Faculty News & Notes

Marygrove College

 

Winter 2007

Issue 4

 

In this issue:

 

·   Faculty Activities

·   Faculty Awards Update

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marygrove College

8425 W. McNichols

Detroit, Michigan 48221-2599

(313) 927-1200

www.marygrove.edu

 

Editor:

Dr. Donald Levin

 

 

 

Welcome to Issue #4

Faculty News & Notes highlights the range and quality of scholarly and creative accomplishments of the faculty of Marygrove College. This issue contains information about activities and events from the end of fall 2005 through the end of fall 2006.

 

 

Faculty Activities

 

George Alcser, associate professor of philosophy and religious studies, and chair of humanity, philosophy, and religious studies, continued as a member, convener, and host of the Interfaith Scholars’ Colloquy, an association of more than forty members from diverse religious traditions who meet nine times a year at Marygrove College. One January 10, 2006, he presented a paper, “Implicit Religion in a Secular Society.” He was a member of the Genetic Frontiers Professional Dialog Group, which meets three times annually at Beaumont Hospital and includes physicians, nurses, lawyers, clergy, pharmaceutical experts, insurers, ethicists, and other specialists to address issues posed by the new genetics. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Ecumenical Theological Seminary, an innovative institution specializing in training persons for urban ministry. He made a presentation, “Christian Religious Fundamentalism,” on January 31, 2006, and April 26, 2006, at the Interfaith Diversity Symposium at Macomb Community College. He presented a paper, “Fundamentalism as a Religious Option,” at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul in Detroit on February 8, 2006, and led a film discussion, “Theologians Under Hitler,” on March 20 and March 23, 2006, at Marygrove. He attended a conference, “Religion and Science,” at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana, with Dr. Steven Scribner, associate professor of chemistry and director of the Honors Program, and eight students from the Honors Program on March 24-25, 2006. Professor Alcser presented a session, “Fundamentalisms in our Time,” at the 2006 Academic Symposium at Marygrove with students from IS 326H. With Dr. Jeanne Andreoli, associate professor of biology and co-chair of science and mathematics, he attended the ELSI Project Conference Participants’ Reunion at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, on August 11-12, 2006; this was the conclusion of a ten-year effort to update and educate faculty nationwide about the ethical, legal, and social implications of the Human Genome Project. He was a member of the Faculty Handbook Committee at Marygrove, and the Criterion 3 workgroup of the Marygrove College Accreditation Project.

 

Victoria Bigelow, coordinator of teacher certification plus master's programs and instructor of music and learning technologies, presented a paper, “Extending Educational Boundaries: Using the City as a Laboratory for Collaborative, Experiential Learning,” at a panel, “Innovative Approaches to Engaging the Millennial Student,” at the Faculty Resource Network National Symposium, "The Millennial Student," in Puerto Rico on November 18, 2006.

 

Cynthia Blasses, adjunct instructor of economics, was named president-elect of the Michigan Association for Healthcare Quality, an organization dedicated to attaining high quality standards in health care systems through education. She attended the national quality conference in Boston, Massachusetts, in September 2007. 

 

Darcy L. Brandel, assistant professor of English, completed her doctoral degree in English from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, in August 2006. She completed her dissertation, “If I Had a Hammer: Rereading Female Experimental Writing in the Context of Progressive Social Change,” in May 2006 with the help of a 2005-2006 Arthur Adrian Dissertation Fellowship from Case Western Reserve University. She currently has chapters under consideration for publication at major journals in the field. Dr. Brandel is working collaboratively with Dr. William E. Deal from the department of religion at Case Western Reserve University on Performing Theory, a book the two plan to co-author that explores strategies for engaging with critical theory in the classroom. She serves as co-chair of the General Education Committee at Marygrove College.

 

Brenda Bryant, assistant dean of the Division of Professional Studies, was a facilitator at New Detroit’s Leadership Summit on Race on October 8-10, 2006. She has been an Executive Board Member (Treasurer) for the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights from 2004 to the present. She was keynote speaker at the First US “Inspire Peace Conference” co-sponsored by the Destiny Bound Community Development Organization and Peace of the World International, on June 17, 2006, in Detroit. Dr. Bryant was a panelist for the PBS Cable Channel program on the Good Schools Initiative in fall 2005, and was a site evaluator for the Good Schools Initiative in spring 2006. She was a trainer for One United Michigan, formed to defeat the Proposal 2 Initiative in 2006, and was president of Wellness House of Michigan from 2004 until spring 2006.

