Distinction in their Craft: Fall 2022 Curry Faculty Accomplishments
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Curry faculty are dedicated educators and caring mentors to students as well as leading scholars, scientists, artists, and trailblazers in their disciplines. They are regularly published in notable academic publications, quoted as experts in the media, and applauded among peers at prestigious industry conferences.
This past semester, the following faculty honors include:
Dr. Jennifer Balboni, professor, Sociology and Criminal Justice, gave the following presentations this past summer: “Disruptor Prosecutors in Times of Rising Crime” at the Northeastern Association of Criminal Justice Sciences, “Policing in Modern U.S. Society: A Call to Reform” at the Grandmothers Against Gun Violence, Cape Cod Chapter in Hyannis, Mass., and “Restorative Justice: The Basics.” at the Pilgrim Catholic Collaborative. She also had a Teaching Tips video published in ACJS Today, titled “Facilitating Online Discussion Boards.”
Christine Bennett-Richard, professor, Visual and Performing Arts, completed a 200-hour Aligned Yoga Certification to augment her somatic movement expertise and dance studio offerings. She additionally launched a new course called "Dance Social Justice," culminating in a performance offering for social transformation and healing at Medicine Wheel, a World AIDS Day Vigil at the Boston Center for the Arts.
Efram Burk, professor, Visual and Performing Arts, installed the Burk Memorial Exhibition in Neddick, Maine. He curated and organized the artworks by his parents at the Cliff House Gallery, which runs in association with the Van Ward Gallery in Ogunquit, Maine. The exhibition will run through spring 2023.
Dr. Laura Callis, associate professor, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, presented “Departmental Application of Universal Design for Learning Mathematics” and “Instruction that Supports Students with Learning Disabilities or Negative Prior Mathematics Experiences in Simulation Based Inference Introductory Statistics Classes, in Their Own Words” at the Association of American Colleges and Universities STEM Conference in Washington, D.C. She also presented at Stoughton SPARK Day, a professional development day for Stoughton Public Schools teachers and staff with Dr. Giordana Basta, Ron Krawitz, and Dr. Phil Hulbig.
Dr. Callis, professor Jennifer McNally, and assistant professor Steven LeMay, were also selected to arrange an American Mathematical Society Special Session on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Introductory Statistics at the January 2023 Joint Mathematics Meeting conference in Boston. The full-day program features presentations by these faculty members and other leaders in statistics education, with a focus on equity and access in the examination of curriculum and pedagogy for introductory statistics. Included also is a panel of undergraduate students discussing their research experiences, which will feature alumni Daniel West, and undergraduate students Taylor Conley, Hannah Jordan, and Caroline McDonald.
Dr. Shavindrie Cooray, professor, School of Business and Computer Science, recently published a research article in the Wiley Journal "Systems Research and Behavioral Science". The paper is titled “A systems approach to enabling student-led critical discussion." She was also recently invited to join the board of the United Kingdom Systems Society.
Dr. Donna DelloIacono, senior lecturer, School of Nursing, received a Simulation Certification from Saint Anselm College for completing 120 hours of content.
Dr. Laurie Fox, professor, Program for Advancement of Learning, published a book review in the fall journal The Educational Therapist, 43(2), on two classic books from the Harvard Negotiating Project: Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving in and Getting Together: Building Relationships as We Negotiate.
Dr. Abby Hafer, professor, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, published several articles over the summer and fall, including “Equal protection under the law: Abortion, mandatory organ donation,” “Informed consent, what this means for abortion,” and “What do we owe descendants? Abortion, equal protection under the law” in The Lawyers Daily. She also published “Supporting the people of Ukraine, one pizza at a time,” “The clear and present danger of a Senator Herschel Walker,” “A biologist explains why ‘heartbeat laws’ are nonsensical,” “Do pregnant women have fewer rights than the dead?” and “The busiest abortionist” in OnlySky. Additionally, she gave a virtual presentation titled “The Gender Binary,” and was elected as Secretary for the American Humanist Association Board of Directors.
