We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Aldemaro Romero as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.. Dr. Romero brings approximately 20 years of experience in higher education to SIUE with particular strengths in forming collaborative academic partnerships within and outside of the University, a strong foundation of scholarship applied to teaching, and a clear commitment to professional development of faculty, staff and students. Dr. Romero received his Ph.D in Biology from the University of Miami, Florida in 1984. His scholarly focus broadly covers the areas of environmental studies, environmental history, conservation biology, evolutionary biology, biospeleology, science communication and the history and philosophy of science. Dr. Romero is a prolific author having published extensively in the scientific literature, written and edited several books, and received numerous grants and contracts for education and research programs. In addition to his scientific expertise, Dr. Romero is a talented musician. Dr. Romero assumes the Deanship as of July 1, 2009. Please join us in welcoming Dr. Romero as our Dean to the College of Arts and Sciences. Welcome!
Student Project puts internet users in control of their own Universe
Thanks to the work of two Southern Illinois University Edwardsville students, visitors to a popular website can choreograph their own tours of the Universe. Software written by sophomores Jarod Luebbert and Mark Sands gives the almost 250,000 users of Galaxy Zoo the chance to fly through Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope from galaxy to galaxy. The release marks the inclusion of data provided by Galaxy Zoo in the new version of WorldWide Telescope, recently released. Galaxy Zoo (http://www.galaxyzoo.org) invites anyone with an internet connection to help astronomers explore the Universe. Visitors to the site are asked to classify galaxies drawn from the robotic Sloan Digital Sky Survey, dividing those with beautiful spiral arms from the rest. With more than 100 million classifications received to date, many users have built up stunning collections of their personal favorites - and from today, thanks to Luebbert and Sands, sharing these cosmic gems is a lot easier. This project would not have been possible without the help of Microsoft Research and the collaboration of their staff with the students at SIUE.
SUZUKI STUDENT PERFORMS IN IRELAND
Earlier this summer, Emmanuel Bishop, a Suzuki student at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (who has Down Syndrom) performed in Ireland at the International Down Syndrome Conference. Emannual played Hunter's Chorus during the main program in the morning, and then in the afternoon he played the violin again and gave his Power Point presentation. It was special since he was the only child invited to participate at the World Congress, all other self-advocates were young adults. After his presentation, Emmanuel gave a private reprise of his presentation to the Mexican contingency and later played the violin to a youth group (Down Syndrom) that requested to hear him play. Emmanual also played the violin and gave his presentation to the Dublin Down Syndrom Babies and Toddlers Support Group the day after he arrived, a group of about 12 families with newborns with DS. Emmanuel was interviewed by a radio station and everyone treated him like a rock star and wanted to have their picture taken with him. He made a very big impression in Dublin.
DIVERSITY AT THE DEPARTMENT LEVEL
Lynn Maurer, from the Department of Political Science, Anthony Cheeseboro, from the Department of Historical Studies, and Patrick D. Murphy from the Department of Mass Communications are the coauthors of an article entitled "Diversity at the Department Level". The article has been submitted and accepted for publication in The Department Chair and will appear in the winter 2010 issue.
ILLINOIS ARTS COUNCIL ANNOUNCES 2009 LITERARY AWARDS
The Illinois Arts Council Is pleased to announce the writers and literary publications selected to receive Literary Awards in Fiscal Year 2009. Adrian Matejka of the Department English Language & Literature at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is among the recipients. Adrian has two publications: "Tyndall Armory" published in Carbondale by Crab Orchard Review, Vol. 13, #2, edited by Allison Joseph and "Babel by Foot" published in Urbana by Ninth Letter, Vol.5, edited by Jodee Stanley. Literary Awards recognize the creative excellence of Illinois writers and promote awareness of non-publication in which the writers' work was published. Congratulations Adrian!