 

Dr. Joanne Rickards Clark, coordinator of sacred music and assistant professor of music, was awarded a special citation by the All States Club from Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, longtime supporters of classical music in Detroit, for her work "promoting classical music in the City of Detroit" at a concert by pianist Edith Clifton. In February 2006, she attended the conference “Many Voices, One Song,” in Birmingham, Michigan, where she arranged for two Marygrove music students to receive free scholarship tuition and attend with her. During July 2006, she toured organs and attended the Festival of Southern Cathedral Choirs in England, where she played in recital at St. Brides Church on Fleet Street in London. Dr. Clark played an Organ Recital in October 2006 at the IHM Mother House in Monroe, Michigan. Recently she sponsored Thomas Dahl, the organist and conductor of the Bach Choir of Hamburg, Germany, at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit. In November 2006, she played a solo concert at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church in Toronto, Canada. She was the featured organist at a festival of gospel music at Hartford Baptist church in November 2006.

 

Allan Cook, assistant professor of English, presented a paper with Chae-Pyong Song, assistant professor of English, at the Midwest Modern Language Association annual conference in Chicago, Illinois, on November 10, 2006. The paper, “Imagining a Better World: Truth, Justice and Terror,” was part of the panel “Literature, Terror, and Human Rights.” The paper used a reading of the Barry Levinson film Wag the Dog: A Comedy About Truth, Justice, and Other Special Effects to examine the normalized discourse of American journalism in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001. Dr. Cook also attended the Modern Languages Association annual conference in Philadelphia in December 2006.

 

Karen F. Dimanche Davis, associate professor and chair of humanities, performed fieldwork on textile arts in Morocco (Casablanca, Essaouira, Fes, and Marrakech) and Senegal (Dakar and environs) in July and August 2006. She mounted an exhibition, "Talking Textiles II: Global Meanings in Cloth," at the Beyond Words Gallery at Marygrove from November 21-December 15, 2006. She was on sabbatical leave studying West African textile arts during the winter 2006 semester.

 

Ellen Duncan, associate professor and chair of music, served on the Board of Directors of Bound Together, an after-school tutoring, mentoring, and feeding program for at-risk elementary school children in Pontiac, Michigan. In December 2005 and January 2006, she facilitated students’ participation and participated in four performances of Too Hot to Handel in collaboration with the Rackham Symphony Choir at the Detroit Opera House (December) and the Auditorium Theater in Chicago (January). In April 2006, she directed the Marygrove College Chorale in the “One World—Many Voices” concert. In July and August 2006, Professor Duncan was volunteer assistant at Bound Together Kids’ Camp day camp in Pontiac, Michigan, a four-week program where children worked on science skills taught using arts-infused education methods, done in collaboration with Marygrove’s Institute for Arts Infused Education. In October 2006, she made a chair (“Time Out!”) for Marygrove’s “Have a Seat” event.

 

Jane Hammang-Buhl, associate professor of business and chair of business and computer information systems, presented a paper, “Best Practices in Business Ethics and Decision-Making,” at the Management Impact Institute of the Michigan Business and Professional Association on June 7, 2006. She was selected for the Faculty Resource Network Seminar on Business Education at New York University in June 2006. In November 2006, Professor Hammang-Buhl attended a conference, “Corporate Strategies for Climate Change,” at the University of Michigan. She is president of the Marygrove College Faculty Assembly.

 

Judith Heinen, dean of arts and sciences, attended the Faculty Resource Network's (FRN) National Symposium, “Spirituality and Higher Education,” at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas, on November 18-19, 2005. She also attended the National Conference for Minority-Serving Institutions on “The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning” at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15-17, 2006; and “Science for All,” a Project Kaleidoscope workshop held at two campuses in San Antonio, Texas, on February 24-26, 2006. She was a member of the program planning committee for the FRN's National Symposium, “The Millennial Student,” co-hosted by the University of the Sacred Heart and the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on November 17-18, 2006. Dr. Heinen was a member of the Marian High School Board of Directors and chair of the Academic Affairs Committee in 2005-2006. She was the Marygrove College representative for the presidential inaugurations of the Reverend John I. Jenkins, CSC, at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana, and the Reverend Robert L. Niehoff, SJ, at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio, in late 2005.

