Their achievement has been extensively
reported in the press. An article in the Belleville News Democrat
entitled 'depARTment of innovation' states "Most
Illinois Arts Council fellowships go to artists in northern Illinois,
particularly Chicago. It's unusual to see three artists from the
same program of a university recognized in one year." Read the
the complete article depARTment of innovation
Mexica 2006 an exhibition of artwork inspired by a student trip to
Oaxaca state, Mexico was the subject the front-page feature story in the
Edwardsville Intelligencer's 'Weekend Edition', November 4-5, 2006.
SIUE students are pictured with local Mexican craftspeople, and a gimpse of
Mexico is seen in a picture of Tlaxiaco town center. Professors Laura Strand
and Paul Dresang first began taking students to Oaxaca ten years ago. Sixteen
students participated this year and they lived and worked alongside traditional
craftspeople in Tlaxiaco, a mountain village in the Sierra Madres. Oaxaca state
is smaller than Illinois, yet is home to sixteen distinct cultural groups each with their
own language and customs. The Mexica 2006 exhibit opened November 3rd and
ran through November 17th.
Department of BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE
Zhi-Qing Lin, has been involved in organizing a special symposium as part of the
9th International Conference on the Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements
(ICOBTE). The special symposium is focused on the Development and
Uses of Biofortified Agricultural Products, and will be held at the 9th ICOBTE,
15-19 July 2007 in Beijing, China. SIUE, through funding provided by the College
of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School, is a sponsor of the special symposium.
For more information on the conference and special symposium, and featured speakers,
visit: Special Symposium
Ralph Axtell, was honored recently by the Center for North American Herpetology.
In a news release the CNAH describes a new subspecies of the Crevice
Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus poinsettii) from New Mexico and Texas. The
new taxon, Sceloporus poinsettii axtelli, honors Ralph Axtell as a
distinguished herpetologist, in recognition of his substantial contributions
to our understanding of lizards of the Family Phrynosomatidae.
The nominate race, S. p. poinsettii, is restricted to west of the Rio
Grande in New Mexico.
Ralph Axtell and Carol Bryant have a new publication out in the Illinois Natural
History Survey's Biological Notes series. The article is entitled "The
ground skink, Scincella lateralis, in Illinois: range and possible recent
history." The authors have established a base line distribution of these
small lizards with all known localities in text and on a physiographic map
of the state. All future range expansions or contractions of these lizards
can be judged from the information presented. In the article Ralph Axtell
and Carol Bryant speculate on the timing of the initial movement into the
state after the last glaciation period and on its directionality. The interpretation
of the current range contraction does not support a near term (within the last
hundred years) regional global warming hypothesis.
Department of ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Howard Rambsy is the recipient of a 2007 Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship
Foundation Career Enhancement Fellowship for Junior Faculty. This prestigious award
assists talented junior faculty to pursue scholarly research and writing over a years time.
Dr. Rambsy's fellowship begins in June 2007 and includes a Career Enhancement Fall
Retreat. Dr. Rambsy's selection as a Craeeer Enhancement Fellow is a testament to his
excellent scholarship, teaching skills, and future contributions to the academic community.
Dr. John Pendergast's book entitled "Religion, Allegory, and Literacy in Early
Modern England, 1560–1640. The Control of the Word" has been published
by Ashgate Publishing, Burlington, VT.
Using as a primary focus the manner in which Protestant and Catholic paradigms of
the Word affect the understanding of how meaning manifests itself in material
language, this book develops a history of literacy between the middle of the
sixteenth century and the middle of the seventeenth century. The author
emphasizes how literacy is defined according to changing concepts of
philological manifestation and embodiment, and how various social and
political factors influence these concepts.
The study looks at literary texts such as The Fairie Queene, early Shakespearean
comedies, sermons and poems by John Donne, Latin textbooks and
religious primers, and educational and religious treatises which illustrate
how language could be used to perform spiritual functions. The cross section
of texts serves to illustrate the pervasive applicability of the author's theories to
early modern literature and culture, and their relationship to literature. The texts also
illuminate two matrices that the author argues are central to the study of sixteenth-
and seventeenth-century literature: Protestant reading and exegetical strategies in
contrast with Catholic strategies, and secular versus spiritual literacies.
Eugene Redmond was recently featured in newspaper articles in both the
East St. Louis Monitor last Thursday and in West Coast papers. The subject
of the articles was a new film on the history of poetry in California, entitled
“I Began To Speak”, which features Professor Redmond.
