Letter from the Dean

Dear Readers:

Rigorous, relevant, and reflective learning experiences -- these are what we seek to provide to all students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Through a challenging core curriculum and disciplinary breadth and depth offered in all of the College's majors and interdisciplinary concentrations, we provide our students with valuable opportunities for academic growth and future success.

The month of February is a busy one in the College. Departments are hosting a series of events designed to encourage students to draw connections between what they learn in the classroom and what they see happening in the world.

For example, the Ethics for Lunch series features a number of thought-provoking discussions this semester, including “Ethics Across Cultures: How to Reconcile Global Standards with Local Practices,” “Upside Down Darwin: Survival of the Weakest? A Look at the Alcohol Culture on College Campuses, “Ethics in the Classroom: Student Behavior,” and others. To learn about the Ethics for Lunch series and other College events, be sure to check out the College's homepage and this e-newsletter.

In addition, the College proudly announces its new partnership with the Financial Times, one of the world's leading global news sources. You'll read more about this exciting partnership in this e-newsletter.

In order to keep our students better informed of opportunities available in the College and through the University, we have created Connections, an e-newsletter designed to share with our students critical information related to academic advising; fellowships, grants, and scholarships; internships and professional development; and other related matters. We hope that our students find Connections useful as they plan their academic and professional futures.

Thank you for continuing to read the College's e-newsletter. We appreciate your continued interest in the life of the College and wish you a productive semester.
 

Sincerely,


Rev. Kail C. Ellis, O.S.A., Ph.D.
Dean of the College
 

In College News …

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Partners with the Financial Times

Providing Students With Global Perspectives on World Events

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has partnered with the Financial Times, internationally recognized for its authoritative news, comment, and analysis, and one of the world’s leading business information brands, to provide students and faculty with full access to the FT’s electronic edition and to FT.com’s Level Two subscription service. This partnership will enable the University to further educate its students on socio-economic and geo-political issues that affect everyone regardless of a student’s major.

The FT partnership program officially begins on Monday, Feb. 5.

“Through the Global Alliance Program with the Financial Times, we at Villanova are providing our students and faculty with FT’s unparalleled international reach – real-time news; unbiased, authoritative, and concise information; and phenomenal teaching tools for faculty to aid them in presenting complex and important ideas to our students,” said Rev. Kail C. Ellis, O.S.A., Ph.D., dean of the College.

While the electronic edition looks exactly like the complete printed edition of the Financial Times, it is, in fact, a convenient digital version that enables users to control the entire viewing experience. Users can interact with the FT as they read, print, or save articles of interest. 

With an FT.com Level Two subscription, students will also have access to subscriber-only FT content and tools, including news alerts, FT analysis, its five-year archive, and access to 500 global press sources and financial data on more than 18,000 companies worldwide.

While originally conceived as engaging only those associated with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, we are very pleased to make this extraordinary opportunity available to the entire Villanova community.

Information related to student, faculty, and staff access to all of the services and products made available through this partnership agreement with the FT will be made available shortly.

Students to Participate in National Conference on Undergraduate Research

Eight students have had their abstracts accepted to the 21st National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), which will take place April 12-14, 2007, at the Dominican University of California. These students either are completing their Honors theses or are supported by the College's Undergraduate Research Program. For more information, please visit the NCUR on the Web.

Six CLASmates Named to Atlantic 10 Football All-Academic Team

The Atlantic 10 Football Conference announced the 2006 Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference Team on Tuesday, Jan. 23. To earn a spot on the team, the student-athlete must have a 3.0 grade point average and be regular performer. True freshmen and first-year performers are not eligible for the team.

Villanova’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences was well represented on the team with six out of a total of nine Wildcats honored. The Wildcat defenders from the College named to the team include senior safety Allyn Bacchus from Hampton, Va.; senior linebacker J.C. Cooper from Carlsbad, Calif.; senior defensive back Terrance Reaves from Gibsonton, Fla.; and red shirt freshman defensive lineman Osayi Osunde from Bloomsburg, Pa.

