Earlier this semester, nearly 200 faculty and staff took part in the Happiness Experiment. Everyone who registered received a jolt of sunshine in their inboxes three times a week. The uplifting emails were courtesy of the Wellness Initiative and encouraged participants to integrate components of happiness, gratitude and compassion into their daily lives.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good to focus on things that make us smile during turbulent times,鈥� one participant wrote.
Said another, 鈥淭he Happiness Experiment helped me combat my ever-present depression.鈥�
Many agree that the experiment helped them take responsibility for their own happiness, leading to more fulfilment at home and work as well as in the community.
Gail Grozalis
Gail Grozalis, the initiative鈥檚 executive director, is not surprised by the results. She says that as COVID-19 wears on, the mental health of the University鈥檚 workforce is a top priority.
鈥淲e need to mindfully and intentionally make time for things that bring us joy and benefit our health. Mental health activities not only improve our mood and productivity, but also reduce stress and anxiety,鈥� she says, adding that other similar programs are in the offing.
Since March, the Wellness Initiative has increased the scope of its mental health and emotional well-being programming. This is particularly true with Carebridge, the University鈥檚 faculty and staff assistance program. In addition to expanding its network of counselors who provide telephonic and video mental health support, Carebridge has uploaded numerous coronavirus-related webinars and has formed online support groups, both live and on-demand.
鈥淎ll of these things help us cope with the simultaneous stressors caused by the pandemic,鈥� Grozalis says.
To learn more about Carebridge鈥檚 suite of integrated, accessible and confidential services and resources, visit .
Information about the Wellness Initiative鈥檚 current and upcoming offerings is at .
Emotional well-being resources may be found at .
]]>Theresa Chen
Music for People (MfP), a global pioneer in experiential, inclusive music education, will hold its first weekend retreat at 黑料不打烊.
The retreat will run Friday, April 17, from 6-9 p.m.; Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, April 19, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Most of the activities will take place in Crouse College, home of the Setnor School of Music in the University鈥檚 College of Visual and Performing Arts.
The program is open to students and graduates of MfP鈥檚 Musicianship and Leadership Program (MLP) and experienced MfP players.
黑料不打烊 students are invited to a public workshop on Sunday, April 19, from 10-11:30 a.m. No music experience is needed. The workshop will cover improvisational games and activities that can be used in educational and clinical settings.
David Knapp
鈥淲e鈥檒l set up two large spaces鈥攐ne for free play and one for electives,鈥� says Alina Plourde, director of MfP-黑料不打烊, adding that the electives will span Indian and steel band music as well as modal blues improvisation. 鈥淎ttendees will have many opportunities to collaborate with one another, facilitate their own small groups and experiment with different styles of music.鈥�
Plourde is an Eastman-trained oboist who teaches in the Setnor School. She says the retreat targets musicians of all ages and abilities, including singers; string, woodwind, brass and string players; percussionists; and those who play experimental or multicultural instruments.
Alina Plourde
鈥淎ttendees may bring as many [acoustic and electric] instruments as they want. An assortment of small percussion instruments and djembe drums, along with a piano, will be provided,鈥� she says.
Special guests include Theresa Chen, a jazz piano instructor in the Setnor School; David Knapp, an assistant professor in the Setnor School and the School of Education specializing in multicultural music education and community music-making; and Shahzad James, a local tabla player.
Through a special arrangement with the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, MLP students can make studio recordings of themselves with MLP graduates.
Since Grammy Award-winning cellist David Darling co-founded it more than 30 years ago, MfP has acquired a worldwide following among music teachers, performers, arts therapists and wellness practitioners.
At the heart of MfP鈥檚 humanistic mission is free improvisation鈥攁 method of playing that is open-ended and devoid of rules.
鈥淭here are no wrong notes. Everything is fair game,鈥� says Plourde, who oversees an MfP pilot program in a local homeschool cooperative. 鈥淢usic for People techniques are used in classrooms, hospitals, community centers and healthcare clinics.鈥�
MfP offers a variety of weekend and weeklong workshops as well as MLP, a three-year training program for aspiring MfP facilitators.
