Dr. Sarah Armstrong, Personal Counseling and Testing, planned and co-hosted the recent Minnesota Psychological Association conference, Constructive Models for Relating Religion and Psychology, held at Metropolitan State University. The conference featured psychologists who presented Christian, Buddhist and Muslim theories of personality, psychopathology and psychotherapy, and discussed applications to psychotherapy with religiously committed clients. The conference draw record participation from psychologists, students, spiritual directors and others interested in the interface between religion and psychology.
Dr. Thomas Endres, Communication Studies Department, will be the keynote speaker at the annual conference of the Oral History Association of Minnesota April 5 in St. Thomas' Murray-Herrick Campus Center. He'll present a talk about his book, Sturgis Stories, and Dr. Ellen Kennedy, Marketing Department faculty member and coordinator of service-learning, will give a presentation, "Ascension in the Neighborhood: Transformation and Continuity."
Dr. Pamela Nice, Faculty Development Center, announces that her documentary, "Letters From Cairo," will be shown in Intermedia Arts' Films First Fridays series at 7 p.m. on April 4. The screening kicks off the series' monthlong program, "Warriors and Peacemakers." In Nice's documentary, Egyptian artist, intellectuals and development workers reflect on Egyptian culture and give their perspectives on America and Americans, especially since Sept. 11, 2001. For reservations, visit the Intermediate Arts Web site or call (612) 871-4444.
Dr. Nick Nissley, Organization Learning and Development Department, is a contributor to the forthcoming book, Orchestrating Collaboration at Work: Using Music, Improv, Storytelling and Other Arts to Improve Teamwork, by Arthur VanGundy and Linda Naiman. Nissley's contribution, "Fictionalization and Imaginative Restoryation," addresses how storytelling can be used to enhance team performance. Also, Nissley recently was invited to join the advisory board of Stonetree Spiritual Resources, which serves Unitarian Universalist congregations and religious liberals by sharing spiritual development ideas, programs, materials and creative works in the community.
Dr. Richard Raschio, Modern and Classical Languages Department, and Dr. Robert Raymond, Quantitative Methods and Computer Science Department, are the authors of an article, "Where Are We With Technology? What Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Have to Say About the Presence of Technology in Their Teaching," in the March issue of Hispania Journal, the peer-reviewed publication of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. The article presents a statistical analysis of the responses to a survey of more than 500 teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, kindergarten through graduate-level. Of obvious and common concern across the spectrum was the lack of resources, funds, time and training to create with new technologies or to master their benefits.
David Rodbourne, Center for Ethical Business Cultures, presented the results of a statewide study of business giving and community involvement at the annual New Ventures in Philanthropy meeting March 19-21 in Washington, D.C. The Minnesota study, one of the few that has examined giving and community involvement by small and mid-sized entities, was conducted by Building Business Investment in Community, a 14-organization collaborative. Phone interviews were conducted last spring with 595 business establishments ranging from very small (fewer than 20 employees) to large (more than 500 employees). A summary and the complete report are available online from the Center for Ethical Business Cultures or the project site.
Dawn Swink, Legal Studies in Business Department, presented a paper, "Cross-Border Telecommuting and Employers' Exposure to Out-of-State Regulation," with co-author Bill Vetter, at the annual conference of the Midwest Academy of Legal Studies in Business March 14 in Chicago. Swink also was elected to serve as the 2003-2004 MALSB program chair.
