Summer Professional Notes: Staff and Faculty Edition
05/29/2019
A round-up of awards, presentations, papers and the other professional achievements of SLU faculty, staff and students.
Faculty and Staff
Community Service
Members of SLU's TRIO Talent Search program and the Department of Public Safety (DPS) taught a R.A.D. Basic Self Defense course for the Gateway High School cheerleading team and the team's mentor, Chaquill Merriweather, on Saturday, April 24.
SLU staff member Marlene Wu helped organize the course, which was led by members of DPS.
Awards
Marla Berg-Weger, Ph.D., professor at the School of Social Work in the College for Public Health and Social Justice, received the 2019 Harvey A. and Dorismae Hacker Friedman Award earlier this semester.
She received the award for excellence in service to older adults.
Berg-Weger is also the executive director of Gateway Geriatric Education Center and a Gerontological Society of America Fellow.
The Student Government Association (SGA) hosted the 2019 SGA Faculty Excellence Awards on Tuesday, April 30. Each year, the Student Government Association hosts the Faculty Excellence Awards to recognize distinguished faculty members.
The awards also include the Fr. James Veltrie, S.J. Cura Personalis Faculty Excellence Award and the Excellence in Diversity and Social Justice Faculty Excellence Award.
All members of the University community were invited to nominate a faculty member for the award. A committee of students chose 10 faculty members to be honored.
Award Winners
Fr. James Veltrie, S.J. Cura Personalis Faculty Excellence Award
- >David Meconi, S.J., College of Arts and Sciences
Excellence in Diversity and Social Justice Faculty Excellence Award
- Selena Washington, Ph.D., Doisy College of Health Sciences
Faculty Excellence Award
- Kevin Syberg, Dr.P.H., College of Public Health and Social Justice
- Elaina Osterbur, Ph.D., Doisy College of Health Sciences
- Elena Bray Speth, Ph.D., College of Arts and Sciences
- Nil Santiáñez, Ph.D., College of Arts and Sciences
- Lisa Gladson, Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business
- Jalil Kianfar, Ph.D., Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology
- Christina Rariden, D.N.P., School of Nursing
- Amy Cooper, Ph.D., College of Arts and Sciences
Openings
The exhibit, #archcityreligion: Photographs from Religion in the Midwest by Lauren Pond, opened on Wednesday, May 1, inaugurating the newly-designated Adorjan Humanities Gallery.
The photography of Lived Religion in the Digital Age Artist-in-Residence Lauren Pond explores the richness on the peripheries of American religion and, in so doing, breaks down the politics of difference so often wielded to deflect real, sustained attention to marginalized people, places and practices.
As part of her residency, Pond came to SLU in January 2019 to share her expertise and experience with several theology courses. She invited students into conversations around ethics and practices of photographing religion. As part of their coursework, many of these students then produced their own photographs of religion in St. Louis and around the world.
This exhibit features selections from Lauren’s broader project, Religion in the Midwest, alongside photographs by five SLU undergraduates chosen by their classmates Joanne Lim, Abraham Park, Vivian Phan, Allyson Prybl and Shannon Sabol.
Performances
SLU-Madrid dance professor Yolanda Granado developed original choreographies and performed in Leonardo Vinci’s opera La Partenope in Vallodolid’s Teatro Calderón. A tribute to the late Spanish-Argentine director and playwright Gustavo Tambascio, this interpretation recalled the performance he directed in León 10 years ago.
Granado performed her own original choreographies alongside seven other dancers, and was responsible for ensuring that the opera singers accompanied their vocal performance with the appropriate body and gestural language to communicate the expression of emotions as seen in Baroque opera.
Studies
Robert M. Lewis, an assistant professor of urban planning and development, is launching a six-month study into how public transportation affects the economies of the St. Louis metro area and Missouri.
His research will help quantify the impact public transportation has on urban, suburban and rural communities statewide. Lewis' study will define the current public transportation landscape, rider demographics and spending by transit agencies across the state.
Lewis’ research is commissioned by the Citizens for Modern Transit, in partnership with the Missouri Public Transit Association and AARP St. Louis.
Summits
Faculty and staff volunteers gathered to exchange ideas on the craft of teaching at SLU-Madrid’s fourth annual Teaching Summit. The summit concept is built around 10 to 20-minute presentations by faculty from across various academic disciplines and focuses on diverse topics of pedagogy.
This year’s participants included Daniel Chornet, Ph.D., communication program director; Anne D. Dewey, Ph.D., English program director; Sulma Farfan, Ph.D., advisor of educational technology and assessment; Marjory Hutchison, professor emeritus of English and communication; Chiara Luis, Ph.D., professor of English and ESL; Fairouz Medjahed, Ph.D., director of information technology systems; Carlos Segovia, Ph.D., professor of philosophy; Rosana Vivar, Ph.D., professor of communication; and Brian M. Goss, Ph.D.
Additional faculty in attendance took part by posing questions and offering comments,
including Marta Moreno, Ph.D., professor of mathematics.
Professional Notes will be on hiatus for the summer, and will be published again in
August. Please submit awards, publications and other notable achievements through
the Newslink submission form, and send photos to newslink@slu.edu.