SACRAMENTO (CA)—East St. Louis Poet Laureate Eugene B. Redmond, who spent
nearly 15 years as a Professor of English and Poet-in-Residence at
California State University-Sacramento (1970 to mid-80’s), is featured
in a new film that chronicles the history of poetry (and literary performance)
in Sacramento and Northern California. Titled “I Began to Speak: From a
City of Two Rivers, A Legacy of Poetry,” the film was premiered at
Sacramento’s Crest Theater on Dec. 6 and simultaneously released
on DVD. B.L. Kennedy and Linda Thorell wrote, directed and produced
the movie which was issued by The Archives Group. Kennedy, a former
student of Redmond’s at CSUS, oversees numerous literary projects including
an Annual Poetry Marathon. “I Began To Speak” is an extension of, and
companion to, “Landing Signals: an Anthology of Sacramento Poets” (1985)
which also features Redmond and several of his former students and colleagues.
In the film, Redmond is accompanied by percussionist Selwyn Jones as he
chants/recites an elegy for Miles Davis, Coretta Scott King, Ossie Davis,
Katherine Dunham, Oscar Brown, Jr., Cesar Chavez, and others. He is
also interviewed in the film. A second premiere of “I Began to Speak” is
scheduled for Jan. 4, producers said, because more than 80 people were
turned away from the first premiere last month.
Redmond went to CSU-Sacramento in 1970 after spending one year as Writer-in- Residence at
Oberlin College in Ohio. Prior to the Oberlin appointment, he served two
years--1967-69--as Teacher Counselor and Poet-in-Residence at Southern
Illinois University’s Experiment in Higher Education in East St. Louis. At the
same time he had a joint appointment as Senior Consultant to Katherine Dunham
at the Performing Arts Training Center where he taught creative writing and
managed PATC’s traveling company. While in Sacramento, Redmond published
several books, including “River of Bones and Flesh and Blood” and “Drumvoices:
The Mission of Afro-American Poetry,” through his ESL-based Black River
Writers Press and large publishing houses like Doubleday and Random House.
He also edited several volumes of stories and poems by the late Henry Dumas
(1934-68). Redmond’s writings, editorial work and teaching have garnered a
Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses, a National Endowment for the Arts
Creative Writing Fellowship, an American Book Award, and grants from the
California, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, and West Virginia Arts Councils. Currently,
he is Professor of English and Founding Editor of “Drumvoices Revue” at SIUE.
The 2006 Mid-Amwerican Linquistics Conference was held on campus October 27th and 28th.
Linguists in all areas of specialization were encouraged to submit abstracts and
the tradition of accepting papers on all linguistic topics was continued. This year’s
meeting featured special interest sessions on Second Language Acquisition and
Morpho-Syntax. There was also a forum dedicated to graduate students.
The Plenary Speaker was Silvina Montrul from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Her area of expertise is second language acquisition and bilingualism from a
theoretical linguistics perspective. She is author of "The Acquisition of Spanish:
Morphosyntactic development in monolingual and bilingual L1 acquisition and
adult L2 acquisition", 2004. The title of Dr. Montrul's Plenary Address was
"Morphosyntactic development in adult learners of Spanish".
Papers of Language and Literature, PLL published a special issue
in honor of Jane Zatta last year. It was the first double issue of PLL, and it
showed how much scholars throughout the world valued the work of a departed
colleague, since it resulted from the cooperation of people in several American states,
Canada, and Great Britain. Besides a memoir of Jane written by Brian Abel Ragen,
Jane's moving personal essay about her first pet squirrel was also published. There was
also a translation of a chapter from Jane's first book, which she wrote in Italian. It is about
the Gypsy/Romani culture, and the section on food was excerpted, complete with
recipes for hedgehog. The central focus of the issue, though, was Anglo-Norman
romances about powerful women, particularly St. Osith. PLL reprinted Jane's essay on
that romance recounting St. Osith's life and published for the first time her translation of it,
together with the original Old French text on facing pages. The whole issue is a project
PLL are truly proud of.
The Drumvoices Festival of Arts 2 is planned as a week-long event October
24 thru 27. The Writers Club's 20th birthday celebration will include local
and national artists --- poets, musicians, storytellers, dancers, and the Soular
Systems Ensemble will participate. The celebration is sponsored the Club and
SIUE.