Joy Garmaise-Yee, associate professor, School of Nursing, co-authored “Equity, diversity, and inclusion in open educational resources: An interpretive description of students’ experiences” in Nurse Education Today, and “Virtual simulation debriefing in health professions education: a scoping review protocol” in JBI Evidence Synthesis. She will also present on “The urgent need for diversity, equity, and inclusion in nursing resources: Students’ perspectives” at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in Chicago, Illinois.
Dr. Amanda Kennedy and Dr. Sarah Augusto, associate professors, Sociology and Criminal Justice, recently presented at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They led a workshop with Yvonne Welsh ‘24 entitled “Burning Down the (Master’s) House: Organizing for Racial Justice at a PWI,” where they discussed the bias/hate incidents of Spring 2022 and various strategies utilized by faculty, staff, and students to organize against racism and anti-Semitism.
Dr. Ann Marie Leonard-Zabel, professor, Psychology, presented at national and international conferences, most recently as a Keynote speaker for the 3rd Edition of the Global Conference on Addiction Medicine, Behavioral Health, and Psychiatry in Orlando, Florida. The Keynote presentation titled "Neurobehavioral Assessment of Youth Trauma: A Means of Preserving Sobriety," received two awards, while Dr. Leonard-Zabel garnered four awards total at the conference. In addition, Dr. Leonard-Zabel authored a chapter in Best Practices in School Neuropsychology: Guidelines for Effective Practice, Assessment, and Evidence-Based Intervention, wrote a faculty review for the School Neuropsychology Institute Worldwide Newsletter, and designed a module and video training for the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards. She was also invited by the Center for Disease Control as one of twelve people in the nation to discuss the VetoViolence select, adapt, and evaluate program and tool.
Dr. Edward Modestino, senior lecturer, Psychology, published “Theorizing the Role of Dopaminergic Polymorphic Risk Alleles with Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED), Violent/Aggressive Behavior and Addiction: Justification of Genetic Addiction Risk Severity (GARS) Testing” in the Journal of Personalized Medicine.
Dr. Emily Nowicki, associate professor, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, published "Antibacterial Effects of Bitter Melon Extract in Combination with Commonly Prescribed Antibiotics" in the Fine Focus microbiology journal. She also attended and presented at the Northeastern Microbiologists: Physiology, Ecology, and Taxonomy (NEMPET) conference this June in Indian Lake, New York with senior biology major Maegan Avery.
Dr. Ishani Tewari, associate professor, School of Business and Computer Science, was selected to participate in a workshop geared to developing exercises for student group work in economics classes taught with team-based learning (TBL), or other cooperative learning pedagogies. This workshop was part of a large-scale, multi-year NSF grant which is funding work to investigate innovative pedagogical practices that are common in disciplines outside economics but have not been leveraged within the discipline. Working with twenty other faculty members from universities in the US and abroad, she developed, wrote, and published a set of TBL activities that involve students working collaboratively to apply economic concepts to analyze important economic issues during class using hands-on activities.
Dr. Ryan Theroux, associate professor, General Education, gave the following three presentations this fall: “From Academic Inquiry to Resident Leader: Designing Curriculum to Support the Living Learning Experience,” and “Teaching with Empathy: Fostering Student Development and Wellness in the Classroom at a Residential Campus” at the ACUHO-I Academic Initiatives Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana., and “Leading with Empathy: Fostering Student Wellness in Leadership Roles” at the Bryant University Annual Leadership Summit in Smithfield, Rhode Island He will also present on “Fostering Empathy in the First Year Classroom: Supporting Student Wellness” at the 42nd Annual First Year Experience Conference held by the National Resource Center for the First Year Experience and Students in Transition this February. Additionally, Theroux had an article published in the New York Journal of Student Affairs titled, “Conceptualizing the campus culture: The significance of cultural artifacts.”
Dr. Coleen E. Toronto, professor, School of Nursing, co-presented "Transforming Global Nursing Education Research Through Q Methodology: A Scoping Review" virtually with Dr. Desiree Hensel at the Sigma Theta Tau International's 33rd International Nursing Research Congress Conference in August.
Dr. Beth Wade, associate professor, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, co-wrote “Detecting and Removing Sample Contamination in Phylogenomic Data: An Example and its Implications for Cicadidae Phylogeny” in Systematic Biology, and “Genomic regions underlying the species‐specific mating songs of green lacewings” in Insect Molecular Biology.