Letter from the Dean
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences honored its top graduates at the annual Medallion Ceremony for Academic Excellence on Saturday, May 20. This year's ceremony was a beautiful event that truly captured what the College -- its faculty, staff and students -- is all about:
To promote intellectual curiosity and rigor within the University; to instill the fundamentals of critical insight, mature judgment, and independent thinking in its students; and to awaken in its students a sense of the importance of values and the moral responsibility of caring for others and working for the betterment of society.
Our graduates are beginning a new chapter in their lives, and it was an honor to be a part of commencement celebrations such as this event that recognized and honored the achievements of our finest students.
And as our graduates reflect on the meaning and value of the liberal education they received at Villanova, so too should we in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences take some time to refocus on the meaning of our mission and reenergize ourselves for the year ahead. We as educators view education as a kind of ministry, a true vocation. It is important to not lose sight of the important role we play in the lives of our students during the years they spend with us.
Also, please join me in congratulating Sally J. Scholz, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, on being selected as this year's Lindback Award recipient. Dr. Scholz specializes in social philosophy, political philosophy, feminist theory, and ethics. Through the generosity of the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation, Villanova each year recognizes a faculty member who exemplifies excellence in undergraduate teaching. Nominations for this award are made by faculty and students, and the subsequent review of nominees’ credentials and teaching skills by a faculty committee is rigorous.
On to some business matters: You kindly are asked to visit http://vuws.villanova.edu/bio/edit
and complete the online form so that your updated and correct bio may appear on your department's Web site.
Also, please continue to send your news items, event announcements, and article submissions — even during the summer months — to Kate Szumanski at
kathryn.szumanski@villanova.edu. Kate will include your news in future issues of the College's e-newsletter.
Thank you. I wish you a peaceful summer.
Sincerely,
Kali C. Ellis, O.S.A., Ph.D.
In College News …
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The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Honors Distinguished 2006 Graduates
The College held the Medallion Ceremony for Academic Excellence on Saturday, May 20, in the St. Thomas of Villanova Church on campus. Medallions were awarded to students who have excelled in their field of study and are ordinarily based upon the cumulative average of the student.
Rev. Kail C. Ellis, O.S.A., Ph.D., dean of the College, welcomed the attendees to the ceremony. Patrick T. Bering, '06, the Senior Class Poet, read selections from his original work. Robert E. Wilkinson, Ph.D., who is retiring from the English department after 49 years of teaching, addressed the medallion winners and their families.
SPC Approves Policy on Joint Appointments
To foster and facilitate interdisciplinary teaching, research, and scholarship, it may be beneficial for individual faculty members to hold academic positions in two different departments within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The benefits that might accrue from such joint appointments include enhancing the professional development of individual faculty members and enriching the educational experiences provided to our undergraduate and graduate students.
To read the full policy, please click here.
Congratulations to Faculty on Recent Promotions
John R. Johannes, vice president for academic affairs, is pleased to announce the faculty on whom the Rev. Edmund J. Dobbin, O.S.A., outgoing University president, recently conferred promotion:
- Promotion to Professor: Drs. David Barrett (political science); Carol Bessel (chemistry); Richard Jacobs, O.S.A. (education and human services); Seth Koven (history); Satya Pattnayak (sociology); Sally Scholz (philosophy); Connie Titone (education and human services); and Craig Wheeland (political science)
- Promotion to Associate Professor: (previously tenured): Drs. Sarah Vaughan-Brakman (philosophy) and Rebecca Winer (history)
- Promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure: Drs. Mark Graham (theology and religious studies); William Kassel (chemistry); Paul Lupinacci (mathematical sciences); Eric Karson (marketing); Paul Steege (history); and Emory Woodard (communication)
- Professor Emeritus: Dr. Patrick Nolan (English)
Spring 2006 Edition of Concept Available Online
The Graduate Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, Concept, has published its spring 2006 issue, which is now available online at
http://www.publications.villanova.edu/Concept/2006.html. Read selections from many disciplines, including history, English, psychology, and others.
Spring 2006 Edition of Polis Available at the Honors Program Office
The literary magazine of the Honors Program, Polis, has published its spring 2006 issue. In this edition, you'll read student and faculty essays, poetry, and reviews. To obtain a copy, please visit the Honors Program office on the first floor of the St. Augustine Center for the Liberal Arts.
Mendel Exhibit Coming to The Academy of Natural Sciences
Villanova University and The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia proudly announce their partnership to present the traveling exhibition, “Gregor Mendel: Planting the Seeds of Genetics,” which will visit the Academy at 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway from May 28 to September 28, 2008. The exhibition will be available to only five tour venues in the United States through 2008: Philadelphia (Villanova and the Academy of Natural Sciences), Chicago, Washington, D.C., Columbus, Ohio, and Memphis, Tennessee.
During the exhibition’s Philadelphia tour, all Villanova students, staff, and faculty who present valid identification will receive free general admission to the Academy of Natural Sciences. It is our hope that you will find this special exhibition informative and enjoyable.
For more information about the exhibition, please contact Kate Szumanski at
kathryn.szumanski@villanova.edu.
Interesting to Note …
An Update on a Past Mendel Medal Recipient
Dr. Peter C. Doherty, who received the 2000 Mendel Medal, has written a new book entitled,
The Beginner’s Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize (Columbia University Press 2006). In his book, Dr. Doherty recounts his unlikely path to becoming a Nobel Laureate and offers a rare insider’s look at the realities of being a research scientist.
In addition, Dr. Doherty mentions the Mendel Medal in the chapter entitled, “Through Different Prisms: Science and Religion.” Here is a small excerpt:
I was reminded of the scholarly face of the Catholic tradition when I was awarded the 2000 Mendel Medal by Villanova University, a prominent Philadelphia institution run by the Augustinian Order. Gregor Mendel was an Augustinian monk credited with founding the modern science of genetics…. The citation for the Mendel Medal reads: ‘The Mendel Medal is awarded to outstanding scientists who have done much by their painstaking work to advance the cause of science, and, by their lives and standing before the world as scientists, have demonstrated that between true science and true religion there is no intrinsic conflict.’ Aside from feeling more than a little inadequate as a recipient, I had no quarrel with the high sentiments expressed. The problem is that although it is easy to agree on the universal characteristics of ‘true science,’ as I discuss throughout this book, many of those who are religious have great difficulty reaching any globally inclusive definition of ‘true religion.’ The degree of flexibility within a particular belief system is clearly a key issue for anyone with deep religious convictions who is contemplating a career in science.
Dr. Doherty was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1996. He is currently operating active research programs at both St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., and the University of Melbourne.
Core Humanities Seminar Renamed Augustine and Culture: The Villanova Seminar
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce Augustine and Culture: The Villanova Seminar as the new name of the Core Humanities Seminar, the innovative academic seminar and writing program for undergraduate first-year and transfer students that introduces them to the thought of St. Augustine and places it into conversations with other primary voices in the liberal arts tradition. For full story, please visit:
http://www.artsci.villanova.edu/corehumanities/Augustine and Culture.html.
