Professional Notes for May 7, 2018

Elise Amel, Psychology Department, College of Arts and Sciences, was interviewed for and quoted in the May 2018 American Psychological Association's Monitor on Psychology article "Building a Sustainable Future" released on April 24.

Greg Argo, University of St. Thomas Libraries Associate Director for Access and Digital Services, has been working on implementing the new “Resource Lists” feature for courses in Canvas, and is becoming regarded as an important resource nationally. Greg has become an expert in the system we are implementing (trade name – Leganto, from Ex Libris, the developer of our library system, CLICSearch) and has been appointed as a member of the ELUNA (Ex Libris User Group of North America) Leganto Working Group, which is composed of between six to 10 members from libraries across North America. The working group coordinates the enhancement process with Ex Libris, develops sessions of interest at the annual ELUNA conferences, communicates with other working groups that have an impact on Leganto, and communicates directly with Ex Libris management to share and communicate issues of interest to the ELUNA community. Argo is also working with University of Minnesota librarians who are interested in our Leganto implementation.

Charles Betz, Graduate Programs in Software, School of Engineering, has published his textbook "Managing Digital: Concepts and Practices" via The Open Group Press. As part of its ongoing commitment to providing innovative educational programming, Graduate Programs in Software at the University of St. Thomas has developed the new course IT Delivery (SEIS 664). Betz's 600-page textbook will be used for this course. The University of St. Thomas is now partnering with The Open Group to incorporate the book into a new standard, The Digital Professional Body of Knowledge.

Jean-Pierre Bongila, School of Education, College of Education, Leadership and Counseling, and Dr. Guy-Lucien Whembolua (University of Cincinnati) gave a lecture titled "The Leadership Impact of Malaria Control on Maternal and Child Mortality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo" on Feb. 26 at the TAFT Research Center, University of Cincinnati (OH). Bongila's new book, "Developing Global Positioning Leadership: Fieldwork Learning Experience in Cuba" has been e-published by Crescent Hills.

Trent Brager, liaison librarian to the social sciences at the Keffer Library, has just won a national award from The Association of College and Research Libraries, the national professional association for academic libraries. Brager’s work, with his colleagues, has provided librarians with great ideas for teaching students about these principles.

Lynn Stansberry Brusnahan and Erin Farrell, Education, College of Education, Leadership and Counseling, recently presented twice at the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence in Columbus, Ohio.

Lynn Stansberry Brusnahan, Erin Farrell, Bonnie Henning and Dalal Bin Mahfouz, College of Education, Leadership and Counseling, presented at the recent Council for Exceptional Children – Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (DADD) conference in Clearwater Beach, Florida.

Vanessa Cornett-Murtada, Music Department, College of Arts and Sciences, and Bill Brendel, CEO of the Center of Ethical Organizations, published a study following 33 faculty members who attended a summer seminar on mindfulness meditation and teaching. The seminar was organized by Brendel and Cornett-Murtada and was sponsored by the St. Thomas Center for Faculty Development.

Dr. John Froula, Dogmatic Theology, The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity, published an article, “Joy as Spiritual Perception in C.S. Lewis,” in the Heythrop Journal, January 2018, vol. 59 (1).

Dr. Bruce Gleason, Music Department, College of Arts and Sciences, had an author reading, panel discussion and book signing featuring his book, "Sound the Trumpet, Beat the Drums: Horse-Mounted Bands of the U.S. Army, 1820 - 1940" (University of Oklahoma Press, 2016) on Feb. 20. Dr. Gleason was joined by faculty members Matthew George, Music Department, College of Arts and Sciences, Sarah Schmalenberger, Music Department, College of Arts and Sciences and David Williard, History Department, College of Arts and Sciences, for commentary.

Hans Gustafson, Director of the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning and adjunct faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences, published “Interreligious Community Engagement and Service-Learning in Higher Education: Pedagogical Considerations,” in Intersections: Faith, Church, and the Academy, eds., Mark E. Hanshaw and Timothy S. Moore (Nashville, Tenn.: United Methodist Church General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, 2018).

Doug Hennes, Government Relations, has been appointed to three committees involved in public policy issues in St. Paul. He will serve on a Citizens League task force examining the $15 minimum wage,  Mayor Melvin Carter’s committee on establishing a $50 scholarship fund for every child born in the city, and the Full Stack St. Paul Steering Committee, which will focus on expanding job and business growth around the technology and innovation sectors.

