Here's
how our professors step off the syllabus
Nursing professor Martha DeCesere ’85
helps first-year students move into their dorm rooms. Gail Marchigiano
brings pizza into the nursing lab on a Sunday night when she
comes in to offer a review session. Steve Bridge plays basketball
with students every Tuesday. Last winter, sociology professor
Dale Brooker slept overnight in a cardboard box outside Alfond
Hall to promote the student Habitat for Humanity chapter.
In other words, engaging students at Saint Joseph’s often goes
way beyond classroom instruction. Read
full story.
Now retired, biology professor Ray Gerber and Scott
O’Donnell
’06 bushwhacked through mangrove swamps, slogged through mud-bottomed
ponds and swatted mosquitoes, while gulping Gatorade to keep ahead
of the steamy tropical heat. Dr. Gerber and O’Donnell were sampling
ponds … on an island in the Caribbean. Okay, it was the stunning
Virgin Islands National Park in January, but, still, it was scientific
field sampling. Read
full story.
Dr. Greg Teegarden wants to know much
more about how red tide develops in nearby Casco Bay. A sophisticated
tracking buoy purchased with a National Science Foundation grant should
now give him and his students a much better picture of these toxic
algae blooms by collecting new kinds of data in Harpswell Sound – a
part of the bay that suffers from recurring red tides and the shellfifish
contamination it causes.
Teegarden, a marine science professor who has published widely on
red tide, relies on the buoy to send real-time profiles on weather
conditions, tides, temperature, salinity, current speeds, nutrient
concentrations, and chlorophyll concentrations in order to track how
toxic algae blooms develop. The buoy continuously records and transmits
these conditions, all of which can point to algae levels in the water. Read
full story.
The
2008 Beijing Olympic Landscape Sculpture Contest has chosen a design
submitted by art professor Scott Fuller and fellow artist Asherah Cinnamon
as a finalist from among
the 2,400 designs submitted. If it wins, their sculpture – “Reaching
for Courage: Gateway to China”– will be installed at the
2008 Olympics in Beijing. Read
full story.
Last summer professor Sharon Martin
was preparing for her Community Health Nursing course when she discovered
she had to make avian flu not only the focus of the class period on
emerging diseases, but her own professional focus, as well. That’s
because when she searched the nursing journals, she could find no mention
of the flu – despite the fact that it could be “devastating
and life-altering” if human-to-human transmission creates a world-wide
epidemic, or pandemic.
Alarmed by the seeming lack of discussion in the broader nursing community,
she began her own campaign to spread the word about a virus that could
spread widely and rapidly. If the virus ends up transmitting from human
to human, Martin says nurses will be on the front lines. “They
need to know the symptoms, so they can protect themselves and their
patients,” she says. “Otherwise, they become part of the
contagion.” Read
full story.
Associate professor of marine science
Mark Green has received a $419,000 National Science Foundation grant to
continue his research on clam species in nearby Casco Bay. The three-year
grant, which is the second Dr. Green has received from the National Science
Foundation, will include field work along the shoreline in Freeport and
South Portland.
The new study will definitively answer why so many juvenile hardshell
and softshell clams die, says Green. His earlier study, which suggested
tiny clams die because their shells dissolve under naturally occurring
acidic conditions, countered a nearly 100-year-old theory suggesting predation
as the dominant cause. Roughly 98 percent of clams die off within the
first two weeks of life in the ocean sediment, leading to far fewer harvestable
adults. Read
full story.
Education professor Cynthia Mowles noticed at an author series at
Portland Public Library how much the school classes attending enjoyed
listening to children’s book authors read their work and talk
about it. It made her think about how schoolchildren in rural Maine
needed to hear them as well. She set about making that happen, and,
for the second year in a row, it has. Dr. Mowles and grants coordinator
Elizabeth Schran worked together to raise nearly $5,000 to bring authors
to schoolchildren in outlying areas, among other programming. Read full story.
At the beginning of 1999, only about
two dozen blogs appeared on the Internet. By April 2006, that number
had skyrocketed to 35 million. Realizing the potential of blogs, history
professor Michelle Laughran and criminal justice professor Dale Brooker
put them to work as a teaching tool in the spring semester. Read
full story.
