Dr. Lindenmeyr Named Graduate DeanAdele Lindenmeyr, Ph.D., a professor of history and formerdepartment chairperson and graduate program director,has been named dean of Graduate Studies in the Collegeof Liberal Arts and Sciences. Dr. Lindenmeyr will succeedGerald Long, Ph.D., who is stepping down from his currentposition in August 2009.

She graduated magna cum laude from theUniversityof Pennsylvania with a bachelor of arts in Russian in 1971and earned her doctorate in history at Princeton in 1980.She taught at PrincetonUniversity, Rutgers Universityand CarnegieMellonUniversity before joining Villanovaas an assistant professor of history in 1987. Dr. Lindenmeyrwas named an associate professor in 1992 and full professorin 1999.

Dr. Lindenmeyr looks forward to her new role as deanof graduate studies in the College. “My experience withthe history graduate program, which is one of the oldestand largest graduate programs, helps me understand themain issues every program deals with, such as recruitment,maintaining academic rigor, and adapting to changes in thedisciplines and the work force,” she shared. “I am also veryaware that my familiarity with the history program does notmean that I understand them all. Our graduate programsare many and diverse, and one of my first priorities in thenew position will be to learn as much as I can about howeach one operates, and the students they attract.”

With a lifelong passion for Russian history and culture,Dr. Lindenmeyr has published two books, over 18professional articles andmade many presentations in theUnited States and internationally. She has received numerousgrants and awards, and has been recognized three times byThe Association for Women in Slavic Studies, including theHeldt Prize for Best Book Published by a Woman in SlavicStudies for “Poverty is Not a Vice: Charity, Society and theState in Imperial Russia,” and in 2003 with the organization’sOutstanding Achievement Award.

While she will not teach during the first year in her newrole, Dr. Lindenmeyr looks forward to getting back to theclassroom in subsequent years, and to continuing her writingand research. “With the support of a fellowship from theNational Endowment for theHumanities this year, I am

finishing a book entitled “Citizen Countess: The Lives ofSofia Panina, 1871 – 1956,” a biography of a prominentRussian philanthropist who became the first woman inhistory to occupy a government ministerial position in 1917,during the Russian Revolution. I hope to have that bookpublished within the next year or two,” she shared. “I amalso part of the international editorial team of a collaborativeproject called ‘Russia’s Great War and Revolution, 1914 –1922: The Centennial Re-appraisal,’ which aims to publisha multi-volume scholarly and popular series on Russia’sEastern front and the revolutions of 1917 in time for the100th anniversary of those tragic and world-altering events.”

Dr. Lindenmeyr believes the quality of faculty is the mainreason for Villanova’s success in the graduate programs.“Villanova faculty are pioneering researchers and superbscholars in their respective fields, as well as dedicatedteachers. They are the greatest asset our graduate programshave, and the main reason we enjoy a high reputation forour academic standards in the region and nationally. One ofthe main priorities of the graduate dean is to help programsmaintain high standards while attracting a healthy poolof high-quality applicants.”

June 2009 | Volume Forty-Eight, Issue Three

A newsletter by and for the graduate programs of Liberal Arts & Sciences

GRADUATE LIBERALARTS & SCIENCES NEWS

In this Issue:

Highlight: Classical Studies 2Highlight: Biology 4Department & Faculty News 6Faculty Profiles 9Student News 10Theses & Dissertations 11Student Profiles 13

Dr. Lindenmeyr sitting high above Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg, Russia,in September of 2008.

Highlight:

CLASSICAL STUDIES“Changes of Form, New Shapes”Enhance Classics ProgramThis YearThis spring’s hit campus production ofa play based onOvid’s “Metamorphoses”epitomized the dramatic changesundergone this year in the classicsprogram. In a year characterized bythe Roman poet’s theme of “changesof form, new shapes,” the programwelcomed a new chair, a new directorof Graduate Studies, two new classicsprofessors, and three new affiliated

faculty to its ranks. The additionalfaculty broadened the program’s rangeof offerings to include such fields asancient history and philosophy, classicalpolitical thought, and Greek and Romanarchaeology. Plans are also underway toteach Greek literature more regularly, tooffer students more experience honingtheir research and writing skills, and tocreate stronger bonds between the

graduate and undergraduate classicsprograms.

The graduate program is proud toannounce that three students graduatedthis spring: Joanna Johnson; LauraMalone, the first student enrolled inthe five-year Bachelor/Master’s degreeprogram; and Stephen Parker, whopassed his comprehensive exams withHonors. These students completed theHerculean task of taking three three-hour exams in Latin translation, thehistory of Latin literature, and Roman

history! To aid them in their labors, theywere given a list of topics and texts tostudy that will be distributed to otherstudents this summer. Parker, a full-timeeditor, expressed his appreciation for theopportunity to take evening classes withpassionate, knowledgeable professors, asentiment shared by his colleagues JamesFiorile and Edward Turner, who are full-time teachers.

Two new five-year B.A./M.A. students,William Blubaugh and Rhodes Pinto,will be starting the program this fall.

The year began with two eventsthat not only brought the entire classicsprogram together but also attractedthe attention of the entire Universitycommunity. The first was a receptionattended by graduate and undergraduatestudents, faculty, andUniversityadministrators (see photo on page 3).The second was a public reading ofHomer’s “Odyssey,” which was attendedby hundreds of people in the course ofa fifteen-hour marathon! (For details,see theNovember –December 2008newsletter.)

A New Chair and Two NewProfessors Join the ProgramKevin Hughes, Ph.D., succeeded ThomasSmith, Ph.D., as chair of theHumanitiesDepartment and Classics Program,whenDr. Smith became associate deanfor Humanities in the College of Artsand Sciences. Dr. Hughes, who has beenteaching at Villanova since 1997, is alsoan associate professor of Theology andReligious Studies specializing in LateAntique andMedieval Latin Literature.He is the author of “ConstructingAntichrist: Paul, Biblical Commentary,and the Development of Doctrine in theEarlyMiddle Ages” (Catholic Universityof America Press, 2005).

Gary Meltzer, Ph.D., who has beenteaching at Villanova since 2005,became the new director of GraduateStudies and associate professor ofClassics. The author of “Euripides andthe Poetics of Nostalgia” (CambridgeUniversity Press, 2006), he taught agraduate seminar on Euripides last falland will be offering one onHomer nextfall. He is currently working on a secondbook about the relevance of the classicsto contemporary life. This springDr.Meltzer took a group of students

From left to right: Graduate students Steven Ciprani, Stephen McGrath, and Thomas Di Giulio visit withpreeminent Latinist Dr. Denis Feeney (center) at a tea hosted by Dr. David Califf (far right).

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to the University of Pennsylvania to heara lecture on ancient magic.

Valentina DeNardis, Ph.D., assistantprofessor of Classics, specializes in LatinPoetry and Greek and RomanMaterialCulture. This year she delivered a paperon ancient astronomy in Glasgow,Scotland and has another paperforthcoming in “Jesuit Educationand the Classics” (Cambridge ScholarsPublishing, 2009). Dr. DeNardis, whois looking forward to teaching Romanelegy and classical archaeology in theprogram, is also organizing a meetingof the Pennsylvania ClassicalAssociation to take place at Villanovain February 2010.