Michael Hollerich, Theology Department, College of Arts and Sciences, along with Jim Rogers, English Department, College of Arts and Sciences, were interviewed and quoted extensively in an article by the Catholic Spirit on John Ireland. The article was written by Maria Wiering, a graduate of Catholic Studies. Hollerich also wrote an article for Commonweal Magazine. The article is available online now and will appear later in the print edition.

Dr. Ray MacKenzie, English Department, College of Arts and Sciences, has published a translation of a new book in philosophy and cultural studies: "Brouhaha: Worlds of the Contemporary," by Lionel Ruffel (University of Minnesota Press).

Mark McInroy, Theology Department, College of Arts and Sciences, published “Before Deification Became Eastern: Newman’s Ecumenical Retrieval” in International Journal of Systematic Theology 20 (2018): 253-268.

Codrina Popsecu, Chemistry Department, College of Arts and Sciences, spoke at the American Chemical Society National Meeting in March. This was a symposium that was designed to feature women scientists who are making contributions to “addressing challenges in energy and the environment."

Drew Puroway, associate director of Academic Counseling and Support, has been elected to the leadership position of research committee chair within NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising.

Manjeet Rege, Graduate Programs in Software, School of Engineering, was invited by IBM to be part of a panel discussion on machine learning which was recorded in front of a live audience. The entire event was broadcast by IBM on Feb. 27.

Jim Rogers, Center for Irish Studies, is a contributor to "A History of Irish Autobiography," a new book from Cambridge University Press, edited by Liam Harte of the University of Manchester. With Laura Izarra of University of São Paolo (Brazil), Rogers authored a chapter on diasporic memoir. His portion discussed texts from the United States.

Tyler Schipper and Luz Saavedra, Economics Department, College of Arts and Sciences, both presented their research at the Midwest Economics Association's Annual Meeting in late March. Saavedra presented her research titled "Exports and Immigration: The Role of Cultural and Geographic Proximity." Schipper presented joint work with his colleague Professor Adam Check and former economics major Anna Kate Nolan titled "Forecasting GDP: Do Revisions Matter?"

Greg Vandegrift, Communication and Journalism Department, College of Arts and Sciences, is one of six guest artists on the faculty for “Visual Storytelling: The News Feature,” a course in the California State University Summer Arts program. The for-credit course, July 16- 29 at California State University, Fresno, is aimed at graduate students and undergraduates who want to learn the visual storytelling skills needed to create compelling news and feature videos.

Dr. John T. Wendt, Ethics and Business Law, Opus College of Business, is the author of an article entitled, “The PyeongChang Olympics: The Peace Games?” that has been accepted for publication by Entertainment & Sports Lawyer. The journal is the official publication of the Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries of the American Bar Association. Wendt is also the author of “Court Examines Whether School District Assumed Duty of Care by Allowing Student Athlete to Drive to Event, Fenrich vs. The Blake School” that has been published in Legal Issues in High School Athletics. Wendt also was selected by the coaches of the Big Ten Conference to serve as the official announcer of the 2018 Men’s Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships. This is the 12th time that he has served in this capacity. Wendt was interviewed by Chris Hrapsky of KARE 11 on Tiger Woods and reputational risk, entitled "Should We Welcome Tiger Back?"

Wendy Wyatt, Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, Communication and Journalism Department, College of Arts and Sciences, was interviewed and quoted in a Bloomberg article titled "Can Labor Contracts Help Sinclair TV Anchors Dodge Edicts?" published April 4.

The Economics Department sent a team of students to the Midwestern Undergraduate Data Analytics Competition (MUDAC) held at Winona State University on April 7 and 8. The team consisted of Economics majors Jorgen DeJarlais, Seth Glidewell, and Kiran Goswitz. Their faculty mentor was Dr. Adam Check, Economics Department, College of Arts and Sciences. This year’s competition relied on data provided by the Minnesota Wild; teams were tasked with analyzing the data to help the Wild analyze some of their business data. This year, 34 teams, comprised of a total of roughly 150 undergraduate students from a number of Midwestern colleges and universities, competed for prize money and bragging rights.

The Department of Special Education recently attended the Council for Exceptional Children conference in Tampa, Fla., where seven of our alumni who are now in doctorate programs presented. They represent a diverse group of graduates pursuing their doctoral degrees, and faculty enjoyed reconnecting with their mentees at this national conference.

Department of Special Education faculty presented last week at the Council for Exceptional Children conference in Tampa, Fla.