Faculty Notes

Anthropology: Dr. Cate Cameron, professor in the social sciences department, with her anthropologist-husband, John Gatewood of Lehigh University, completed the second phase of a research trip to Turks and Caicos in the summer of ’07 as part of a National Science Foundation research grant. This phase involved the dissemination of 300 surveys to the resident population on understandings and views of the impact of tourism, the dominant and fast-growing industry of the country. They hired local research assistants to help with the surveys; did an hour-long TV interview for a local program called “How Culture Works”; and participated in an ad hoc heritage committee to research and document Turks Island heritage for locals and tourists alike. Dr. Cameron will return to Turks and Caicos in May/June to present the results of their two-year research project, “Residents’ Understanding of Tourism in Turks and Caicos, BWI” to the premier, premier’s cabinet, government offices, and schools and colleges. The government is interested in the results of this research for planning purposes. In addition, the duo published and article, "Beyond, Sand, and Sea: The Emergent Tourism Programme in the Turks & Caicos Islands, BWI" in Journal of Heritage Tourism. Volume 3(1):1-20, Winter 2008.

Art: Professor of art Nelson Maniscalco recently completed his second re-construction of an actual 100-million-year-old Psittacosaurus fossil skeleton for renowned paleontologist Charles McGovern. Nelson continues to combine art with science in his work.

Art: Educators in our art department continue to showcase their creativity on and off-campus. Pat Badt had an exhibit at Moravian College’s Haupert Union Building, and in November, Kim Sloane lectured at the New York Studio School. Four members of the art department faculty, chair and associate professor Jill Odegaard, professor Pat Badt, assistant professor Casey Mcdonough and gallery coordinator Brian Wiggins, also had works on display in the “masters of arts: higher education art faculty juried exhibition” at the Banana Factory in Bethlehem, PA.

Art: Wallpaper Magazine recently named Casey McDonough, assistant professor of art and Cedar Crest’s resident ceramicist, as one of the top 110 creative talents that have recently graduated. He is listed in the Wallpaper Graduate Directory 2008.

Biology/Conservation Biology: Associate professor of biological sciences, Dr. Richard Kliman, and associate professor of biological sciences, Dr. John Cigliano, along with students Rachel Vereneck ’08, Melinda Sandridge ’10 and Danielle Skinner ’08, participated in the 3rd International Conservation Genetics Symposium, held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. They presented a poster, “DNA Sequence Variation Within and Among Populations of Queen Conch in Belize,” that summarized their ongoing research in queen conch population genetics. Also, Dr. Kliman and Dr. Amy Reese, assistant professor of biological sciences, also recently received word that National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health has renewed a grant for their research in the amount of $195,000. The title of the project is “Empirical Analysis of Natural Selection on Condon Usage in Eukaryotes.”

Biology: A review article by Josep M. Comeron (U. of Iowa), Anna Williford (U. of Iowa) and Richard M. Kliman was published in the January 2008 issue of the journal Heredity: "The Hill-Robertson effect: evolutionary consequences of weak selection and linkage in finite populations." For several years, Drs. Kliman and Comeron have been studying selection conflicts that arise when the genetic targets of natural selection are located near each other on a chromosome.

Business and Marketing: Companies are rushing to come up with innovative ways to harness new media technologies, like websites and You Tube, in their quest to get their products in the hands of the coveted teenage target audience.  With the help of a grant from Just Born, Inc., the Cedar Crest College Business Department's Marketing Program took the target market to task, challenging area high school students to create cutting-edge electronic marketing concepts aimed at their peers for the Bethlehem-based candy company's ‘Mike and Ike’ and ‘Peanut Chews’ brands in the first-ever “iCandy: Choose ur Chew” contest. To win the contest, area high school students formed teams and brainstormed a viral marketing concept for the candy products. The high school teams worked directly with two Cedar Crest marketing students and assistant professor, Arlene Peltola.

Business and Marketing: Associate professor of Business, Michael Donovan was recently elected to a four-year term to Allentown City Council.

Business: Gaetan Gianni, chair of business and marketing, has written the study guide for the text "Business in Action," Bovee & Thill, Pearson-Prentice Hall

Chemistry: Dr. Lawrence T. Sein, Jr., assistant professor of chemical sciences, has received word that a paper on his research has been accepted for publication in the “Journal of Physical Chemistry.” Sein’s topic: “The Effect of Substituting Oxygen for Ferminal Nitrogen in Aniline Oligomers: A DFT Comparison of Hydroxl and Amino Terminated Aniline Trimers.”

Chemistry: Dr. John Griswold, of the department of chemical and physical sciences, won the 2007 Alumnae Teaching Award for excellence in teaching. He recently spoke to the alumnae at the September meeting of the Alumnae Council.

