasses with the modified bacteria into contaminated soils, Atrazine will be removed without the need to add food for the bacteria. “I’m delighted to have won this junior faculty research fellowship,” Roberts said. “Having an entire semester to devote to conducting research is priceless.” “This project will have immediate, measurable results upon the environment and will Roberts/Harry
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SouthernBrief ly Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will be on campus July 17 to attend two special events: the groundbreaking ceremony for the Buley Library renovation and the ribbon-cutting to officially open the new Wintergreen Parking Garage. The groundbreaking will begin at 9:30 a.m., with a speaking program under a tent in the library quad, followed by the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. Members of the university community are invited to attend these events in celebration of the launch of one long-awaited project and the completion of another. The Center for Communication Disorders, Southern’s speech, language and hearing clinic, is offering free comprehensive speech-language evaluations and audiological (hearing) evaluations to Southern faculty, staff and students and their immediate families during the months of June and July. The Center works with a wide array of children and adults with a variety of speech, language and hearing needs. Evaluations are about two hours in length and are done at the Center in Davis Hall. Please contact the Center at (203) 392-5955 for more information or to schedule an appointment. Looking ahead to a few major events slated for the fall, on Sept. 18 at 1 p.m., President Mary A. Papazian
will present a State of the University address, giving an overview of the university’s current position and its goals for the new academic year. Two days later, on Sept. 20 at 1 p.m., the community is invited to celebrate the beginning of a major new construction project at the groundbreaking for Southern’s academic and laboratory science building in front of Jennings Hall. On Oct. 11, the university will hold a day-long series of events marking the 40th anniversary of the groundbreaking Title IX legislation that ensures gender equality in all aspects of education. And on Oct. 21, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will be on campus to speak about her autobiography “My Beloved World,” as part of the 2013 Common Read for first-year students. SCSU-TV livestreamed the undergraduate and graduate commencement ceremonies, recorded them and have made them available for viewing online. Videos of the two graduate ceremonies and undergraduate commencement may be found at www. livestream.com/scsu. The Lyman Center Jazz Series goes on sale Aug. 17 at 11 a.m., while single jazz tickets go on sale Aug. 26 at 11 a.m. The series includes one ticket to all four
fall jazz shows for $112. The lineup for the fall includes soprano and tenor saxophonist Marion Meadows with special guest trumpeter Cindy Bradley on Sept. 27; three-time Grammy nominee Boney James on Oct. 26; UK-based band Acoustic Alchemy on Nov. 16 and legendary saxophonist Najee and jazz pianist Alex Bugnon on Dec. 7. For tickets and information, call the Lyman Center box office at (203) 392-6154 or visit Lyman.SouthernCT.edu. Five members of the university’s Geography Club recently made poster presentations at the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting in Los Angeles. The students and the topics of their posters were: Michelle Ritchie, “Living in the Desert: Visualizing Food Access Through Critical Cartography”; Lance Lambert, “Viticultural Site Suitability of Connecticut”; Peter Testa, “Local Hops? A Suite Suitability Analysis for Hop (Humulus Lupulus) Production in the State of Connecticut”; Jana Brady, “Uncovering Archaic New Haven: A GIS Analysis of a Paleo-Indian Weapons Factory” and Fatima Cecunjanin, “Climate Change and Water Security: Potential of Rainwater Harvesting.” Ezgi Akpinar Ferrand, assistant professor of geography, serves as the faculty adviser for the club. She and Patrick Heidkamp, chairman of the Geography Department, advised the students with their research.
