FACULTY/STAFF

Jean-Paul Benowitz, director of student transition programs and prestigious scholarships and fellowships, was as recognized at Tabor Community Services’ annual celebration and fundraising banquet, last month, for writing the history of Lancaster-based organization. His book “Welcome Home: Fifty Years of Tabor Community Services: Tabors 50th Anniversary Addendum (2008-2018) to the 40th Anniversary History (1968-2008)” was an update to his original “Make Yourself at Home: Tabor Community Services: Housing and Financial Counseling; Forty Years of Rebuilding Lives and Community, 1968-2008.” Established by the Mennonites in 1968, Tabor is a nonprofit provider of housing, financial counseling and education services for 4,600 Lancaster County residents, annually.

 

Douglas Bomberger, professor of musicology in the Music Division of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts had the article “Talking Music: Amy Fay and the Origins of the Lecture Recital” published in the book “Thinking Together: Lecturing, Learning and Difference in the Nineteenth Century.”

Bomberger also presented the paper “Taking the German Muse out of Music: How The Chronicle Shaped Musical Opinion in World War I” at the annual conference of the Society for American Music, held in March at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City.

 

Dan Chen, assistant professor of political science and Asian studies, was awarded a Sydney China Fellowship by the University of Sydney (Australia). She will be a visiting fellow at the China Studies Centre for six weeks this summer.

 

Lauren Gibson, assistant professor of chemistry, had an article “Characterization of Plasmodium Lactate Dehydrogenase and Histidine-Rich Protein 2 Clearance Patterns via Rapid On-Bead Detection from a Single Dried Blood Spot” published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene with colleague Christine Markwalter from Vanderbilt University. They based their work on data collected during a research trip to Macha, Zambia.

 

Don Kraybill, Distinguished College Professor and senior fellow emeritus, presented the commencement address and received an honorary degree from Thiel College, at its 144th commencement exercises held in May.

 

Peter Licona, assistant professor of education, lobbied for after-school programming during Advocacy Day in Harrisburg in May. Licona collaborated with other Pennsylvania STEM Ambassadors and Pennsylvania Legislators to advocate for STEM education and the importance of providing Pennsylvania’s youth with quality after-school programming.

 

Steven Nolt, Senior Scholar at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, recently provided cultural-competency training seminars for healthcare professionals who work with Amish and Old Order Mennonite patients in the region. Seminars were presented to groups at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Lancaster Maternal Fetal Medicine and Hospice & Community Care of Lancaster.

 

Oya Ozkanca, associate professor of political science and College Professor of International Studies; John Craig, adjunct faculty member in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Legal Studies, and Wayne Selcher, professor of international studies emeritus, served as referees during a Counterterrorism Simulation event held April 25 and 30 at Elizabethtown College. The event was attended by the students enrolled in PS 370A Terrorism and Counterterrorism co-taught by Ozkanca and Craig. The simulation is one of the first held in the United States at the undergraduate level. Students in the course each represented members of different teams, such as the federal government, local government and media, producing policy responses to an evolving terrorist scenario. In the course, made possible through a Mellon Grant, students learned about many facets of terrorism, its evolution and examined the effectiveness of counterterrorism measures. During the simulation, students had a chance to experience, firsthand, the difficult policy dilemmas associated with counterterrorism, such as the tension between states’ rights and human rights.

Ozkanca also presented her research, titled “Turkish Soft Balancing against the United States,” at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Nationalities held at Columbia University in May.

 

Kelly Poniatowski, associate professor of communications, presented a paper, titled “Climbing Mt. Midoriyama: The representation of gender and race in NBC’s American Ninja Warrior,” at the International Association for Communication in Sport’s annual conference at Indiana University, Bloomington, in April.

 

Jonathan Rudy, Peacemaker in Residence with the Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking, received an Interfaith Youth Core Curriculum Development Grant for summer revision of PCS262-Restorative Practices and Community Security course to include interfaith themes.

Rudy had his article “Human Security Approaches in Conflict Affected Areas” published in Carlisle War College’s Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute’s “Stability Operations Lessons Learned and Information Management Systems (SOLLIMS) Sampler” publication, Volume 9, Issue 2. The volume title is “Inclusive Peacebuilding: Working with Communities.”