Chemistry: Dr. Pamela Kistler, chair of chemical and physical sciences, was appointed by the President of the American Chemical Society to a three-year term on the "Committee on Public Relations and Communications". This is a 15-member committee of the national organization. Its mission is to promote awareness of the contributions to society by the chemical enterprise in order to stimulate interest in chemistry by the general public and the media.
In addition, Dr. Kistler was elected to Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. She has been active in the League at the local level for many years. However, this is the first time that she has become involved in the work of this important civic organization at the State level. This Board has seven members and Directors are elected for two-year terms.

Communication:  Dr. James Brancato, director of the College’s communication program, published the article, "Domesticating Politics: The Representation of Wives and Mothers in American Reality Television," in Film and History, Volume 37:2, Fall 2007.
 

English: Dr. Carolyn Segal, associate professor of English, had an article, “Invisible Hours,” published recently in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

English and Humanities: Henry Marchand, assistant professor of English, presented a pedagogical paper at the annual conference of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) in New York City. The paper, titled "Get Over Yourself: Breaking the Grip of Memoir in the Nonfiction Workshop," addresses the need for approaches in teaching nonfiction writing that guide student writers away from the pitfalls of self-absorption and into engagement with materials of broader interest. The AWP is the nation's largest organization dedicated to the support and improvement of creative writing pedagogy; the English Program at Cedar Crest College is a member of the AWP.

Forensic Science: Dr. Thomas Brettell, assistant professor of chemical sciences, has co-authored a manuscript that has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Acta Crystallographica. The title of his article is “The hydrochloride salt of l-ecgonine, a congener of cocaine.” Authors: Wood, Matthew R. Brettell, Thomas A. Thompson, Hugh W. Lalancette, Roger A. Acta Crystallographica Section E: Structure Reports Online, 2008, Volume E64, pages o525-o525.

Neuroscience: Dr. Audrey Ettinger and students in the Neuroscience Program and Neuroscience Club (Melissa Otte, Tasha Cornish, Lauren Wawrzenski, Anthony Schiavone) attended the Inaugural Annual Research Symposium of the Central Pennsylvania Society for Neuroscience at Penn State, Hershey. Dr. Ettinger spoke in the "faculty data blitz" portion of the symposium

Nursing: Dr. Laurie Murray and professor Joan Timalonis recently visited Ghana and Kenya. While they delivered much needed medical supplies and teaching materials to the hospitals and teaching schools they visited, they came home with much more – a better understanding of the effect of the aids epidemic in these countries and of the enormous challenges faced by their resource-strapped health care systems.  The professors saw first hand the dedication of the health care providers who face difficult situations every day and of the love and care they provide to their patients, many of which are children who have AIDS and have also lost parents to the disease. In addition, they witnessed the commitment that both the teaching staff and the students have to overcome the daily challenges faced in their quest to deliver a better quality health care system.
Business and marketing department

Nursing: The Nursing Department received a $1.25 million gift to establish the Walter and Hazel May Endowed Chair for Excellence in Nursing. The aim of the new faculty position is to emphasize the continued importance of nursing and the development of nursing education and administration. In addition, The Spira Award for Excellence and Innovation by Ruth and Joel Spira has been awarded to the department of nursing for the third straight year.

Nursing: Sandra Leh, assistant professor of nursing, published the article, “Preconceptions: A Concept Analysis for Nursing” in fall edition of Nursing Forum, 42(3), 109-122.

Nutrition: The Cedar Crest College Nutrition program received full accreditation for the first time in august. The program is now fully accredited by the American Dietetic Association. In addition, the department continues to achieve a high rate of internship placement well above the national average. 

Psychology: Associate professor of psychology Dr. Kerrie Baker and associate professor of psychology Dr. Diane Moyer recently presented at the 2007 Annual Conference of the International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning, October 11-13 in Atlanta, GA. Their topic was “Experiential Learning of Interpersonal and Communication Skills for Undergraduate Authors.”

Psychology: Dr. Micah Sadigh, associate professor of psychology, recently completed his Diplomate project in Franklian Psychology and was awarded the Diplomate/Educator status by the International Viktor Frankl Institute (Vienna). Micah's final project was entitled, “Viktor Frankl, Leo Tolstoy, and The Death of Ivan Ilyich: An Existential Analysis.”

Social Work: A syllabus developed by Kathleen Boland " Law and Ethics in Social Work" has been accepted for publication in the book Teaching Social Work Values and Ethics that will be published in Ocotober 2008.

Theatre: Associate professor of theatre, Marion McCorry recently completed filming “Two Lovers” directed by James Gray and starring Gywneth Paltrow and Joaquin Phoenix. The film will be released later this year.