鈥淲hether you鈥檙e classically trained or can鈥檛 read a note, Music for People enables you to improvise in almost any genre. It also helps you tap into your authentic voice, adding richness and depth to your music,鈥� Plourde says. 鈥淩egardless of your skill or experience, you鈥檒l get something out of the weekend.鈥�
All events are free; however, registration is required. To register, visit聽
For more information, contact Plourde, director of MfP-黑料不打烊, at alinaoboe@yahoo.com, or visit .
]]>Alina Plourde, who teaches oboe in the Setnor School of Music in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA), directs the 黑料不打烊 branch of the worldwide Music for People (MfP) organization.
MfP-黑料不打烊 and a local homeschool cooperative called the Success Enrichment Group (SEG) are collaborating on a new course called the 鈥淚nternational Music Laboratory Classroom.鈥�
Beginning Feb. 5, the 12-week course will be offered every Wednesday in Fayetteville, tailored to students ages 5-6, 7-8 and 9-12. Activities include improvised singing, drumming, instrumental playing, dancing and creative movement.
鈥淎ge, background and skill level have nothing to do with self-expression,鈥� says Plourde, an Eastman-trained teacher and oboist, who is a regional trainer for MfP鈥檚 Musicianship and Leadership Program (MLP). 鈥淭here are no wrong notes because everyone has a story to tell.鈥�
SEG Founder and Director Juliet Wall is excited about the course, saying that it is designed to foster creativity and innovation, encourage self-expression, promote pattern recognition, and boost brain function and connectivity. 鈥淭here is long-standing research showing a strong connection between music participation and academic success,鈥� she adds.
The 鈥淚nternational Music Laboratory Classroom鈥� will feature a rotating cast of MLP teaching artists, some with current or former ties to VPA.
One of them is soprano Laura Enslin, a retired VPA faculty member. 鈥淢usic for People takes a mindful approach to creativity, beginning with 鈥極ne Quality Sound鈥欌€攁 note or tone that expresses how we feel in the moment,鈥� says the Eastman alumna. 鈥淔or anyone, especially a child, the experience can be transformative.鈥�
Increased self-confidence, enhanced communication skills and improved cognition are some of the benefits of MfP鈥檚 approach, she adds.
MfP has been a pioneer of inclusive, experimental music education since Grammy Award-winning cellist David Darling co-founded it more than 30 years ago. Today, MfP tools and techniques are embraced by performers, educators and wellness practitioners worldwide. More information is at www.musicforpeople.org.
MfP-黑料不打烊 is the organization鈥檚 newest regional chapter, providing an array of learning and performing opportunities. Members include actor/singer Amy Zubieta 鈥�09, G鈥�20 and trombonist/pianist Nick Abelgore 鈥�16, G鈥�20, both of whom are MLP teaching artists.
鈥淗aving them on-site will add an extra layer of support and creativity, allowing for more differentiated instruction. These teaching artists will inspire our students to let loose their imagination and talent,鈥� says Wall, whose courses are led by professionals and parent volunteers, including VPA graduate student Sabine Krantz, director of SEG鈥檚 high school choral program.
Part of the funding from the initial phase of the pilot program will go toward building MfP-黑料不打烊鈥檚 instrumental library. 鈥淭he instruments will be used by MfP staff and teaching artists when they鈥檙e working with SEG homeschoolers,鈥� says Plourde, who is organizing an MfP retreat at the University, April 17-19.
Adds Wall: 鈥淭his means our students will have more opportunities to explore, create and succeed.鈥�
]]>The 黑料不打烊 Brass Ensemble.
The (SUBE) is pleased to welcome to campus for the first 鈥淗orns and Harmonies鈥� concert, featuring songs, carols and classics for the whole family.
