FACULTY & STAFF NOTES
Michael Allen, adjunct lecturer in the Sociology and Criminal Justice Department, was selected for a one-week residency at the New York Public Library’s Center for Educators and Schools in July. A cultural anthropologist and enrolled tribal citizen of the Cherokee Nation (Oklahoma), Allen teaches in a dualenrollment program at two public high schools in Newark and was selected as part of a 16-member cohort from a nationwide competition for high school humanities teachers. The residency focused on the histories of the future.
installation consists of the primary elements of a stone
doorway marked with the outlines of paper sheets
that had “mapped” the doorway and the paper “map”
suspended in the central atrium
Kendall Baker, professor of art, was an artist-in-residence at the Konrad Lorenz Institute near Vienna, Austria, where he developed “Threshold of Unknowing,” a site-specific sculpture and video installation. The institute is a small research community dedicated to the pursuit of interdisciplinary knowledge in the domains of evolution, cognition and philosophy of science. What stood out most for Baker was the experience of “working every day in a centrally located public studio as an artist embedded in a research institute, explicitly supported and encouraged by leadership and welcomed by the Fellows and staff for extensive interviews and active participation in an experientially stimulating setting full of historical and metaphor-rich architectural attributes.”
Traci Bitondo, Ph.D., LPC, adjunct lecturer of art therapy, was named president of the New Jersey Art Therapy Association.
John Chorazy, adjunct lecturer in the English Department, was invited by the College Board to the 2023 AP Reading in Tampa, Florida, as a reader for AP language and composition.
Cindy Concannon, clinical director of the Mary Jo Rolli Codey Center for Counseling Art Therapy, received professional counseling licensure from the New Jersey Board of Marriage and Family Examiners. In June she was a panelist at the Adler Aphasia Center’s “Getting the Word Out” event, providing information about mental health, art and wellness and the impact counseling art therapy can have on people living with aphasia and on their families.
Benahir Crespo, academic coach, was accepted into the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities inaugural cohort of its Enlace Mid-level Leadership program. The six-month leadership development program is for mid-level college and university professionals and is designed to increase the number, variety and quality of Latino/a talent in leadership positions at Hispanic-Serving Institutions and in higher education overall.
Jeffrey Egnatovich, Ed.D., director of graduate studies and healthcare administration program coordinator, presented his research on the perceived necessity of college degrees in paramedicine at the 19th annual International Roundtable of Community Paramedicine in Nottingham, United Kingdom. He was joined by researchers from Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands.
Tara Harney-Mahajan, Ph.D., associate professor of English and co-director of the honors program, presented a paper at the roundtable “Tramp Press: Ireland’s Maverick Publisher” at the American Conference for Irish Studies at San José State University in San José, California. The topic of the conference was “Global Ireland: Transnational Networks of Migration and Belonging.” Harney-Mahajan is co-editor with Amanda Smith, Ph.D., of Southwestern Oklahoma State University, of LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory, a double- blind, peer-reviewed literary and cultural studies journal. Their special issue this year was titled “Emerging Trends in Twenty-First-Century Horror” and was guest edited by Karen J. Renner, Ph.D., from Northern Arizona University.
The Rev. Dr. Miguel A. Hernandez, an adjunct lecturer in the Mathematics Department and a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, New Jersey, did mission work in El Salvador in the spring. He presented candidates to the diaconate in the Episcopal Anglican Church in El Salvador and participated in an ecological walk with religious leaders from the Catholic and Lutheran churches and civic organizations.
Joanne Jasmine, Ed.D., professor of education; Edith Ries, Ed.D, professor emerita of education, and Julianne Meletta, Ph.D., assistant professor of education, presented “Global Literature and Primary Source Documents” at the National Council of Social Studies conference and at the New Jersey Council of Teachers of English conference.
Valerie Lewis-Mosley, Ph.D., adjunct lecturer in the Department of Theology and Philosophy, is the recipient of the 2023 St. Katherine Drexel National Justice Award from the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament Social Justice Committee. The award honors a recipient for ongoing work with marginalized groups, for appreciating racial and cultural heritages and for having a national impact on religious and moral values.
Mary Lindroth, professor of English, presented a paper titled “Fantastic Resistance in the Fantasy Novel Elatsoe” at the “Pippi to Ripley” Fantasy/Science Fiction Conference at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, in April.
Stephen Meawad, Ph.D., assistant professor of theology, had his book “Beyond Virtue Ethics: A Contemporary Ethic of Ancient Spiritual Struggle” published by Georgetown University Press, Moral Traditions series. He presented on “‘Unethical’ Ethics: Towards an Ethical Transliteration of Coptic Orthodox Praxis” and was on the panel “Coptic Literary Production, Ethics, and Identity: New Currents in Coptic Studies” in the Middle Eastern Christianity Unit at the American Academy of Religion’s annual meeting in San Antonio. As part of the Moral Theology and Theological Anthropology Group, he presented on “Orthodox Christian Acquiescence to PseudoDeontological Ethics” in a panel on “Law and Legality in Orthodox Christian Ethics” at the International Orthodox Theological Association in Greece in January. He gave the keynote address at Caldwell’s 2023 Research and Creative Arts Day on “How to Conduct Good Research: The Sciences and the Humanities.”
Ranjit Nair, Ph.D., associate professor in the School of Business and Computer Science, was honored with the Outstanding Leadership Award for Innovation in Education at the Education 2.0 conference in July. He was recognized for his contributions to the field of education and learning as an advocate and leader of change and for enriching the global learning community. He is the founder and CEO of Potluck Culture Solutions, an organizational leadership consultancy.
David Petriello, adjunct lecturer in the Department of History and Political Science, presented the paper “Climatic Conquest: The Destruction of the Americas Before the Arrival of Columbus” at the conference of the Southern Association of Historians of Medicine and Science at Emory University.
Kenneth F. Reeve, Ph.D., BCBA-D, professor of applied behavior analysis (ABA), co-authored a research paper with his doctoral student Christopher Colasurdo, along with ABA department colleagues Jason C. Vladescu, Ph.D., BCBA-D, professor of applied behavior analysis, and Sharon Reeve, Ph.D., BCBA-D, professor and graduate program coordinator of ABA, which was published in the European Journal of Behavior Analysis on the effects of single versus compound stimuli on the formation of concepts with adults. Kenneth Reeve co-authored another research paper with his former M.A. in ABA student Danielle Staropoli regarding the effects of error correction procedures in concept formation that was published in the European Journal of Behavior Analysis. He served as an invited discussant in a symposium on concept formation research at the annual convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis International.
Sonia I. Rios, adjunct lecturer in modern languages, presented on “Motivational Factors of Students Learning Spanish at a Community College Level” at the 30th International Conference on Learning at the University of São Paulo-Auditório Nicolau Sevcenko, São Paulo, Brazil.
Stephanie Sitnick, Ph.D., interim associate dean of psychology and counseling, presented a poster titled “I need a hero: The impact of representation in superhero print and film” at the Association for Psychological Science convention in Washington, D.C.
Lily Tsoi, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Psychology and Counseling, was selected as a 2023 fellow for the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions’ Elevate Program.
Rebecca Vega, professor of music, and her UpTown Flutes ensemble, performed a full-hour showcase at the National Flute Association convention in Phoenix in August. An alumna of California State University, Long Beach, Vega attended the university’s Pacific Flute Ensemble.
Jason C. Vladescu, Ph.D., BCBA-D, professor of applied behavior analysis, co-authored a book to be published by Elsevier titled “Statistics for applied behavior analysis practitioners and researchers.”
