Faculty News & Accomplishments
FACULTY NEWS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Two time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage used sections of associate professor of English and art, Gary Adelstein’s co-directed film, Reading 1974: Portrait of a City in the Broadway staging of her play, Sweat, which is set in Reading, Pa. She also utilized Reading 1974 as a major projection component of her site-specific multimedia installation at the Franklin Street Train Station which took place for three consecutive weekends to an audience of more than 3,000 last summer. The film was also scanned in 2K digital video, then distributed and archived in 2K file format or as blue-ray or standard DVD.
Joe Cunningham, assistant professor of accounting, was selected to serve a two-year term on The Executive Board of Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accounting (PICPA) for 2018 & 2019 in its Reading chapter. Cunningham has volunteered his community service in other capacities for the PICPA. The activities include planning the Annual Educator’s Conference, College and University Relations, its High School Essay Contest and sitting on the editorial board of Pennsylvania’s CPA Journal.
Carlos Dimas, assistant professor of history and Latin American studies, had a peer-reviewed article published in the Bulletin of Latin American Research: “The Health of the Rurality: The Encuesta de Folklore and Popular Healing Practices in Tucumán, 1921.” It formed part of a special issue called New Perspectives on the History of Rural Health in Latin America.
Damayanthie Eluwawalage, assistant professor of fashion, spoke at the Denver Women’s Club, Denver, Pa., in October 2017 on the topic: “History of Costume in the State of Pennsylvania 1600-1900.”
Matt Fotis, co-chair and assistant professor of theatre, presented his paper, “Teaching Brecht Through Sketch Comedy,” at the annual Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association conference in Philadelphia. His book review of Ian Wilkie’s Performing in Comedy: A Students Guide was published in the latest issue of Methods: A Journal of Acting Pedagogy.
Karen Jogan, professor of Spanish, was elected as one of the 29 commissioners of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), the regional accreditation agency which oversees accreditation and pre-accreditation activities for colleges in the Mid-Atlantic region, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and in selected universities abroad. As an elected commissioner, Jogan will attend commission meetings and will serve on task forces and committees for a three-year term, which began in January 2018.
Jennifer Koosed, professor of religious studies, published an essay called “Moses, Feminism, and the Male Subject” in The Bible and Feminism: Remapping the Field (ed. Yvonne Sherwood; Oxford).
Kate Lehman, associate professor of communications, presented her paper, “‘We Got Y’all’: Intersectional Identities and Black Female Representation in HBO’s ‘Insecure’” at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference in Baltimore in November 2017.
Rachel Liberatore, lecturer in English and director of the Writing Center, presented “Recruiting and Selecting Tutors to Promote Inclusivity and Justice” at International Writing Center Association Conference (IWCA) 2017 conference in Chicago, Ill.
Roberto Mandanici, assistant professor of accounting, School of Professional Studies, presented two research projects—Professional Skepticism: Innate Sixth Sense, or Learned Skill? and Empirical Study of the Profile of an Embezzler: The Implications for the Community at the NABET Northeastern Association of Business, Economics and Technology (NABET) conference in State College, Pa.
Samira Mehta, assistant professor of religious studies, presented a paper titled “Clergy, Coeds, and Contraception: Liberal Clergy and the Fight to Get Contraception to Unmarried Women in the 1960s” at the interdisciplinary meeting Single Lives: 200 Years of Independent Women in Literature and Popular Culture at University College Dublin Humanities Institute, Dublin, Ireland. She also gave a talk at the John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress, in Washington, D.C., titled “Morality, Contraception, and Religion in Post-War America.” And, at the American Academy of Religion meeting in Boston, she presented a paper called “Picture Books and the Raising of Children in Christian-Jewish Interfaith Families” and launched the new AAR Seminar Group on Religions and Families in North America, of which she is a co-chair.
Bonnie Rohde ’92, instructor of economics and business, presented “North American Free Trade and Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreements” as an invited speaker at the World Affairs Council of Greater Reading in October 2017.
Rob Seesengood, chair and associate professor of religious studies, presented a paper, “Scary Stories: Affective links between Apocalyptic, Conspiracy, and Horror,” on November 18 at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Boston, Mass. The paper was part of a larger panel on Affect, Apocalyptic and Conspiracy co-designed by Rob and Donovan Schaeffer of University of Pennsylvania.
Filmmaker Jerry Tartaglia ’72, lecturer in English, was selected to present his 2017 film, Escape From Rented Island: The Lost Paradise of Jack Smith, at the 68th annual Berlin International Film Festival in February. The 10-day festival, which took place from February 15 to 25, is a leading international platform for creative filmmakers.
Melissa Wells ’86, instructor of economics and business, School of Professional Studies, gave a presentation, “Preparing for College: Careers in Business,” at the Wyomissing Junior-Senior High School Career Day on behalf of the College. Supporting information was provided by the Experiential Learning & Career Development Center and the Admission Office.