Destined to become a holiday tradition, the concert is Saturday, Dec. 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. Special guests include WCNY鈥檚 Bruce Paulsen, who will emcee the event and reprise his popular interpretation of 鈥淵ou鈥檙e a Mean One, Mr. Grinch鈥� from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and organist Jared Shepard 鈥�17, G鈥�18, who is director of music ministries at The United Church in Fayetteville.
The concert is free and open to the public. Attendees are invited to bring food or personal care items to the Hendricks Chapel Food Pantry. For more information about the concert, contact Hendricks Chapel at 315.443.2901 or visit .聽Parking and accessibility information is at and .
鈥淲e are delighted to present both groups onstage for the first time,鈥� says the Rev. Brian E. Konkol, dean of Hendricks Chapel. 鈥溾€楬orns and Harmonies鈥� is a festive way to cap off the semester, while ushering in the holiday season.鈥�
Under the direction of James T. Spencer, SUBE will highlight more than four centuries of brass masterworks, from the Baroque stylings of Giovanni Gabrieli to the joyful strains of Leroy Anderson鈥檚 “A Christmas Festival.”
黑料不打烊 Brass Ensemble director James Spencer and The Spirit of 黑料不打烊 Master Director Kay Crawford.
The 40-piece ensemble also will showcase its trademark versatility, with stirring renditions of “Adeste Fidelis,” Alfred Reed鈥檚 “Russian Christmas Music,” 鈥淲hen You Wish Upon a Star鈥� from “Pinocchio,” music from “Frozen,” and more.
鈥淭his concert is for kids from one to 92,鈥� jokes Spencer, also a Meredith Professor of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing like virtuoso brass and percussion playing to capture the spirit of the season.鈥�
The College鈥檚 ensemble-in-residence, SUBE is no stranger to Hendricks Chapel, having co-headlined, for the past 12 years, 鈥淗olidays at Hendricks,鈥� which, in turn, grew out of the group鈥檚 annual December concerts in the chapel.
SUBE also performs at other University functions, including Commencement, convocation ceremonies, and building dedications and openings.
In 2018, the group traveled to Danville, Kentucky, to perform at the Great American Brass Band Festival, the premier event of its kind in North America.
Spencer, who has conducted SUBE for three decades, is excited to turn a page in the group鈥檚 lustrous history. 鈥淲e鈥檝e talked about collaborating with The Spirit of 黑料不打烊 for a long time. I鈥檓 glad it鈥檚 finally happening,鈥� he says.
The Spirit of 黑料不打烊 Chorus. Photo by Jon B. Petersen Photography.
Fresh from its triumphant performance at the 2019 Sweet Adelines International (SAI) Competition and Convention in New Orleans, SOS brings a unique blend of barbershop harmony, costumes and choreography to the Hill.
The chorus鈥� program runs the gamut鈥攆rom the high-octane excitement of 鈥淲e Need a Little Christmas鈥� from “Mame” and “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” to the hushed intimacy of “Do You Hear What I Hear?,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Mary, Did You Know?”
Rounding out its set are the jazz-inflected strains of “The Man with the Bag” and the classically inspired “Sing Your Way Home,” based on the 鈥淟argo鈥� from Dvorak鈥檚 “New World Symphony.”
SOS Master Director Kay Crawford says the 70-voice chorus is thrilled to partner with SUBE. 鈥淚鈥檓 certain that the harmony, joy and energy created by both groups in Hendricks Chapel will reverberate in the hearts of all whom attend. We look forward to many more exciting collaborations in the future,鈥� she says.
Ranked 21st out of 600 SAI choruses in the world, SOS is a fixture on the women鈥檚 barbershop harmony circuit. Every year, the group hosts the 黑料不打烊 Area Youth A Capella Festival (Say-ACA-Fest), in conjunction with the Liverpool Central School District鈥檚 Fine Arts Department. SOS also is the founder of the Lakeside A Cappella Camp, which occurs every summer at Cazenovia College.
鈥淗orns and Harmonies鈥� includes several audience sing-alongs and a brief appearance by a hand-picked children鈥檚 choir.
