Faculty — 黑料老司机 /category/faculty/ Wed, 27 May 2026 15:22:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 Original score by music professor Dylan Findley premieres with Utah Metropolitan Ballet /2026/05/27/original-score-by-music-professor-dylan-findley-premieres-with-utah-metropolitan-ballet/ /2026/05/27/original-score-by-music-professor-dylan-findley-premieres-with-utah-metropolitan-ballet/#respond Wed, 27 May 2026 15:22:27 +0000 /?p=66955 Dylan Findley, assistant professor of music composition and theory at 黑料老司机, was featured as the composer of a new ballet檚 original […]

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Dylan Findley, assistant professor of music composition and theory at 黑料老司机, was featured as the composer of a new ballet檚 original score on April 23, 2026. The ballet A Brief Collection of Moments debuted with the Utah Metropolitan Ballet at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo, Utah, to positive reception from audiences.

Findley collaborated with choreographer Vanessa Cook and poet Darlene Young, both of whom he met at the Artists Residency at the Center for Latter-day Saints Arts in New York City. Findley also connected with visual artists Michelle Nixon and Justin Wheatley, as well as essayist Isaac Richards. The connection between these six interdisciplinary artists at the residency resulted in a long-term periodic Zoom call to discuss artistic questions, update each other on individual milestones in their work, and eventually, to combine their efforts for a project together.

The project that became A Brief Collection of Moments was commissioned by the Ariel Bybee Endowment at the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts. This endowment commissions original scholarship or new art each year to honor the legacy of the distinguished mezzo-soprano Ariel Bybee, who sang for 18 seasons with the Metropolitan Opera. While it is frequently focused on a single artistic medium, this year was a distinctive experience as the choreographer Vanessa Cook wanted to collaborate with her fellow residency participants to create art that would be multi-modal: original musical score, a singer on stage during the ballet, choreography, visual art, and even original poetry and prose components. Findley agreed to compose the music as Cook choreographed, which necessitated great attention to the many moving parts of the collaboration.

淓verything between the dance and the music had to be extremely coordinated, and we worked all summer. Every single week we had a Zoom call, she檇 note what worked for the dance and what was too complex, Findley said. 淭he soprano on stage ended up becoming the focus as much as the dancers, and you had this dialogue between her presence and the presence of the dancers.

The resulting ballet explores human relationships through a series of eight brief vignettes over 15 minutes, and in each vignette the total number of dancers on the stage grows, following the Fibonacci sequence from a single dancer, to two, three, five, and onward through the vignettes.

Findley can see many potential applications at 黑料老司机 for his experiences participating in this collaborative project. While composing original music always keeps his teaching process lively and engaged, composing in collaboration with multiple artists could be a potential opportunity for Independent Study projects.

淚f students know I檝e been doing this kind of collaboration, I hope they檒l be more willing to experiment and take that leap into this terrain, said Findley. 淭he people you檙e around as an undergraduate are some of the longest collaborator relationships you檒l have. These are the people I go back to again and again, and the more people you collaborate with, the more opportunities you get.

Findley has collaborated in his composition work before and plans to continue to do so in the future; he finds the lessons along the way, as well as the final products of these efforts, enriching.

淢y vision cannot compete with the vision of everybody else, and I have to be able to take a back seat sometimes, then sometimes I have to take a step forward in a way that isn檛 stepping on people檚 toes, said Findley. 淭his negotiation works really well with people who are all listening and finding wiggle room in their own vision to make something powerful.

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Culnan Faculty Recognition Endowment honors three 黑料老司机 faculty with inaugural awards /2026/05/11/culnan-faculty-recognition-endowment-honors-three-wooster-faculty-with-inaugural-awards/ /2026/05/11/culnan-faculty-recognition-endowment-honors-three-wooster-faculty-with-inaugural-awards/#respond Mon, 11 May 2026 14:35:05 +0000 /?p=66776 Three faculty at 黑料老司机 were recently recognized at the inaugural Culnan Faculty Awards. Established through the generosity of Mary J. Culnan […]

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Three faculty at 黑料老司机 were recently recognized at the inaugural Culnan Faculty Awards. Established through the generosity of Mary J. Culnan 66, the Culnan Awards honor faculty for exemplary contributions in experiential learning, mentorship, and teaching. This year檚 awardees are Matthew Broda, Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams Jr. Endowed Associate Professor of Education; Katie Holt, Aileen Dunham Professor of History; and Anne Nurse, professor of sociology and anthropology. Each awardee received additional professional development funds to support their continued growth.

