Letter from the Dean

Dear Friends of the College,

On Saturday, Nov. 10, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences honored distinguished alumni of the College who have excelled in all facets of their professional lives, making valuable and lasting contributions to our world through their chosen disciplines. Their stories are touching and inspiring, and you can read about the wonderful event in this issue of Inside A&S.

In addition, the award recipients kindly and generously gave of their time and spoke to our A&S students on Friday, Nov. 9, about the lasting impact of their liberal arts education. How empowering for current students to hear, first hand, the many benefits of a liberal education. By pursuing their passions, these phenomenal graduates of our College have gone on to meaningful and notable careers.

While you are on the Web, be sure to check out the College's Web site for more useful information about the College, including upcoming event announcements.

Thank you for continuing to read Inside A&S. We appreciate your continued interest in the life of the College, and, as always, we welcome your feedback.

I wish you and your families a merry Christmas and a new year filled with good health and happiness. All of us in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences look forward to the spring 2008 semester.

Sincerely,


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

In College News …

College Honors Distinguished Graduates at Annual A&S Alumni Medallion Celebration

Award Recipients Speak to Students About the Value of a Liberal Education Before Award Ceremony

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences honored distinguished graduates at its annual A&S Alumni Medallion Celebration held Saturday, Nov. 10, in the Villanova Room of Connelly Center. To read more about the event and this year's medallion recipients, please click here.

A&S Technology Showcase Demonstrates Many Uses of Technology in the Classroom

On Friday, Nov. 9, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences hosted its first Technology Showcase, which featured the technology many professors are using in the classroom today. Presentations demonstrated not cutting-edge technology, but everyday uses of technology available to all College faculty and students.

"The purpose of the A&S Technology Showcase was to demonstrate how technology can enhance the classroom experience," said Chris Driscoll, manager of IT operations in the College. "Even faculty members who consider themselves 'non-tech savvy' can employ many of the technological resources available on campus, such as podcasting, to complement what goes on in the classroom. I think the event was successful and hope that those who attended learned some new things and will consider applying these technologies to their courses or other projects." Driscoll, working together with UNIT, organized the event. They plan to host other events in the future.
 

Ethics Program Hosts Northeast Regional Ethics Bowl Competition

Colleges and universities across the United States and throughout the world entered teams of undergraduate students in the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl, which is overseen by the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE) and took place at the University on Saturday, Nov. 10. There were seven schools represented: Union College, Dartmouth College, Manhattan College, Marist College, SUNY-Fredonia, Franklin-Pierce College, and Villanova.

Dartmouth, Manhattan, and Marist each fielded two teams, making a total of 10 teams. The preliminary rounds took place in SAC. The semi-finalists included both Dartmouth teams, Marist, and Franklin-Pierce. The Dartmouth teams competed against each other in the final round, with Dartmouth B proving victorious.

"This is a great thing for Villanova," said Mark Doorley, Ph.D., director of the Ethics Program and one of the Villanova team coaches. "It is an event that spans the disciplines. Our team in particular had students from the College of Engineering, the Villanova School of Business, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences."

Learn more about the Northeast Regional Ethics Bowl Competition here.
 

Dr. Nagy-Zekmi Appointed Director of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies 

Silvia Nagy-Zekmi, Ph.D., a professor of Hispanic and cultural studies, has been appointed director the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, effective immediately. Dr. Nagy-Zekmi will succeed Maghan Keita, Ph.D., a professor of history, who has become the director of the Institute for Global Interdisciplinary Studies. Dr. Nagy-Zekmi brings to the center considerable administrative experience. She has published a book and several articles related to Arab Studies, such as Paradoxical Citizenship: Edward Said (ed.), Lexington Books, 2006; as a guest editor of the Celaan Review for the special issue, "Le Maghreb Postcolonial"; and "Images of Scheherazade: Representation of Postcolonial Female Subject," Journal of Gender Studies, (2003); as well as other articles related to post colonialism.
 

Three College Wildcats Earn All-Conference Honors

Three A&S football players were honored for their play this season by being named to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) All-Conference football teams. Sophomore defensive end Tim Kukucka earned second team distinction. Senior running Matt Dicken and sophomore linebacker Osayi Osunde were named to the third team. Learn more here.
 

Check Out the Most Recent Newsletter of Falvey Memorial Library, COMPASS

The most recent issue of Compass is now online, and it is full of very useful information. Be sure to visit it on the Web.
 

Explore iTunes University on the Web

Download faculty lectures and subscribe to podcasts all at iTunes University. Connect to what is happening at Villanova anytime, anywhere.