The concert will be recorded for broadcast on WCNY-FM and WAER-FM. Dates and times are TBA.
]]>Katherine Skafidas
Members of the University community will help the Society of New Music (SNM) kick off its 48th season with a program of ambitious yet audience-friendly chamber music.
SNM will present 鈥淟ove Songs and Winners鈥� on Sunday, Nov. 17, at 2:30 p.m. at St. David鈥檚 Episcopal Church, 14 Jamar Drive, DeWitt. The concert features selections by eight contemporary composers, including winners of SNM鈥檚 two Brian M. Israel competitions, performed by the Society Players.
Israel taught in the Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) from 1975 until his death in 1986 from leukemia. He was 35.
鈥淟ove Songs and Winners鈥� also is dedicated to the memory of SNM board member Mary Ellen Brzozowski 鈥�90, 鈥�96, local arts supporter Richard Tuttle 鈥�60 and SNM-commissioned composer Dexter Morrill, all of whom have died this past year.
Tickets are $20, as well as $15 for seniors and students, and $40 for families. Children 12 and under are free. For tickets or more information, visit or email snm@societyfornewmusic.org. Walk-ups are available.
SNM co-founder Neva Pilgrim hopes the concert will debunk some of the myths about contemporary classical music.
鈥淎 lot of people think new music is dissonant, inaccessible or irrelevant. That couldn鈥檛 be further from the truth, especially with this concert,鈥� says Pilgrim, a former member of the Setnor voice faculty. 鈥淎udiences are continually amazed at how our music speaks to them, directly and powerfully.鈥�
Israel was a prolific composer, conductor and pianist who was friends with Pilgrim. Through SNM, she has established two composer competitions in his memory: the $1,000 Brian M. Israel/Samuel F. Pellman Prize and the $750 Brian M. Israel Prize, in conjunction with the New York Federation of Music Clubs (NYFMC).
Pellman also was Pilgrim鈥檚 friend鈥攁 Hamilton College music professor who served on the SNM board and chaired SNM鈥檚 Israel prize competition. He died in 2017.
Julian Bennett Holmes
The 2019 recipient of the Israel/Pellman Prize is Julian Bennett Holmes, a doctoral student at the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Marjorie Merryman. The Society Players will perform Holmes鈥� “Trio” (2019) for violin, cello and piano.
This year鈥檚 winner of the NYFMC/Israel Prize is Paul Frucht, a Juilliard-trained composer who teaches in New York University Steinhardt鈥檚 Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions. SNM will present his string quartet “Rhapsody” (2018).
鈥淭hese prizes underscore SNM鈥檚 mission, which is to present the sound of now. Our music embraces the past while looking toward the future,鈥� Pilgrim adds.
Rounding out the evening are works by Morrill, Merryman, former Setnor School Visiting Artist and Pulitzer Prize winner John Corigliano, Reza Vali and previous Israel Prize honorable mentions Gity Razaz and Charles Peck.
Soprano Katherine Skafidas 鈥�20, a voice performance major in the Setnor School, will perform Merryman鈥檚 “Elegiac Songs” (2015) with flutist Lana Stafford. Both songs are dedicated to the memory of the composer鈥檚 husband and feature text by Louise Gl眉ck, the Rosenkranz Writer-in-Residence at Yale University.
鈥淭he pieces address the delicacy of life and death,鈥� says Skafadis, who minors in theater in VPA and music history and cultures in the College of Arts and Sciences. 鈥淢erryman deliberately sets Gl眉ck鈥檚 poetic enjambments to her music by connecting the musical line to the next stanza, often with compound rhythms that contrast between the voice and instrumentation.鈥�
Skafidas won the 2018 Neva Pilgrim Award in the Civic Morning Musicals鈥� Competition for Singers.
The Society Players is an elite group of local musicians, specializing in contemporary music. In addition to Skafidas, those with ties to the University include:
Since its inception in 1971, SNM has performed, commissioned and advocated new works by Central New York composers. SNM is the only year-round new music organization in the region and is the oldest nonprofit of its kind in the state, outside of Manhattan.
