Liberal Arts Achievements: 2020-2021
Help us congratulate our students, faculty, and alumni for their dedication and hard work! If you have an achievement you'd like to share, please .
Spring/Summer 2021
Dr. Matt Hanka published his book, 鈥淲hat is Happening in Your Community? Why Community Development Matters.鈥� This book examines how community development changes a community and why that change matters, while also examining the relationship between community development and social capital. When a community improves its social capital, change can happen because people can leverage their networks to produce better results for themselves. This book also looks at comprehensive community development and collective impact models and several case studies that utilize these models. Also, the Indiana Academy of the Social Sciences recently awarded a Faculty Research Award to Dr. Matt Hanka. The purpose of the IASS Faculty Research Award is to assist faculty members in scholarly achievement by providing a portion of their research expenses for the development of new or continuation of existing research projects. Two awards of $500 are awarded each year towards meeting travel and material expenses pertaining to the research project.
Rebecca Lutton,听Managing and Marketing Director for听, has always loved the different varieties of flowers that can be grown in the Evansville area, but found herself disappointed with the bouquet offerings in stores. If she wanted specific types of flowers, Lutton decided she would need to grow them herself. So she听combined her interests in plants and animals to transform them into a real-life endeavor.听TigerBelle Flowers, named after Lutton鈥檚 two foster-turned-adopted cats, Tiger and Annabelle, had its first bloom on May 17, 2020.
Dr. Denise Lynn, Associate Professor of History, has published the book,听Where Is Juliet Stuart Poyntz?: Gender, Spycraft, and Anti-Stalinism in the Early Cold War (Culture and Politics in the Cold War and Beyond)听with the University of Massachusetts Press.
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In this highly researched work, Dr. Lynn describes the bizarre disappearance of the American suffragist and communist in 1937. Coinciding with Stalinist purges, Poyntz is thought to have been a victim due to her work with the Soviet intelligence services. Lynn uses this story to analyze the developments of the political left and anti-communism, against the backdrop of the growing Cold War.
The College of Liberal Arts hosted their annual Spring Meeting in January 2021, continuing our tradition of听听who have gone above and beyond in their service to the College.
We are proud to announce the following:
- Dr. Melissa Stacer,听Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, received the Outstanding Research and Creativity Award
- Mrs. Jenn Horn,听Instructor of English, received the Outstanding Teaching Award
- Dr. Silvia Rode,听Professor of German, received the Distinguished Faculty Award
- Kristina Arwood,听Marketing Coordinator for the College, received the Outstanding Service to the College of Liberal Arts Award
Dr. Gregory Blair, Instructor in听,听published his second book,听, with听Palgrave Macmillan.听His first book,听Errant Bodies, Mobility, and Political Resistance, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2018.听
From the publisher:听This book is an anthology of the varied strategies of spatial transgressions and how they have been implemented through the arts as a means to resist, rejuvenate, reclaim, critique or cohabitate. The book is divided into two sections 鈥� Displacements and Disruptions.
The first section discusses the ramifications of the spatial displacements of bodies, organizations, groups of people and ethnicities, and explores how artists, theorists and arts organizations have an attentive history of revealing and reacting to the displacement of peoples and how their presence or absence radically reconfigures the value, identity, and uses of place.
In the second section, each author considers how aesthetic strategies have been utilized to disrupt expected spatial experiences and logic. Many of these strategies form radical alternative methodologies that include transgressions, geographies of resistance, and psychogeographies. These spatial performances of disruption set into motion a critical exchange between the subject, space and materiality, in which ideology and experience are both produced/spatialized and deconstructed/destabilized.
Dr. Urska Dobersek, Assistant Professor of听,听and her research team recently published their study "Does Exercise Make Me More Attractive? Exploring the Relations Between Exercise and Mate Value"听in the journal听Evolutionary Psychological Science听from Springer Publishing.
Dobersek, U., Stallings, B., Wy, G.C., Charleen R. Case, & J. Maner. (2020).听Does Exercise Make Me More Attractive? Exploring the Relations Between Exercise and Mate Value.听Evolutionary Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-020-00270-w
Fall 2020
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Ms. Xinran Hu,听Associate Professor of听,听was published in The MIT Press journal听Leonardo.听Leonardo听is the leading international peer-reviewed journal on the use of contemporary science and technology in the arts and music and, increasingly, the application and influence of the arts and humanities on science and technology.听
A study by Hu and听Dinko Ba膷i膰 entitled "" was posted in December 2020. From the abstract:
In this study, we use a novel eye-tracking technology to determine how viewing behavior complies with Wertheimer鈥檚 descriptions of Gestalt principles of similarity, proximity, continuation, and closure. Our results show that viewers respond predictably to the most Gestalt principles, while discovering important nuances when it comes to our better understanding of the role of visual attention in closure principle and competing principles. In addition, our results revealed a fundamental distinction between visual attention and visual perception. By grasping this critical difference between attention and perception, designers may become more successful in applying Gestalt principles to their design.