New Affiliate Faculty MembersChristopher Haas, Ph.D., associateprofessor of History and ClassicalStudies, specializes in ancient history,late antiquity, and early Christianity. Theauthor of “Alexandria in Late Antiquity:Topography and Social Conflict” (JohnsHopkins University Press, 1997), Dr.Haas taught a course on Late Antiquitythat proved popular with this year’scohort of classicists.

Mark Shiffman, Ph.D., assistantprofessor of Humanities, specializes inGreek philosophy and political theory.His translation of Aristotle’s “On theSoul” is forthcoming with Focus Press.He is currently working on a book onPlutarch’s political philosophy, a topicon which he published an article in thejournal Perspectives on Political Science.

Thomas Smith, Ph.D., associate deanfor Humanities and associate professorof Political Science, specializes inClassical Political Thought. He haspublished a book, “Revaluing Ethics”(SUNYPress, 2001), as well asnumerous articles on the politicaltheory of Plato, Aristotle and Augustine.Dr. Smith has won several awards fordistinguished teaching at Villanova.

Two longtime Villanova classicsinstructors continued to provideyeoman duty to the program, enhancingstudents’ educational experience bothin and outside of the classroom:

David Califf, Ph.D., who taught LatinProse Composition this spring, invitedhis class to attend a tea he hosted inhonor of Denis Feeney, Ph.D., GigerProfessor of Latin and chair of Classicsat PrincetonUniversity. Dr. Feeney, apreeminent scholar of Latin poetry,spoke with graduate students StevenCiprani, Thomas Di Giulio, andStephenMcGrath about bothacademic and professional matters(see photo on page 2).

James Finn, Ph.D., who taughtRomanHistory, Comedy, and LyricPoetry this year, will be presenting apaper on Cicero at the June meetingof the American Classical League inLos Angeles: “Cicero, Matius, andthe Ides ofMarch.” An inveterateCiceronian, he is looking forward toteaching a course on Latin RhetoricalWorks in the fall.

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For additional information aboutthe Classics program please visitwww.villanova.edu/artsci/classical

In Memoriam: John M. HuntSadly, the beginning of the academicyear also saw the untimely death ofJohnM.Hunt, Ph.D., a member of theVillanova faculty for nearly forty yearsand a renowned textual critic of Latinliterature. Dr. Hunt served for severalyears as chair of Classical Studiesbefore becoming director of GraduateStudies in 1997, a position he helduntil shortly before his death onOctober 8, 2008. He inspired manystudents with his passionatecommitment to the field and hispersonal concern for their progress.Amemorial service was held for himat the Corr Chapel onNovember 18.

Graduate students StevenCiprani (on left) and DavidTrachtenberg at the fallgraduate school reception.

Highlight:

GRADUATE BIOLOGY

Like the discipline itself, Villanova’sdepartment of Biology is dynamic—growing and changing to incorporate thelatest advances in all areas of the lifesciences. Through its researchopportunities and degree and certificateprograms, the department of Biologyprovides graduate training across thebroad spectrum of the biologicalsciences. The 25 faculty members andpostdoctoral fellows in the departmentinteract with about 50 graduate studentsin the classroom and lab every semester.The department offers both master ofarts andmaster of science degrees, as

well as several certificate programs inthe broad areas of Cell, Molecular, andDevelopmental Biology and Ecology,Evolution, andOrganismal Biology. Inaddition, the combined B.S./M.S.program in Biology offers a research-intensive course of study for highlymotivated incoming undergraduateswho wish to complete both degrees injust five years.

Success of Our GraduatesMore than 50 students have earnedtheir master’s degree in Biology over thelast five years, about half through theresearch-intensive master of science

program. A large number of both full-and part-time graduate students areactively engaged in thesis research.Graduates regularly go on to positions ofprominence in their discipline, oftenpursuing research careers in academia orindustry. Former students includePatriciaMelloy, M.S. 1997, whocompleted her doctorate at theUniversity of Pennsylvania andpostdoctoral training at PrincetonUniversity and has now taken a facultyposition in Biology at FarleighDickinsonUniversity; and LesleyBechtold, M.S. 1996, who is now the

Dr. Samantha Chapman examines mangrove biodiversity at Twin Cays, a group of small islands near the crest of the barrier reef of Belize, Central America.

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manager of theHistopathology andMicroscopy Center at The JacksonLaboratory in BarHarbor, Maine.

New Faculty ResearchVillanova Biology faculty are theepitome of teacher-scholars, performingcutting-edge research that involvesstudents and brings currency to theclassroom. Recently hired faculty bringnew areas of research interest andexpertise to campus.

Dennis Wykoff, Ph.D., a moleculargeneticist, joined the faculty in fall2006. He received his doctorate atStanfordUniversity and was apostdoctoral fellow at the University ofCalifornia, San Francisco andHarvardUniversity before arriving at Villanova.In 2008, he received a major three-yeargrant from theNational ScienceFoundation entitled “Evolution of thephosphate starvation response in yeasts.”This grant funds Dr. Wykoff andstudents in their investigations of how asimple response to phosphate starvationhas changed in yeast species that lastshared a common ancestor more than100million years ago. This basicresearch should help us to understandhow different species tailor their geneticcomposition to their specificenvironment.

Samantha Chapman, Ph.D., is anecosystem ecologist who does researchin tropical and temperate naturalecosystems andmanagedagroecosystems. Dr. Chapman receivedher doctorate fromNorthern ArizonaUniversity and did a postdoctoralfellowship at the SmithsonianEnvironmental Research Center,arriving at Villanova in fall 2007. Hercurrent research in mangroveecosystems and Southern Appalachianforests focuses on how plant biodiversityand landmanagement influenceecosystem services such as carbon andnutrient cycling. She mentors graduate

and undergraduate students working ona wide range of research projects such asinvestigating the impacts of biodiversityon invasive species and examining themigration of plant species in response toclimate change.

James W. Wilson, Ph.D., joined theBiology department in the summer of2008. He obtained his doctorate fromColumbia University in the departmentofMicrobiology and performedpostdoctoral research at Yale University,Tulane University and Arizona StateUniversity. Dr. Wilson’s teaching andresearch interests focus onmicrobiologyand bacterial engineering, includingextensive work with the humangastrointestinal pathogen Salmonellatyphimurium. He has been involved withnumerous experimental payloads aboardNASA Space Shuttle missions and hasexamined the effect of spaceflight on theability of bacteria to cause disease andalter their gene expression. Thesestudies identified a set of previouslyuncharacterized transcriptionalregulators that could serve as targets forantibacterial therapies and bacterialgenetic manipulation strategies.

News from BiologyIn 2008, Aaron M. Bauer, Ph.D., wasnamed as the inaugural holder of theGeraldM. LemoleM.D. Chair inIntegrative Biology, Villanova’s firstendowed chair in the sciences. In thiscapacity Dr. Bauer will work to fosterexcellence in teaching and research inBiology and to increase interdisciplinaryinteractions with the liberal arts,promoting both science literacy forhumanists and ethically and sociallyresponsible inquisition for scientists.