"Zombies, Specters, and Multitudes: A Question for Literature in the Age of Failed States"

Román de la Campa, the Edwin B. and Lenore R. Williams Professor, and Chair of Romance Languages at the University of Pennsylvania, will lecture on the topic of "Zombies, Specters, and Multitudes: A Question for Literature in the Age of Failed States," on Monday, Dec. 3, at 6 p.m., in Bartley Hall 1011. The event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow. The event is co-sponsored by the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures, Department of Communication, Department of English, Multicultural Affairs Center, and Center for Latin American Studies.

Call for Papers: Third Annual Asian Studies Undergraduate Research Conference

The Greater Philadelphia Asian Studies Colloquium of the Greater Philadelphia Human Studies Consortium invites paper submissions for the third annual Asian Studies Undergraduate Research Conference. Paper submissions should be 12 to 20 pages on any topic related to Asian studies. Villanova will nominate two to three papers for final inclusion in the conference, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 12, 2008. Finalists will be informed by mid-March of their paper acceptance. This year, the conference will take place at West Chester University, and a keynote speaker will be invited to the conference luncheon. Please submit papers (preferably in electronic format) by Jan. 18, 2008, to: Dr. A. Maria Toyoda, director of the East Asian Studies Program.
 

Graphic Artist Bryan Mathes Discusses Campus Design and Printing Possibilities

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences hosted a special professional development event for its faculty and staff on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 10 a.m. in SAC 300. At the event, Bryan Mathes, a graphic artist in the University's Graphic Services Department, discussed ways departments and programs can enhance their outreach efforts by utilizing on-campus design and printing services. If you have questions about what Graphic Services can do for you, please contact Kate Szumanski.
 

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Redesigns Web Site Home Page

The College has refreshed its home page: www.villanova.edu/artsci/college/. Be sure to visit it, and while you are there, check out the College's new view book, which is posted online as a PDF here. Also, be sure to view "Alumni Perspectives on the Value of a Liberal Education" here. You'll find this on the Web site of the Office of Advising and Professional Development.

Important to note: in addition to launching the new site, faculty and staff can edit their Web site profiles using the BioTool. Please use these instructions to edit information like your title, interests, publications, etc.
 

College Offers Students, Faculty, and Staff Access to Mideastwire.com

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is pleased to offer to its students, faculty, and staff access to Mideastwire.com, an Internet-based news service that employs a team of translators from around the region to gather important stories from and about the Middle East. Its core product is a daily e-mail newsletter to English speaking subscribers that aggregates key English language stories about the Middle East together with translated Arabic and Persian stories that appear via the print, radio, and television media of the region. 

While there are now more than 500 Arabic and Persian news outlets reporting stories from and about the Middle East, there is currently no affordable means for English speakers to gain access to much of this content. As a result, the overwhelming majority of English speaking businesspersons, students, journalists, and others who have an interest in the affairs of the region are largely unaware of what the Middle East media is covering and how they are covering these stories.

Mideastwire.com aims to close this gap by offering a daily e-mail newsletter of concise, translated briefs covering some of the key political, cultural, economic, and opinion pieces appearing in the media of the 22 Arab countries, Iran, and the Arab Diaspora.

For more information, please contact Mideastwire.com. To receive the daily email newsletter in English, please send an e-mail to this address -- info@mideastwire.com -- for immediate activation.
 

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, 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.

How To Access the Financial Times Online

There are many ways to access the FT online:

• For resources for faculty, please click here.

• For resources for students, please click here.

• To access the digital version of today's newspaper, please click here.

• To access the Financial Times online, please click here.
   

IT Corner

• Digital Signage Submission Guidelines. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is working with University Information Technologies (UNIT) to install two digital signs for the College. Located in the lobby of the St. Augustine Center for the Liberal Arts and the east entrance of the Mendel Science Center (coming soon), the purpose of these signs is to display University and College news, events, and other special announcements. To have your announcement posted on the digital sign(s), please click here for directions and submission guidelines.
   
• University's Online Calendaring System. The University has revamped its system for posting news and events to the University, College, and departmental home pages. To learn how to enter your event announcements so that they appear on the University's online calendar and on the appropriate home pages in the "Events" section, please visit this Web site for detailed instructions. In addition, we ask that information is entered one time and one time only for each event. As the new system rolls out and people become more familiar with it, we are discovering that two or three entries per event are being added to the system, each by a different person. Please enter information one time and one time only. Many thanks to you for your cooperation and support. Be sure to visit the University's robust online calendar here: http://campusevents.villanova.edu/vuevents
   
• Web site Updates. The following departments or programs recently launched new Web sites: Augustinian Concentration, Classical Studies, NROTC, ROTC.
   

Save the Dates!