A political science major at 黑料老司机, Culnan went on to earn a Ph.D. in business from UCLA and enjoyed a more than 30-year career as a college professor. She is now Professor Emeritus at Bentley University where her research and teaching interests included information privacy and security, and social media.

She established the Culnan Faculty Recognition Endowment to provide one or more awards each year to members of 黑料老司机檚 current faculty who are selected by a committee of their peers for their excellence and creativity. Whether innovating through their research, teaching, and mentorship, or by developing new activities or programs to benefit students and the College, the endowment seeks to recognize these important contributions. The three initial honorees were recognized in a ceremony on April 27:

One of Broda檚 nominations stated that his 渋dentity as an educator and scholar is fundamentally shaped by experiential learning. This commitment is evident across his advising, mentoring, curriculum design, and teaching. Matthew檚 innovative courses from backpacking-based First Year Seminars to a game-design seminar connecting students with professional designers immerse students in purposeful, real-world learning grounded in best practice. Broda extends his impact through influential publications, conference leadership, and creative play-based learning initiatives. Collectively, his sustained leadership, generosity as a colleague, and deep commitment to student growth exemplify excellence in experiential education.

Holt is known for her sustained work integrating hands-on learning and intentional career development into her pedagogy in ways that deeply benefit students. A long-standing partner with 黑料老司机檚 Center for Advising, Planning, and Experiential Learning (APEX), Holt helps students connect their liberal arts education to meaningful, real-world internship experiences. Her work with the 黑料老司机 Digital History Project exemplifies community-engaged scholarship, giving students authentic opportunities to apply historical methods to local projects with lasting public impact. Through continued leadership in workshops and learning communities, she generously shares her expertise with colleagues, reinforcing her sustained excellence and leadership in experiential education.

Nurse was recognized for seamlessly integrating community engagement, practical skill-building, and career readiness into her curriculum. Her commitment is evident through a long-standing partnership with a local juvenile correction facility in her Criminology course. She intentionally incorporates networking, career exploration, and professional skill development into every course, empowering students to translate their learning into real-world opportunities. Through both formal coursework and informal encouragement, Nurse inspires students to engage deeply with their community while preparing them for impactful, socially engaged careers.

Featured image: As Culnan Award winners Broda, Holt, and Nurse received additional professional development funds to support their continued growth.

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Psychology professor Meredith Hope documents Black undergraduate women檚 perceptions of institutional religious and spiritual support /2026/03/31/psychology-professor-meredith-hope-documents-black-undergraduate-womens-perceptions-of-institutional-religious-and-spiritual-support/ /2026/03/31/psychology-professor-meredith-hope-documents-black-undergraduate-womens-perceptions-of-institutional-religious-and-spiritual-support/#respond Tue, 31 Mar 2026 16:24:21 +0000 /?p=65358 Meredith Hope, developmental psychologist and assistant professor of psychology at 黑料老司机, recently published an article in The Journal of Higher Education […]

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Meredith Hope, developmental psychologist and assistant professor of psychology at 黑料老司机, recently published in The Journal of Higher Education that is the first to explore Black undergraduate women檚 perceptions of religious and spiritual resources at selective liberal arts colleges (SLACs).

淩eligion and spirituality are often understudied and overlooked dimensions of culture, Hope said. 淐ollege can often be the setting in which emerging adults are re-evaluating previously held beliefs, continuing in a faith tradition, or exploring new ways to believe or make meaning.