The Villanova offensive performers on the squad from the College include senior running Aaron Jones from Pittsburgh, Pa., and red shirt freshman wide receiver Shan Smith from Sinking Spring, Pa.

Department of English Sponsors Annual Literary Festival

The English Department's annual Literary Festival takes place this semester. Featured authors this year include: Major Jackson (poet), author of Hoops and Leaving Saturn; Deborah Eisenberg (short stories), author of Twilight of the Superheroes, All Around Atlantis, The Stories (So Far) of Deborah Eisenberg, Air: Twenty Four Hour, Jennifer Bartlett, Under the 82nd Airborne, and Transactions in a Foreign Currency; Mark Doty (poet, memoirist), whose books of poetry include School of the Arts, Source, Atlantis, and My Alexandria (chosen for the National Poetry Series by Philip Levine); Rosellen Brown (novelist), author of The Autobiography of My Mother, Tender Mercies, Civil Wars, Half a Heart, and (most recently) the critically acclaimed and best-selling Before and After; and Marilyn Chin (poet), author of Rhapsody in Plain Yellow, The Phoenix Gone, The Terrace Empty, and Dwarf Bamboo.

For more information on the Literary Festival, please visit the English Department.

WebCT Vista Introduction Session -- Just for College Faculty

Want to know more about WebCT Vista and how it could help with your courses? UNIT will be hosting a special introduction session just for Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty and staff Tuesday, Feb. 13, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., in the Mendel Science Center, Room 086. Registration is not required, so please make plans to attend.

2007 Summer Trip to China

Interested in traveling to China this summer? Click here to learn more.

2007 Summer Trip to Spain

Interested in traveling to Spain this summer? Click here to learn more.

Save the Dates!

Please mark your calendars for these important events:

Early Action Candidates' Day                     Saturday, Feb. 3
Candidates' Day                                       Saturday, April 14
Mendel Medal Award Lecture                      Saturday, April 28

Please click here for the complete academic calendar.

Event Round-up

Psychology Department Colloquium Series Examines "Sexual Conflict in Human Mating"
The Psychology Department's colloquium series will examine "Sexual Conflict in Human Mating" with Dr. David Buss of the Psychology Department at the University of Texas on Thursday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m. in CEER 001.

Chemistry Department Hosts Seminar Series
The Chemistry Department will host a series of seminars this semester, including FBI Crime Scene Investigation and Forensics, Why Would I Ever Want to Work at a Pharmaceutical Company?, Making Scotch: Chemistry, Engineering, and Education, and Entrepreneurship and the Scientist. For more information, including dates, times, and locations, please visit the Chemistry Department on the Web.

Theatre Department Stages Three Sisters
Vasey Theatre will stage Three Sisters from February 6 to 18. Click here to learn more.

2007 Spring Cultural Film Series Examines "Forgiveness"
Be sure to visit the 2007 Spring Cultural Film Series schedule on the Web to learn more about the films making up this semester's series.

An Extensive Program of Events Marks the 2006-2007 Series in Anthropology
Looking Into Culture: The 2006-2007 Series in Anthropology features a number of events planned throughout the spring semesters. For more information on all of these events, please visit the series' Web site.

Women's Studies Working Calendar of Events Posted on the Web
Make plans to attend one of the many events being sponsored by Women's Studies.

The Ethics Program Sponsors "Ethics for Lunch" Series of Events
"Ethics for Lunch" will examine the following topics: “Ethics Across Cultures: How to Reconcile Global Standards with Local Practices”; “Upside Down Darwin: Survival of the Weakest? A Look at the Alcohol Culture on College Campuses"; “Ethics in the Classroom: Student Behavior”; “Are Your Praying for Peace but Paying for War?”; “See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil: Sexual Health Issues on a Catholic Campus”; and “Global Poverty, Consumption, and Environmental Footprints.” For more information, please visit the Ethics Program.