 

Jann Hoge, associate professor and chair of social work, presented a paper at the 21st anniversary national meeting and conference of the Social Welfare Action Alliance, held in Chicago, Illinois, on July 16-18, 2006, with Faye Abram, associate professor of social work at Saint Louis University. Their presentation, “Reclaiming Our Roots: A Group in the Jane Addams Tradition,” described a contemporary group for women ex-offenders that is more reminiscent of grassroots group work of the Progressive Era than the therapy groups common today. Dr. Hoge organized and chaired a panel for the 7th annual Marygrove Academic Symposium on April 1, 2006, entitled “Reading, Writing, Speaking . . . Action!” in which four social work alumni and students shared their experiences carrying out a social action as part of the social work senior seminar class. She was selected to hold the Evangeline Sheibley-Hyett Chair in Social Work in 2006-2008, and has begun work to facilitate a collaboration between two social service agencies that work with women ex-offenders, one in Detroit and one in Saint Louis.

 

Ellis Ivory, assistant professor of political science, presented on “The Foundations of the Constitution” at the Marygrove College Constitution Day symposium, “Executive Power and the Constitution in the Age of Terror,” on September 21, 2006, at Marygrove.

 

Vivian Gail Johnson, associate professor of education, made a presentation on the 2006 Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) 96th Annual Convention on November 19, 2006. On October 22, 2006, she presented on "The Use of Children’s Literature Character Identification and Literature Responses to Determine Socialization Patterns Among Pre-service and Practicing African American Male Teachers" at the National Black Child Development Institute conference, "Between the Covers: Keeping Literacy Real for Our Children." She presented on "Urban Adolescents and Teachers' Literature Choices" at the American Educational Research Association conference on April 11, 2006, in San Francisco, California. She was a co-presenter at the International Reading Association conference in Chicago, Illinois, speaking at the NCTE Children’s Literature Assembly on the 2005 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts on May 5, 2006. Dr. Johnson was a co-author on numerous articles, including "2006 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts," appearing in Language Arts (2007); "2006 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts" in the Journal of Children’s Literature (2007); "2005 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts" in Language Arts (2006); "Spotlight on CLA Book Awards: 2005 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts" in Journal of Children’s Literature (2006); "Between the Covers: Poetry” in Child Health Talk: A Publication for Parents (2006) from the National Black Child Development Institute, Washington, DC.; and “Between the Covers: Recent Titles to Enjoy” in Child Health Talk: A Publication for Parents (2006). She was also an educational consultant for Beyond Basics Academic Programs.

 

James Karagon, associate professor of social work, made the following community presentations: “The ABC’s of Mental Health Counseling,” at the Huntington’s Disease Society of America Michigan Chapter, Royal Oak, Michigan, on November 22, 2005; “Ways to Decrease Anxiety and Increase Life Satisfaction,” at American House in Taylor, Michigan, on January 24, 2006; “HIV/AIDS and African American Elderly,” presented as an in-service for staff at the Henry Ford Center for Senior Independence in Detroit on January 23, 25, and 26, 2006; “Being Gay: Coming Out in the 21st Century,” where he was a facilitator for Marygrove College’s Social Justice master’s program in the Florent-Gillet residence hall on February 15, 2006; "Organizing Family Councils at Nursing Homes,” at Citizens for Better Care in Detroit on August 15, 2006; and “Depression, Caregiver Stress, and Mental Health,” at the Huntington’s Disease Society of America Michigan Chapter, Flint, Michigan on October 2, 2006. He presented a roundtable discussion, “HIV/AIDS: The Development of Urban Leadership through Service Learning,” at the Marygrove College Academic Symposium on March 31, 2006, and a paper, “Engaging Students in Urban Leadership Through Academic Service Learning,” at the Lilly North Conference on College and University Teaching sponsored by Central Michigan University in Traverse City, Michigan, on September 15, 2006. Professor Karagon was the Evangeline Sheibley-Hyett Chair in Social Work, 2004-2006. For the 2005-2006 academic year, he organized a conference/workshop on “Impacting Infant Mortality:  Best Practices for Urban Leaders,” attended by 120 students and faculty from Marygrove and local community colleges in collaboration with Wayne County Community College District and the Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion at Marygrove College on March 24, 2006. He was the 2006 recipient of the Presidential Award for Service to the community, and was awarded a sabbatical for fall 2006 to publish the results of research of the impact of academic service learning on student’s personal and professional growth.

