Professional Notes for Jan. 17, 2017

Elise Amel

Elise Amel

Dr. Elise Amel, Psychology Department, College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Camille George, School of Engineering; and Sarah E. Spencer, Office of Study Abroad, who are all part of the Center for Global and Local Engagement, attended the CIEE Annual Conference in Los Angeles in November to present, "Engaging Generation Z: Integrating Global and Local Vision, Structure and Innovation." More than 100 people participated in the session, which highlighted how St. Thomas had implemented into its administrative structure an innovative partnership between faculty from diverse disciplines and education abroad professionals to address the new realities of global and local engagement that respond to the world’s most pressing needs.

Dr. Jean-Pierre Bongila, Leadership Department, College of Education, Leadership and Counseling, completed a 10-week program (35 hours) in Professional Project Management offered by the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business School's Executive Education Department, resulting in his becoming a Certified Professional Project Manager.

Photo of Lynn Stansberry Brusnahan, Ph.D.

Lynn Stansberry Brusnahan

Candace Chou

Candace Chou

Dr. Candace Chou and Dr. Lynn Stansberry, both of the Teacher Education Department, College of Education, Leadership and Counseling, attended a meeting in STELAR to learn more about Canvas, a new learning management system that St. Thomas plans to implement spring semester.

Dr. Dalma Martinović-Weigelt, Biology Department, College of Arts and Sciences, is co-author of a paper “Prior Knowledge-based Approach for Associating Contaminants With Biological Effects: A Case Study in the St. Croix River Basin, MN, WI, USA,” which appeared in the journal Environmental Pollution. This work presents a case for integrating data from both chemical monitoring and biological effects to better address environmental contaminants. Biology students alumni Jackie Heitzman ’14, Abigail Lukowicz '15 and Maya Peters '15 from Martinović-Weigelt's lab assisted with the data collection. Support for the work came from the USGS and National Park Service Water Quality Partnership Program and National Science Foundation (CBET-1336165).

Michelle Morgan

Michelle Morgan

Michelle Morgan, Athletics Department, served as the lead contact and event planner for all elements pertaining to the 2017 NHL Winter Classic alumni game held Dec. 31, 2016,  in St. Louis for the Chicago Blackhawk Alumni Association. She was responsible for venue site visits, travel logistics (air, ground and lodging), equipment needs, game operations, hospitality and tickets for alumni team members and coaches. In this role, she also served as liaison between National Hockey League, St. Louis Blues, Chicago Blackhawks and alumni players throughout the planning and event weekend. This is the second game this year that she held this role. Additionally, she was in charge of the Chicago alumni roster and game elements for the 2016 NHL Stadium Series game at TCF Bank Stadium versus the North Stars/Wild alumni in February 2016, which saw a record attendance of nearly 40,000 for the alumni game.

James Rogers.

James Rogers

James Rogers, Center for Irish Studies, attended the New England regional meeting of the American Conference for Irish Studies, held Nov. 4-5, 2016, at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Rogers took part in a panel titled “Perspectives on Alice McDermott,” where he presented a paper that read her 1996 novel Charming Billy against a famous 1903 short story, “Home Sickness," by the Irish writer George Moore.

Dr. Gerald Schlabach, Theology Department, College of Arts and Sciences, is the author of an article, “Abortion & Social Justice: ‘Prolife Progressive’ Is Not an Oxymoron,” which was published in Commonweal Jan. 6.

Dr. Buffy Smith, Sociology and Criminal Justice Department, College of Arts and Sciences, was the invited speaker on “Dismantling Inequities in Higher Education,” presented in December at the College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota.

Dr. Ted (Edward) Ulrich

Ted (Edward) Ulrich

Dr. Edward Ulrich, Theology Department, College of Arts and Sciences, is the author of an article, "Not a Big Leap: Discipline of Learning Chemistry Prepares Alumnus for Theology Doctorate and Teaching Career," published in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Chemistry newsletter Chemnews, (December 2016, pp. 26-27). The article is on his journey, in his student days, from chemistry to theology, and his longtime friendship with Professor Peter Carr in the Chemistry Department at the University of Minnesota. Ulrich also was featured in an article in Le Cordage magazine from the Anglican Diocese of Mauritius (September 2016, p. 17). The article, “Council of Religions, Religions of Peace” documents the recent visits of Father Eddy Cheong See to the University of St. Thomas to sign the MoU for educational support to the Peace and Interfaith Studies course, currently being run at the University of Mauritius.