SouthernLife • JULY 2013
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Stepanovich: Traditional Job Performance Reviews Merit Low Marks
ment/Management Information Systems Department. “They generally do much more harm than good,” Stepanovich says. “They have been criticized forever, yet almost every organization continues to do them.” Stepanovich recently wrote an article on the subject that was published in the Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management. He says that several bodies of research – including his own – show that the evaluation system has so many cognitive biases that the evaluations actually say more about the evaluator than the evaluatee. “Those biases are usually unconscious,” he says. “In fact, most supervisors 'They (reviews) generally believe they are providing pretty objective evaluations. But the research is clear – they are not.” do much more harm than He points out several problems as they relate to objectivity, such as a good — they have been “halo effect,” in which a person is perceived to do everything well if they do criticized forever — yet one thing particularly well; a reverse evaluative thought process in which a almost every organization supervisor already has a mental picture of someone’s performance and then continues to do them.' fills in details later to reflect that perception, rather than looking objectively at a worker’s performance in various areas first before reaching a conclusion; failure to look at the overall average performance, rather than focusing too heavily on either the highs and lows. He also notes office politics, as well as racial, age, gender, class and other biases. “And when evaluations are tied to promotions, raises, firings and similar results – which they often are — the performance reviews generate even more problems, such as resentment, a reduction in motivation and lack of cooperation among co-workers.” Stepanovich concedes that it is unlikely that a totally objective review process exists. And in the absence of such a process, what are organizations to do? After all, some form of evaluation – however imperfect – is needed to determine promotions and raises. “There are several things that can be done to reduce the level of bias in evaluations,” he says. “It’s still far from perfect, but organizations can take steps to mitigate the bias.” He suggests: • Talking with employees during the course of the year about their strengths and weaknesses, rather than waiting until that once or twice yearly review. Also, it is a good idea to ask them what would make it easier for them to do their jobs and try to remove the bureaucratic roadblocks that often hinder performance and motivation.
Paul Stepanovich
Ask
any group of people about the performance review process at their place of employment and there’s a good chance you’ll hear a collective groan. Many employers find professional reviews time consuming, too generic and not always an effective tool in producing the long-term improvements they would like to see from their staff members. Employees often feel they are inaccurate, unhelpful and generate increased ill will toward their supervisors, colleagues and the organization at which they work. And both are right, according to Paul Stepanovich, chairman of the university’s Manage-
• Using control charts. All workers are going to have good and bad days, or even cycles. But what is important is the average. Employers should look at whether the average is above or below a certain norm. • Not assuming that because an employee, who was rewarded for outstanding performance and then dropped off a bit, did so because they were slacking off. It is going to happen because of the normal daily and weekly fluctuations – some of which may even be due to chance. Similarly, if an employee’s performance drops and you reprimanded them, don’t assume it was because of the reprimand. Again, there is a “regression to the mean” that was likely to happen anyway.
:
Sugar, Pheasants and Figs:
The Meaning of Food in Medieval and Renaissance Italian Literature
A
cooked pheasant served in its full plumage and
was an ironic symbol at the tables of wealthy nobility in Renaissance Italy, says Pina Palma in her new book, “Savoring Power, Consuming the Times: The Metaphors of Food in Medieval and Renaissance Italian Literature” (University of Notre Dame Press). In striving to impress each other with their respective wealth and power, the aristocrats who served up such delicacies “were essentially poisoning themselves” with the metal embellishments, Palma says. Palma, professor of Italian, says her book examines a group of well-known literary works that have always been analyzed from other perspectives, but no one had ever looked at the meaning of food and food preparation in these works. She looks at the writings of five important Italian authors—Boccaccio’s “Decameron,” Pulci’s “Morgante,” Boiardo’s “Innamorato,” Ariosto’s “Furioso” and Aretino’s “Ragionamento.” Palma’s book analyzes how these authors use food and gastronomy as means to critique the social, political, theological, philosophical and cultural beliefs that constitute the fabric of the society in which they live. Palma argues that foods function as ethical and aesthetic instruments through which the literary hero’s virtues and flaws, achievements and failures, can be gauged. Food also serves as a means to maintain, as well as to negotiate, power, social hierarchy and relationships between the powerful and the powerless. Touching on three centuries that were pivotal for Italian culture, literature and history, as well as three literary genres, Palma’s analysis connects the descriptions and references to food found in these works with the wider culture of Italy in the late medieval and early modern period. Great chefs worked for wealthy families during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Palma says, and they prepared foods that would speak to the refined palates of the members of these households. But from a historical and anthropological perspective, she says, these foods and the techniques for preparing them carried certain meanings. For instance, the higher up from the earth a food source was – birds or fruits on trees, for example – the closer to God that food was believed to be, and thus better for the aristocracy’s tastes. “Food reflected covered in gold and silver
