Professional Notes for Nov. 20, 2017

Bernard Brady portrait

Dr. Bernard Brady

Dr. Bernard Brady, Theology Department, College of Arts and Sciences, published his book titled Essential Catholic Social Thought (second edition) by Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York, 2017.

Dr. Catherine Marrs Fuchsel, School of Social Work, published "Si, Yo Puedo (Yes, I can)," an empowerment program for immigrant Latina women in group settings.

Dr. David Kelley, Geography and Environmental Studies Department, College of Arts and Sciences, attended the 2017 GIS/LIS Consortium annual conference, Oct. 5-6, in Bemidji, with six students. Junior Emma Rinn won a $200 award and presented her research: "Identifying food deserts for the aging and elderly in the Twin Cities." Kelley, who serves on the consortium’s scholarship committee, served as judge for the graduate student research competition. He presented his WebMap: "Using ArcGIS Online to develop interactive maps of college campuses."

Vern Klobassa portrait

Dr. Vern Klobassa

Dr. Vern Klobassa, Student Affairs, recently received the Lee Knefelkamp Research Award from the Minnesota College Professionals Association. This award encourages and supports student development and student affairs research done by professionals, practitioners, graduate students and faculty. Klobassa was nominated for his dissertation research, “Igniting the Flame: An Exploration of the Winding Journey of Social Justice Activist Identity Development,” which examined how social justice activists develop an activist identity.

David Lemon portrait

David Lemon

David Lemon, Anderson Student Center, was recently presented with the 2017 Rising Star Award for New Professionals at the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) Region V Conference in Milwaukee. This award is given to an outstanding new professional who has been identified as a model of employee service and volunteer involvement, and has demonstrated a positive impact on the community served.

Dr. Bhabani Misra, School of Engineering, received a Lifetime Achievement Award on Wednesday, Nov. 15, from the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) at their annual Tekne Awards. MHTA presents Tekne Lifetime Achievement Awards to individuals who have made lasting contributions to technology innovation in Minnesota. Through his nearly 30 years of service at St. Thomas Graduate Programs in Software, Misra has been instrumental in the innovation and transformation of cutting-edge programs that have produced more than 4,000 master's students in the fields of software engineering, data science, information technology and software development.

James Rogers.

James Rogers

James Rogers, Center for Irish Studies, attended the Midwest meeting of the American Conference for Irish Studies, held at the University of Missouri-Columbia on Oct. 4-6. Rogers organized a panel on deathbed scenes in Irish literature, in which he presented a paper titled  “Deathbed Denied: The Absurd (or Not so Absurd) Death of Charming Billy.” His paper situated Alice McDermott’s  novel in a lengthy tradition of Irish-American fiction, and showed how McDermott undermines the conventions of the Victorian deathbed.

Rogers also took part in a “Readings in Creative Nonfiction” session at the conference. He read his personal essay “Digging for Nothing,” which appeared in Ruminate magazine in 2016 as was recently named a notable essay of the year in Best American Essays 2017.

Dr. Artika Tyner portrait

Dr. Artika Tyner

Dr. Artika Tyner, Office of the President, provided a keynote address at the Women Leading in Law Annual Conference 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The conference agenda was "Finding New Ways for Women to Lead in the Law." The conference was held to highlight inequities in the number of female attorneys in the profession.

Lisa K. Waldner portrait

Dr. Lisa Waldner

Dr. Lisa Waldner, Sociology Department, College of Arts and Sciences, presented two co-authored papers, “Graffiti Politics and Street Art” and “U.S. President Donald Trump and his Connection to the White Nationalist Movement and the ALT-Right” in July 2017 at the fourth annual International Conference on the Social Sciences in Athens, Greece.

Dr. Christian D. Washburn, Associate Professor of Dogmatic Theology, The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity, delivered the lecture, “Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue: past, present, and future,” at a Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue Symposium held at the Edmundite Center for Faith and Culture at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont, on Sept. 26.

In addition, Washburn delivered a paper titled “500 Years of Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue: Achievements and Future Challenges” at the conference From Conflict to Communion: Commemorating the Reformation With New Eyes at the University of St. Thomas on Oct. 11. On Oct. 19, Washburn presented a lecture titled “Norms for Morality: Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium” to the Evangelical-Catholic Dialogue at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Dia Yang, Student Diversity and Inclusion Services, received a leadership award at the Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL) Power of We Luncheon on Thursday, Nov. 9. She has been a consistent voice and has exemplified what leadership practice looks like to improve the lives of Asian-Minnesotan community members.

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From left to right: Jenna Abrahamson, Elliot Allen, Dr. Jeni McDermott, Dr. Kevin Theissen, Lucas Loveall, Dr. Thomas Hickson, Erika Bjorkman

Geology Department faculty and students presented their research at the Geological Society of America National Meeting in Seattle Oct. 22-25. Their research ranged from the topographic evolution of Norway,  to interpreting ancient ecosystems in Nevada, to understanding how we would recognize life on Mars. The Geology Department faculty, students, and staff who participated include: Jenna Abrahamson, Elliot Allen, Erika Bjorkman, Dr. Thomas Hickson, Dr. Lisa Lamb, Luke Loveall, Dr. Jeni McDermott, Eric Stevens and Dr. Kevin Theissen.

 

University of St. Thomas Dining Services was presented the annual Pathways Award from Midwest Special Services (MSS). Through a partnership formed in 2015, Dining Services engaged with MSS through their Supervised Work Crew Services. This partnership has resulted in over 10,000 hours of paid work for persons with disabilities who served in their job programs. Over 80 individuals have gained valuable job experience through Dining Services and, as a result, several individuals have been able to move on to their goal of independent employment within the community.