Faculty members and graduatestudents from the department ofBiology will be actively involved in the127th annual meeting of the AmericanOrnithologists’ Union (AOU). TheAOU is the largest Western

Hemisphere professional organizationfor the scientific study of birds andmorethan 700 ornithologists are expected toattend. The conference will take placeAugust 12 – 15, 2009 on the campus ofthe University of Pennsylvania, withVillanova acting as an official co-host.Villanova is specifically sponsoring aspecial poster session (for posters bymore junior students) and one of thekeynote speakers. Villanova’s RobertCurry, Ph.D., is the chair of theCommittee on Local Arrangements forthe meeting. Biology faculty membersJohn Olson, Ph.D., and Susan Smith,Ph.D., and graduate students StephanieWright, JenMortensen, Wendy Lenhartand Josh LaPergola, are members of theLocal Committee. Villanova faculty andstudents will also participate in thescientific program, presenting resultsof ongoing research. The conferenceweb site iswww.birdmeetings.org/aou2009.

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For additional information about theBiology program please visitwww.gradbiology.villanova.edu

Dr. James Wilson’s experiments on the effect ofspaceflight on bacterial gene expression andvirulence are carried aboard the Space Shuttle.Photo courtesy of NASA.

Graduate Liberal Arts & Sciences

DEPARTMENT & FACULTY NEWSBiologyAaron M. Bauer, Ph.D., published thepapers “Geckos in traditional medicine— forensic implications” in AppliedHerpetology 6:81–96, and “A new live-bearing species of scincid lizard(Reptilia: Scincidae) fromNewCaledonia, Southwest Pacific” inPacific Science 63:123–136.Robert Curry, Ph.D., was electedsecond vice-president of the WilsonOrnithological Society (WOS) at the2009 JointMeeting of the WilsonOrnithological Society and theAssociation of FieldOrnithologists,which took place in Pittsburgh in April2009. This two-year position willlead to Dr. Curry serving as presidentof WOS in 2013-2015. Dr. Currypresented a contributed oral paper atthe meeting entitled “Patterns of nataldispersal in a hybridizing chickadeepopulation.”Adam Langley, Ph.D., a research assistantprofessor in Biology, published a paperin the Proceedings of theNationalAcademy of Sciences entitled “ElevatedCO2 stimulates marsh elevation gain,counterbalancing sea-level rise.”Mary E. Desmond, Ph. D., recentlypublished two articles on brain growthin vertebrates. She co-authored areview paper with Angel Gato at theUniversidad de Valladolid, Valladolid,Espana on “E-CSF and theNeuroepithelium: InterdependentRegulators of Embryonic Brain Growth,Morphogenesis andHistiogenesis”in Developmental Biology. She alsocoauthored a paper withMichaelL. Levitan, Ph.D., of Villanova’sdepartment ofMathematical Scienceson: “Expansion of theHumanEmbryonic Brain during Rapid Growth:Area Analysis” in the Anatomical Record:Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology.Dr. Desmond spoke in June 2008 about

her research to the graduate students ofthe Neuroscience Program at theUniversidad de Salamanca, Salamanca,Espana. The title of her presentationwas “Fluid Pressure Drives EmbryonicBrain Growth.” While in Spain, shespent two weeks at theMedical Schoolof Valladolid initiating new researchwith Professor Gato on analyzingventricular pressure of the developingmouse embryo.

Education & Human ServicesRay Heitzmann, Ph.D., received theTwenty-fifth Anniversary Award fromtheNational Social Science Association(NSSA) at its Annual Conference. Theaward was given for his publications,professional conference presentations,mentoring students and generalcollegiality within the Association.Two of Dr. Heitzmann’s students havewon the organization’s graduate studentessay contest and were published in theorganization’s peer reviewed journal.Heitzmann said, “I enjoy being part ofNSSA’s commitment to excellence inpedagogy and research.” Dr. Jerry Baydo,executive director of the association,thankedDr. Heitzmann for his valuablework for social science education overthe years.

EnglishJill Rappoport, Ph.D., has been grantedtheMonticello College FoundationFellowship at theNewberry Library for2009 – 10. This summer she will alsoreceive a Summer Research Fellowshipand a Research Support Grant fromVillanova’s Office of Research andSponsored Projects.Megan Quigley, Ph.D., presented an earlydraft of an essay on “IrishModernism”for a forthcoming book collection atthe American Comparative LiteratureAssociation meeting at HarvardUniversity inMarch 2009.

Hispanic StudiesSilvia Nagy-Zekmi, Ph.D., published abook chapter entitled, “The Border: ASpace of Shifting Identities” in “Ethno-Kulturelle Begegnungen inMittel- undOsteuropa,” edited by ErikaHammerand Laszlo Kupa. ‘Llamas que hablan’:Representaciones neoindigenistasdel niño enmedio de la violencia”in “La presencia del niño en lasliteraturas en lengua española,”edited by László Scholz and GabriellaMenczel. Proceedings of the ColoquioInternacional de Estudios Hispánicos.Budapest; and “Prólogo” Jorge Barrueto:In “Cine latinoamericano: género, razae ideología.” She also had an article,“Nuestro norte es el sur”: articulacionesde identidad latinoamericana en lapost/colonia,” published in 2008 inDiálogo Andino.Carlos Trujillo, Ph.D., director of thegraduate program, was one of seventeenpoets from around the world invitedby the Foundation Casa de Poesía ofCosta Rica, to participate in the IIInternational Festival of Poetry of CostaRica inMay 2009. Poets will present inin several cities of this Central Americancountry and will also be offering literaryworkshops and recitals at universities,schools, prisons and hospitals. Dr.Trujillo’s new poetry book, entitled“Texto sobre Texto,” was published bythe Universidad de Costa Rica and willbe distributed in all universities andschools of Costa Rica and other CentralAmerican countries. Dr. Trujillo alsotraveled to Chile inMay 2009, whereIsla Grande Editorial is publishinganother collection of his poems entitled“LaMaratón de los Poetas.”

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HistoryHolly Sanders, Ph.D., chaired a sessionfor the “Wives, Concubines, Courtesans,andNuns: EarlyModern JapaneseWomen Symposium” at the Universityof Pennsylvania in April 2009. In spring2008, Dr. Sanders gave the invitedlecture “Prostitution inOccupied Japan”at the University of Pennsylvania’sCenter for East Asian Studies.Judith Giesberg, Ph.D., presented thetalk “Lincoln and the Widow Bixby”at the Township Library of LowerSouthampton in Feasterville inMarch2009 as part of the PennsylvaniaHumanities Council’s CommonwealthSpeakers Bureau.InOctober 2008, Timothy McCall,Ph.D., presented the paper “VisualImagery andHistorical Invisibility:Antonia Torelli, HerHusband, andHisMistress in Fifteenth-Century Parma”at the “Sixteenth Century Society andConference,” St. Louis, Miss. He gavean invited lecture inNovember 2008entitled “TheMistress of TorrechiaraCastle: Bianca Pellegrini, biancapellegrina” atMoore College of ArtandDesign, Philadelphia. In February2009, Dr.McCall gave a paper entitled“The SignoreHidden and Revealed:the Intarsia Coretto of PierMariaRossi of Parma” at the “TheHiddenand the Revealed inMedieval and EarlyModern Culture” conference at RiderUniversity; co-organized a sessionentitled “The Secret Spaces of EarlyModern Europe” at the College ArtAssociation Conference in Los Angeles;and co-organized a related symposiumof the same title, sponsored by theEarlyModern Studies Institute of theHuntington Library and the Universityof Southern California. Dr.McCall alsogave an invited lecture entitled “TheCamera d’Oro and Courtly Interiors