METRO-EAST STUDENTS SPEND SUMMER BREAK WORKING WITH SCIENTISTS
While many teens use their summer to take a break from academia, some students spent weeks working alongside scientists from several colleges thoughout the St. Louis region. Parishi Patel, of Edwardsville High School; Anjali Shekar, of O'Fallon Township High School; and Ally Renth and Matt Benson, both of Mascoutah High School were among the 73 high school juniors and seniors from the St. Louis area to participate in the program June 8 through July 17 at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Parishi Patel, shown here, worked under Southern Illinois University Edwardsville biology professor Faith Liebl, and Anjali Shekar under SIUE chemistry professor Chin-Chaun Wei, In addition to conducting their research, students also wrote reports and gave oral presentations of their work the last day of the six-week program.
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THE DISORIENTING DILEMMA; THE SENIOR CAPSTONE AS A TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCE
Author: Sill, David; Harward, Brian Ml.: Cooper,Ivy
Date: June 22, 2009
Publication: Liberal Education
ISSN: 0024-1822
David Sill is senior scholar and professor of theater, Brian M. Harward is associate professor of political science, and Ivy Cooper is professor of art and design, all at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Transformation in a university occurs at all levels. Recognized as one of the university's hallmark features, the Senior Assignment can bring about transformative learning for students, faculty, and even programs.
OVID'S METAMORPHOSES
At the end of August, SIUE Professor Carl Springer will take part in a marathon reading of Ovid's Metamorphoses, at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. The event will take place in the Pulitzer's galleries and is free and open to the public.For the most up-to-date schedule of readers, visit the event listing on the http://thepulitzerfoundationforthearts.createsend2.com/t/r/ldrkiky/hukujrjt/d> Pulitzer's website. For additional information on the event, call the St. Louis Poetry Center at (314)973-0616.
The College of Arts and Sciences is very pleased to announce that Dr. Urszula Ledzewicz, from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, is the recipient of the William and Margaret Going Endowed Professorship this year.
Dr. Ledzewicz has had a distinguished career as a mathematician with current research interests focused on analyzing models related to cancer treatments. Among her many accomplishments as a scholar are over 100 papers published in professional journals, presentations of her work at 120 international conferences or universities, and the receipt of 11 external grants. In addition to a truly outstanding research record, Dr. Ledzewicz has taught a wide variety of courses, and has served as advisor for more than 20 master's theses. Our congratulations to Dr. Ledzewicz as the new William and Margaret Going Endowed Professor.
The SIUE DIstinguished Research Professor is an academic rank awarded to SIUE faculty members in order to recognize outstanding and sustained contributions to research and creative activities. The 2009 awardees are: Prof. Margaret (Peg) Simons, Department of Philosophy; and Prof. Leah O'Brien, Department of Chemistry. Please join in congratulating Professor Simons and Professor O'Brien for their prestigious achievements.
Prof. Margaret (Peg) Simons Prof. Leah O'Brien
We are happy to announce that Dr. George Pelekanos is the 2009 recipient of the HOPPE RESEARCH PROFFESSOR AWARD. The Hoppe Research Awards are made to SIUE faculty members in order to recognize and support individual programs of research or creative activities. Dr. Pelekanos received the Hoppe award for his research project in the area of computational electromagnetics, titled "On the Development of a Fast and Efficient Reconstruction Algorithm in Computational Electromagnetics." Please join us in congratulating Dr. George Pelekanos who has been at SIUE since 1998!
SIUE Alumnus Veronica Armouti (BS-Sociology, '88; MS-Urban Affairs and Policy Analysis '88) will be recognized as a Woman of Distinction by the Alton, Illinois, YWCA on May 28. Veronica will be honored for her work in health law, civil defense and community activism. After graduating from SIUE, Veronica Armouti worked for many years in the insurance business before obtaining her juris doctorate degree from Saint Louis University in 1997. She has been with the Sandberg Phoenix and von Gontard, P.C. law firm in St. Louis since 2004. She specializes in health law, particularly in relation to nursing homes. A luncheon to honor Veronica Armouti and other recipients of the Women of Distinction Award will take place on Thursday, May 28 at 11:00 a.m. at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey, Illinois. Tickets are $35 per person and are available at the YWCA in Alton, Illinois by calling (618) 465-7774. The Women of Distinction program recognizes women whose outstanding professional or volunteer efforts carry out the YWCA's mission to empower women and eliminate racism.
