The University of
Pittsburgh at Bradford spent its summer writing, researching, making
presentations, teaching abroad and publishing.
Dr. Livingston
Alexander, president of
Pitt-Bradford and Pitt-Titusville and professor of psychology, published an
article in the International Journal of Leadership and Change titled “What
Leadership Development Institutes can Never Teach College Presidents About
Leadership.” The article identifies areas of potential vulnerability for new
college presidents and suggests constructive ways to supplement insights gained
in professional development seminars in order to enable more successful
presidencies. Alexander is also a member of the journal’s Applied/Clinical
Editorial Board.
Dr. Vaughn Bicehouse, assistant professor of education, had a manuscript, “The
Portraiture of Nick: Scene two, the Middle Years,” accepted for publication by
the Journal of Case Studies in Education.
Dr. Jessie Blackburn, assistant professor of English, gave a workshop on
multimodal rhetoric, community development and rural literacies in Banwen,
Wales.
Dr. Donna Dombek, associate professor of education, and Marietta Frank,
interim director of Hanley Library, made a presentation on mythological beasts
that they aligned with the Pennsylvania and National Common Core standards at
the 17th Annual Children’s Literature Conference at the University
of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.
Dr. Michaela Drignei,
assistant professor of mathematics,
worked with Colin Poirier, an applied math major from Turtlepoint, on a
research project titled “Some Elementary Inverse Problems Involving the Timing
of Signals.”
Dr. Rick Frederick, professor of history, gave a talk on “The Fabulous Field
Family” at the Peabody Free Library in Columbia City, Ind. He was also elected
chairman of the board of the Eldred World War II Museum in Eldred and worked on
a chapter about the 1928 election for publisher Blackwell-Wiley about the
Harding-Coolidge-Hoover years.
Judy Hopkins had an essay, “School’s Over; Lesson Learned,” published in
the L.A. Affairs column of the Los Angeles Times.
Dr. Tracee Howell, executive associate to the president, presented “Monstrous
(In)Tuition: Alan Moore’s ‘Promethea’ as Comix Literacy Narrative” at
the Northeast Modern Language Association’s 2013 Convention at Tufts
University. The paper argued that Moore’s little-studied graphic novel
“Promethea” may be read as a philosophical exploration of narrative theory.
She also served as an
Advanced Placement reader for the AP English Language and Composition Exam, as
did composition instructor Ann Hultberg.
Howell also
presented, along with writing center consultants Catherine Kula, Dani Michel
and Writing Center Director Dr. Dani Nier-Weber, an interactive workshop
at the East Central Writing Centers Association 2013 Conference at Clarion
University titled “Toeing the Line: Risking, Reconciling and Reflecting in
Writing Center Work.”
Kula, Michel,
Nier-Weber and Mary Valvo presented
the workshop at the International Writing Centers Association Conference held
in conjunction with the Conference on College Composition and Communication.
Anna K. Lemnitzer, assistant professor of art, took part in a group
exhibition, “The Story of the Creative,” in the See Exhibition Space in Long
Island City, N.Y. She also was commissioned and executed custom, sculptural
metal walls for a private residence in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Dr. Ron Mattis, associate professor of engineering, presented a paper titled
“Incorporating Excel With VBA Into an Introductory Chemical Separations Course”
at the International Journal of Arts and Sciences Conference in Toronto.
Dr. Nancy McCabe, associate professor of writing, taught a fiction workshop in
Ireland for Spalding University’s brief-residency Master of Fine Arts in
Writing program and served as the prose writer-in-residence for a week at the
Chautauqua (N.Y.) Institution.
Her essay “A Panda
Raised by a Goose” appeared in Natural Bridge, and she wrote about her dog,
Mollie, for the Ploughshares Writers and Their Pets blog series.
Carol Newman’s poem “Birth Rite” will be soon be published in an anthology
about the Allegheny River called “Written on Water” edited by Linda Underhill
and Helen Ruggieri. She was also recognized by the Chautauqua Literary Arts
Contest with an honorable mention for a short story called “The Turtle Story.”
Dr. Reece Wilson, assistant professor of education, had three articles
published in scholarly journals. “Family Literacy Packs: Pre-service Teachers’
Experiences with Family-School Connections” was published in Reading
Improvement; “The Effects of Genre on Student Learning From Informational Text”
was published in the International Journal of Humanities and Social Science;
and “The Work Sampling System: Pre-Service Teachers’ Experience With
Assessment” was published in the National Teacher Education Journal.
In addition, Wilson,
along with Dr. William Schumann III, assistant professor of
anthropology; Jeremy Callinan, adjunct faculty in the computer
information systems and technology program; and Gregory Mirth, a 2013
environmental studies graduate, presented at a conference, “Innovations in
Technical Education to Advance Sustainability: Student Leadership” at Alfred
(N.Y.) State University.
The team presented
“Mapping Campus-Community Partnership with GPS Tools” based on a project
conducted by Pitt-Bradford last fall. The project mapped trails in the
Smethport, Pa., area and created a mobile phone application and lesson plans
for teachers to use to enhance the trails.
Dr. David Soriano, associate professor of chemistry, conducted research over
the summer with Seth Habicht, a chemistry major from Kane. The pair created a
bioplastic by mixing sugar and whey protein and heating. Soriano said once he
finds out whether the substances are biodegradable, he can find out more about
what they might be used for.
Dr. Klaus Wuersig presented two papers. He presented “The Evolution of
Freshmen Project Experiences due to the Internet” at the International
Conference on Engineering Education and Research in Marrakesh, Morocco, and
“Using MatLab to Solve Problems in Electrical Engineering Courses at the
International Symposium on Project Approaches in Engineering Education at the
Eindhoven University of Technology in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Tim Ziaukas, professor of public relations, picked up an unusual
academic credential this summer in England when he received a certificate in
Egyptology from the University of Manchester. The three-year online program is
a survey of ancient Egyptian history, art and architecture with a focus on
hieroglyphic studies.
Audrey
M. Huss, 88 of Huss Dr., passed away Friday (Sept. 27, 2013) in the Lebanon VA
Medical Center, Lebanon, PA. 
