Professional Notes: Aug. 13

Ronald J. Bennett, School of Engineering, was named a Fellow of ABET for contributions to training ABET evaluators and trainers, facilitating leadership development of ABET volunteers and serving as a member of the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) Executive Committee. ABET is the global accreditor of college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology. Bennett will be honored at the 2020 ABET Awards Celebration, which will be held as a virtual event on Oct. 31.  

Amy Carlson Gustafson, Marketing, Insights and Communications Department, received third place in the Best Profile Story [Magazine] category at the Minnesota chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists Page One Awards. Carlson Gustafson was honored for her St. Thomas magazine story, “Dream. Hope. Believe. Do. 

Justin Donato, College of Arts and Sciences Chemistry Department, published "Identification of a Novel Plasmid-Borne Gentamicin Resistance Gene in Non-typhoidal Salmonella Isolated from Retail Turkey” in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (AAC). The paper has three undergraduate co-authors. One is an alumnus, and two are current St. Thomas students. All three major(ed) in College of Arts and Sciences degree programs. Two are biochemistry majors. One is a data analytics/computer science double major who is also a science scholar. The paper also includes a scientist from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  

Hans Gustafson, Director of the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning, College of Arts and Sciences, and adjunct professor in theology, joined Corinne Dempsey, director of international and global studies and professor of religious studies at Nazareth College (Rochester, New York) and Shana Sippy, assistant professor of religion at Centre College (Danville, Kentucky) on the panel “What Does Multifaith Mean? Scholarship, Teaching and Mentoring in Interreligious Contexts” in the Numen Lumen Pavilion at Elon University (Elon, North Carolina) on March 11, 2020.

Thomas Hickson (College of Arts and Sciences Geology Department), Jennifer T. McGuire (Biology Department)Brittany Nelson-Cheeseman (School of Engineering) and Michele Stillinger (Geology Department) collaborated on a successful $200,000 National Science Foundation grant application for a scanning electron microscope and supporting instrumentation for geological, environmental and materials science research and teaching. 

Mark Neuzil, Department of Emerging Media, served as an editorial consultant, along with Ben Passer of Fresh Energy, Lisa Troutman of Drawn Well and Erin Sharkey of Free Black Dirt, on the book Eyewitness: Minnesota Voices on Climate Change, published by Climate Generation, a project founded by explorer Will Steger '73. Among the contributors to the book were Steger, Nicole Rom, Lee Frelich, Mark Seeley, Kao Kalia Yang, Dave Durenberger and Jeremy Messersmith.

Doug Orzolek, College of Arts and Sciences Music Department, has been appointed to serve as an associate academic editor for the National Association for Music Education’s Music Educators Journal. Music Educators Journal is one of the most important and widely read journals in the field. Its acceptance rate is 18%, which also makes it one of the more discerning journals in music education. Previous editors of this journal include some of the most important scholars in the history of the profession. The term is actually six years: two years as associate editor, two years as chair and academic editor, and two years as past editor.  

Deb Pitton, School of Education, is the author of No One Left Behind: An Unexpected Educational Adventure at Machu Picchu, her personal account of what was to become a legendary study abroad trip. The book is available through Shipwreckt Books. 

Mike Porter, Opus College of Business, was inducted into the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) College of Fellows, an honor given to only about 350 individuals since the founding of the organization in 1947. Due to the constraints of COVID-19, members of the College of Fellows Class of 2020 will be celebrated virtually on Sunday, Oct. 25. They will be formally inducted during the 2021 College of Fellows Induction Ceremony and Dinner on a date and time to be announced later. 

Professor Emeritus John T. WendtOpus College of Business Ethics and Business Law Department, is the author of an article, "Third Time’s the Charm? The Horseracing Integrity Act of 2019," that has been accepted for publication by Entertainment and Sports Lawyer. The journal is the official publication of the Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries of the American Bar Association.