Dr. Jean Birbilis, Graduate School of Professional Psychology, College of Education, Leadership and Counseling, presented her paper, "Veterans, Soldiers, and Psychological Services on Campus" at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association in August in Honolulu. The paper was presented at a session sponsored by APA's Division 19, The Society for Military Psychology.
Dr. Stephen Brookfield, John Ireland Chair, College of Education, Leadership and Counseling, is the author of two chapters published in the following edited collections:
- “Helping Children to Stand Up to Society – Critical Challenges and Culture Jamming” In, J. Wild (Ed.),. Exploiting Childhood: How Fast Food, Material Obsession and Porn Culture are Creating New Forms of Child Abuse, Jessica Kingsley Publications (2013).
- “Understanding Resistance to Learning About Power” In E. Lyle (Ed.), Pedagogy for Socially Just Education, Halifax, CA: Backalong Books, 2013.
He also delivered three keynote speeches to conferences in August:
- “Fostering Critical Thinking in Higher Education” at the 2013 SACS Commission on Colleges annual conference in Daytona Beach, Fla.
- “Critical Reflections on Reflective Practice," at the UK Conference on Professionalism and Education at the University of Derby, United Kingdom.
- “Becoming a Skillful Teacher” at the 2013 Marine Corps Faculty Development Conference: "Mission Possible – Furthering the Excellence of Marine Corps University Faculty," held in Quantico, Va.
Dr. Hans Gustafson, Theology Department, College of Arts and Sciences, and Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning, is the author of "Sacramental Spirituality in Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov and Wendell Berry's Port William Characters," published in Literature and Theology 27, no. 3 (Sept. 2013): 345-363.
Father Jan Michael Joncas, artist in residence and research fellow in the Center for Catholic Studies, offered a variety of presentations at the National Association of Pastoral Musicians annual convention in Washington, D.C., July 29-Aug. 2. His presentations included two workshops, “Evaluating, Choosing, and Using Psalm Settings to Pray the Lectionary” and “Music to Sing the Rite of Marriage,” and a Hovda Lecture, “Sacrosanctum Concilium and the Relationship of Sacred Music and Culture.” He also presented a keynote address, “A Musical Appraisal of Sacrosanctum Concilium: Perspectives and Possibilities,” and a listening session on the musical inculturation in his “Missa ad Gentes/Maryknoll Centennial Mass” at the Universa Laus 2013 gathering, Aug. 19-23, at Worth Abbey in West Sussex, England.
Dr. Terence Pitre, Accounting Department, Opus College of Business, was named the inaugural Deloitte Faculty Fellow. The Deloitte Fellowship is intended to recognize the scholarly achievements of an accounting faculty member in the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas.
Additionally, the Accounting Behavior and Organizations Publication’s Committee has selected Pitre's paper, "Effects of Increased Reporting Frequency on Nonprofessional Investors’ Earnings Predictions," as the recipient of Behavioral Research in Accounting's Best Paper Award. Pitre joined St. Thomas in 2007. He has a B.S. from University of Louisiana – Lafayette, an M.B.A. from Tulane University and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University. He is originally from New Orleans, La.
Dr. Kris Wammer, Chemistry Department, College of Arts and Sciences, gave a talk titled “Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance in a River Impacted by Agricultural and Municipal Inputs” at the 246th American Chemical Society National Meeting, held Sept. 8-12 in Indianapolis.
Dr. John Wendt, Ethics and Business Law, Opus College of Business, has been named to the American Arbitration Association’s Special Arbitration Panel to handle doping disputes involving athletes and the World Triathlon Corporation. The Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act and the United States Olympic Committee bylaws provide for arbitration and the American Arbitration Association’s services to resolve disputes between the USOC, athletes or representative sports organizations.
Dr. Meg Wilkes Karraker, Sociology Department, College of Arts and Sciences; Family Business Center Fellow; and member of the Advisory Board of the American Sociological Association's Department Review Group, presented a workshop, "Undertaking Effective Department Reviews When There Is a Serious Problem in the Department," for the DRG at the annual meetings last month in New York City. She also participated in meetings of the ASA's Honors Program Advisory Panel and, as president emerita of Alpha Kappa Delta, the international honor society, was a guest at AKD's President's Dinner.
Dr. Wendy Wyatt, Communication and Journalism Department, College of Arts and Sciences, was a workshop speaker at the ninth annual Poynter Kent State Media Ethics Workshop, “That’s Entertainment?” held Sept. 9 at Kent State University. The 13-panelist workshop was part of the National Ethics Conference Focuses on Entertainment Journalism. Wyatt presented on her book, The Ethics of Reality TV: A Philosophical Examination (Continuum, 2012).
Students from the Chemistry Department presented posters describing their research Aug. 8 at the Summer Undergraduate Research Expo held at the McNamara Alumni Center of the University of Minnesota and sponsored by the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. The participating students, the titles of their posters, and their advisers were: Matthew Folstad, “The Synthesis and Characterization of Pyridine Triazolylidene Based Ligands for the Luminescence of Lanthanide Ions” and Meghan Talbot, “Investigating the Role of Triazole Based Ligands in a Nickel Catalyzed Dehydrogenation of Ammonia-Borane,” students of Dr. Marites Guino-o; Mark Frommelt, “Kinetics of Polyaspartic Coatings,” Danielle Hinkley, “Synthesis of Novel Photochromes,” Rebecca Kummer, “Synthesis of a Novel Antibacterial Compound,” Suzanne Mages, “The Synthesis of a Novel Small Molecule to Trigger Cancer Cell Death” and Olga Zamulko, “Synthesis of a Novel Isoxazolinone,” students of Dr. J. Thomas Ippoliti; Brianne Herlitzke, “Solid-State Intermolecular Interactions in 3-Chlorobenzaldoxime” and Sarah Larson, “C-H…F Contacts in the Crystal Structures of Some Isomeric bis-Benzylideneanilines,” students of Dr. William Ojala; Rachel Beck, “HEK-293 eGFP Transfection: PAMAM Dendrimers’ Effectiveness as a Delivery Agent as Measured by Cell Toxicity and Gene Expression,” Nick Benish, “Cell Penetrating Compounds Selectively Bind Vesicles Composed of Anionic Lipids,” Kristin Braden, “Charge Density and Stereochemistry Affect the Interaction of PAMAM Dendrimer with Glycosaminoglycans,” Danielle Francen, “Quantification of Free Polymer Associated with the Formation of Polymer-DNA Complexes,” Kirsten Mueller, “DNA Structure Affects Binding to Polycationic Delivery Agents” and Ryan Smith, “Conjugation Ratio and Polyethyleneglycol Molecular Weight Affect the Interaction of Polyethyleneimine with DNA,” students of Dr. Lisa Prevette.