This is the second paper from the Black@SLAC Study, which was funded through grants from the Society of the Scientific Study of Religion, Division 36 of the American Psychological Association, and the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood. The ethnically and religiously diverse sample consisted of 21 women of African descent attending 16 liberal arts institutions in the U.S. during the 2021-2022 academic year. Alyssa Clark, Walter D. Foss distinguished Visiting Professor of Psychology at the College co-authored with Hope on this project, alongside Alesha Archil, an undergraduate at Swarthmore College, and Gordon Palmer, assistant professor of educational policy studies at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

After analyzing data from semi-structured interviews, Hope and her colleagues research suggests that existing affinity groups and organizations may prioritize faith traditions associated with majority faith groups and/or majority cultural groups, which may discourage Black undergraduates from being involved.

Hope檚 analyses yielded five themes: religious campus climate, institutional resources, increasing religious inclusivity, commitment to religious awareness, and supportive relationships. 淭he central theme in our article is that SLACs should engage in sustainable, long-term intersectional approaches to support Black undergraduates, she said.

淏lack women exhorted institutions to facilitate religious and spiritual inclusivity, campus-wide awareness and tolerance, and culturally affirming religious counter-spaces, Hope added. She said each narrative 渆lucidated actionable changes for institutions to support Black women檚 religious and spiritual lives and underscored recommendations for developing collectively sustainable and beneficial religious and spiritual climates.

Hope said her team檚 findings will extend the campus climate literature in higher education by emphasizing the intersections of racial, gender, and religious identity. 淕iven the heightened national focus on undergraduate retention, this study can offer evidence-based considerations and solutions to faculty, student affairs professionals, and other decision-makers in higher education, she said.

At 黑料老司机, Hope aims to work alongside her colleagues to 渃reate and sustain academic spaces where students can envision, build, and maintain connections between their academics and their lived experiences.

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黑料老司机 Earth sciences and physics professors answer common questions about meteor passing through Northeast Ohio /2026/03/23/wooster-earth-sciences-and-physics-professors-answer-common-questions-about-meteor-passing-through-northeastern-ohio/ /2026/03/23/wooster-earth-sciences-and-physics-professors-answer-common-questions-about-meteor-passing-through-northeastern-ohio/#respond Mon, 23 Mar 2026 18:19:14 +0000 /?p=65322 Tuesday morning, March 17, while 黑料老司机 campus was quiet with students on spring break, a meteor streaked across Northeast Ohio, causing […]

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Tuesday morning, March 17, while 黑料老司机 campus was quiet with students on spring break, a meteor streaked across Northeast Ohio, causing a loud boom throughout the area. , the object was two meters in diameter and weighed around six metric tons, leaving a potential field of meteorites just north of 黑料老司机檚 campus in Medina County. But did you know meteoritic material enters Earth檚 atmosphere every day? What exactly is a meteorite and what should people do if they think they found one?

黑料老司机’s Meagen Pollock, geologist and Lewis M. and Marian Senter Nixon Professor in the Natural Sciences, and Assistant Professor of Physics Laura DeGroot, at the College, answer these questions and more below.

How often do meteors enter the Earth檚 atmosphere in this way?

Pollock: Several tons of meteoritic material enter Earth檚 atmosphere each day. (!). Most of it burns up in the atmosphere and never reaches the ground.

How do scientists track or detect events like this?

Pollock: Scientists use multiple methods, including weather radar, satellite sensors, and eyewitness reports. According to , this event was seen from three regional weather radars and picked up by the Geostationary Lightning Mapper instrument on a weather satellite, which detects light emitted by electrical discharges. So far, there are 222 eyewitness reports about this event on the .

What determines whether something burns up completely verses reaching the ground?

DeGroot: According to NASA, anything smaller than a football field will break apart in the Earth檚 atmosphere, but the initial size, composition, and speed are factors that determine whether it makes it to the surface. They are traveling at tens of thousands of miles per hour, and when they hit, the air in front of them compresses very quickly causing the temperature to rise. This causes the meteor to heat up and burn until there is nothing left. This also causes intense pressure of the atmospheric gas, which can exceed the structural strength of the object holding itself together causing it to explode midair. As this happens, we then see a bright flare and less than 5% of the original object reaches the ground.

Are meteorites dangerous or should we be concerned that it could happen again?