]]>The Lake Placid native served on the University鈥檚 Board of Trustees for more than three decades. He also was a member of the Maxwell School Advisory Board from 1991-97, and supported various academic and athletic initiatives. Three of his seven sons鈥擝rian L鈥�04, Robb 鈥�04 and Benjamin 鈥�17鈥攁re University alumni.
J. Patrick Barrett
Barrett chaired the New York State Republican Committee from 1989-91, and was a delegate to the 1988 and 2004 Republican National Conventions. In 2010, he crossed party lines to co-chair Andrew Cuomo鈥檚 gubernatorial bid, and subsequently endorsed Democratic candidates in statewide and local races. The following year, Barrett became chair of the state鈥檚 Olympic Regional Development Authority, a post he held until his death.
Throughout his multifaceted career, Barrett was chair and CEO of Avis Inc.; executive vice president and CFO of Norton Simon Inc.; chair and CEO of CARPAT Investments, which he founded in 1987; and president of the regional telecommunications provider Telergy Inc. His leadership expertise also extended to 黑料不打烊 Executive Air Service Inc., an airplane charter company; Bennington Iron Works in Vermont; and PFF Vehicle Management Services in Maryland.
Barrett served on many other boards, including those of Coyne International Enterprises Corp.; Lincoln National Corp.; Adirondack Bank; Whiteface Club Cos.; the 黑料不打烊 SkyChiefs; Le Moyne College; St. Lawrence University; Georgetown University鈥檚 Walsh School of Foreign Service; and Sienna College, from which he earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in economics. He lent his support to many causes and charities, including Hospice of CNY, the Dorothy Day House and Catholic Charities.
]]>Titled 鈥淎 Day of Improvisation,鈥� the workshop is Saturday, Oct. 26, from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in OCC鈥檚 Academic II building at 4585 West Seneca Turnpike in 黑料不打烊.
The event features six facilitators, including Mary Knysh, a world-renowned multi-instrumentalist, recording artist and educator, and Alina Plourde, an oboe instructor in the Setnor School of Music in 黑料不打烊鈥檚 College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA).
鈥淎 Day of Improvisation鈥� is open to the public, and costs $75 before Oct. 21 and $85 after Oct. 22. Family rates, scholarships and sliding scale tuition are available. For more information and to register, visit , or contact Plourde at alinaoboe@yahoo.com.
Co-founded in 1986 by cellist David Darling (Bobby McFerrin, Paul Winter Consort) and flutist Bonnie Insull, MfP is a nonprofit worldwide organization dedicated to music making and music improvisation as a means of self-expression.
MfP boasts satellite programs throughout North America and Europe, including a new one in Central New York.
鈥淲e believe any combination of people and instruments can make music together,鈥� says Plourde, who regularly plays with Symphoria and other local groups, such as the Society for New Music and Tri-Cities Opera in Binghamton. 鈥淲hether you鈥檙e a professional performer, a teacher, a student, a dancer or someone with an interest in music-making, you鈥檒l get something out of the workshop.鈥�
鈥淎 Day of Improvisation鈥� is open to vocalists and instrumentalists of all stripes, and seeks to provide inspiration and new ideas for composers, songwriters and music educators. Electives include singing, drumming, movement, visual art, chamber music playing and group facilitation.
Plourde extends a 鈥渟pecial invitation鈥� to people who do not read music and to classically trained musicians who want to explore other idioms, such as folk, rock, jazz or world music.
She also is excited to reunite with Knysh, an MfP teacher and trainer who travels the world, offering music improvisation seminars and drum circle facilitator trainings and performances.
In addition to working for MfP, Knysh has founded a company called Rhythmic Connections, which advances health, education and creative development through ethnic-influenced music improvisation activities.