Please mark your calendars for these important events:

Final Day of Classes                                  Thursday, December 13, 2007
Reading Day                                             Friday, December 14, 2007
Final Exams                                              December 15 to 21 (No exams on Sunday, Dec. 16)
Spring 2008 Semester Begins                     Monday, January 14, 2008
Early Action Candidates' Day                      Saturday, February 16, 2008 (Please note date change.)
Candidates' Day                                        Saturday, April 12, 2008  

Please click here for the complete academic calendar.

Event Round-up

Be sure to visit the College's home page for a more complete rundown of upcoming events!
 

University Events Module Makes It Easy to Promote Special Events, Lectures, and Other Happenings
Posting an event on the University's Web site and College's Web site has never been easier. Simply enter all relevant information here.

Make Plans Now to Visit the Mendel Exhibit ... Coming to Philadelphia's 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 24 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/. You also can visit the Academy of Natural Sciences to learn more. For more information, please contact Kate Szumanski.
 

Faculty Scholarship

• Richard N. Juliani, Ph.D., a professor of sociology, will participate in a special event at the University of Pennsylvania entitled, "Identity at Large: The Italian-American Community in Pictures -- People and Places," on Saturday, Dev. 8. Dr. Juliani will deliver the keynote address on the topic of immigration. The event is free. Learn more about it here.
   
• James J. Kirschke, Ph.D., a professor of English, spoke at a number of venues recently on his Gouverneur Morris biography. On this subject, in the late spring, he addressed the Franklin Inn Club in Philadelphia. In late September and late October, he addressed large audiences at the Fraunces Tavern Museum, New York City, and at the American Revolutionary Round Table in Philadelphia. Fraunces Tavern was the site where George Washington said farewell to his officers at the end of the American Revolution. The Fraunces Tavern, said to be the oldest structure in Manhattan, was also the site of the State Department and the War Department during the period when New York was the nation's capital. Further, in July 2007, Random House re-issued Dr. Kirschke's Vietnam memoir, Not Going Home Alone: A Marine's Story (2001), in a Ballantine Books trade paperback edition.
   
• Jim McGann, Ph.D., an assistant professor of political science, will speak in Japan to academics, journalists, defense experts, and policymakers on the topic of "American Think Tanks: Their Role in U.S. Foreign Policy Making."

Faculty in the News

• Rick Eckstein, Ph.D., a professor of sociology, was featured in an article in the Nov. 4 issue of The New York Times entitled, "Newark Arena's Economic Impact Unclear." Dr. Eckstein co-wrote the book, Public Dollars, Private Stadiums.
   
• Robert Maranto, Ph.D., a professor of political science, was featured in an article in the New York Sun entitled, "Universities' Growing Liberal Bias Is Documented."
   
• Joan M. Novelli Capolupo, MA, NCC, LPC, an adjunct professor in the Department of Education and Human Services, was asked to be the faculty speaker at the closing ceremonies for Breast Cancer Awareness Month celebrations. The candlelight vigil, organized by Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority, was held on Oct. 30 at the Quad in front of Bartley Hall. Kappa Kappa Gamma has made Breast Cancer awareness its philanthropy and serves the efforts by raising money and participating in the Three Day Walk, selling various breast cancer items, and providing weekly visits to the Bryn Mawr Medical Specialists Oncology Chemotherapy Treatment Rooms. Mrs. Capolupo is a two-year breast cancer survivor, having completed 18 months of treatment in September 2006. She was asked to share her story and offer insight to others to better understand the disease from the patient's perspective. Among luminaries and the University "pink lights" and music provided by the Villanova Singers, readings were shared by members of the sorority, making the evening an intimate tribute to those fighting, and those who have lost, the battle with breast cancer.
   
• Paul Pasles, Ph.D., an associate professor of mathematical sciences, discussed his new book, Benjamin Franklin's Numbers: An Unsung Mathematical Odyssey, on WHYY's Radio Times on Wednesday, Nov. 28.

Students in the News

• Daniel Trucil, '08, a senior communication major, was recently awarded the Betsy Plank Scholarship, a prestigious national prize from the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). Competing with students from across the country, Daniel was selected for top honors by leaders in the public relations industry. He was recognized on Oct. 22 at the 40th Annual PRSSA Ceremony and Dinner held during the International Public Relations Society of America Conference.

Alumni in the News

• Karen Abbott, '95, who graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in English, has written the acclaimed Sin in the Second City. Read more about the author and her book here.
   
• Patrick T. Higgins, '79, who graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in economics, has been appointed Executive Vice President, Marketing and Sales, at Pharmasset, Inc. He is responsible for coordinating the global product launch and marketing activities for Pharmasset's drug candidates. Pharmasset is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing novel drugs to treat viral infections. Learn more here.
   
• Kenny Resinski, '63, '65, who received a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in theater, was featured in an article in The Tribune Democrat entitled, "St. Francis professor leads area performances."
   

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? Learn more here! 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.