DeGroot: Documented cases of meteorites causing injuries or deaths are rare! While Earth檚 atmosphere is bombarded by space debris daily, larger meteors only strike every few years or decades. We know of very large impacts due to craters from millions and tens of thousands of years ago. Other documented cases of large impacts include in 1908, 1954, and many may remember the 2013 fireball that streaked across the sky in Chelyabinsk, Russia. This one blew apart 14 miles above the ground, creating a shockwave that damaged buildings that caused injuries. Overall, they are rare, and we don檛 need to be concerned. Most material burns up in the Earth檚 atmosphere.

What is the difference between a meteor, asteroid, and meteorite?

Pollock: An asteroid is a small, rocky or metallic body that orbits the Sun. When a piece of an asteroid, or some other object, enters Earth檚 atmosphere, it heats up and glows, and we see a bright streak of light called a meteor. A meteorite is what we call the object if it makes it to Earth檚 surface.

What was it made of?

Pollock: Most meteorites are stony meteorites, made primarily of minerals like we find on Earth with small amounts of metallic iron. NASA has confirmed from a sample that it was a type of stony meteorite called an achondrite, which has experienced geologic processes like the ones on Earth. It檚 less dense than the stony meteorites that have the small amounts of metallic iron.

Is it possible to find a meteorite? How would we recognize one?

Pollock: Yes, it檚 possible, but it檚 harder than you might expect, even if you have an idea of where they might be based on a color-coded strewn field map like the one at the link above. Look for rocks that feel heavier than expected for their size and appear to be different from surrounding rocks. It might also have a dark, glassy fusion crust on the outer edges.

Is there scientific value in collecting fragments/meteorites?

Pollock: Absolutely! Meteorites are direct samples of other bodies in our solar system, many of which formed over 4.5 billion years ago. By studying them, we learn about solar system formation, planetary processes, and even the chemical ingredients that may have contributed to the origin of life on Earth. If they檙e recovered carefully from known falls, they檙e even more scientifically valuable because their history and exposure are well constrained.

What should people do if they think they檝e found a meteorite?

Pollock: Try not to touch it with your hands! Snap a photo where it lies, note its location, and use clean foil or gloves to collect it. Keep it clean, dry, and wrapped or in a bag, and take it to an institution that can examine it for you. You can bring it to 黑料老司机 Earth Sciences Department. Please be warned, though! Most suspected meteorites turn out to be regular rocks.

Featured image: Assistant Professor of Physics Laura DeGroot (left) and Meagen Pollock, geologist and Lewis M. and Marian Senter Nixon Professor in the Natural Sciences (right)

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黑料老司机 researchers publish new study on how local arboretum trees adapt to a changing climate /2026/01/30/wooster-researchers-publish-new-study-on-how-local-arboretum-trees-adapt-to-a-changing-climate/ /2026/01/30/wooster-researchers-publish-new-study-on-how-local-arboretum-trees-adapt-to-a-changing-climate/#respond Fri, 30 Jan 2026 17:02:18 +0000 /?p=64764 A new peer-reviewed study published in Plants, People, Planet is shedding light on how deciduous conifer trees growing in northeast Ohio檚 Secrest Arboretum are […]

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A new peer-reviewed study published in Plants, People, Planet is shedding light on how deciduous conifer trees growing in northeast Ohio檚 Secrest Arboretum are responding to a rapidly changing climate. Led by Shoolroy Chair of Natural Resources Gregory C. Wiles, , 淯sing dendroclimatic analysis of exotic deciduous conifers in an arboretum to document tree growth in response to climate change, Northeast Ohio, USA, uses tree-ring science to understand how species from the southeast United States, Europe, and Asia have adapted to conditions far from their native environments.

The research team also included 黑料老司机 graduates Srushti Chaudhari 22 (geology); Wenshuo (Fred) Zhao 23 (environmental geoscience), and Mazvita Chikomo 22 (environmental geoscience); Meagan Pollock, Lewis M. and Marian Senter Nixon Professor in the Natural Sciences; geology technician Nick Wiesenberg; and geo-ecologist Benjamin Gaglioti, of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Wiles, a glacial geologist and founder of the 黑料老司机 Tree Ring Lab, has spent much of his career studying how climate shapes landscapes. 淢ost of the work we do with the lab is actually in Alaska, he explained. There, advancing glaciers toppled entire forests and buried the wood in ice and sediment, where it remained preserved for scientists to sample and analyze hundreds to thousands of years later. More locally, just a 10-minute drive from the College, The Secrest Arboretum, a living archive of global tree species planted more than a century ago as part of a statewide reforestation effort, located on the Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences 黑料老司机 Campus, has become a scientific resource as well in partnership with curator Jason Veil.