 

Thomas Klug, assistant provost, associate professor of history, and director of the Institute for Detroit Studies, presented a paper, “‘Work or Fight’: Employers, the State, and Bureaucratic Methods of Controlling the Labor Market in the United States during World War I,” at the European Social Science History Conference in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on March 25, 2006. He presented a version of this paper before the Metro Detroit Historians Collegium on November 3, 2006, at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Michigan. The title was “’Work or Fight’: Regulating the Mobility of Workers in the United States during World War I." Dr. Klug attended the North American Labor History Conference on October 19-21, 2006, at Wayne State University in Detroit, where he participated in the Board of Directors meeting and the annual membership meeting of the Labor & Working Class History Association, of which he is treasurer. He also presented “A Historical Overview: How Executive Power Builds on the Threat of War,” at the Marygrove College Constitution Day symposium, “Executive Power and the Constitution in the Age of Terror,” on September 21, 2006.

 

Patricia Kwasek, instructor of psychology and coordinator of the ethnic/cultural studies and social science group major programs, carried out a program evaluation for continuing education’s Yes For Prep program in August and September 2006, funded by the Skillman Foundation. This 14-month program prepares high achieving, low income African-American middle-school students in Detroit to gain admission to college prep high schools. During May and June 2006, Professor Kwasek was also an evaluation consultant to another Continuing Education program, the Mercy Education Project, directed by Sherry Lefton, assistant dean of continuing education. This program provides tutoring to improve reading and math skills in low-income African-American and Hispanic girls, aged 8-12.

 

Donald Levin, associate professor of English and coordinator of the master of arts in English program, presented a paper, “The Poddification of Everyday Life: Local and Global Cultural Critiques in Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” at the Michigan Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters annual meeting at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, on March 3, 2006. He delivered a paper, “Carnival, Violence, and the Destabilization of Borders in Richet’s Assault on Precinct 13,” at the 2006 Midwest Popular Culture Association convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, in October 2006, and also chaired the session, “Social Issues in Film.” He presented a paper, "There and Back Again: Negotiating Life in the Borderland between the Inside and the Outside,” at a special workshop session, “Bridging the Gap: Transitions between Academic and Nonacademic Careers,” at the Midwest Modern Language Association annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois, in November 2006. He presented a paper, “‘Good night, ladies, good night, sweet ladies, good night’: Cosmic Terrorism and the Erasure of the Feminine in Three Versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” at the Seventh Annual Academic Symposium at Marygrove College on March 31, 2006. Dr. Levin read from and signed copies of his book of poetry, In Praise of Old Photographs, at the Lawrence Street Gallery in Ferndale, Michigan, on April 8, 2006, and gave a reading and discussed his book at a community book club facilitated by Maureen DesRoches, associate professor of English, on June 15, 2006. He also held a reading and book signing for the volume on December 12, 2005, in Denk Chapman Hall. He wrote the preface for Vagabond Pond, a book of poetry by Anastasia Clark (Sun Rising Poetry Press, 2006). An article, “The Americanization of Mary: Contesting Cultural Narratives in Disney’s Mary Poppins,” was accepted for inclusion in Fantasy Fiction into Film, an anthology from McFarland Press. He published four poems, “Grieving,” “The Melancholy Alchemist,” “Candy Man,” and Empty Mirrors,” in the July 2006 print and electronic issue of The Green Muse. He published two poems, “Quartets” and “New Year’s Tangerine,” in the Spring 2006 issue of Review Americana. His poem “Lexicon” appeared in the fall 2006 issue of Poetry Midwest. His poem, “Detention,” was published in the November 2006 issue of Subway Chronicles. He organized and read at the Homecoming Week Poetry Reading on September 13, 2006, at Marygrove College. He was co-chair of the Marygrove College Accreditation Project for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and was writer of the project self-study.