During 2006 and early 2007, Saint Joseph’s faculty were busy with professional
activities, in addition to teaching their courses. Here’s a sampling
of some of their work:
Dr. Dale J. Brooker (Criminal Justice) presented “Expanding
the Vision of Visual Sociology: Critical Visual Criminology” at the International
Visual Sociology Association Conference. He also contributed a chapter on property
crimes in the textbook
Criminology: Theory, Research and Policy.
Kathleen Kiley Clements (Elementary Education) finished
her doctoral dissertation based on a case study of postsecondary disability
services.
Dr. Nina Eduljee (Psychology) presented a poster titled “Helping
Students Make Connections: Using Constructivist Approaches When Teaching Psychology” at
the Northeast Conference for Teachers of Psychology. She and nursing professor
Gail Marchigiano presented “An Empirical Investigation of Gender Differences
for First-Year Students” at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological
Association.
Dr. Katrina Hoop (Sociology) presented “The Anti-Gambling/Casino
Movement: The Discursive Strategies of an Unlikely Coalition” at
the American Sociological Association and “Liberal Learning, Identity,
and Self: Integrative Liberal Arts as the Imaginative Experiment”
at the Association for Integrative Studies Conference.
Gail Marchigiano (Nursing) co-authored an article on new
technology applications in the management of deep vein thrombosis that appeared
in Critical Care Nursing Quarterly. She also spoke on electrocardiographic
changes in acute coronary syndromes at the 11th Annual Maine Nurse Practitioner
Association Conference.
Sharon D. Martin (Nursing) authored “Review of the
latest CDC guidelines for family caregivers of pandemic flu victims at
home,” Home Healthcare Nurse. She also presented “Preparing
Your Home Care Agency for Pandemic Flu,” 2006 New York State Association
of Health Care Providers; “The Latest Intelligence on Progress of the
Avian Flu Virus,” National Association of Home Care’s 25th Annual
Meeting; “Teaching Evidence-based Practice to Traditional Undergraduate
Nursing Students: Overcoming Obstacles,” 2006 College Teaching & Learning
Conference.
Dr. Jonathan Mitschele (Chemistry) created Chemistry Comes
Alive! Volume 8 of a CD collection available from the Journal of Chemical
Education. The CD offers video of demonstrations and experiments to help
introduce students to the fundamentals of waves and quantum physics.
Dr. Edward Rielly (English) has published several books,
including his latest called Sitting Bull: A Biography. He also
wrote Baseball in the Classroom: Essays on Teaching the National Pastime
and authored articles in Beat Culture: Icons, Lifestyles, and Impact;
Major League Baseball Clubs; Literary Cash; Americans at War: A Biographical
Dictionary of Americans on the Home Front; Great Events from History:
The Renaissance and Early Modern Era, 1454-1600; and The Fifties
in America. He has also published poetry in 17 magazines.
Debra Riendeau (Nursing) authored “Advanced Practice” in
NSNA Imprint. She co-authored on new technology applications in the management
of deep vein thrombosis in Critical Care Nursing Quarterly.
Joshua Schoenfeld (Psychology) presented “Spouse
confifidence predicts patient attendance at cardiac rehabilitation”
at an Eastern Psychological Association poster session.
Dr. Daniel Sheridan (Theology) authored “The Catholic
Case: The Index of Prohibited Books” in the Journal of Hindu-Christian
Studies.
Graduate & Professional Studies Faculty
Carrie Basas (Business) was named as a research fellow at
the University of Virginia’s law school. She has authored book reviews
in Disability Studies Quarterly and Taproot: An Environmental
Journal.
Elaine Cassel (Education) announces the publication of the
second edition of her upper-level psychology textbook, Criminal Behavior.
Walter Markowitz (Health Administration) earned a Doctorate
of Education (Ed.D.) degree from Dowling College, Oakdale, N.Y. His dissertation
centered on retention factors for hospital nurses. He also co-authored a paper
at the International Business and Economy Conference.