in Fifteenth-Century Italy” inMarch2009 at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa.Paul Steege, Ph.D., presented the essay“Ordinary Violence on an ExtraordinaryStage: Incidents on the Sector Border inPostwar Berlin” as part of the“Performing Violence” conference atAmherst College in February 2009.Lynne Hartnett, Ph.D., was selected as asemi-finalist for the Lindback Award forTeaching Excellence this spring. Inaddition to her teaching duties, Dr.Hartnett is currently serving as thedirector of Villanova’s Russian AreaStudies program. InNovember 2008,she presented the paper “The Venus ofthe Revolution: The Interplay ofGender and Terrorism in the Life ofVera Figner” at the Annual Conventionof the American Association for theAdvancement of Slavic Studies.Charlene Mires, Ph.D., participated in aroundtable on public history teachingand presented the paper, “AmericanHistoric Places, the UnitedNations, andthe World” at the annual meeting of the“National Conference on PublicHistory” in Providence, R.I. in April2008. She also served as co-organizer ofa “Civic Partnership and Planning”workshop for the creation of anEncyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia attheHistorical Society of Pennsylvania.Rebecca Winer, Ph.D., had an articleentitled “Conscripting the Breast:Lactation, Slavery, and Salvation in theRealms of the Crown of Aragon andKingdom ofMajorca, c. 1250 – 1300,” inthe Journal of Medieval History (Summer2008). The article won the Best ArticlePrize of the Society forMedievalFeminist Scholarship. Dr. Winerattended the InternationalMedievalCongress in Kalamazoo,Mich., to acceptthe award inMay 2009. Dr. Winer gavethe keynote address entitled “Marriage,

the Family and the Family Business:Links Between the Jews ofMedievalPerpignan and Girona” at “The Timesand Places of Jewish Girona”international conference at the Institutd’EStudis Nahmanides in Girona, SpaininMarch 2009. The conference wassponsored by the Spanish Government,in particular by the Foundation thatMaintains the Restored JewishQuarterin the City, the “Patronat Call deGirona.”

Mathematical SciencesDavid Sprows, Ph.D., has an articleentitled “Constructing Easily IteratedFunctions with Interesting Properties”appearing in the current issue of theInternational Journal of MathematicalEducation in Science and Technology.

PsychologyMichael Brown, Ph.D., coauthored apaper published in the most recent issueof Psychonomic Bulletin and Review entitled“Facilitation of learning spatial relationsamong locations by visual cues:Implications for theoretical accounts ofspatial learning”. Principal author of thatpaper was Bradley Sturz, Ph.D., whodid postdoctoral research in Dr. Brown’slaboratory before moving to ArmstrongAtlantic State University. The paperwas also co-authored by Debbie Kelly,Ph.D., of the University ofSaskatchewan. Dr. Brown presenteda paper at the recent meeting of theEastern Psychological Associationentitled “Social influences on spatialchoice in rats” and authored orcoauthored three presentations at therecent International Conference onComparative Cognition inMelborneBeach, Fla.Nicole Else-Quest, Ph.D., published anarticle in the journal Psychology and Healthentitled “Perceived stigma, self-blame,

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continued on page 8

Graduate Liberal Arts & Sciences

DEPARTMENT & FACULTY NEWS continued

and adjustment in lung, breast, andprostate cancer patients.” The coauthorsof the article were Noelle LoConte andJanet Hyde of the University ofWisconsin atMadison, and Joan Schillerof the University of Texas, SouthwesternMedical Center. A related articlecoauthored by Dr. Else-Quest alsoappeared inClinical Lung Cancer in 2008.Charles Folk, Ph.D., recently published apaper in the journal Attention, Perception,and Psychophysics entitled “Additivity ofabrupt onset effects supports non-spatial distractionNOT the capture ofspatial attention.” The paper wascoauthored by Shu-Chei Wu ofNASAAmes Research Center and RogerRemington of the University ofQueensland.

Irene Kan, Ph.D., presented a posterentitled, “Memory monitoring failuresin confabulation: Evidence from thesemantic illusion paradigm” at theCognitive Neuroscience Society AnnualMeeting in San Francisco, Ca. This workwas done in collaboration withMiekeVerfaellie, Ph.D., and Karen Fossum,B.S., at theMemory Disorders ResearchCenter, VA BostonHealthcare System,and withH. Branch Coslett, M.D. at theDepartment of Neurology, Hospital atthe University of Pennsylvania.

Public AdministrationChristine Palus, Ph.D., delivered theAlan Katz Lecture at Fairfield Universityin Connecticut, her undergraduate almamater, in April 2009 to the inductees of

Pi Sigma Alpha, the political sciencehonor society.Craig Wheeland, Ph.D., CatherineWilson, Ph.D., andDr. Palus led aworkshop for The Association forPennsylvaniaMunicipalManagementand TheNew JerseyMunicipalManagement Association’s AnnualManagers Conference inMay 2009,CapeMay, N.J. The title of theirpresentation was “Fostering theCommonGood in Council DecisionMaking.” Dr. Wheeland also coauthoredwith Larry Comunale, Lower GwyneddTownshipManager, a case study called“Managing Without Fear or Favor.” Thecase appears in the third edition (2008)ofManaging Local Government: Cases inEffectiveness edited by CharldeanNewell.The book is publishedby the International

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TheHispanic Studies division of theDepartment ofModern Languages andLiteratures hosted two poetry recitals inSpanish; the first on February 16, 2009,and the other onMarch 16, 2009. Bothevents took place in the Fray Luis deLeón Room of Villanova’s SaintAugustine Center. Fray Luis de León, inaddition to being a recognized asceticand theologian of the AugustinianOrder, is also recognized as one ofSpain’s greatest Renaissance poets. The

first event was moderated by CarlosTrujillo, Ph.D., director of the GraduateProgram inHispanic Studies, and anaccomplished poet fromChile.

The event was opened by generalintroductory remarks by Dr. Trujillo,followed by a reading of PabloNeruda’spoem “La palabra” (“The Word”). Thefirst participant to recite his poetry wasProfessor Carlos Jiménez, a recognizedpoet from Spain, and who also teachesSpanish at Villanova. Dr. Jiménez is theauthor of two collections of verses, andwhose poetic style has been associatedwith Spain’s “Poetry of Experience”trend. Following an emotional andmoving reading of several his poems,Carlos Jiménez’s recital was followedby that of Joseph Robertson.Mr.Robertson is a former student ofVillanova, having graduated with aMaster of Arts degree inHispanicStudies. Despite English beingMr.Robertson’s native language, he is anaccomplished poet in Spanish, having

authored several collections of Spanishverse. Mr. Robertson, in addition, is thefounder and director of the digitalpublishing house known asCasavaria.com. The third participant torecite his poetry was Dr. Salvatore Poeta,a faculty member in theHispanicStudies division of Villanova’sDepartment ofModern Languages andLiteratures. In addition to teachingpoetry as one of his areas of expertise(from Spain’s EarlyModern period topresent day), he has also published hisown verses in several Hispanic journals.This first recital session was closed byProfessor Roger Santiváñez, a Peruvianpoet associated with the Kloakla poeticmovement initiated in his native Peruduring the decade of the 80s.