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SouthernLife • JULY 2013
Pina Palma
the place of the consumer in the social hierarchy,” Palma says. The more powerful, wealthy and educated the family, the more exotic their food might be. But she also gives meat as an example of a symbolic food, explaining that meat as food was perceived as the taming of the wild beast, thus showing the host’s power and authority. Banquets during the Renaissance, Palma says, could include 20 or 30 courses and were essentially turned into spectacles. In between courses, the consumers – who invariably came from the aristocracy – were provided with entertainment, and the food would be ceremoniously prepared and presented. All of this was done to impress and compete, Palma says. The focus on spectacle was to show the host’s high status. With the arrival of sugar in Italy during the Middle Ages, Palma says, the chefs of wealthy families began to construct elaborate mythological tableaux out of sugar as decorations for the table. “These chefs were accomplished artists,” Palma says, and a chef might create a scene from sugar involving the myth of Hercules which, when placed on the banquet table, would represent the lord of the table who might also
Giuseppe Arcimboldo, court portraitist to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, is the artist who painted this portrait (above) of his patron in 1590. Fortunately for Arcimboldo, Rudolf's Hapsburg family were of a progressive nature and embraced this avant-garde interpretation of the emperor.
be the lord of the city. Palma calls this use of food as art “self-mythologizing” and points out that “as mere confections” these decorations may have been representations of wealth but had no substance. In Renaissance Italy, Palma says, extremely powerful families, such as the Medici, spent a great deal of money to impress other nobility, including at meals, but at the same time did little to help the people. She says such families were so wrapped up in mythologizing themselves that they did little to stabilize Italy during this period and essentially let it go to shambles. Lorenzo de Medici was a tyrant who did not care about his people, Palma says, and his objective was for his family to remain in power in Florence but also to show its magnificence and authority through art, most famously, but also through food. Palma quotes the philosopher Claude LeviStrauss as saying that societies come together around food, but at a certain point they become more sophisticated and corrupted, to the point that food breaks down into food for the masses vs. food for the privileged. Thus food can come to represent and reflect a culture’s values.
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SouthernProfiles Commencement 2013: Overcoming Odds. Fullfilling Dreams. Fulfilling Her Mom’s Dying Wish Doctors and nurses use stethoscopes all the time to check the cardiopulmonary sounds of their patients. But the one Angela Read received from her dying mom four years ago continues to make her own heart beat with love for her, and with passion for the nursing field. Read received a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing recently during Southern’s commencement exercises at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. It’s not her first college degree; in 2009, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Eastern Connecticut State University. But it was during a graduation party shortly thereafter that her life changed significantly. “My mom (April Read) had been diagnosed with lung cancer about halfway through my college career at Eastern,” Read said. “I moved back home and became so involved in her care that I started developing an interest in nursing. At my graduation party, she gave me a stethoscope, and in tears, she told me to give nursing school my all because she knew I’d make a great nurse. She passed away a month later.” Read then began taking prerequisite classes for Southern’s nursing program. And in four years, she earned that nursing degree with a perfect 4.0 GPA. That means, all A’s in every course. “I was determined to prove to my mom and to myself that if I gave it 100 percent like she asked me to, that I could do really well,” Read said. “I couldn’t make any excuses. After all, I figured if she’s looking down on me from above, she can see everything anyway.” But Read’s path was far from easy. After the passing of her mother, her family and household responsibilities increased significantly. With two siblings – a 13-year-old sister and an 18-year-old brother – she took on most of the duties that her mother had performed. “She was truly