The capstone of the Festival will be an awards-
performance banquet at the Casino Queen Hotel Ballroom on Oct. 26 at 7:00 p.m.
“Fruits from Poetrees: Celebrating the 20th Birthday of the EBR Writers Club,” will
feature poets Mari Evans (Indianapolis), Quincy Troupe (New York via St. Louis),
music, and dinner. Evans and Troupe will also present single-poet performances on
Oct. 24th (7pm/SIUE) and 26th (12:30pm/SIUE).
Other events include a literary tribute to Katherine Dunham on Oct. 24th
(12:30pm/SIUE), an Oct. 25 “EBR Writers Club 20th Birthday Reception” at the
Missouri History Museum in St. Louis (by invitation), a poets-in-the schools program,
and an “open mike” evening.
Except for the Birthday Banquet on Oct. 26—which costs $30.00—
all events are free and open to the public. To purchase tickets or for more
information contact EBRWC at 618 650-3991 or email: eredmon@siue.edu.
Persons may also write the Club at P.O. Box 6165, East St. Louis, Illinois 62202.
Tickets are now available for the Oct. 26 Banquet!
Alice Farley (Alice Hall Petry), was interviewed on BBC radio June 28th
in regard to Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird. As you may
know, Alice's new book titled 'On Harper Lee: Essays and Reflections'
is being published by the University of Tennessee Press.
Eugene Redmond, has been invited by the African American Literature
and Culture Society of the American Literature Association
to receive an award for a lifetime of literary achievement and
inspiration. The award will be presented in a special ceremony
to be held at the Society's symposium at St. Louis University
in October 2007.
Dr. James M. Rosser, President of California State University,
Los Angeles, will bestow the award. Professor Redmond has been
invited to give a poetry reading following the award ceremony.
Brian Abel Ragen is serving on the committee that develops the AP
examination in English Literature and thus influences the curriculum for AP English
courses across the country. He will attend a meet of the College Board in New York in
October. In addition, Dr. Ragen has recently been appointed to the Awards Committee
of the Conference of Editors of Learned Journals.
Stella Revard, Emerita Professor, has been contracted by
Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies at Arizona State
University in Tempe for her book, 'Politics, Poetics, and the
Pindaric Ode, 1450-1700.' This is her second book on pindaric
ode research. Since she retired Professor Revard has continued
be very active writing, researching, and attending conferences.
Professor Revard has an international reputation as a scholar.
She continues to live in St. Louis, but also maintains a residence
close to the British Library in London.
Department of GEOGRAPHY
Dr. Mark Hildebrandt, was recently awarded
a Fulbright to lecture and conduct research in Nepal.
Dr. Hildebrandt will spend a semester at Kathmandu University
lecturing in the Environmental Sciences Department and
conducting research on mechanisms behind air pollution.
Department of HISTORICAL STUDIES
Jason Stacy was elected a Director on the Illinois
Council for the Social Studies which automatically makes him a member
of the Board of Directors; he is at the helm of Region 5, which is composed
of the Illinois counties in the southwest.
Dr. Shirley Portwood was recently invited by
Governor Rod Blagojevich to be a public member of the Illinois
Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. The Commission will
plan and carry out its own bicentennial tributes to Abraham
Lincoln as well as coordinating these activities with the
federal government's Abraham Lincoln Commission.
Department of MATHEMATICS and STATISTICS
The Fifth International Conference on Function Spaces was
hosted by the department May 16 to May 20, 2006.
More than 120 mathematicians from Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan,
Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, England, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel,
Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia,
Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan,
Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the US attended the Conference.
Please visit the Conference WEB page at Conference Website.
Many of the participants are distinguished experts in the field, and many
attended the previous Conferences on Function Spaces at SIUE.
The Conference is supported by grants from the National Science
Foundation, the College of Art and Sciences, and the Graduate
School. Proceedings of the Conferences were published by Marcel
Dekker and by the American Mathematical Society.
Department of MUSIC
Professor Steve Brown wrote a review piece in the 'Times
Literary Supplement, 8 December 2006. In Notes of Welcome Professor
Brown reviews three works 'New Music, New Works' by Amy C. Beal, 'Cagetalk'
edited by Peter Dickinson, and 'Leta E. Miller and Fredric Lieberman, by Lou Harrison.