The second poetry recital, which tookplace onMarch 16, 2009, was devotedto the verses of Chilean poets. Thisevent was moderated by CarlosYushimito, a graduate student workingtoward hisMaster of Art degree in

Poesía en Español: Two Poetry Recitals in Thirty Days

From left to right: Joseph Robertson, Carlos Trujillo,Ph.D., Rudolfo Figueroa and Salvatore Poeta, Ph.D.

continued on back page

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Graduate Liberal Arts & Sciences

FACULTY PROFILESChiji Akoma, Ph.D., an associateprofessor, joined the Englishdepartment faculty in 2001. Prior toVillanova, he taught at Loyola UniversityChicago. As an undergraduate studentof English and Literary Studies atUniversity of Calabar, in Nigeria, Dr.Akoma was introduced to literatures ofthe Black Diaspora, especially fromNorth America and the Caribbean. Hewrote his Honors thesis on language andrhetorical performances in Caribbeanliterature, a subject that he’d invariablyreturn to for his doctorate atBinghamtonUniversity—StateUniversity of NewYork. Dr. Akoma isfascinated by the creative dimensions oforality that define much of Caribbeanwriting and his book, “Folklore inNewWorld Black Writing,” not only exploresforms of speech acts and folkloreperformance, but also attempts toreconfigure oral performance aesthetics

as interpretive tool for reading keyAfro-New World writers such asToniMorrison and WilsonHarris.

Akoma teaches graduate courses onthe African novel, postcolonial studies,and African American poetics. Besideshis professional interests, Akoma passeshis time between singing and conjuringstories to perform to his three youngchildren.

Chiji Akoma, Ph.D.Associate Professor, Graduate English

Jared Joseph Paul, Ph.D., began hisfaculty appointment in the chemistrydepartment at Villanova in August2008. He earned a Bachelor of Sciencein chemistry with honors fromCanisiusCollege in Buffalo, NY in 2000.Following his undergraduate studies, Dr.Paul attended graduate school at theUniversity of North Carolina at ChapelHill under the advisement of H.HoldenThorp, Ph.D. His dissertation focusedon the development of small moleculemetal-assisted inhibitors of serineprotease enzymes. After earning hisdoctorate in inorganic chemistry in2005, he worked for three years as apost-doctoral research associate withThomas J. Meyer studying excited stateproton transfer reactions.

Dr. Paul’s research interests includethe study of proton coupled electrontransfer (PCET) reactions and solarenergy catalysis. PCET is at the heart

of many fundamental chemical reactionsof interest in chemistry and biology,including carbon dioxide reduction,water oxidation and nitrogen fixation.Dr. Paul’s lab is interested in gaininga better mechanistic understandingof the nature of PCET reactions bysynthesizing molecular systems basedon ruthenium and osmiummetalcomplexes that contain ligands capableof electron and proton transfer.Complexes of ruthenium and osmiumhave long been studied for their lightabsorption properties, long-lived excitedstates, and excited state reactivity.Coupling light absorption to catalyticcomplexes capable of PCET reactionsleads to the general design principle forartificial photosynthesis and solar energyconversion. Dr. Paul married his lovelywife, Heather, onMarch 7, 2009. Hishobbies include playing sports andwine tasting.

Jared J. Paul, Ph.D.Assistant Professor, Chemistry

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Graduate Liberal Arts & Sciences

STUDENT NEWSBiologyVillanova was well represented at the2009 JointMeeting of the WilsonOrnithological Society and theAssociation of FieldOrnithologists,which took place in Pittsburgh in April2009.M. S. student Stephanie Wrightpresented a contributed oral paperentitled “Hybrid chickadees show highersurvival than Carolina Chickadees insoutheastern Pennsylvania,” coauthoredby Dr. Curry.M.S. student Josh LaPergola presenteda contributed oral paper entitled“Natural history of the Black Catbird(Melanoptila glabrirostris) in QuintanaRoo,Mexico,” coauthored by BlancaRoldán Clarà, Juan E. Martínez-Gómez, aVillanovaM.S. graduate, andDr. Curry.CurrentM.S. student Jess Trout-Haneypresented a contributed poster entitled“Breeding biology and phenology of theBoreal Chickadee in southwesternNovaScotia,” coauthored by Dr. Curry.CurrentM.S. students Perry Wood andJesse Grismer coauthored a paper withAaron Bauer, Ph.D., entitled “Two newmontane species of Acanthosaura Gray,1831 (Squamata: Agamidae) fromPeninsularMalaysia” in Zootaxa2012:28 – 46. Dr. Bauer also coauthoreda paper with recentM.S. graduateAmanda Cotton entitled “Self-rubbingand substrate marking by the rhombicskaapsteker, Psammophylax rhombeatusrhombeatus (LINNAEUS, 1758)” inHerpetozoa 21:186 – 189.Rachel Jones, a current master’sstudent, received a Sigma Xi grant tohelp fund her research on theinteractions between native and non-native plant biodiversity.

EducationGraduate student Lea Culp andDeborahSchussler, Ph.D, presented a paperentitled, “Building Awareness ofDispositions: EnhancingMoral

Sensibilities in Teaching” at the 2009American Educational ResearchAssociation’s annual meeting in SanDiego, Ca.

HistoryM.A. student Kelly Weber served as ajudge for National History Day inPhiladelphia onMarch 11, 2009.Elliott Drago,M.A. student, has beenaccepted to the Gilder LehrmanSummer Seminar 2009 at Gettysburgcollege.

Human Resource DevelopmentGina Ligon, Ph.D., along with severalcurrent graduate students and alumnifrom theM.S. inHuman ResourcesDevelopment program, presented datafrom a large scale study done on workingand non-working mothers’ satisfactionwith the workplace. Dr. Ligon andcoauthors C. Costigan,M. Doran, L Panik,M. Curley, H. K. Osburn, andM. Horne,presented a poster “Organizationalfactors associated with job satisfactionamongmothers” to the Association ofScience 21st Annual Convention, SanFrancisco, Ca. inMay 2009; Dr. Ligonand coauthors C. Costigan, H. K. Osburn,L. Panik,M. Doran andM. Curley,presented a poster “Mothers look totheir mothers when deciding to work” tothe Association of Psychological Science21st Annual Convention, San Francisco,Ca. inMay 2009.