 

Tal Levy, assistant professor of political science, presented on “The Suspension of the Constitution in Times of Crisis and Times of Fear” at the Marygrove College Constitution Day symposium, “Executive Power and the Constitution in the Age of Terror,” on September 21, 2006.

 

James Lutomski, assistant professor of art, exhibited his work at the faculty exhibition at Marygrove College in September 2006, and was the juror for the Paint Creek Center for the Arts “Arts and Apples Art Festival” in Rochester, Michigan, in September 2006. Professor Lutomski was invited to be the juror again for 2007. 

 

Michael Martin, adjunct instructor of English, published a poem, "My Father: The Wind," in the summer 2006 issue of Eclipse, and two poems, "Everything you mother Buddha say" and "Great Moments in the Study of Hermeticism," in the fall/winter 2006 issue of Pacific Review. A creative nonfiction essay, "Love It to Death," appeared in Under the Sun in summer 2006. He published a sonnet, "D. G. Rossetti receives the manuscript of his poems," in the fall 2006 issue of The Journal of Pre-Raphaelite Studies.

 

Anthony P. McGlaun, assistant professor of music and director of vocal activities, sang with the Boston Pops Symphony in Boston as a Tanglewood Fellow on June 15-17, 2006, and spent the rest of the summer at Tanglewood singing in two vocal recitals and performing the role of Robert in Hindemith’s opera Hin und Zuruck. Professor McGlaun sang in the chorus of Porgy and Bess with the Michigan Opera Theater in the summer of 2006. He is member-at-large of the Marygrove College Faculty Assembly.

 

Jennifer Meacham, reference/instructional technology librarian, delivered a panel presentation with Jeff Zachwieja, reference & electronic services librarian, at Wayne State University for students in the Library and Information Science program as part of the Michigan Library Association PREMIER Project on November 7, 2006.  PREMIER—Promoting Research Education in Michigan: In-Service Educational Resources—is a professional development service created by the Michigan Library Association Information Literacy Roundtable to help academic libraries and librarians meet increasing demands for instructional services. Her presentation, “Educational Technology Services at Marygrove College: Where IL Meets IT,” outlined the evolving role of librarians as technology trainers and introduced students to the concept of the “blended librarian.” 

 

Steven Patterson, assistant professor of philosophy and religious studies, gave public commentary on a paper titled “India House Utilitarianism” at the 60th Annual Mountain-Plains Philosophy Conference at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, in September 2006. In early November 2006, he presented a paper, "Some Thoughts on Responding to Evil," at the Illinois Philosophical Association Meeting at the University of Illinois at Bloomington in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. Dr. Patterson has continued to build the philosophy minor and develop the philosophy curriculum. He is the secretary of the Marygrove College Faculty Assembly and a member of the Faculty Handbook Revision Committee.

 

Frank D. Rashid, professor of English and chair of English and modern languages, continued to work on two long-term projects, a book-length history of Ste. Anne's Church in Detroit and the Literary Map of Detroit: http://www.marygrove.edu/ids/Detroit_literary_map.asp. With Jesse Cox, director of campus ministry, and Thomas Klug, assistant provost, associate professor of history, and director of the Institute for Detroit Studies, he has developed a new interdisciplinary course, Issues in Detroit Ministry, aimed at future Detroit-area religious leaders and offered through Marygrove's master's of social justice program. Dr. Rashid worked with colleagues to bring guest authors (most recently Charles Johnson and Jeffrey Eugenides) to Marygrove as part of the Defining Detroit series and the Contemporary American Authors Lecture Series. He appears in the recently released documentary, Stranded at the Corner: The Battle to Save Historic Tiger Stadium. He serves as vice president of the Michigan Association of Departments of English, and received Marygrove's 2006 Presidential Award for Scholarship. He is ombudsman of the Marygrove College Faculty Assembly.

 

James Rivard, associate professor of education and coordinator of the educational leadership master’s program