Kathleen A. Lawrence
Kathleen A. Lawrence, Communication Studies Department, had a haiku, “blackbird dead,” published recently by Haikuniverse online magazine as part of an annual event to commemorate Halloween. Also, the upcoming anthology to be published by Scryptic Magazine will include two of her poems: “He Left Me Cold” and “Travelogue: First Day of My Last Trip.”
Robert Spitzer
Robert Spitzer, Political Science Department, has been informed that his article, “Gun Law, Policy, and Politics,” has been accepted for publication in a future issue of the journal Government Law and Policy Journal.
Gigi Peterson
Gigi Peterson, History Department, presented a poster session at the annual conference of the National Council of the Social Studies, which centered on the theme “Advancing Social Justice.” Due to the virtual nature of the conference, held Dec. 4 through 6, her presentation, “A Community Action Project Pilot: Teacher Candidates Take ‘Informed Action,’" will be on online display through April. She looks forward to adding sections on the Fall 2020 Community Action Projects carried out by teacher candidates in her Foundations of Social Studies class.
Tom Lickona
Tom Lickona, Childhood/Early Childhood Education Department, has been awarded a $10,000 contract with the Kansas State Board of Education for the “Character Education Partnership Grant.” The period of performance is Feb. 21 to June 30, 2011.
John Suarez
John Suarez, Galpin Institute for Civic Engagement, co-organized and conducted the “STEM IS Civic Discourse” event in SUNY’s Public Good U Conference from Feb. 7 to 9 in Albany, N.Y. He facilitated an event in which 18 faculty and staff members applied civic discourse guidelines in the context of STEM innovations that posed societal challenges. Over Zoom, Nirav Patel, University of Colorado Boulder, provided a rationale and guidelines for discussion. By the end of the session, participants noted the importance of information literacy skills, understanding people’s personal connections to issues and the skills needed to manage class discussions that could go in directions not anticipated by the educator. In fall 2026, SUNY will launch its new Civic Discourse course competency.
John Suarez
John Suarez, Coordinator of the Office of Service-Learning, learned that his chapter, “Promoting Civic Engagement in a Required General Education Course,” has been accepted for publication in Teaching Civic Engagement Across the Disciplines in the Twenty-First Century, published by the American Political Science Association. Suarez’s chapter is in the section that provides guidelines for developing students’ commitment to civic engagement through a required general education course. In this case, that course is Writing Studies in the Community II (CPN 102), which is part of the Learning In Deed learning community. Guidelines included focusing on skills of relationship-building, and on “academic agility,” the instructor’s ability to take advantage of “teachable moments” by replacing planned lessons with others that help students connect service-learning experiences with learning objectives.
Also, Suarez presented “Developing Value in Civic Engagement” as part of a panel in the “Why Engage? The Value of Civic Learning in Higher Education” event held March 1 at SUNY Plattsburg. His message promoted three principles of civic engagement: Build Relationships, Be There, and Act. Benefits to students included the realization that they can improve society through short-term and through long-term activities. Communities benefit by enjoying greater capacity. Institutions benefit by being able to show that they provide students with strengthened professional, civic, and personal skills.
On March 16, Suarez served as a panelist in a session titled, “The Civic Action Plan: So, How’s That Going on Your Campus?” which was part of the Eastern Regional Campus Compact’s Moving Us Forward: Equity Through Community Engagement Conference in New York City. SUNY Cortland’s Civic Action Plan, which is a Campus Compact-promoted recommitment to developing students’ civic engagement, is based on the idea that our dedication to civic engagement, and our work for SUNY Cortland’s financial health, enjoy a symbiotic relationship.
Bonni C. Hodges
Bonni C. Hodges, Health Department, represented the Society for Public Health Education at the “Developing Health Literacy Skills in Youth” workshop convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in November in Washington, D.C. In October, Hodges’ American School Health Association (ASHA) Committee on Research Translation facilitated a pre-conference workshop for school health practitioners as part of ASHA’s annual meeting.
Christina Knopf
Christina Knopf, Communication and Media Studies Department, presented at the National Communication Association Conference on Nov. 21 in Seattle, Wash. She presented a research paper, “They Furnished the Pictures, Trump Furnished the War: Political Cartoons of the Fight Against COVID and the ‘Wartime President,’” on a panel exploring “News Coverage of Crises, COVID-19, and Campaigns.” She also presented “‘You’re on Mute’: Idiosyncrasies of Synchronous Online Public Speaking” as part of a panel session titled “Transforming the Public Speaking Course in Response to COVID-19.”
Benjamin J. Lovett
Benjamin J. Lovett, Psychology Department, gave an invited talk to the American Association of Medical Colleges, the association that makes and administers the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). Lovett discussed research on testing accommodations for students with disabilities and when accommodations would be appropriate on the MCAT. His book, Testing Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Research-Based Practice, was recently published by the American Psychological Association Press.
Mark Dodds
Mark Dodds, Sport Management Department, recently had his paper, “Revisiting the Salt Lake City Olympic Scandal: Would the Outcome Be Different Today?” accepted by the Sports Management International Journal ‘Choregia.’