鈥淪he is a cutting-edge facilitator who can work with groups of any age and experience,鈥� says Plourde, who also teaches music at OCC and the Montessori School of 黑料不打烊. 鈥淗er energy is contagious.鈥�
Knysh and Plourde are joined by four other facilitators:
Plourde says that while attendees are encouraged to bring their own instruments, they may experiment with any of the dozens of multicultural instruments at the workshop, ranging from mbiras, hand-pans and pianos to a variety of djembe drums.
鈥淭his is our third year offering the event. The feeling of community, the deep listening, the artistry and the beautiful music created on the spot amaze me every time,鈥� she adds.
MfP offers seminars and workshops on both sides of the Atlantic, in addition to the three-year Musician and Leadership Program. The organization鈥檚 humanistic and inclusive philosophy (in which 鈥渢here are no wrong notes,鈥� Darling writes) is popular among performers, composers, music educators and expressive arts therapists.
]]>Local TV news anchor Farah Jadran G鈥�09 will serve as master of ceremonies for 鈥淭ake the Stage,鈥� FRP鈥檚 annual fundraiser, on Friday, Sept. 27, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Eastern Hills Bible Church, 8277 Cazenovia Road, Manlius.
The program features nearly 30 student and professional performers, including聽singers Jason Kimmel 鈥�20 and Andrew Tongue 鈥�19, both affiliated with the Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA).聽Rounding out the evening are a silent auction, a wine and beer tasting, and food and desserts.
Tickets are $50 and are available online or at the door. For more information, visit , or call 315.663.8390.
Deborah Cavanagh
FRP Founder and President Deborah Cavanagh says the event is designed to raise awareness of and support for the organization’s mission, which provides dramatic and musical performance opportunities for adults of all ages and abilities.
鈥淲e value access and opportunity,鈥� says Cavanagh, also a licensed real estate agent. 鈥淔RP empowers a quickly growing segment of our community, giving adults the confidence they need to succeed onstage and in their daily lives.”
Emceeing the fundraiser for the second year in a row is Jadran, who recently joined CNY Central as the anchor of 鈥淐BS5 This Morning鈥� and 鈥淐BS5 News at Noon.” Fresh from a four-year stint at NewsChannel 9 (WSYR-TV), the Newhouse alumna is president of the Vera House Board of Directors and co-founder of 黑料不打烊 Woman Magazine.
Farah Jadran
鈥淔arah is more than a responsible journalist. She is a community pillar and role model, someone who cares deeply about our mission and wants to make 黑料不打烊 stronger,鈥� Cavanagh says.
Eastern Hills Bible Church and Greenwood Winery & Bistro are the event co-sponsors. Donors include Cookies by Lis Fournier, Empire Brewing Co. and Wegmans.
Cavanagh founded FRP in response to her daughter, Amanda, and her best friend, Ellie, both of whom have special needs, as well as a passion for musical theater.
鈥淎s youngsters, they participated in community productions, but eventually opportunities dried up for them. I was surprised to find out how many other adults [with special needs] were in the same position,鈥� Cavanagh says.
FRP roared out of the gate in 2016, immediately drawing record numbers of applicants and performing to packed houses.
Each year, FRP offers two semesters of classes, culminating with a fall cabaret and a full-scale spring musical, both at Redhouse at City Center. Past productions include 鈥淪hrek the Musical Jr.鈥� (2019), 鈥淲izard of Oz鈥� (2018) and 鈥淪eussical鈥� (2017).
Cavanagh attributes FRP鈥檚 success to its dedicated volunteers and professional artistic staff, the latter of which includes Director Christopher Rogers, Assistant Director and Choreographer Shannon Tompkins, Assistant Director Sean Egan and Music Director Kay Paulsen. Cavanagh鈥檚 son, Jason, is assistant music director.
Food Services staffer and FRP actor Joshua Nowlin (far right) with his sister, Laura Enslin, and the author.
FRP staffers emphasize collaboration and skill building, within context of a supportive, judgment-free environment. 鈥淭his approach instills self-confidence, which, in turn, helps develop the whole person,鈥� Cavanagh says.