Kris Pineda, a senior piano performance major, has been selected by the Artist
Presentation Society of St. Louis to present a recital in the Touhill Performing
Arts Center on February 27 as part of the Prelude Performances series. Kris
will also be performing the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with the SIUE
Orchestra on March 2 as winner of the Concerto/Aria Auditions held in December.
Prince Wells will be one of several local musicians and historians interviewed
for the TV documentary "Collective Improvisation: The Story of Jazz in
Saint Louis" The documentary will show on HEC-TV during the month of
November. The documentary examines the contributions of St. Louis
musicians to America's legacy of jazz. This HEC-TV exclusive production
profiles the careers of St. Louis-based jazz greats such as Miles Davis,
Eddie Randle, and Clark Terry, as well as many other St. Louis musicians
who left their unique mark on the jazz scene. Local jazz historians, Dennis
Owsley and Don Wolff take an in-depth look at the rich history of the
"Gateway City" and the true American art form of jazz. Producer, Christian
Cudnik relates his experience making the documentary, "As a fan, I was fond
of the music. However, I never understood the importance of jazz to American
history, until now. Within the story of jazz in St. Louis, there is clearly a history
to celebrate and another we should never allow ourselves to forget. The fact
that these early musicians were able to create their own sense of freedom within
the music speaks volumes to me. Imagine trying to grow a beautiful flower from
a crack in the sidewalk. In a sense, that's what these musicians did by creating jazz.
Sadly, segregation and racial hatred were their growing conditions." Watch "Collective
Improvisation: The Story of Jazz in Saint Louis," on HEC-TV Thursdays and
Saturdays at 8:00 pm during the month of November.
Rick Haydon has a CD release on February 21. It is on Mel Bay Records
and will have world wide distribution. The name of the CD is
Rick Haydon and John Pizzarelli "Just Friends". It was recorded last
year in New York. A release party will be announced soon for
St. Louis.
"On his first major release, jazz-guitarist
Rick Haydon is joined by his good friend John Pizzarelli. The two
offer spirited takes on 11 favorite tunes, including "Old Folks,"
"It's a Wonderful World" and "Look for the Silver Lining."
OFFICE of SCIENCE and MATH EDUCATION (OSME)
The IJAS Regional Science Fair held in the spring was a great success.
Success is not measured only by the number of participants, but also by the impact
the event has on students. Deb Clinebell, an 8th grade teacher in Waterloo,
encouraged her student Jonathan Naber to participate in Science Fair. Jonathan
took his teacher's advise and he is now a senior who has been a part of Science
Fair every year since 8th grade. Jonathan’s sums up his passion for science this way:
“I have always been fascinated by the way things work and designing solutions for
problems. I love physical science because it has many practical applications.”
Deb Clinebell recently contacted Eric Malina from the Department of Chemistry
and OSME. She wrote "just had to take a minute to email you and thank you for
everything that SIUE does to support science fair and send students to the Intel
International Science and Engineering Fair. Today in all of our eighth grade science
classes, Jonathan Naber is presenting a highly motivational presentation of his
experience with science fair. I cannot tell you how significant his impact is on
these eighth grade students! As a result of what SIUE has done for Jonathan,
205 junior high science students are being challenged to excell in their own
science fair projects. Our Waterloo High School senior is teaching, motivating,
and challenging these students to 'think out of the box', push the limits of creative
investigations and shoot for superior scientifc experiments. Jonathan is telling them
how much his science fair experience has helped him in his written and oral communicatons
skills, analytical thinking, problem solving, etc....."
Department of PHILOSOPHY
Dr. Rachel Singpurwalla has won a prestigious one-year residential fellowhip at the
Center for Hellenic Studies. The center is located in Washington D.C. but is funded by
and affiliated with Harvard University. Dr. Singpurwall will be in residence during academic
Year 07-08.
Dr. Greg Fields recently had a book chapter published. The chapter is entitled
“Gandhi and Dewey: Education for Peace,” and appears in Problems for
Democracy, ed. John Kultgen and Mary Lenzi (New York and Amsterdam:
Rodopi Press, 2006). Topics discussed within the chapter are philosophies of
education, education and peace, peace education initiatives derivable from
Ghandi and Dewey, education for peace at elementary and secondary levels,
education for peace in colleges and universities, and education, peace, and
social health.
The First Annual SIUE Undergraduate Philosophy Conference was held
on November 10 & 11, 2006. By all accounts the program was a success.