The new article is the fourth the Tree Ring Lab has published on the arboretum檚 collection. This paper focuses on how specific deciduous conifers cone-bearing trees that, unlike evergreens, seasonally shed their needle-like leaves are adapting to climate change. The 黑料老司机 team chose to study these distinctive species, Wiles said, because they are underrepresented in research, with only 渇our or five studies around the world that have been done this way.

Among the species examined are Siberian larch, European larch, dawn redwood, and bald cypress. Their histories tell of both resilience and vulnerability. Since being transplanted from the sub-Arctic tundra and the Alps in the first half of the twentieth century, the Siberian and European larches, Wiles explained, 渁re shifting their climate response to northeast Ohio檚 increasing temperatures and precipitation. Meanwhile, the dawn redwoods, once thought extinct until rediscovered in China in the 1940s, and the bald cypress, native to the swamps of the southeastern United States, have shown remarkable stability in Ohio檚 increasingly wet climate, even withstanding tornadoes.

Dawn redwood trees drop their needles in the fall at Secrest Arboretum in northeast Ohio.

Dawn redwood trees dropping their needles in the fall at Secrest Arboretum in northeast Ohio.

The project has been a rich years-long training ground for students through various AMRE projects, 黑料老司机檚 Applied Methods and Research Experience program in which students apply classroom learning as business and organizational consultants. Chaudari and Zhao both conducted field work, extracting core samples from living trees at Secrest. During the pandemic, all three student coauthors analyzed decades of tree-ring and weather-station data while following social-distancing guidelines on campus. In addition to presenting their findings at professional conferences, the students learned field methods, programming, and statistical analysis, which prepared them for postgraduate work.

Chikomo, now a doctoral candidate studying how global wetlands respond to environmental change, appreciates how her research at 黑料老司机 gave her not just the scientific tools she still uses today at Rutgers but also a 渇ormative experience in problem-solving, collaboration, scientific exploration, and the ability to communicate the team檚 findings to various audiences. 淭his project ignited my appreciation for experiential learning and for research as an active, applied process, she said, 渙ne that takes theory from the classroom and turns it into knowledge that meaningfully enhances our understanding of the world.

Zhao recalls that when he first embarked on dendrochronology research with Wiles, he was unfamiliar with tree-ring science. 淭he only thing I had, he said, 渨as the passion for science and an unharnessed willingness to learn new things. But his years of AMRE projects at 黑料老司机 became an 渋nvaluable experience, he added, because it 渙pened my eyes to the broader world of paleoclimatology, the field to which he檚 devoted his graduate studies at the University of Oklahoma.

For Wiles, the arboretum is both a scientific resource for natural experiments and a window into the future. As Ohio becomes warmer and wetter, understanding which species can withstand changing climate conditions will be essential for long-term planning. 淎 tree is an investment of maybe 100 years. Which species are best adapted going forward? he asks, noting that ongoing research by 黑料老司机檚 Tree Ring Lab will help to reveal the answer.

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Professor Katie Holt incorporates new techniques to improve student understanding of AI tools /2026/01/21/professor-katie-holt-incorporates-new-techniques-to-improve-student-understanding-of-ai-tools/ /2026/01/21/professor-katie-holt-incorporates-new-techniques-to-improve-student-understanding-of-ai-tools/#respond Wed, 21 Jan 2026 15:20:10 +0000 /?p=64640 Katie Holt, Aileen Dunham professor of history at 黑料老司机, has used Wikipedia in her classroom since 2017 to strengthen her students […]

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Katie Holt, Aileen Dunham professor of history at 黑料老司机, has used Wikipedia in her classroom since 2017 to strengthen her students information literacy skills. Recently, she expanded her approach by developing an assignment that also helps students think critically about generative AI. Holt discussed her pedagogical practices in .