PhilosophyDoctoral student Geoffrey Karabinrecently published “The AnnihilativePotential of Immortality Beliefs:Examining Immortality’s Connectionwith Violence” in the Review Journal ofPolitical Philosophy (vol. 6, iss. 2). Hepresented a paper entitled “IsContemporary Thought in the‘Between’?” at the 4th Annual WestChester University Conference inJanuary 2009. He presented “IslamicSuicide Bombing and theQuestion of

Evil” at a conference entitled Evil andSuffering: Philosophical, Psychologicaland Theological Perspectives, WesleyanPhilosophical Society, inMarch 2009.He also presented a paper entitled“Islamic Suicide Bombing, Camus, andtheQuestion of Forgiveness” at aconference entitled Forgiveness –Probing the Boundaries, Inter-disciplinary.Net, inMarch 2009.Derek Aggleton, a current doctoralstudent, presented a paper entitled“Artfulness: An Ethico-aestheticDescription of Spielraum,” for theSociety for Phenomenological andExistential Philosophy (SPEP), inPittsburg, Pa., in October 2008.Current student Yong Dou (Michael)Kim, made the following conferencepresentations this year: “CanOnly aGod Save Us?: Notes on theTheologico-Political in ‘Postmodern’Politics,” at the 13th annualNortheastern Political ScienceAssociation meeting inNovember2008; “The Aesthetics of Politics:Affectivity and the Political Imaginary”at the 8th biennial Radical PhilosophyAssociation meeting inNovember2008; and “Badiou’s Challenge toFrenchMaterialism: Imagination orDialectic?” at the SPEP 2008 annualmeeting inOctober 2008.

PsychologyMatt Keller, a 2nd year student in theM.S. program, presented a posterentitled “Observe, remember, avoid?Social spatial memories in a foragingtask” at the recent InternationalConference on Comparative Cognition.The poster was co-authored byMichaelBrown, Ph.D.Mary Beth Knight-Green, Edward Lorek,Wendy Shallcross, and Tim Wifall,alumni and alumnae of theM.S.program, coauthored a paper thatappeared in a recent issue of Learning

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and Behavior. The paper reportedseveral experiments done over thecourse of three years in Dr. Brown’slaboratory.Three alumnae of theM.S. program,Melodie Fearnow-Kenney, Ph.D.,Marissa Kiepert and Amanda Terembula,published a paper entitled “The SpacingEffect of Intentional and Incidental FreeRecall by Children and Adults: Limitson the Automaticity Hypothesis” withThomas Toppino, Ph.D., in the mostrecent issue ofMemory & Cognition.Graduate student Carlie Allison wasawarded the Barbara Wall award for herpaper “Objects Lack Subjectivity: AMediationalModel of Risky Sex in

College-aged women,” which shepresented at the Elizabeth Cady StantonConference, hosted by the VillanovaUniversity Gender and Women’sStudies Program.Graduate students Carlie Allison andAmy Moors presented a postercoauthored with PatrickMarkey, PhD.,entitled “What We Want vs. What WeGet: Are We Satisfied?” at the annualconference of the Eastern PsychologicalAssociation in Pittsburgh, Pa.Thomas Toppino, Ph.D., published apaper entitled “The Spacing Effect inIntentional and Incidental Free Recallby Children and Adults: Limits on theAutomaticity Hypothesis.” The article

appeared in the most recent issue ofMemory & Cognition and was coauthoredby three graduates of theM.S. programin psychology:Melodie Fearnow-Kenny,Marissa Kiepert, and Amanda TerembulaMichael Brown, along with sevenstudent co-authors, published a paper ina recent issue of Learning and Behaviorentitled “Social working memory:Memory for another rat’s spatial choicescan increase or decrease choicetendencies”. Graduate student co-authors areMary Beth Knight-Green,Edward Lorek,Wendy Shallcross, andTim Wifall. Undergraduate student co-authors are Caroline Packard and EricShumann.

Thesis and Dissertation Listings – May 2009

Name Thesis Title Advisor(s) & Department

Brian A. Anderson Explaining Variations in theMagnitude of Attentional Capture: Dr. Charles L. Folk, PsychologyNewTests of a Two-ProcessModel

Katherine L. Andriole AMediationModel to Predict Career Choice: The Importance Dr. Nicole Else-Quest, Psychologyof Sex-Typing and Self-Efficacy

Felicia Maria Camacho The “Inter” Land:Mixing Autobiography and Sociology for a Better Dr. Heather Hicks, EnglishUnderstanding of Twenty-First CenturyMixed-Race

Asma Sana Choudhary Development as Social Transformation: Assessing the Value of Social Capital Dr. Lowell Gustafson, Political Sci.inMicrofinance and Its Role in the Success of the Grameen Bank

Joseph Christian Collins The Anthropology of Faith Following Romans 1-3 Rev. Michael J. Scanlon, O.S.A.Theology and Religious Studies

Ryan J. Corser Cursed by Knowledge in a Gambling Task: A Perspective Taking Test Dr. Diego Fernandez-DuquePsychology

Laura De Furio Milton’s Indeterminate Theodicy:Will, Grace, and Cause in Paradise Lost Dr. Lauren Shohet, English

Christopher E. Diehl Small Allies, Big Challenges: The International Politics ofMilitary Access Dr. DavidM. Barrett, Political Sci.

John E. Doherty SNAFUReconsidered: The Evolution ofWriting a TrueWar Story fromVonnegut’s Dr. Heather Hicks, EnglishSlaughterhouse Five to TimO’Brien’s “How to Tell a TrueWar Story,” andthe Blogs of The Sandbox

Ronald Eckert Community Policing as Procedural Justice: An Examination of Baltimore Residents Dr. Allison Ann PayneAfter the Implementation of a Community Policing Strategy Sociology and Criminal Justice

WilliamH. Espenshade III Notes on the Ecology of Southern African Tortoises Dr. Ronald Balsamo, Biology

Zachary Eyster Re-imagining Ethics: Re-imagining Salvation: Josef Fuchs, Fundamental Option, Dr.Mark Graham, Theologyand the Soteriological Implications Thereof

Katie A. Farina The Effects of Situational Crime Prevention on Crime and Fear Among College Dr. Allison Ann PayneCampuses and Their Students Sociology and Criminal Justice

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Graduate Liberal Arts & Sciences

STUDENT NEWS continued

Thesis and Dissertation Listings – May 2009 continued from page 11

Name Thesis Title Advisor(s) & Department

Olufunsho K. Faseyitan Investigation of an Anomalous Non-linear Decline in Tickle Sensitivity Dr. Paul E. Sheldon, Psychology

Sally Anne Groomes Collapsing the Binary: Reconsidering Faith, Feminism, and Convention in Dr.Michael Berthold, EnglishtheWorks of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps

Katherine E. Hetrick “Having It BothWays”: Navigating Terry Eagleton’s Contemporary Identities Dr. HughOrmsby-Lennon, English

Rosemarie Jefferson,M.S.B.T. The Impact of the Postmodern on the ChristianNarrative Dr. Anthony J. Godzieba, Theology

Erin K. Johnston Characterization of EPC-1/PEDF Dr. Janice Knepper, Biology

Matthew R. Keller Effects of Time Constraints on Social SpatialMemory Dr.Michael F. Brown, Psychology

ErinM. Kerrison Paradigms of Inequality: ExploringHowRace Conditions the Relationship Between Dr. Jill A. McCorkelIncome Attainment and Veteran Status Sociology and Criminal Justice

EllenMassey Boggley wollah and “Sulphur-Steams”: Colonialism in Vanity Fair and Jane Eyre Dr. Deborah Thomas, English

Kimberly McMurray But Can They Suffer?: TheMilitantWing of the Contemporary Animal Rights Dr. Lara Brown, Political Sci.Movement and Agenda-Setting in Congress

Gretchen A.Meyer Enriching Uses and Gratifications Theory: ACase Study of NFLNews Dr. Emory Woodard, Communication

Kaitlin O’Shaughnessy Redefining Organization in the 21st Century: The Communicative Constitution of a Dr.Maurice Hall, CommunicationChildren’sMinistry SocialMovement Organization

Clyde Hosea Ray Rhetoric’s Reward: How liberals might read the Gorgias (again) Dr. William B. Allen, Political Sci.