The conference received 34 submissions from 18 universities representing a
broad range of philosophical topics. A panel of SIUE philosophy students
reviewed the submissions and elected to invite 12 students each from distinct
universities to present their papers. The 12 papers were divided into five
themed panels. In addition to the five undergraduate panels there was a
keynote address given on the evening of Friday, November 10. Professor
Sarah Lucia Hoagland from Northeastern Illinois University presented “Epistemic
Shifts and Resistant Negotiation.” The program was deemed successful by both
the presenters, who found the experience valuable in furtherance of their future
philosophical pursuits, and the attendees, who were impressed by the level of
dialogue that ensued during the conference.
While the organization of the conference and the selection of presenters were done almost
exclusively by undergraduate students in the SIUE philosophy program,
a panel of three faculty judges was employed to determine the award for
best paper which was accompanied by a $100 cash prize. The award for
the best paper went to Jon Matthis from the University of Maryland—
Baltimore County. The conference was generously supported by the
Philosophy Department, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Office
of the Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs, the Office of the Assistant
Provost of Cultural Affairs, and the Office of Program Assessment and
Review.
Dr. Greg Fields undertook research travel this summer to Seattle and
Victoria that was extremely productive. During the trip Greg met
on several occasions with Johnny Moses as well as Skagit (Salish)
elder Vi Hilbert. He reviewed their exhibition in preparation for
the Swinomish Historical Museum and obtained original audio recordings.
In addition Greg participated in the 41st Annual Conference on
Salish and Neighboring Languages where he presented a paper
“Peoples and Languages of Vancouver Island, the Straits, and Puget
Sound”.
Dr. Margaret Simons has recently published a book with the University
of Illinois Press; Simone de Beauvoir Philosophical
Writings. This volume is the first complete, scholarly edition of
Beauvoir's essays in English translation. One reviewer writes that
"this series will change the history of philosophy", while another
characterizes the work as a "treasure". Read more about Professor
Simon's book at Simone de Beauvoir.
Dr. Margaret Simons' paper "Is The Second Sex Beauvoir's
Application of Sartrean Existentialism?" was recently selected to
receive an Award of Excellence from StudySphere as one of the best
educational resources on the Web. StudySphere is one of the Internet's
fastest growing sites of educational resources for students, teachers
and parents. StudySphere searches the Internet to select only the
finest sites to be included within its listing of educational links.
Read Dr. Simons' Paper
Dr. Margaret Simons' recented taped a segment of an National Public Radio
show at the WSIE studio. The show is What's the Word?, which is produced
and hosted by Sally Placksin. The episode, on Women as Public Intellectuals,
will feature discussions of Susan Sontag, Hannah Arendt, and Simone de Beauvoir.
Dr. Simons responded to a series of questions on Beauvoir as a public intellectual
and read some passages from her texts. It show be simulcast on WBGO 88.3 FM,
Newark, sometime in March 2007 --see their program guide on line for specific
dates and times. It may also be broadcast on other NPR stations.
Department of PHYSICS
Hernando Garcia has been invited to give a talk at the AMO (Atomic Molecular
and Optical Physics) section of the 2007 Joint Annual conference of the NSBP
(National Society of Black Physicists), and the NSHP (National Society of Hispanic
Physicists) to take place in Boston, MA on the 23th of February. The title of Dr. Garcia's
presentation is 'Self-Consistent Determination of Plasmonic Resonances in Ternary
Nanocomposites'. For more information about the conference visit; Conference Information
Dr. Jack Glassman and The Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University,
were granted a patent "Phase Preserving Amplifier for a Stellar Interferometer," United
States Patent #7,154,608, December 26, 2006.
Work continues and Jack is currently developing a
technique which will allow the light from a distant object to be amplified using an
all optical technique. This amplification method, called "Optical Parametric
Amplification" (OPA), has been around for a long time. It uses the light from a laser
and a special kind of crystal to increase the intensity of the light from some faint source.
What's novel is tthe use of OPA to amplify the light that goes into a device called
a "Stellar Interferometer." A Stellar Interferometer uses two telescopes to collect light
from the same object. The light from the two telescopes is focused onto one spot and
it "interferes"--in some places, the light adds together to make a dark region, as though
there's no light there at all, while in other regions it adds to be brighter than it would be
from simply summing the brightness from the two telescopes together. Non-optical
amplification techniques (i.e., electronic amplifiers) lose the features of the light
(phase and spectral characteristics) that allow the light to interfere.