Dr. Jonathan Shay to Discuss "Soldiers' Homecoming -- Trials and Obstacles"
Jonathan Shay, M.D., Ph.D., who works with returning veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder at the Department of Veteran Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Boston and who has written Achilles in Vietnam and Odysseus in America, among other works, will speak on campus Feb. 21-23. Dr. Shay will deliver a public lecture Thursday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. in Bartley 1011 entitled, "Soldiers' Homecoming -- Trials and Obstacles" and a Birmingham Lecture Friday, Feb. 23, at noon in the Fedigan Room of the St. Augustine Center for the Liberal Arts, entitled "Homer on Military Leadership."

Department of Philosophy to Host Greater Philadelphia Philosophy Consortium
The Department of Philosophy will host the Greater Philadelphia Philosophy Consortium on Saturday, Feb. 24, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please click here to learn more.

Center for Arab and Islamic Studies Celebrates Egypt's Nobel Laureate, Naguib Mahfouz, April 3-17
The Center for Arab and Islamic Studies has planned a series of events to celebrate Egypt's Nobel Laureate, Naguib Mahfouz. For more information about these events, please click here.

Ethics Program to Sponsor an Interdisciplinary Conference and Inaugurate an Award in Professional Ethics
The Ethics Program will sponsor an interdisciplinary conference -- Contemporary Ethical Problems in Engineering Practice: A Dialogue -- May 31 to June 2, 2007. In addition, the Ethics Program will inaugurate the Praxis Award in Professional Ethics on March 28, 2007. This award will highlight and celebrate the contributions of a professional or an academic in the field of professional ethics. For more information on the many activities planned in the Ethics Program, please visit the program's Web site.

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.

To learn more about the exhibit, please visit http://www.fieldmuseum.org/mendel/. For more information, please contact Kate Szumanski.
 

Students in the News

• Andrew Burke. '08, and Thomas Homsher, '08, both computer science majors, are winners of Edward Reese Scholarships for 2006-07, which are awarded by the Integrated Systems and Services Division of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. Andrew and Tom will receive scholarships for the Spring 2007 semester and internships at Lockheed Martin for Summer 2007. The competition was open to sophomore and junior engineering and computer science students at Villanova.

Faculty in the News

• Masako Hamada, Ph.D., an assistant professor of classical and modern languages and literatures; Charles H. Helmetag, Ph.D., a professor of classical and modern languages and literatures; and Seth Whidden, Ph.D., an assistant professor of classical and modern languages and literatures, attended the annual meeting of the Modern Language Association held December 27-30, 2006, in Philadelphia.
   
• Ray Heitzmann, Ph.D., a professor of education and human services, recently authored an article entitled, “Target Homework Assignments for Maximum Academic Achievement,” which appeared in the NJEA Review. The latter focused upon his concept of “Targeted Homework” and included comments/quotes on the topic from three of his former students who currently serve as teachers: Dave Nieskens, B.S. 1981, M.A.1982; Lauren Kelly, B.S. 1999; and John Cirilli, B.A. 2000, M.A. 2002.
   

• Letizia Modena, Ph.D., an assistant professor of classical and modern languages and literatures, attended the conference of the American Association of Italian Studies/American Association of Teachers of Italian held in Genoa, Italy, in May 2006 and presented a paper entitled, “Ethics, Utopia, and the Value of Literature in Italo Calvino.” She also published an article, “‘Mi veniva da scrivere città sottili come le sue sculture’: la scultura di Fausto Melotti nelle Città Invisibili di Italo Calvino,” in Letteratura & Arte, 2: 217-242, 2004.

• Masako Nakagawa, Ph.D., an associate professor of classical and modern languages and literatures, presented a paper, “Nakajima Ton (Atsushi)’s ‘Tiger-poet (Sangetsuki)',” and was a panel discussant at “Rethinking Chinese Motifs in the Tale of Genji,” at MAR/AAS (Mid-Atlantic Region/Association for Asian Studies) 35th Annual Conference at Seton Hall University.

• Alain J. Phares, Ph.D.,  a professor of physics, has been appointed by the President of the American Physical Society, Leo Kadanoff, to serve a three-year term on the Society's Committee on Education starting January 1, 2007. The misison of the American Physical Society: "In the firm belief that an understanding of the nature of the physical universe will be of benefit to all humanity, the Society shall have as its objective the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of physics."
   