Supermom. She did all of the cooking, the cleaning, paid the bills, made the doctors’ appointments, took care of the pets and enforced the rules.” For the next two and a half years, Read added those duties to her day, in addition to being a full-time student. She eventually realized it was an impossible pace to continue. She decided to delegate most of the household duties to her other family members, which enabled her to move out and get an apartment closer to school in January 2012. But to do so, she also Angela Read (inset with her friends and fellow graduates Adrienne Rovezzi (left) and had to find a job. Melissa Edgerly (right) during the Nursing Department’s pinning ceremony last spring) “Between my new job, proudly holds her diploma after obtaining a B.S.N. degree with a perfect 4.0 GPA. my classes and my clinical work, there were several nights a week I didn’t get home until after midnight. I felt like I was at my breaking point. I refused Southern. She was selected as a recipient of the prestito let me grades suffer as I was keeping my promise to my gious Henry Barnard Distinguished Student Award, which mom and maintain my GPA. Unfortunately, it was at the is presented to four students at the university each year expense of my health and my relationships with those who who exemplify academic excellence and service to the mattered most.” community and/or university. She coordinates the annual But last summer, Read finally got the break she needed Read Family Fundraiser, which has a theme of “Spread the in the form of several scholarships, which collectively covWord, Not the Smoke.” The proceeds from the fundraiser ered her tuition. She was able to reduce her work hours are donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. so that she could focus more on her classes. She is working as an R.N. in the medical oncology unit Read earned several awards during her four years at at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
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Finding and Living the American Dream
Daniel Ndamwizeye (inset with photos of family members killed during the Rwandan genocide) is all smiles on his way back to his seat during undergraduate commencement exercises.
As if he were 5 years old again, Daniel Ndamwizeye can still hear the screams of his mother as she was beaten to death, a victim of the 1994 Rwandan genocide that also claimed the lives of his father and two of his sisters. Minutes before she was murdered in a church where the family had sought refuge from machete-wielding Hutus, Ndamwizeye held his mother’s hand — and felt all the security that personal touch brings. “It’s the memory that flashes back like it happened yesterday,” said Ndamwizeye of his mother’s slaying. “I never understood the whole thing and I still don’t understand. . . . Sometimes I asked myself why I was saved, and I never get to an answer. It’s just that God saved me from that place, because they could have killed me.” During the course of about 100 days, beginning with the assassination of Rwanda President Juvénal Habyarimana on April 6, 1994, at least 800,000 Rwandan people — Tutsis
and Hutu political moderates — were massacred by tens of thousands of Rwanda’s radical Hutus. Ndamwizeye’s family was caught up in the horror. Radicals told Daniel’s father, a Hutu, to kill his wife, a Tutsi, and his children. He refused and was murdered. Ndamwizeye’s two sisters were stoned to death when they fled the church in Rwanda where his mother was killed. More heartbreak followed. He went on to suffer years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of a relative charged with his care after his parents’ deaths. But Ndamwizeye is a survivor. He was issued a visa to the United States at the age of 15, when he was reunited with his older sister in Bridgeport. Ndamwizeye began to shine soon after arriving at Bassick High School at age 15, despite knowing little English and never having had a positive academic experience. Before long he was captain of the volleyball and cross country teams, vice
president of his class during his senior year, and immersed in fundraising for good causes. Before graduation, Ndamwizeye was chosen “Most Likely to Succeed,” “Teacher’s Pet” and “Best Dressed.” Fast forward to May 17, 2013. Ndamwizeye, who also goes by the name Daniel Trust, earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration degree. The undergraduate commencement ceremony was held at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. He has landed a full-time job with TD Bank. He spent the summer before his first semester in the Summer Educational Opportunity Program (SEOP), a program designed to provide students with an academic boost and prepare them for college life. While he says he probably would have done fine without the extra help, it was a great experience for adjusting and meeting peers. “I liked the campus area. It reminded me of New York City,” he said of Southern’s New Haven location “All the people here have been great and supportive.” Ndamwizeye, who became a U.S. citizen a few years ago, said America has enabled him to pursue his dreams. Although he’s drawn significantly on his own inner strengths to excel, Ndamwizeye said he’s had help along the way, especially through scholarships that have funded his education at Southern. “I want to use the opportunities I have to help with scholarships (for others) because I feel lucky to have them,” Ndamwizeye said. Although Ndamwizeye has managed to pull himself through the trauma, the murder of members of his family and the ensuing abuse from his relatives have left emotional scars along with the physical ones. His legs are scarred from beatings he received after making minor mistakes like breaking a dish he was washing. The youngest of eight, Ndamwizeye has four surviving siblings — two sisters in the United States and two brothers in Rwanda. Another brother was killed before the genocide when a guitar he was playing was struck by lightning.