Stellar interferometers allow Astronomers to determine things like the diameters of stars that are
too far away for us to see their shape directly. They are also used by the military for
determining the sizes and shapes of satellites in orbit around the Earth. By using
OPA in a Stellar Interferometer, it should be possible to collect data in a shorter
time, using smaller telescopes, or looking at fainter objects than is currently possible.
The goal is to get a 100-fold amplification. If successful, this would allow a 4" telescope
to do the work of a 1-meter diameter telescope or for the data that now takes one
hour to collect to be collected in under a minute. The basic development work is underway.
There are many challenges before we can prove that this technique is truly viable. But,
if it can be shown to work, it will have a very beneficial impact on Astronomy. It will also
be an asset to those monitoring satellites in the interests of national security.
Kimberly Shaw Chair of the Department of Physics has been selected to
receive a Distinguished Service Citation from the Illinois Section of the
American Association of Physics Teachers. Dr. Shaw received the
award at a banquet at the fall meeting of the AAPT.
The award was conferred in recognition of the outstanding contributions
Dr. Shaw has made to the field of physics teaching in the state of Illinois.
Letters of nomination point to Dr. Shaw as a respected leader and an
inspriration to others in the profession. The ISAAPT Execuctive Council
characterize her service to ISAAPT as enthusiastic, continuing, and in all
ways exemplary. Through the award special recognition is given in the
areas of leadership of colleagues and students through physics teaching,
professional contributions to section activities through contributed papers,
workshop presentation, committee service, or elective office and distinguished
service at the home institution.
Hernando Garcia has been invited to deliver the OSA (Optical Society of America)
International Lecture for the "X National School of Optics" that will take place
in Colombia South America, 13 to 17 November 2007. It is a great honor for the SIUE community to
be represented at this meeting, which will take place in conjunction with the
meeting of student chapters of optics of the Andean Region and the Caribbean.
Dr. Garcia will prersent a short course on "Introduction to Nonlinear Optics
with Modern Application", discuss future strategies for the optics community
in the Andean Region, and deliver a plenary talk entitled "Optical properties
of multi-plasmonic system within the theory of the effective medium approximation”.
Pamela Gay launched a new podcast on September 11th with Fraser Cain
of "Universe Today." Our new show is called "Astronomy Cast" and it has
been in the top 25 science and medicine podcasts in the iTunes music store
for the past 10 days.
This new show takes a weekly facts based journey through the cosmos.
Astronomy Cast offers listeners weekly discussions on astronomical topics
ranging from planets to cosmology. Designed as “edu-tainment,” Astronomy
Cast brings the questions of an avid astronomy fan direct to an astronomer.
The discussion that results places the latest discoveries in a historic and scientific
context that is accessible to the introductory astronomy student and the
armchair astronomy enthusiast.
Astronomy Cast shows are available for free, either through the iTunes
Music Store (in the Science & Medicine section) or direct from the website
at http://www.astronomycast.com. A portable audioplayer isn't even necessary,
as the shows are all available for listening directly from the website.
One of the main objectives for Astronomy Cast is to
cover a single topic in astronomy, space science or cosmology each week in
non-technical language. Educators could point students at these shows as an
additional resource for specific topics. They can expect the shows to be professionally
produced, and to contain language appropriate for all ages.
Spencer Brinker, Russel May, Nathan Louks, and Garth Hand received an
Honorable Mention in the 2006 NASA University Student Competition.
Receiving an "Honorable Mention" is a notable achievement; other
recipients of that award this year were Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, University of Michigan, and Brno University (in the
Czech Republic). Our students were in fine company.
If you saw telescopes west of Dunham Hall on November 8th, they were there so
interested members of the campus community could observe the transit
of Mercury in front of the sun. Sue Vandegrift, wife of Chancellor Vandegrift,
attended as well as the university photographer. A student filmed the event
that was organized by Tom Foster and Pamela Gay, and lots of fun was had by all.
Pamela Gay participated as a diarist for "This Day on the Job", a collection of day
diaries from women across experiential, cultural, geographic, and socioeconomic
bouncdaries. This journal will covered the entire day of November 14th.