In the article, Holt explained that her previous conversations with students about AI mostly focused on academic integrity and the importance of doing original work. Her new assignment, developed in collaboration with 黑料老司机檚 director of educational and emerging technologies, Jon Breitenbucher, encourages students to think more critically about AI as an information source and to compare and contrast AI research with other informational sources, including traditional encyclopedias and Wikipedia.

As a result of the assignment, she finds students came away with a much better understanding of the pros and cons of each medium. The project also succeeded in giving them a 渘ewfound sense of the importance of improving freely accessible information about historical topics available for the general public, she added.

In addition to comparing information sources, Holt檚 students examined the accuracy of the information and whether there were biases in the way events were explained. 淥ur class discussions and student reflection push them to consider how and why some topics get more coverage than others, identify crucial content gaps, and do the research and writing to make Wikipedia more representative, Holt said. Students practiced their own communication strategies through oral presentations, TikTok videos, Instagram posters, and Wikipedia entries.

Since Holt started using Wikipedia in the classroom, her students have made well-researched contributions to address gaps in the resource檚 coverage, especially in the areas of Latin American and Latinx topics. As a result of this work, they have added more than 400,000 words, more than 4,000 references and had their work viewed more than 42.5 million times. In 2025, Holt was appointed to the Humanities and Social Justice Advisory Committee for Wiki Education, a spinoff of the Wikimedia Foundation, which builds connections between universities and Wikipedia.

Holt hopes the lessons her students learned via this assignment will be carried forward into their future careers, especially if they are asked to use AI in the workplace. 淚t檚 important that they understand potential pitfalls and the need to not take output at face value, she said.

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Professor Ibra Sene awarded GLCA Academic Leadership Fellowship /2026/01/21/professor-ibra-sene-awarded-glca-academic-leadership-fellowship/ /2026/01/21/professor-ibra-sene-awarded-glca-academic-leadership-fellowship/#respond Wed, 21 Jan 2026 15:12:12 +0000 /?p=64637 Ibra Sene, associate professor of history and global & international studies at 黑料老司机, was selected to be part of the inaugural […]

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Ibra Sene, associate professor of history and global & international studies at 黑料老司机, was selected to be part of the . The GLCA launched the program in 2025, selecting 10 fellows from across all GLCA institutions via a competitive application process to serve through the 2026-27 and 2027-28 academic years.

淭he office of academic affairs is excited by the selection of Professor Sene for this fellowship and the holistic support it provides him to build in his capacity as a leader in global work at 黑料老司机, said Sarah Sobeck, dean for faculty development.

All fellows advance an initiative on their home campuses and hold a titled administrative position throughout the length of the fellowship. Sene檚 fellowship administrative position will be associate dean for global initiatives.

淢any 黑料老司机 faculty work (teaching, research,scholarship, and academic service) is globally oriented, Sene said.淎 primary focus ofthis fellowshipis to helpleverageexisting (and potential) partnerships, especiallyin the Global South, tounlockthe many opportunities that they could offer to our faculty and students.Thisis a serious undertaking, but I am ready and excited to take onthe challenge.

In his new position, Sene plans to accomplish the following: create a model for building partnerships with outside institutions for student and faculty-led initiatives, increase connections to institutions in the Global South, and help advance 黑料老司机檚 campus-wide internationalization efforts. He will also participate in professional and leadership development and meet regularly with his cohort to share the successes and challenges of their chosen projects.

Sene has established partnerships with colleagues at Universit茅 Cheikh Anta Diop (Senegal), University of the Gambia, Universit茅 des Sciences Humaines de Bamako (Mali), Ashesi University (Ghana), Al Akhawayn University (Morocco), Forman Christian College (Pakistan), and American University in Cairo (Egypt). He is in his second year of service on the GLCA BIPOC Faculty Leadership Council.

At 黑料老司机, Sene has worked on various global engagement initiatives, including working with the Framing Our Future working group on Global Partnerships, the Global Engagement Office Advisory Committee and serving as a member of the GLIS Curriculum Committee.