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Guerra Hammers Out Stellar Season A.J. Guerra
admits that he is a man
of few words.
And that’s okay -- as a member of the men’s track and field team for the past three years, he has let his actions do the talking. Coming into the 2012-13 season, he had already claimed two Northeast-10 Conference championships and two All-New England selections in the hammer throw and earned All-Region honors in both the hammer throw and weight throw. In addition, the physics major had been previously named to the Northeast-10 Conference Men’s Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field squads and had been selected to the NE-10 Conference Commissioner’s Roll on multiple occasions. Those laurels proved just to be an opening act. This year, Guerra elevated his performances to new heights in the classroom and in the athletic arena. Guerra was selected as the recipient of the 2013 NE-10 Conference Men’s Indoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award. He also was named to the NE-10 Men’s Indoor Track and Field All-Academic Team for the second straight year after a stellar indoor season that was capped by All-America honors in the weight throw at the NCAA Division II Championships.
He also was an All-Region and All-New England selection and the NE-10 champion in that event. Guerra also set a new conference championships record this past winter. During the outdoor campaign, Guerra collected All-America honors in the hammer throw at the NCAA Championships. In addition, he was the NE-10 champion in that event and set a new conference championship record in the process. Guerra also captured All-Region and All-New England laurels, and was the New England runner-up in the hammer throw. As a result of his efforts, Guerra was named a Capital One Men’s Track and Field Academic All-District selection, as voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America. “A.J. did a phenomenal job this year,” says Owls’ coach John Wallin. “Academically, he’s always been very good, but being an athletic All-American is something he’s been working toward for a long time. He works so hard, both academically and athletically. “As he’s matured as an athlete, physically and mentally, I think that he’s been able to accomplish more at the national level. His academic (success) shows just how serious he takes himself. We’re very proud of all that A.J. has accomplished.”
Guerra has clearly set the bar high from the personal standpoint, as highlighted by his willingness to take on such a challenging major. “I was good at math and science, and physics combines both,” Guerra says. “You’ve got to go to every class. You’ve got to pay attention. You can’t sit in the back of the class with your headphones on. When you’re on your third page of notes for one problem, it can be tedious, but you stick with it. With track and field, I’m working out my body. With physics, I’m working out my mind. It takes a level of dedication to do both.” Guerra adheres to a strict routine during the course of the academic year. On an ideal night, he gets around 10 hours of sleep. Training, both weight and skill-specific, along with meals to ensure proper nutrition, can encompass around four hours per day. The rest of his day is spent either in class or completing academic requirements. By now, it’s a routine to which Guerra is well-accustomed. But he hopes to prove that all of the accomplishments earned this year were just a prelude to a stellar senior season in 2013-14.
be located on the fourth floor, according to the building plans, as would library administration offices. “One of the important improvements to the facility will be the additional group study space that is currently in high demand by our students,” Baum added. The $31 million is expected to cover the bulk of the project, although other sources of funding will be used to complete aspects of the upper floors. Skanska of New Haven is the contractor, while Oak Park Architects of West Hartford is the architectural firm handling the project. The library opened in 1970 toward the end of Hilton Buley’s 17-year reign as president of Southern. He served in that capacity from 1954 to 1971.