Department of POLITICAL SCIENCE
Dr. Maruice Mangum has won the 2007 Anna J. Cooper national teaching award sponsored
by the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. Dr. Mangum impressed
the selection committee with the extensive breadth and depth of his teaching dossier.
The awards ceremony will take place at the national conference in San Francisco,
where Dr. Mangum will receive a plaque at the Annual Awards Dinner on March 23, 2007.
The Political Science Association College Bowl team representing SIUE this
captured 5th place out of 16 teams when they competed at Notre Dame in late
February. SIUE defeated the home team, Notre Dame, along with three other
teams, losing to Valparaiso and University of Illinois in the end. The team consisted
of Chris Stroot, Dan Prengel, Tony Keeley, Sean Aluoto, Zach Knebel, and Emily Siemer.
Dr. Lynn Maurer has had book manuscript accepted for
publication by the Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales
(Center of Political and Constitutional Studies) in Madrid, Spain
for the Estudios Políticos book series. The book is entitled
"Parliament and Democracy in Spain". The Center of Political
and Constitutional Studies is part of the Spanish Ministry of
the Presidency. This project represents an example of our
cooperation with other governments and international academic
institutions. This study is unique in that Dr. Maurer spoke
directly with the parliamentarians. Even among Spanish political
scientists very few speak directly with their founders, often
relying on second-hand and statistical data. Dr. Maurer carried out
three rounds of interviews in Spanish with elite policy makers
in Spain –both parliamentarians and members of the executive cabinet
(Ministers)- to collect extensive data on the influence of the
parliament over two decades (1979-2000). Several of those
interviewed were active in the crucial transition to democracy, and
one later became the country’s Vice President.
Dr. Maurer has been invited to speak on her upcoming book at the Universidad
Autónoma de Madrid. She has published articles in both Spain and
the U.K. She regularly incorporates her findings into her course
POLS 350 Western European Political Systems so that SIUE students
may benefit from her research.
The U.S. government has recently emphasized ties with the Hispanic community
–a segment of society that is rapidly growing in the St. Louis area.
As our own Hispanic student body and faculty members begin growing
in numbers, it is important to show our state and federal policymakers
that SIUE is committed to ties with U.S. Hispanic culture, as well as
with the international academic and cultural community.
Denise DeGarmo's book "The Disposal of Radioactive Wastes in
the Metropolitan St. Louis Area: The Environmental and Health Legacy
of the Mallinckrodt Chemical Works" (ISBN10: 0-7734-5549-3
ISBN13: 978-0-7734-5549-8) was published in Fall 2006 by
Edwin Mellen Press. The book discusses the radioactive waste that was
dispersed throughout the St. Louis area during the “Atomic Age” that was
a result of atomic weapons work carried out by Mallinckrodt Chemical
Works for the U.S. government under secret contract. To date there has
been no comprehensive study of the secret contracting effort that made
Mallinckrodt Chemical Works one of the most important contributors to the
atomic bomb project, nor has there been an adequate discussion of the long-term
consequences of this atomic program on the health and environment of the community.
The Purpose of this book is to provide an examination of the history and
consequences of the atomic legacy of St. Louis and the Metro-East. For more details visit:
Denise DeGarmo's Book
Dr. Degarmo and Dr. William Larkin, from the Department of Philosophy, have received a
contract from Routledge Press for a textbook entitled: "Thinking About War and Peace".
Watch this space for future details!
Dr. Lynn Maurer has received the grant to carry out interviews in
Spain in 2006-2007. The grant was awarded by the Program for Cultural
Cooperation between Spain's Ministry of Culture and U.S.
Universities. Dr. Maurer's project is entitled 'The Power
of the Committee System in the Spanish Congress of Deputies'.
Dr. Maurer will travel to Spain this Fall.
Dr. Denise DeGarmo was recently awarded a travel fellowship to
the University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library. Dr. DeGarmo's
research will focus on the Phoenix Memorial project. Denise was also
selected for inclusion in 2005/2006 Who's Who Among America's Teachers.
Department of SOCIAL WORK
Phi Alpha Social Work Honor Society The Department of Social
Work recently initiated their first group of graduate students and 2 alumns
into the Phi Alpha Social Work Honor Society, Xi Iota Chapter. As you
can see from the pictures below it was a joyous event celebrated both by
the initiates and an appreciative audience.