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Professor Matthew Krain shares expertise in political violence on disturbing new trend in multiple media outlets /2025/10/15/professor-matthew-krain-shares-expertise-in-political-violence-on-disturbing-new-trend-in-multiple-media-outlets/ /2025/10/15/professor-matthew-krain-shares-expertise-in-political-violence-on-disturbing-new-trend-in-multiple-media-outlets/#respond Wed, 15 Oct 2025 17:39:52 +0000 /?p=63198 Perpetrators of political violence have been engaging in a new way to get their messages across: engraving their bullet casings. Matthew Krain, professor of […]

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Perpetrators of political violence have been engaging in a new way to get their messages across: engraving their bullet casings. Matthew Krain, professor of political science at 黑料老司机, studies human rights, repression, and political violence. He recently shared his expertise for and in a .

The idea that perpetrators of political violence would share their reason for such violence is nothing new. After all, Krain noted in his CBC interview, John Wilkes Booth shouted 淪ic semper tyrannis (thus always to tyrants) as he jumped from the balcony to the stage after assassinating Abraham Lincoln. Engraved bullet casings are a fairly recent development and one that can have disturbing implications.

淧eople don檛 do this by accident, Krain said to the CBC. 淭here檚 always a motivation behind it. He explained that the media has gotten better at not sharing killers manifestos. Consequently, that has caused some shooters to find other ways to get their messages out into the public. 淸Engraving a bullet casing] guarantees their message gets out there, and they are controlling the narrative, Krain said to The Washington Post. That narrative can spread quickly online. What檚 more, photos of engraved bullet casings are easily shareable on social media and likely to go viral, especially worrisome to Krain. 淚t amplifies the person檚 voice, he said to the CBC. 淭he more publicity this particular approach gets, the more likely it檚 going to be copied.

Krain also worries about the tendency of some groups to jump to conclusions about a killer檚 motives and political leanings before a full investigation is completed. An unfortunate byproduct of this quick reaction is to lump together those committing political violence with those who practice nonviolent forms of protest into one homogenous group.

Adding to the confusion is the fact that some messages in recent cases have been related to gaming or memes. Krain explains that, not only does this make the messages even more difficult to understand, but it can lessen the impact of a horrific act.

淭he language involved is important, he said to the CBC. 淲hen that sort of offhand language is used, it makes it seem less impactful and less frightening than it really is and maybe creates a permission structure for others to engage in that behavior.

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Professor Jeff Roche檚 new book about West Texas role in the rise of US conservatism earns national attention /2025/10/09/professor-jeff-roches-new-book-about-west-texas-role-in-the-rise-of-us-conservatism-earns-national-attention/ /2025/10/09/professor-jeff-roches-new-book-about-west-texas-role-in-the-rise-of-us-conservatism-earns-national-attention/#respond Thu, 09 Oct 2025 18:20:31 +0000 /?p=63113 Jeff Roche, professor of history at 黑料老司机, wrote a new book that檚 earned national attention, titled The Conservative Frontier: Texas and […]

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Jeff Roche, professor of history at 黑料老司机, wrote a new book that檚 earned national attention, titled Published by University of Texas Press, the book gives a grass-roots history of how West Texas business and culture molded the rise of conservatism in the United States. Roche was the guest on podcast on Oct. 7, and has earned reviews in and , among other major outlets.

Roche檚 book uncovers answers around how the people of a vast, single-state region could develop such a political culture, and one that went national. 淎t its heart, the book is a century-long history of how a place develops its political identity, said Roche. He explains that at the core of that identity is a political philosophy that檚 founded on individual freedom. Now found from Texas to Alberta, Canada, this conservativism gained cultural power from the history and mythology of the Old West.

淚n practice, particularly in the mid-twentieth century, these conservatives voiced their opposition to civil rights, aid programs, labor unions, and any challenges to the cultural or social status quo, especially when it came to race, sexuality, or gender, said Roche. 淭his book explains how this philosophy eventually took over the Republican Party as right-wing conservatives took over the party at the local level in Texas and elsewhere.

By reconstructing the West Texas region檚 history starting in 1876, Roche helps readers understand the rise of the modern right and the relationships between history, place, and politics. However, the book follows more than political power players. Roche digs into football coaches, newspaper editors, and even a breakfast cereal tycoon who each promoted the ideology.