Sue Schlossman Does the Relationship Between Poverty andHomicide Vary by Region? Testing Dr. Lance Hannonthe Southern Subculture of Violence Thesis with Recent City-level Data Sociology and Criminal Justice

Daniel Christopher Singles Words areWeapons: Boast and Anti-Boast in the Poetic Feuds of Beowulf, Dr. Lauren Shohet, EnglishAlexander Pope, and Twenty-First Century Battle Rap

Ryan Arthur Sowers ABiomimetic Approach to the Synthesis of Sarcoglane Dr. Eduard G. Casillas, Chemistry

MatthewD. Wood Impact of Strength- Versus Problem-Focus in the Revision of Creative Ideas Dr. Ginamarie Ligon, Psychology

Anne N. Vecchione The End of theWorld asWeKnow It: Curing Disability and Recovering from Dr. Heather Hicks, EnglishVictimization inMargaret Atwood’s Novels

Name Dissertation Title Advisor(s) & Department

Andrew Alexander Davis LivingMethod: From the Regulative to the Constitutive Idea inHegel’s Logic Dr. Walter A. Brogan, Philosophy

Edward P. Kazarian The Science of Events: Deleuze and Psychoanalysis Dr. JohnM. Carvalho, Philosophy

P. Taylor Trussell TheGift of Power: Foucault, Derrida, andNormalization Dr. JohnM. Carvalho, Philosophy

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Graduate Liberal Arts & Sciences

STUDENT PROFILESLieutenantMargaret Kennedygraduated from theUnited StatesCoast Guard Academy in 2003 witha Bachelor of Science in marine andenvironmental science. She served asdeck watch officer on the Coast GuardCutter ASPEN in San Francisco,California from 2003 to 2005 and asexecutive officer of the Coast GuardCutter GRAND ISLE in Gloucester,Mass. from 2005 to 2007. Kennedywas selected by the Coast Guard toattend graduate school as part of theAcademy Instructor program; she willreturn to her almamater to teachgeneral chemistry this fall. She currentlyconducts research at Villanova in thefield of organometallic chemistry underthe direction of Deanna Zubris, Ph.D.,in pursuit of aMaster of Science inchemistry. Kennedy’s research includesboth synthetic and computationalchemistry with the goal of creating

novel iron complexes to be tested andused as polymerization catalysts. InMarch 2009, Kennedy presenteda poster, “Newmethodology forsynthesis of Cs- and C1-symmetricbis(imino)pyridines and energeticimplications for metallation,” at thespring meeting of the AmericanChemical Society in Salt Lake City,Ut. She will complete her degreerequirements and graduate this summerbefore reporting to her new assignmentat the Coast Guard Academy ScienceDepartment. Lieutenant Kennedy’smilitary awards include the CoastGuard AchievementMedal, CoastGuard Special Operations ServiceRibbon, and numerous unit and teamawards.

Laura Brown earned her bachelor’sdegree at Lebanon Valley College inCentral Pennsylvania, majoring inGerman, Spanish and Political Science.She also studied abroad in Cologne,Germany in 2002 and in Salamanca,Spain in 2003. After graduating, Brownthought that she wanted a career inbusiness, but after three years ofworking as an event planner andtraveling regularly for business, shedecided to go back to school andbecome a teacher. After researchingsome programs to get her certificate,she found Villanova’s master’s degreein education plus the teachingcertification program. According toBrown, “It was the perfect fit: one yearfor mymaster’s degree and certificate.”Within education, Laura is interested inintertwining culture into the study oflanguage. “I think we lose too manystudents because early education of

foreign language is so focused ongrammar and vocabulary lists. In orderto make the language come alive for thekids, I want them to understand howthe words and structures of the languagethey are study are really used, and howthey can use them to communicate withother people,” said Brown. She utilizestechnology into the classroom, notingthat showing students clips of newsprograms, videos or songs helps to makethe language alive andmore interesting.In her free time, she enjoys politicsby reading newspapers and politicalwebsites, and watching Sunday morningpolitical talk shows. She also enjoysspending time with her four dogs andfamily at her beach house inNew Jersey.

Laura BrownGraduate Student, Education

Lieutenant Margaret Kennedy,USCGGraduate Student, Chemistry

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For the fourteenth consecutive year,the Villanova University StudentSHRM chapter was granted theSuperiorMerit Award from theNational Society for Human ResourceManagement (SHRM). The VillanovaSHRM chapter is part of an elite groupof chapters across the nation whichhas been honored with this prestigiousaward. This distinction representsthe culmination of a year’s worth ofcommunity involvement, service to thehuman resources field, and dedicationto members of the chapter. In orderto achieve the requirements set by theSuperiorMerit Award, members of

the chapter were involved in events suchas the monthly speaker series, the WestChester Rotary Club’s Annual ChiliCook-off, the Annual Holiday ToyDrive, the monthly chapter newsletter,and attending various human resourceevents in the greater Philadelphia area.The central purpose of the studentSHRM chapter is to offer professionaland personal development opportunitiesoutside the classroom for graduatestudents in the graduate program.The chapter operates under theguidance of its advisors David Bush,Ph.D., program director, and GinamarieLigon, Ph.D., assistant professor. The

chapter executive board is comprisedof current students in the programs:Kevin Balkanloo, president, JeanineDiDomenico, co-president, CourtneyCostigan, treasurer, Rana Sachdev,director of Communications, andEmilyMalinowski, director ofCorporate Relations.

The chapter held its 12th AnnualNetworking Reception at the UnionLeagure in Philadelphia in April 2009.Over 175 human resource professionalswere in attendance to network andlisten to an engaging presentationgiven by Joseph Frick, the presidentand CEO of Independence Blue Cross.

Kappa Delta Pi is an International Honor Society dedicatedto scholarship and excellence in education. Xi Phi Chapterwas installed by Leo Zuckowsky on April 27, 1978 at VillanovaUniversity. Membership in KappaDelta Pi involves fosteringthe high ideals of the education profession by assumingtrusteeship of a rich, professional legacy. Inductees agreeto strive towards four ideals: fidelity to humanity, science,service, and toil.

Graduate and undergraduate students who are workingon programs in teaching, school counseling, and educational

leadership andmeet the appropriate criteria are eligiblefor membership.On April 1, 2009, forty-six graduate andundergraduate students were inducted as newmembersof KappaDelta Pi. Deborah Schussler, Ph.D., who currentlyserves as the Xi Phi Chapter’s advisor, led the inductionceremony. RayHeitzmann, Ph.D., offered an inspiring talktitled, “Be Ashamed toDie Until YouHave Won SomeVictory for Humanity.”