• The National Science Foundation programs in Cyberinfrastructure, namely the Cyberinfrastructure Partnership and the TeraGrid project, provide an array of high-performance and high-throughput computational systems as an unprecedented set of resources to the American research community.” A research project on Surface Adsorption on Terraces and Nanotubes, submitted in October 2006 to the National Science Foundation programs in Cyberinfrastructure by Alain J. Phares, Ph.D., (PI), a professor of physics, and David W. Grumbine, Jr. (Co-PI and 1992 Villanova graduate) of the physics department at St. Vincent College, has been awarded 15,360 Service Units on the Cray XT3 of the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center. The grant numbered CHE050014N effective since December 22, 2006, expires on December 31, 2007. Phares and his collaborators (including Francis J. Wunderlich, Ph.D., a professor of physics; Villanova students; and former student) have received uninterrupted supercomputing support for their research since 1991. The fundamental work is based on a model of surface adsorption they have developed for the better understanding of catalysis incorporating the possible use of nanotube technology.
   

• Salvatore Poeta, Ph.D., a professor of classical and modern languages and literatures, presented a paper at a conference celebrating the 90th anniversary of Rubén Daríos' death. The conference title is Rubén Darío Ninety Years Later (1916-2006). The Conference was hosted by Hofstra University on Oct. 27-28, 2006. The title of Dr. Poeta’s           presentation was “Rubén Darío ante el Grupo Poético del 27: El caso de Federico García Lorca."

• Jan Franzke Rigaud, Ph.D., an associate professor of classical and modern languages and literatures, was the keynote speaker at the AATF conference held at Widener University on Sept. 28, 2006. His paper entitled, "The State of French-American Relations," deals with Americans reactions to France after the French refused to support the war in Iraq. Dr. Rigaud also attended the International Colloquium on Albert Camus and Mediterranean Thought at the University of Madison on Sept. 21-23, 2006, where he presented a paper entitled, "Albert Camus, or the Other Side of the Mediterranean Nuptials."
   

• A collaboration between Frank Wunderlich, Ph.D., a professor of physics, and David Grumbine (a 1992 Villanova physics graduate currently assistant professor at St. Vincent College) has resulted in a series of publications. The most recent one has appeared in the Jan. 16, 2006, issue of Langmuir, a journal of the American Chemical Society. The paper is titled: "Monomer Adsorption on Terraces and Nanotubes," Langmuir, Volume No. 23.

• Craig Wheeland, Ph.D., a professor of political science, was featured in an article entitled, "Rep. Fattah’s Quest to Become Philadelphia Mayor," in CQ Politics.
   
• Seth Whidden, Ph.D., an assistant professor of classical and modern languages and literatures, presented a paper entitled, “La guerre du vers libre n’aura pas lieu” at the international conference "Querelles et invectives: Dixième colloque des Invalides," in Paris, France, on Dec. 1, 2006. He also discussed, “Rediscovering Collaboration in Nineteenth-Century French Poetry” at "Discoveries, Inventions, and Rediscoveries: 32nd Annual Nineteenth-Century French Studies Colloquium," in Bloomington, Indiana, in October 2006.
   

IT Corner

• New Phone System Coming -- UNIT is in the final stages of picking a new University phone system to be installed this summer. More information will be available in coming months.
   
• New Email System Coming -- UNIT is also planning a University-wide migration to a new E-mail platform: Microsoft Exchanger Server using Outlook as the new E-mail client. This product brings together E-mail, calendaring, contacts, task lists, and more robust Webmail interface. More information to come!
   

Send Your News Items and Event Notices for Publication

Is your upcoming event not listed in this e-newsletter? Do you wish it was? Do you need help broadening your outreach efforts, publicizing events, and getting the word out about the accomplishments of your faculty? Please submit your announcements or events via our online submission form or directly to Kate Szumanski. Kate will include it in the next issue of the College’s e-newsletter.