Rudy also facilitated two courses at Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute in Davao City, Philippines, titled “Be the Change: Designing Transformative Justpeace through the Power of Nonviolence (BTC)” and “Human Centered Security: Reimagining Conflict Stakeholder Relationships (HCS).” Each weeklong course had 16 participants; most came from the Asia/Pacific region.

 

Carl Strikwerda, College president and professor of history, had a review essay “Too Much of a Good Thing? Consumption, Consumerism and Consumer Cooperation in Modern History” published in the International Review of Social History, 63 (April, 2018), pp. 127-142.

 

Mark Stuckey, professor of physics; Timothy McDevitt, professor of mathematics; Michael Silberstein, professor of philosophy, and Alex Sten ’17 wrote a paper that received honorable mention in the prestigious Gravity Research Foundation 2018 Awards for Essays on Gravitation. The paper, “Could GR Contextuality Resolve the Missing Mass Problem?,” will now be considered for publication in the International Journal of Modern Physics D.

 

Nobuaki Takahashi, associate professor of Japanese and Asian studies in the Department of Modern Languages, presented his paper, “Using Digital Storytelling as an Assessment Tool for Intercultural Competence After Study Abroad,” at the 24th Princeton University Japanese Pedagogy Forum on May 12. It was published in the proceedings.

 

STUDENTS

Brian Stottler ’18, math and computer science major, won a first-place prize of $250 in the second-annual data-modeling contest sponsored by the College’s Data Analytics Center. Tim White ’19, actuarial science major, won a second place prize of $150 and Melissa Spencer ’19, English major, won the third place prize of $100.

 

The following faculty members, recent graduates and current students, from the Department of Occupational Therapy, attended and presented various posters and sessions at the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, in April.

  • Kerri Hample, OTD, OTR/L presented the poster, “Using Food to Energize Your Health and Practice: The Importance of Understanding Real Food as an Occupational Therapist.”
  • Elise Starkey MS’17, OTR/L; Adelyn Enders MS’17, OTR/L, and Megan Ziff MS’17, OTR/L, presented the poster, “Decision Making in the Occupational Therapy Evaluation Process: A Grounded Theory Study.” Contributing author and faculty mentor was Judy Beck Ericksen Ph.D., OTR/L.
  • Current OT graduate student Jennifer Newman ’17 presented the poster “Interdisciplinary Collaboration to Develop a Walker Attachment To Increase Stabilization and Reduce the Risk of Falls in the Elderly Population.” Ericksen was a contributing author and faculty mentor.
  • Hample, Rachel Engelhardt MS’17, OTR/L; Markia Johnson MS’17, OT, and Angela Meyers MS’17, OTR/L, presented the poster “Living With a Child Who Has Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: What Do Parents Think?”
  • Katelyn Guilfoy MS’17, OTR/L; Mikayla Kemmerly MS’17, OTR/L, and Carly Mutter MS’17, OTR/L, presented the poster “Brain-Body Center Sensory Scales: An Innovative Approach To Measuring Sensory Patterns Among Pediatric Populations.” Contributing author and faculty mentor was Nancy Carlson Ph.D., OTR/L
  • Ann Marie Potter Ph.D., OTR/L; Jaime Deisher MS’17, OTR/L; Emily Good MS’17, OTR/L, and Rachel Sassaman MS’17, OTR/L, presented the research poster “Occupation-Based Coaching for Commercial Truck Drivers: A Pilot Study.”
  • Hample, Kelly Mahler MS, OTR/L, adjunct faculty; Adam Amspacher MS’17, OTR/L; Elizabeth Niehaus MS’17, OTR/L, and Alyssa Rea MS ’17, OTR/L, conducted a workshop, titled “Interoception: Define It, Assess It, Practical Strategies To Improve It, Document It, and Implications for Self-Regulation.”

 

Economics majors Dannielle Kerstetter ’19 and Nicholas Lecastas ’21 were recently published in the WACH Journal of International Thought Global Economics Edition, Vol 9, Spring 2018. Kerstetter’s piece is titled “Childcare in Europe and the U.S.;” Lecastas piece is “Economics of Disaster Relief.”

E-town NOW publishes achievements of our faculty and staff members once per month during academic semesters and less frequently during breaks.  Submit your achievement here.