From left to right: Courtney Costigan, GinamarieLigon (faculty-advisor), Jeanine DiDomenico, KevinBalkanloo, Rana Sachdev, and Emily Malinowski.

Villanova Student SHRM Chapter Wins Superior Merit Award

Education Honor Society Inducts NewMembers

From left to right: James Kane, Director of Continuing Studies at Villanova, and graduate asssitants RanaSachdev and Kevin Balkanloo

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Villanova University’s Departmentof Psychology and Graduate ProgramsinHuman Resources Developmentco-sponsored the Psychology ofTerrorismColloquium onNovember20, 2008 in the CEER building onthe Villanova campus. The featuredspeaker was JohnHorgan, Ph.D.,director of International Center forStudy of Terrorism at PennsylvaniaState University.

Dr. Horgan shared his latest researchon how and why members disengagefrom terrorist organizations and thepsychological aspects of such behavior.To a standing room only crowd of over125 people, including faculty, students,military leaders, and business peoplefrom the Tri-State area, Dr. Horgandiscussed his interview techniquesof former members of terroristorganizations. His research in thisarea is sponsored by theOffice of NavalResearch and takes him to regions intheMiddle East, Europe, the Americasand Asia where he has interviewed 29former terrorists, 23 members of theirfamilies, and other supporters.

As one of just a few psychologistsstudying this phenomenon, Dr. Horganadds value to the field of terrorismresearch by applying psychological

research methods,as well as theoriesand findings fromthe field of humanresources, tounderstanddisengagementfrom radical terroristorganizations suchas Al Qaeda, ShiningPath (Peru) and TamilTigers (Sri Lanka).Prior to joining PennState, he held facultypositionsatSt.Andrewsof Scotland andUniversity Collegeof Cork, Ireland. Dr.Horgan has published

extensively in the area of terrorism,including a recently published book,“Walking Away fromTerrorism:Accounts of Disengagement fromRadical and ExtremistMovements”(NY and London: Routledge, 2008),and he holds editorial positions for theJournal of Terrorism and Political Violence,Terrorism Research, and Journal ofInvestigative Psychology and OffenderProfiling.

The colloquiumwas followed by areception themed, “A Taste of Philly,”where the fare included foods andproducts produced in, or made famousby association with, Philadelphia.South Philly ItalianHoagies, tomatopie, Philadelphia CreamCheese Cake,Herr’s Potato Chips, and Tastykakes.All products were purchased from localestablishments to encourage the greaterPhiladelphia economy.

At the reception, audience memberswere lined up to speak with Dr. Horgan,asking questions regarding career pathsin the field of terrorism research, how heobtains his interview participants (i.e.,terrorists and ex-terrorists from acrossthe globe), and general methodologyand research queries. Following are twofrequently asked questions that we askedDr. Horgan to answer for us:

Villanova University:How did you getinvolved in this kind of research?Dr. Horgan: “I finishedmy undergraduatedegree in psychology around the timeof the first IRA ceasefire in 1996. Theopportunities afforded to researchers bythe peace process meant that it becamepossible to speak to former terroristsabout their experiences—how theybecame involved, how they justifiedthe atrocities perpetrated by theirmovement and so on. I had always beeninterested in how extreme behaviordevelops for the individual, and saw anopportunity for some valuable research.One of the most disturbing features ofterrorist psychology is that despite thelarge scale consequences that terroristsdo, those who become involved interrorism are largely indistinguishablefrom the general population. They areimpossible to pick out of a crowd andare not easy to profile. As a psychologist,I am interested in understanding whatthis means and what we can do about it.”VU:Why do former terrorists want to speakabout their experiences?Dr. Horgan: “Terrorists crave attention.They are the only group of offendersthat not only claim responsibility forwhat they have done, but are proud of it.They want to talk, they want to say howthings are for them, and they want totake every opportunity to justify to theoutside world what it is they do and whythey do it. The role of the academic isto try to understand what terrorists say(and why), but also to ensure that theyare not used as a propaganda tool at thesame time. Interviewing people abouttheir experiences of becoming involvedin terrorism, and why they leave, offersa unique opportunity to also find out ifthere are ways of developing knowledgeaimed at preventing people becominginvolved in the first place.”

Psychology of Terrorism Colloquium Hosted at Villanova

From left to right: Captain Andrew Clark, Dr. John Horgan, Dr. GinamarieLigon, and Captain Derek Ligon at the Psychology of Terrorism Colloquium.

Hispanic Studies. Mr. Yushimito openedthe event with general introductoryremarks, followed by a reading of anexcerpt from a poem by the famousChilean poet Nicanor Parra. The firstparticipant to recite his verses wasMr. Rodolfo Figueroa, a native of Chileand an active participant in Villanova’sliterary workshop known as Pinzón 9,founded by Dr. Carlos Trujillo,Although not published to date, thepoetryMr. Figueroa has recitedinformally during the weekly gatheringsof Pinzón 9 have revealed a truly uniqueandmature poetic style. There is littledoubt that this budding poet will bepublished in the very near future,since his poetry was well receivedby the audience. DavidMiralles, Ph.D.,who teaches in Villanova’s SpanishStudies division, in addition to beingan accomplished and published Chileanpoet and writer of prose, was thesecond participant to recite his verses.

Dr.Miralles is the author of numerouscollections of verses, in addition tohaving recently penned a collectionof short stories. The third participantwasMr. Christian Formoso, a studentfinishing up his graduate studies inVillanova’s Hispanic Studies program.Mr. Formoso, an accomplished poetand an award recipient for his poetryin his native Chile, read, among others,verses from his latest collection of poetryentitled El cementerio más hermoso de Chile(2008). The recital session was closedby Dr. Carlos Trujillo, an accomplishedChilean poet, having authorednumerous books of verses as wellas being a recipient of the prestigiousPabloNeruda Prize for poetry in Chile.

The resounding success of bothevents in terms of the notable artisticquality of the verses recited, as well asthe considerable audience attendance,followed by an enthusiastic questionand answer session, has animated the

members of Pinzón 9 to host futurerecitals on a regular basis, as well asperhaps using poetry as a vehicle forpromoting oral and writing proficiencyin Spanish at the very beginning levelsof undergraduate studies in Spanish.Full-length footage of both recitals isavailable on “i Tunes U” under “SpanishPoetry”. Most recently the Pinzón 9group has launched a brand new literaryjournal dubbedNaufragios (May 1,2009). The journal includes creativework in poetry, the short story, and thevisual arts by accomplishedHispanicartists, as well as a section on essaysdevoted to authors and works ofHispanic literature.

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PAIDVillanova University

June 2009 | Volume Forty-Eight, Issue Three

A newsletter by and for the graduate programs of Liberal Arts & Sciences

GRADUATE LIBERALARTS & SCIENCES NEWS

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences800 Lancaster AvenueVillanova, PA 19085-1696

In this issue, enjoy features on:• Classical Studies• Graduate Biology• Dr. Chiji Akoma, Graduate English Department• Dr. Jared J. Paul, Chemistry Department• Lieutenant Margaret Kennedy, Chemistry Student• Laura Brown, Education Student

Poesía en Español: Two Poetry Recitals in Thirty Days continued from page 8

For the next issue, please send your news tokhowell@howellpartners.com by September 11, 2009.