Educators
:
Outstanding
Interior of 2008 addition to Buley Library. Library
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square-foot academic and laboratory science building is under way in front of Jennings Hall, the current home for Southern’s science programs. The library project includes the creation of an art gallery, as well as space for media collections, special collections and a reading area on the ground floor. The first floor will feature include a cyber café, as well as an “information commons,” an area that will include a computer lab, lounge seating, email stations, a reference help desk and an IT help desk. “The information commons will be a sort of one-stop shopping area for students,” Baum said. The project is being designed to include three classrooms, two computer teaching labs, a seminar room, a conference room and a Faculty Development Center on the second floor. Plans call for the third floor to include the eventual creation of a tutorial center -- which would feature a writing tutorial room, a math and science tutorial room, a computer lab and a conference room. The floor also would be home to the Library Science Department faculty and staff. The Office of Information Technology would eventually
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“Looking back on it, it really makes me happy that I was able to accomplish all of that stuff,” he said. “But I’m competitive. I want to do better. I will use all of these accomplishments next year as motivation. I want to advance myself both academically and athletically.”
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challenge. This library will improve the quality of education for these students.” The units will be found at: http://www. southernct.edu/groups/tat/ Ferraro says that about 12 to 15 units will continue to be developed each year by graduate students enrolled in one of the TESOL courses. In the future, she intends to add several education videos to the library, as well. These videos would provide real-life lessons being taught in classrooms that include English Language Learners. TAT is a program funded by the U.S. Department of Education that seeks to train educators to most effectively teach students who are learning both English and academic content simultaneously in Connecticut’s public schools.
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the Honors College and as an adviser for the university’s chapter of the National Student Nurses Association. Harrison, chosen as the adjunct faculty award winner, has taught at Southern since January 2008 and has served as coach of the women’s rugby team. She recently completed her Master of Science degree in human performance from Southern’s Department of Exercise Science. She is active in the American College of Sports Medicine and the New England College of Sports Medicine. Her current research focuses on metabolic responses to treadmill and cycle ergometers. Gary Morin, director of the university’s athletic training program, said that Harrison has used her coaching background to enhance her effectiveness as a teacher. “Brenda cares about each individual, and like a true teacher, wants to bring out the best in each one of them,” he said in a letter of nomination. “She applies the same level of dedication on the field that she does in the classroom.” One student who wrote a letter on Harrison’s behalf said she taught in a way that encourages students to be responsible for their own learning. “She taught by planting a seed that does not grow wildly, but in the direction of success,” the student wrote. “We are accountable for how great we wanted that seed to become.” Harrison teaches fitness, as well as anatomy and physiology.
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“It has been my hope to collect as many modified instructional units as possible, and to make these materials available to all practicing K-12 teachers in Connecticut by creating an online curriculum library,” Verplaetse says. Marisa Ferraro, manager of the university’s TAT program, notes that more than 175 such units have been created since 2002. The units are located in Engleman Hall. “The online curriculum library will be a valuable resource for our teachers in Connecticut,” Ferraro says. “I believe the increased accessibility will make a significant difference in how often these units are used in the schools. The number of students who are classified as English learners has been growing rapidly in Connecticut, and as a result, more teachers are looking for ways to meet this overwhelming and very real
A.J. Guerra
A Hearty Farewell for Nursing Students
The Nursing Department celebrates the graduation of 87 of its students during the department’s annual pinning ceremony at the Michael J. Adanti Student Center. The number of students who declare themselves pre-nursing majors has soared during the last decade at Southern, but acceptance into the actual program is competitive.
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Faculty Sabbaticals
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Philip Austin, former interim president of the state Board of Regents for Higher Education, approved sabbatical leaves for 22 faculty members at
Southern for the 2013-14 academic year. The following requests from the University Sabbatical Leave Committee, recommended by President Mary A. Papazian, have been approved:
FULL YEAR: LISA LANCOR, professor of computer science,
plans to study the “Deep Web,” a part of the Internet that is beyond the reach of everyday search engines. She intends to shine a light on this part of the Web by understanding its related technologies and exploring its vast abyss of covert activities.