Retired adjunct instructor of听, Mr. Gregg McManus,听has published a new novel with Authorhouse.听"The Bug Light Room" is McManus's first book although a sequel and other books are in the works. It is a sci-fi thriller that takes place between southwestern Indiana and Washington, D.C., with Indiana politics and a presidential election as influence on events in the plot. The book can be purchased from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or the听.
91社区听听alum, Scott Hogan,听was featured in听听as Executive Director for the Democratic Party of Georgia.
Dr.听Norma Rosas May茅n, Associate Professor of听,听published听听with听Iberoamericana Vervuert.
A synopsis from the publisher:听In the last decades, the study of Afro-Spanish varieties that developed during the Colonial period in the Americas has seduced many scholars. The analysis of these Afro-Hispanic speech patterns is crucial to determine their creolized or non-creolized status, as well as to understand the scarcity of the Spanish-based creoles in the Americas.
The present study contributes to this linguistic field by analyzing the current speech of the Afro-Mexicans of the Costa Chica region, one of the largest Afro-Mexican enclaves, while proposing a Rhizomatic Linguistic Model to interpret data derived from contact situations. This investigation not only accounts for the Afro-Hispanic linguistic remnants of this Spanish variety, but also examines the current linguistic characteristics and sociolinguistic status of this speech area on the brink of extinction.
In addition, this book advocates on behalf of those Costa Chica Afro-Mexican communities that have been stigmatized and customarily ignored in Mexico鈥檚 nation-state politics.
Dr. Urska Dobersek's听recent publication, 鈥�鈥� article was one of the听听published by Taylor and Francis in 2020.
Southern States Communication Association recently named听Dr. Leigh Anne Howard, Professor of听听and Chair of the Communications Department,听the 2020 Southern Scholar for the Performance Division.听
Dr. Howard听is a performance studies scholar who studies the intersection of performance, culture, and personal and social identity, as well as critical performance pedagogy. She has published articles in journals including Text and Performance Quarterly, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Communication Education, the American Behavioral Scientist, the Journal of Intercultural Communication (formerly the World Communication Journal), and the Journal of Fandom Studies.
Her most recent publication is听Performativity, Cultural Construction and the Graphic Narrative听(Routledge, 2020), which she co-edited with Dr. Susanna Hoeness-Krupsaw,听Associate Professor of听.
The 91社区 Foundation created a unique, . The video features Susan Sauls M鈥�16, Director of the University Art Collection, and offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the inventory, care, student involvement and overall management of the collection.
Master of Public Administration alum, Chaze Patrick, was featured on the听听with fellow Toastmaster Charron Combs. They discuss what is takes to be a good public speaker and facing your fears.
Dr.听Steven听Williams,听Associate听Professor of听,听is听, 91社区's magazine. One interesting tidbit mentioned in the "Tail Feather" is that he owns an extensive Marvel comic collection 鈥� 2,200.听Needless to听say,听he鈥檚听a 鈥淢arvel guy鈥� and not听a 鈥淒C guy.鈥�听
Dr. Crystal N. Steltenpohl, Assistant Professor of听听and founder of the Online Technologies Lab at 91社区 is听a scholar, gamer, and participant in online worlds. As such, her major research interests revolve around how we interact with various technologies, especially those that house online communities, and their effects on community and individual wellbeing. In November 2020,听Dell Technologies and听听hosted a panel discussion on research in Esports, specifically around helping athletes compete safely and sustainably. Dr. Steltenpohl participated in this panel which can be听.
Dr. Darrin Sorrells, adjunct Instructor for听,听and his colleague in Academic Skills, Ms. Christine Wittmer, co-authored an article that was published in a peer-reviewed journal,听The Learning Assistance Review, in September 2020.
The Learning Assistance Review, a publication of The National College Learning Center Association (NCLCA).听The NCLCA is a community that works and supports learning center leaders across the world. Focusing on the leadership of learning centers in higher education, NCLCA offers a popular annual conference and institute, frequent webinars, newsletter, a podcast, and the journal, now in its 25th year.