Suzan Nelson ’97 (Education) earned her National Board
Certification as a librarian and gave presentations to Maine and New
Hampshire State Library Conferences on “Brain Theory and Learning” and “Public
Relations for librarians.” She was co-named Adjunct Faculty of the Year.
Dr. Linda Perrone Rooney (Pastoral Theology) had three books
published and gave 15 presentations throughout the country. The books were Habits
of the Soul: Learning To Live On Purpose, Hold Fast to Hope: Help for Caregivers
and 101 Ways to Communicate with Your Kids. Presentations were given to
parishes, Habitat for Humanity staff, hospitals and other organizations.
Charlotte Stepanian (Nursing): President of Massachusetts
Association of Public Health Nurses; co-author of two scientific sessions
at the Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association: “Public
Health Nurses in Massachusetts: A Snapshot of the Workforce 2005” and “From
Research to Advocacy: Assessing the Local Public Health Infrastructure in Massachusetts.”
Margaret E. Stone (Health Administration) presented “Resident
Assessment Coordinator Training: Assisted Living Facilities Created Under Missouri
Senate Bill 616” to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services,
Section for Long Term Care, Statewide Training and CEU Series.
Petra Bertilsson-Friedman (General Studies) authored an article
titled “Distribution and frequencies of shark-inflicted injuries
to the endangered Hawaiian monk seal” published in Journal of Zoology.
To many people, the Atlantic Ocean is simply vast, open water. To Greg Teegarden
and Mark Green – professors of marine and environmental science – it
is a vibrant world with a complex ecology. And the Gulf of Maine is their neighborhood.
“As a boy I spent my summer vacations on Cape Cod, walking around tide
pools, fishing, digging for clams,” Green says. “The passion never
left me.” For decades, both men have explored the Gulf of Maine, a stretch
of sea that lies between Cape Cod and the southern tip of Nova Scotia, including
the historically rich fishing grounds of Georges Bank. As boys, both Green
and Teegarden played along the shore and fell in love with the sea. Read
full story.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
The Skopje airport was filled with feral cats, walking, climbing over radiators,
counters and abandoned trunks….After a ride through what seemed in
the dusk to be a series of war-torn neighborhoods, we arrived at my street.
My landlord’s daughter, Svetlana, greeted me in perfect English and
a warm hug. Her mother and father do not speak English (although both use “OK” and “No
Problem” rather well).
I was excited. The apartment was small, clean, and had crocheted covers or
a tablecloth on every surface, reminding me of my Albanian grandmother’s
house – except for the DVD and VCR. The fridge contained the basics of
Macedonian life – bottled water, clementines from Greece, butter for
the bread and a can of Turkish coffee. Read
full story.
Heart” is not a term often paired
with “math.” But three years ago, two Saint Joseph’s professors
adopted a radically different approach to the math course for liberal arts
majors, one where equations don’t fill up the board and students
don’t try to memorize them. What they do is learn to think in a new way – one
embraced in a book called The Heart of Mathematics.
Dr. David Pinchbeck calls the book a gem. In his restructured Contemporary
Math course, students learn about big ideas in math, like infinity and
the fourth dimension, like symmetry and chaos theory. Or how any type of vote
counting system becomes imperfect once there are more than two candidates.
Read full story.
Mix together a lot of energy with a little edge and you've got business
professor Ed Hellenbeck. He spent 20 years as a vice
president and manager at Unum, a major player in the disability insurance
field. Much of that time he worked in marketing and customer service,
a background that carries over in how he listens to students and
meets their needs while demanding they perform at a high standard.
In his words and in the students words- read
full story.
John Ford, one of America’s most revered directors, won six Academy
Awards for Best Director – more than any other director. In 1973, he
was the first person chosen to receive the American Film Institute’s
Lifetime Achievement Award and is often credited with forging the career
of John Wayne, his favorite actor whom he directed in films such as “Stagecoach” and “The
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.”
But long before his success in Hollywood, Ford was the scrappy 11th child
of an Irish family from Portland, Maine. History professor Dr. Michael Connolly,
another Irishman from Portland, has turned the spotlight on Ford’s
early years in a soon-to-be-published book of essays, called John Ford
in Focus: Essays on the Filmmaker’s Life and Work. Read full story.