FALL SEMESTER: CORINNE BLACKMER, associate professor of
English, plans to examine the Biblical origins and modern manifestations of the Laws of Speech, ranging from verbal ecology in the Talmud (an important text in Judaism) to contemporary, controversial issues, such as torts of words, hate speech, the Internet and the future of privacy and reputation.
forms in glass combined with cast and fabricated metal elements, and exhibited in the context of an archaeological excavation. JOSEPH MANZELLA, professor of anthro-
pology, plans to work on a book on the quest for alternatives to mainstream Western religious institutions. He intends to explain the recent trend — particularly among the young — away from traditional religious affiliations and toward spiritual groups not connected to organized religions. JEFFRY MOCK, professor of English, plans
to create a book-length manuscript called “Translations from the Irrational,” which is intended to include 48 to 62 pages of poems that explore the less logical, more intuitive connections that people make daily.
SANDRA BULMER, professor of public health,
ERIC CAVALLERO , associate professor of
philosophy, plans to work on a monograph that discusses the structure and limits of legal-political authority at the global level. Among the issues he intends to include are the collective right of self-determination, the justification of territorial boundaries, the distribution of sovereign competencies across territorial jurisdictions and the limits of sovereignty set by universal human rights. TERESE GEMME, professor of music, plans
to compose two choral pieces that explore creation as a conduit between the physical world and the sacred. She intends to make the compositions suitable for inclusion within worship services, as well as for use in concerts. TERRENCE LAVIN, professor of art, plans to
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for students, as well as faculty,” said one colleague in a letter to support Faraclas for the award. Shea has been active in the Faculty Senate, the Undergraduate Curriculum Forum and the Association of University Professors. He also has advocated passionately for funding and other resources so that students can be served effectively. “The success he has demonstrated in his various roles…has largely been due to his skill combining genuine optimism with the ability to navigate the political realities of a state university system,” said a colleague who wrote a letter of support for him. Another colleague wrote: “He has advocated for a model of faculty at Southern that is institutionally ideal – teaching-centered, process-oriented, based on active engagement in one’s field, but also on a reflexive, critically alert pedagogy.”
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history, plans to pursue two writing projects. The first, called “The Sack of Roman Athens,” is intended to analyze an example of Greek insurgency against Gothic invaders during the 3rd century. The second, called “Intellectuals and Literary Activity in the Court of Diocletian,” is intended to examine imperial court patronage of intellectuals and literary authors during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. LOUISE SPEAR-SWERLING, professor of spe-
cial education, plans to work on a book that is intended to present a theoretical framework for understanding reading problems at the K-6 grade levels with case studies and practical applications. RICHARD VOLKMAN, professor of philoso-
phy, plans to prepare a book manuscript with the working title, “Meditations of Heroic Individualism in the Information Age.” He intends to document his creative process and later use that information for presentations to his classes and other audiences. These reflec-
Yacher
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such strong candidates whose names were being considered,” he said. “It means a lot to me, especially because students and colleagues took the time to nominate me.” Yacher, who teaches courses in both geography and urban studies, holds a Ph.D. from Syracuse University. He is the past recipient of several awards, including the J. Philip Smith Award for Outstanding Teaching (2005), the SCSU Faculty Scholar Award (2008) and the National Council of Geographic Education’s Distinguished Teaching Achievement Award (2011). During his lifetime, he has traveled to 157 countries on six continents, and even has two plant species named after him.