On September 4,听Professor of听, Rob Millard-Mendez,听received the Best in Show award for his work, "A Brief History of New Bedford," at the听. Millard-Mendez also received an Honorable Mention for his work "Early Morning Fireships."
Dr. Casey Pycior,听Assistant Professor of听,听had two pieces accepted for publication: "Trespassing," an essay, appeared in the Fall 2020 issue of听听and "And Sometimes Come to Regret," a short story, will appear in the spring issue of听.
The College of Liberal Arts welcomed five new faculty members to the team this semester. Find out more below or read the听.
Jason Callahan
Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice
Jason received his PhD in Sociology from Virginia Tech in May. He also holds degrees in Criminal Justice (M.S.), Political Science (B.A.), and Sociology (B.S.). Jason has taught criminology, juvenile delinquency, and drugs and society. He will be teaching crime scene investigations and police and society this fall. His research interests focus on crime and media as well as policing. Jason's dissertation investigated news media portrayals of active shooting events by analyzing Twitter data from various media sources. Prior to completing his doctorate, Jason had a career in law enforcement that spanned over 10 years. He hopes to bring this experience into the classroom.
Junghee Han
Assistant Professor, Social Work
Dr. Junghee Han earned her Ph.D. in Social Work from Fordham University in May 2019. She received her second MSW degree from Washington University in St. Louis and her first MSW degree from Soongsil Graduate School in Seoul, Korea. She has extensive clinical and research experiences working with older adults, people with disabilities, and immigrants. Before joining the 91社区, she served as an affiliate faculty in Calvin University. Her research focus areas include palliative care, productive aging, and health disparities for populations at risk.
Caroline Jalain
Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice
Caroline graduated with her PhD in Criminal Justice from the University of Louisville in May 2020. She received her Masters in Criminal Justice from the University of Southern Mississippi and her Bachelors from the University of Orleans (France). Caroline's research focuses on courts, specialty courts and fear of crime using international data. She will be teaching Criminal Courts and Law and Criminal Law for the Criminal Justice Department at 91社区 this fall. She looks forward to collaborating with other faculty members at 91社区 and to continue developing her teaching and research agenda. Go Screagles!
Sunguook (Sung) Lee
Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice
Dr. Lee earned a BA from Michigan State University, MS from Illinois State University, and PhD from Michigan State University, all in Criminal Justice. Dr. Lee's researcher and teaching interest is on the perception of police legitimacy and juvenile delinquency. He focused on cultural influence of perception of police legitimacy by testing whether Confucius culture. The idea was to see if individuals' perception of police legitimacy was based on personality traits or based on their cultural expectations. In terms of juvenile delinquency research, he focuses on behaviors such as alcohol abuse, suicidal ideations, and general delinquencies to assess what causes delinquent behaviors.
Jane Weatherred
Assistant Professor, Public Relations
Jane earned her Ph.D. in Mass Communications from the University of South Carolina in May 2019. She received her M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication from USC and her B.A. in Political Science from Hollins University. She has professional experience in public relations working for political officials and on political campaign staff in addition to serving as the Director of Public Relations for a college. At 91社区, she will teach Introduction to Advertising, Introduction to Public Relations, and Mass Communication Research. Her research focus areas are in public relations, health communication, public policy and journalism history.
The听听of Casey Harison鈥檚 most recent work,听(Bloomsbury Academic, October 2019) noting its encyclopedic treatment and admirable research.
Associate Professor of听, Dr. Kristalyn Shefveland鈥檚听history of local eateries,听, was published in August 2020.听Followed by an听.
听department adjunct and Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial Chief of Interpretation and Resource Management, Michael A. Capps,听has published "A Question of Relevance: The Case of Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial," in听.
Dr. Rocco J. Gennaro, Professor of听,听recently published a much expanded and updated 2nd edition of his book entitled听, Hackett Publishing Company, 2020. This is his 12th published book.
In February 2020,听Alisa (AL) Holen of the 91社区听听was one of three women selected to present on "Women in Craft" at the听Ruskin School of Art and The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH) in England. Her two-day workshop focused on the importance and history of the handmade object, the human desire to make, and using the draw of the handmade object to build community. An exhibit of her ceramic work was presented at The Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford.
Holen received her MA and MFA from the University of Iowa. She has taught Ceramics at 91社区 since the Fall of 2011. She exhibits both nationally and internationally with her most recent exhibits including the American Pottery Festival at the Northern Clay Center, and a solo exhibit at Clay AKAR. Her work with Empty Bowls, Evansville has raised over $90,000 for local food banks, and involved over 400 community members.