Robert Spitzer
Robert Spitzer, Political Science Department, is co-author of an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of McDonald v. Chicago. The McDonald case is a constitutional challenge to Chicago's strict handgun law based on a Second Amendment right to bear arms claim that asserts that the Second Amendment should also apply to the states. As of now, the amendment applies only to the federal government. In the brief, Spitzer and co-authors argue that the right of states to regulate guns should fall outside of Second Amendment's protection as first established in the Supreme Court's 2008 ruling in D.C. v. Heller. The Supreme Court held oral argument in the McDonald case on March 2.
Catherine Porter Lewis,
Catherine Porter Lewis, professor emerita of French, and president of the Modern Language Association (MLA), participated in the Presidential Theme Sessions at the MLA Conference held Dec. 26-30 in Philadelphia, Pa. The title of the conference was “The Tasks of Translation in the Global Context.” Lewis is currently visiting professor at the Society for the Humanities at Cornell University. SUNY Cortland Distinguished Alumna Therese Sullivan Caccavale ’75, presided over a special session held on Dec. 30. She is currently the administrator of an elementary-level foreign language immersion program in Holliston, Mass.
Amanda Mullan
Amanda Mullan, political science student, had her paper, “To Drill or Not to Drill? Policy and Politics of Drilling for Natural Gas in the Marcellus Shale” published in the “New York State Assembly 2010 Distinguished Intern Reports.” Her paper was one of 16 nominated for publication from among the 154 intern reports and one of only eight selected.
Thomas Hischak
Thomas Hischak, Performing Arts Department, has been commissioned to write six articles for the new edition of the Grove Dictionary of American Music. Also, he has had two book reviews published in the music journal Fontes Artis Musicae.
Chang Ki Bahng
Chang Ki Bahng, a graduate student in the Sport Management Program, was appointed an Official International Referee by the USA Taekwondo Association to officiate the 2010 United States Open International Taekwondo Championships held Feb. 10-15 in Las Vegas, Nev. The event is one of the oldest and most prestigious taekwondo championships in the world, hosted by the USA Taekwondo Association, sanctioned by the World Taekwondo Federation and sponsored by the United States Olympic Committee.
Robert Ponterio and Jean LeLoup
Robert Ponterio, Modern Languages Department, and Jean LeLoup, professor emerita of international communications and culture, presented a workshop titled, “Practical Approaches to Teaching Culture: In Search of Cultural Perspectives,” on Oct. 15 at the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association Conference in Albuquerque, N.M. The workshop focused on methods of integrating culture with language instruction through the national standards for foreign language learning. LeLoup is currently teaching Spanish in the Department of Foreign Languages at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.
Marni Gauthier
Marni Gauthier, English Department, had her essay, “Historical Figures Transformed: Free Enterprise and I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem,” published in Beyond Adaptation: Essays on Radical Transformations of Original Works (McFarland: March 2010).
Jeffrey J. Walkuski
Jeffrey J. Walkuski, Physical Education Department, was appointed chair of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) Student Services Committee. This committee functions to advise and monitor student issues and professional development programs for students and also plans and coordinates student activities and programming at both the Alliance's national conference and the national student leadership conference.
Christopher Gascon
Christopher Gascon, Modern Languages Department, has been elected secretary of the Association for Hispanic Classical Theater (AHCT), an international scholarly organization of 200 academics, directors, actors and musicians that annually hosts a conference in El Paso, Texas, supports the Spanish Golden Age Theater Festival at the Chamizal National Memorial Theater, and publishes the journal Comedia Performance. As secretary, he will assist the president, vice-president and treasurer in running the organization. He has served the AHCT for 15 years.
Brian D. Barrett
Brian D. Barrett, Foundations and Social Advocacy Department, is acknowledged in Knowledge, Pedagogy and Society: International Perspectives on Basil Bernstein's Sociology of Education, Routledge, 2010, edited by D. Frandji & P. Vitale, for his translation and editorial work on 10 chapters by authors whose first language is not English.