Faculty News and Notes

Faculty Contribute to State of the Lehigh Valley Event

Each year, the Lehigh Valley Research Consortium publishes the State of the Lehigh Valley: Community Trends at a Glance, a report that showcases faculty research on the quality of life in the Lehigh Valley region. Debra Wetcher-Hendricks, associate professor of sociology is the co-editor of the report this year, and Robert Brill, associate professor of psychology, and Sabrina Terrizzi, assistant professor of economics, have contributed sections along with many others in the LVAIC consortium.

This year, the report focuses on issues affecting persons with disabilities in our region. “We hope it will spark discussions about what we, as a community, are doing well and what steps we can take to improve the quality of life for all our neighbors,” says Terrizzi. “We’re also building on last year’s successful small-group format to allow for in-depth conversations.

The event will be held on March 3. To register, use this form: http://goo.gl/forms/qfdtFxHzGx. Those who sign up before February 22 will receive an electronic copy of the report prior to the event.

James West Presents Paper at New Zealand Conference

James West, professor of economics and business, presented his paper “Keystone Capitalism: Four Great Pennsylvanians and their Lasting Impact on the American Economic and Business Model” at the 28th annual meeting of the Business and Economics Society International, which took place January 6-8, 2016 in Queenstown, New Zealand. The conference brought together economics and business scholars from around the world.

West’s paper focuses on the lives and economic writings of William Penn, Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Carnegie and Gifford Pinchot. Rejecting both the archetype of laissez-faire idealism and the condemning stereotypes of exploitative cronyism, the paper elaborates an evolved model of American/Keystone capitalism that embraces, among other things, religious, political and economic freedom, virtue ethics, entrepreneurship, industrialization, environmental stewardship and philanthropy.

Out in Paperback Next Month

A Locker Room of Her Own: Celebrity, Sexuality, and Female Athletes edited by Edited by David C. Ogden and our own Joel Nathan Rosen, associate professor of sociology, will be released in March. This collection of essays looks specifically and critically at the nature of gender and sexuality within the contested nexus of race, reputation, and sport. The collection explores the reputations of iconic and pioneering sports figures and the cultural and social forces that helped to forge their unique and often problematic legacies. Women athletes discussed in this volume include Babe Didrikson Zaharias, the women of the AAGPBL, Billie Jean King, Venus and Serena Williams, Marion Jones, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, Sheryl Swoopes, Florence Griffith Joyner, Roberta Gibb and Kathrine Switzer, and Danica Patrick. 

In the Media  

An interview, “U.S.  Economic Outlook: Uncertainty Lingers” by Dr. James West, Professor of Economics and Business at Moravian University, was published in the December 2015 issue of Aviation International News. A highly regard publication tracking the worldwide aircraft  industry, Aviation International News, has published an annual economic forecast and analysis by Dr. West since 2007. Dr. West’s analysis, while commending the relative strength of the U.S. economy, looks behind some of the rosy statistics of a low U-3 unemployment rate, falling oil prices, low inflation and interest rates, to see some of the economic dangers reflected in numerous signs of a global slowdown. 

President Bryon Grigsby is quoted in the article, “Presidents of Small Colleges Bank on Fund Raising to Survive,” which appeared in the February 3 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education. To read the full article, click here:

Presidents of Small Colleges Bank on Fund Raising to Survive 

In a story in the February 5 edition of Lehigh Valley Business, Santo Marabella, professor of management, discusses the new marketing partnership with Stratix Systems, which will provide Moravian University students with professional experience in marketing, while generating fresh ideas for Stratix. 

Partnership aims to provide students with real-world business exposure 

Our new Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation Center is featured in a February 1 article in Lehigh Valley Business.

$6M sports medicine, rehab center to open 

A letter by adjunct professor  Peter Richmond commenting on Bill Bryson’s criticism of Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Eat, Pray, Love appeared in “Letters: Reading with Bill Bryson,” in The New York Times Sunday Book Review on January 29.

Letters: Reading With Bill Bryson 

And a Poem

Econ-optimist

Our deficit’s beyond the moon.

Our money supply’s an air balloon

The euro’s sunk, the Mid-East’s in flames,

And the Russians back to their old games.

Yet, I’m hopeful. And why not?

Though my bonds have tanked, as have my stocks.

For it’s election time with promises great,

Hmmm, I hope I pick the right candidate!

                                                —James West