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of my students and colleagues supported me for this award,” Rodriguez-Keyes said. “I have attempted to include the best technological tools in my teaching and use them when
SPRING SEMESTER: VALERIE ANDRUSHKO, associate professor
of anthropology, plans to complete a book project on the obesity epidemic. She intends to focus on how evolution, culture and the environment are key factors in influencing weight and will look at the issue through the lens of anthropology. IMAD ANTONIOS , associate professor of
computer science, plans to conduct a study that examines network traffic models and whether they are accurate predictors of network performance. He intends to study the traffic traces from the MAWI (Measurement and Analysis of Wide-area Internet) transPacific repository. JEAN BRENY, professor of public health,
plans to travel to Izmir, Turkey, to complete the final phase of a community-based research project on reducing chronic disease in the Balcova District. The three objectives of the project are: to plan and conduct a health and wellness fair; to analyze data on health promotion research projects leading up to the fair and to draft at least one manuscript for publication based on the outcomes of the research projects. LEON BRIN, professor of mathematics, plans
C. PATRICK HEIDKAMP, associate professor of geography, plans to complete an in-depth analysis of the resilience and sustainability of the food system in the town of Seyoisfjorour, Iceland. He intends for the project to provide the first analysis of the resilience and sustainability of a food system in a subarctic environment from an environmental economic geography perspective. JOOYOUN HONG, associate professor of
mathematics, plans to investigate the normality of ideals with small deviations and their Rees algebras. She intends to work on finding numerical properties of Hilbert coefficients. BRIAN JOHNSON , professor of English,
plans to complete a book-length collection of poems titled, “Heart Study.” He intends for the collection to be a stylistically innovative sequence of 10-line lyric poems that explore a range of interrelated themes: the mysteries of love, the weight of aging, the shift nature of identity and self-representation and the pleasures of language. THOMAS RADICE, assistant professor of his-
tory, plans to complete the first two chapters of a book manuscript on filial piety during the Warring States Period in China. His intent is for the chapters to demonstrate the significance of emotion, bodily control and aesthetics in the ethical theories and elite religious practices of this period. THUAN VU, professor of art, plans to create
to write a textbook on numerical analysis. His intent is to include notes from teaching that subject a year ago and to have an introductory chapter in the book.
10 large paintings for his solo exhibition at the Cole Pratt Gallery in New Orleans. His intent is for them to address issues of identity, especially those pertaining to his VietnameseAmerican background.
GREGORY COCHENET, associate professor
XIAOMEI YANG , associate professor of
of art, plans to create abstract ceramic sculptures based on early 20th–century agrarian architecture and forms found throughout the railroad industry. He intends to conduct a solo exhibition after the sculptures are finished.
Q
create a body of work that emphasizes the difficult process of casting complex, detailed
BYRON NAKAMURA, associate professor of
Q
plans to complete data analysis for a study on college students’ high-risk drinking behaviors. She intends to write a journal article pertaining to the study in the “Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.”
tions will be designed to encourage students to appreciate the relationships between the cultural, social and physical environments and to make something of themselves.
appropriate. My hope is that it motivates and inspires students to engage in learning.” She holds a Ph.D. in social work from Smith College. She is a member of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, the Council on Social Work Education and the National Association of Social Workers. She teaches courses in human behavior and the social environment and child welfare.
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help to establish an important research lab at Southern,” said Joseph Solodow, chairman of the committee that selected the Junior Faculty Fellowship recipients. “It also involves undergraduates in hands-on research.” Harry plans to write a book-length translation and commentary on German philosopher F.W.J. Schelling’s Berlin lectures on Aristotle. She said these lectures are currently unavailable in English, and that Schelling’s work is said to have influenced 19th- and
philosophy, plans to develop a cognitivist argument(s) against the two-dimensional approach to moral judgments and moral terms. The two-dimensional approach is a recent trend in metaethics.
20th-century art, social science, science, history, mathematics and literature. Her goal is to have this translation and commentary published by a major academic press, and that it will be of interest to students and faculty who have an interest in Greek thought, especially regarding Aristotle, in addition to those involved in 19th- and 20thcentury German philosophy. “The fellowship means a great deal to me, especially because my colleagues saw the scholarly merit in this project and believe in my ability to complete it,” Harry said. “It will not only add to the growing availability of Schelling’s work in English, but also will enhance my ability to teach our students about the perception and influence of ancient natural science and ‘realism’ in mid-19th- century German ‘idealism.’” “This proposal presents a convincing plan for a major piece of scholarship in philosophy, with potential implications for a wide range of academic domains,” Solodow said.
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and
alisha martindale
SouthernFocus
Commencement 2013
a photo essay by isabel chenoweth
r e d n U rads G
s d a r G
s r o n o H l a i c o S Work
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