Department of SOCIOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE STUDIES
Tracey Hayes a graduate student was recently presented with a 2006 Graduate
Student Paper Award from the American Society of Criminology, Division on
Critical Criminology. Ms. Hayes' paper explores state corporate crime and how
it relates to environmental contamination in the St. Luois Metro East area. The award was
based on the high quality of the paper that evidenced mastery of the literature, careful
methodology, and the ability to offer original empirical and theoertetical observations.
Dr. Hugh Barlow has a new book published in October 2007.
"Dead for Good: Martyrdom and the Rise of the Suicide Bomber", is published
by Paradigm Publishers, Boulder, CO.
The book 'vividly describes how history
gave rise to the suicide bombers of today. The passionate submission of ancient
Jewish and Christian martyrs was largely supplanted by militant self-sacrifice as
Islam spread and holy war erupted in the Crusades. In the Indian Punjab, the
Khalsa Sikhs made warrior-martyrdom an instinct and policy in their defense of
community and of justice. In a last-ditch effort to defeat the Allies in World War II,
the Japanese transformed warrior-martyrs into martyr-warriors trained to sacrifice
themselves in attacks on enemy carriers. The current suicide bomber is the latest phase:
Whether motivated by nationalism, religious ideology, or a combination of both, the new
"predatory" martyr dies for the cause while killing indiscriminately. Exploring martyrdom
across cultures and throughout history, this book gives us new insights into today’s suicide
bombers and answers to the common question Why do they do it?' Order the book from "Amazon" at:
Dead for Good
Dr. David Kauzlarich was the recent recipient of the
Great Teacher Award from the SIUE Alumni Association.
The award will be given at summer commencement.
Department of SPEECH COMMUNICATION
Lesa Stern has been appointed as Director of Undergraduate
Assessment and Program Review, effective July 16th, 2006. Lesa is an
Associate Professor of Speech Communication where she has been involved
in the Senior Assignment since 1995. She was selected as an Assessment
Scholar in 2000, with a resulting publication and several national and
regional presentations. She has been part of the Higher Learning
Commission's Assessment Think Tank and has been selected to serve as
an AQIP Strategy Forum Facilitator for HLC. In addition, Lesa has
served on Illinois Articulation Initiative panels for the IBHE.
Department of THEATER and DANCE
The Department of Theater and Dance will be well represented at the midwest region's
American College Theatre Festival in January. Two performance majors, Alex Moore
and Phil Leveling, were nominated and will participate in the Irene Ryan Acting
competition. Also, costume designs for 'Twelth Night' by faculty member
Dr. Laura Hanson were selected to be one of only 15 productions featured in the
ACTF Costume Parade.
Chuck Harper producer of 'The Probe: An Inquiry into the Meteoric Rise
and Spectacular Fall of Orson Welles in Hollywood' has learned that the
production has been officially invited to the Prague International Fringe
Theatre Festival. "The Probe" was initially a co-production of SIUE, HotCity
Theatre, and the Theatre de la Belle Bête, and was supported through both the
Summer Research Fellowship and Funded University Research programs. The
company will be one of 35 from around the world who will be performing, and
they are scheduled to perform in the largest theatre, for all seven nights, making
the production one of the festival headliners. If funding can be secured students
who worked on the initial production may also attend the festival.
Dr. Johanna Schmitz will be the featured speaker on the 10th of November
at the 'Focus on Faculty Research' program to be held at 1:30pm in the
Lovejoy Library 3rd floor conference room. The title of Johanna's presentation
is "From Mud Puddle to Monument: The Transformation of the Rose Theatre
(1989-2006)". The Focus on Faculty Research is a program sponsored by the
LIS Research, Projects, and Development Committee, the Friends of the
Lovejoy Library, and the Graduate School.
Dr. Laura Hansen was recently interviewed by London's BBC Radio
for a pair of features on "Sondheim's Women." Laura is the author of
"Broadway Babies: Images of Women in the Musicals of Stephen Sondheim,"
which was published in a book on the well-known composer-lyhricist. The
two-part radio program explored the female characters Sondheim's musicals
and their development through music and lyrics. It was planned to coincide with
the West End revival of 'Sunday in the Park with George'. With the expert
assistance of Frank Akers and his staff at WSIE Radio, a transatlantic line
between London and Edwardsville was set up for the interview, sections of
which werethen edited into the feature. The finished programs can be heard
on the BBC Radio 4 web site at :
Sondheim's Women-Part I
Sondheim's Women
