Gaudeamus

Gordon Williams, assistant professor of mathematics, has been named a Project NExT fellow by the Mathematical Association of America and participated in Project NExT workshops at this summer’s MathFest, July 31-August 2 in Boulder, Colorado. Project NExT, which stands for New Experiences in Teaching, was developed for college-level mathematics faculty during their first few years after obtaining the Ph.D. Workshops focus on topics that help faculty begin their careers as teachers and mathematicans.

Gordon also attended a workshop on discrete and computational geometry, his area of research, at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley, California, in August.

Kelly Krieble ’86 and Joe Polette ’60, respectively assistant professor of physics and Louise E. Juley Professor of Science and chair of the Department of Physics and Earth Science, have an article called “A Simple Apparatus for Optical Polarization Experiments” in the December issue of The Physics Teacher.

Dana Dunn, professor of psychology, attended a conference called “Taking Off: Best Practices in Teaching Introductory Psychology,” September 26-27 in Atlanta. More than 200 psychology teachers from high schools through universities attended its presentations, discussions, and workshops. It was co-sponsored by the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, the National Institute for Teaching of Psychology, and Kennesaw State University’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

Dana also has been named chair of the committee that selects speakers for the G. Stanley Hall Lecture at the American Psychological Association annual convention. Namesake of the series, Granville Stanley Hall (1844-1924), was a pioneering psychologist at Johns Hopkins University.

Connie Unger, assistant professor of education, just returned from the Keystone State Reading Association meeting in Hershey, which she organized and chaired. She becomes president of the association next year. More in the next issue of InCommon.

Peter von Allmen, associate professor of economics and business and chair of the department, is an enthusiastic cyclist—most of the time. He participated in the 100-km cyclosportif September 21 in Souderton. “If I never see another road name with the word ‘hill’ in it, it will be too soon!” he says.

Michael Fraboni, assistant professor of mathematics, has become newsletter editor for the Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware section of the Mathematical Association of America. Kay Somers, professor of mathematics, is governor of the district (her term ends this year); Alicia Sevilla, professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, is student chapter coordinator. The chapter’s spring meeting is April 3 at the College.

Wendy Juniper, reference and public services librarian, has been filing away her activities until the box overflowed.

• She’s on the executive board of the College and Research Libraries division of the Pennsylvania Library Association, through 2005.
• She went to the Pennsylvania Library Association annual conference, October 2-5 in Pittsburgh, attending sessions about open-access projects, library website development, and diversity issues.
• She was on a panel moderated by Stephen Abram, president-elect of the Canadian Library Association, at the fall conference of the Delaware Valley chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries, October 24 at American College, Bryn Mawr. The panel was called “10 Trends Rocking the Library World ... and the Kids Are All Right.”
• She reviewed Doreen D’Cruz’s Loving Subjects: Narratives of Female Desire in the September issue of the Australian publication LIBRES.

Mildred Rivera-Martínez, associate professor of Spanish, led a training session on language assessment for the Center for Applied Linguistics, September 23-25 in Washington, D.C. The trainees were preparing for the oral section (foreign language) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is being pilot-tested in fall 2003 and will be in operation by fall 2004. The assessment test will be administered to a random sample of 1,000 high school seniors. Its results will become part of the Nation’s Report Card, an ongoing public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of Education project.

Khristina Haddad, assistant professor of political science, had time on her hands while working on her doctorate at the University of Michigan. Last week she received her diploma from Michigan’s Graduate Certificate Program in Women's Studies.

Incoming!

Paul Edinger ’98, of CIT, and his wife, Jaime, are the master files of a new little program called Samantha Lynne, born October 7.

Farewell!

Shay Jaymes left as the assistant director of student activities and the HUB on October 17. She’ll be working for the Lehigh County Assistance Office. We’ll miss her.