淚 got to create a fresh narrative for the best ways to understand the past of this huge place, which is bigger than New England, and reimagine how to tell well-known stories and events like the cattle business, the Dust Bowl, fights over textbooks, and even the rise of Reagan.

The idea for the book grew out of an old dissertation Roche wrote more than twenty years ago. 淚 was part of a generation of political historians who were seriously interested in the rise of right-wing Republicanism, post Rise of Reagan, he said. 淢y goal was to put place at the center of that movement. And since the 1960s, West Texas has been known as the most right-wing conservative place in America.

Roche appreciates the true partnership he experienced working with the University of Texas Press, saying they檝e been amazing to work with from the initial proposal to designing the cover. 淚t檚 黑料老司机檚 leave program and other ways of supporting its teachers/scholars that make scholarship like this possible, he said.

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Geology professor uses her undergraduate training as an engineer to bring new insights to field /2025/09/12/geology-professor-uses-her-undergraduate-training-as-an-engineer-to-bring-new-insights-to-field/ /2025/09/12/geology-professor-uses-her-undergraduate-training-as-an-engineer-to-bring-new-insights-to-field/#respond Fri, 12 Sep 2025 19:29:40 +0000 /?p=62722 Stephanie Sparks, visiting assistant professor of geology at 黑料老司机 recently published a paper that outlines a method for applying sensitivity analysis […]

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Stephanie Sparks, visiting assistant professor of geology at 黑料老司机 recently published . The study in Geochronology, Thermochronology and Time Scale Research could provide a way to measure the degree of uncertainty in research about heat flow in the Earth檚 crust.

After studying material science and chemical engineering as an undergraduate, with the goal of doing polymer research, Sparks developed an interest in geology in her early work career, as she saw how one field connected to another. Over geologic time spans, 渢he lithosphere flows in the same way a polymer might, she said, using the professional term for the rigid outer part of the Earth.

From her engineering background, she realized that existing geologic calculations could be made more precise. 淭o me, a number without an uncertainty attached is incomplete, she said. However, Sparks says that geology research is often published without those calculations of uncertainty or with such a wide range that the number might not be useful at all. 淵ou檙e not making interpretations based on reality or on the conditions of the model you set up, she said. 淚t檚 not very telling.

That realization led her to apply the Taguchi method, a statistical analysis tool common in engineering but relatively new to geology. 淚 know I can make this more efficient, she said. 淚 learned this in engineering; let檚 see if we can apply it to geoscience.

Assigning a number to the uncertainty of a particular data set 渋s not out of reach for us, she said. 淟ots of people don檛 do sensitivity analysis or put it in a publication. The motivation is to get more people to implement this more widely.

Sparks completes field research in Nepal.

Sparks completes field research in Nepal.

Approaching data with an understanding of its limits is a method she teaches 黑料老司机 students. 淚t檚 a passion of mine to have transparency about what we know, she said. 淢aybe I don檛 know everything about a particular subject, but I can tell you what I do know and where to find more information. Her students learn about the strengths and limitations of given data sets and about the repercussions of making assumptions.

淪parks research demonstrates the cutting-edge, interdisciplinary approach our earth sciences program takes, said Meagen Pollock, Lewis M. and Marian Senter Nixon Professorship in the Natural Sciences. 淪tudents here learn not just traditional geology, but also advanced computational methods borrowed from engineering. Her cross-disciplinary skill set helps our graduates succeed in careers in environmental consulting, natural resource exploration, climate research, and more, as well as graduate studies.

淪cience builds on itself, Sparks said. 淭he more we do, the more we learn. Geology, she said, is often viewed as less precise, 渂ecause the rock record is incomplete, and we檙e working on time scales of billions of years, and no one was around to see it.

In geology, and other fields of science, controversies exist between competing theories 渨here people are very passionate, strong proponents of one or the other, and very often it comes down to something in between, Sparks said. She published software to go along with her recent paper, and she hopes that other scientists will use it for sensitivity analysis on their own research.

Sparks, a recent Ph.D. graduate from the University of Arizona, is starting a one-year appointment at 黑料老司机. 淚 like the focus on student learning at a place like 黑料老司机, she said, 淢y long-term goal is to stay at a teaching institution that doesn檛 preclude you from performing research as well.

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