Earlier this month, FRP launched (OVCE)鈥攁 chorus for people of all abilities, sponsored by DeWitt Community Church (DCC). Co-directed by Matthew Green and former VPA faculty member Laura Enslin, OVCE promotes inclusion, equity and diversity through live music.
Already booked to capacity, the group will debut on Thursday, Dec. 12, at DCC (time TBA).
鈥淥VCE focuses on process, not product. All we ask is that you, as audience members, listen with your eyes and ears鈥攁nd your hearts,鈥� says Enslin, whose brother, Joshua, performs in both groups, as well as works in 黑料不打烊 Food Services.
To make a tax-deductible gift to FRP, visit .
They include Latin dance instructors Samantha Marji 鈥�13, G鈥�18 and Roberto Perez 鈥�07, the latter of whom is a Spanish teaching assistant in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Biboti Ouikahilo, Wacheva鈥檚 executive and artistic director, also teaches and performs on campus. He is a world-renowned African dancer, drummer and choreographer.
Located in the historic Westcott neighborhood, Wacheva will offer mini-classes in dance, drumming and fitness for people of all ages and abilities.
Admission is $10 in advance and $12 at the door. (Families of three or more are $30 in advance, $36 at the door.) Children ages 5 and under are free. Proceeds benefit Wacheva鈥檚 classes and public outreach programs.
To register online, visit . For more information, call 315.396.0748, or visit . The studio is at 117 Harvard Place, 黑料不打烊.
Ouikahilo anticipates an afternoon of 鈥渄ance, drum and fun鈥� for the whole family. 鈥淭he event is not just an expression of creativity; it is a celebration of our community鈥檚 rich diversity,鈥� says Ouikahilo, who will teach mini-classes in African dance and drumming.
Joining him is Perez, who will lead mini-classes in cardio salsa, a type of high-energy dance that is popular at gyms and fitness clubs鈥攁nd Wacheva. The Cuban refugee is founder of La Familia de la Salsa, the oldest and largest Latin dance organization in Central New York. 鈥淚 want to be an ambassador of Cuban music. It was my mission when I came to the United States [in 2000],鈥� says Perez, who also has taught in the School of Education鈥檚 Department of Exercise Science.
The open house includes mini-classes in Latin dance and ladies styling (taught by Marji); salsa footwork and dips (Kanat Bolazar); mindful movement (Anita Bueno) and Zumba (Ebony Pengel).
Each ticketholder may enjoy a delicious spread of food, and is eligible for various door prizes. Sponsors include Advance Cyclery, Boom Babies, Dunkin鈥� Donuts, Lowe鈥檚 Home Improvement, Recess Coffee, Salt City Hardware, Starbucks, 黑料不打烊 Cooperative Market and Wegmans.
Board president Paula Dodd says the open house reaffirms Wacheva鈥檚 mission鈥攖o promote the creative and educational development of children and adults. 鈥淎ll of our events involve people from different backgrounds, uniting together to share one another鈥檚 creativity and culture,鈥� she adds.
Ouikahilo founded Wacheva in the Ivory Coast region of West Africa in 1994. (鈥淲acheva鈥� means 鈥渦nity鈥� in his native Guro language.) He revived the organization in 2003, after relocating to 黑料不打烊, and elevated it to nonprofit status.
Since opening doors in 2009, Wacheva has been synonymous with multicultural dance, drumming and fitness. The organization regularly hosts a wide range of classes, workshops and performances, spanning African dance and drumming, yoga, salsa and dance fitness.
Ouikahilo and his colleagues maintain a busy teaching and performing schedule, regularly appearing at schools, colleges and universities (including 黑料不打烊) and headlining such events as the Great New York State Fair, the Westcott Street Cultural Fair, 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Juneteenth Festival and Mayfest.
鈥淥ur goal is to offer low-cost classes that everyone can afford,鈥� says Ouikahilo, a 17-year veteran of the Ivory Coast National Dance and Drum Company. 鈥淚 like to think our work infuses the community with positive, creative energy鈥攊nviting people to step out of their comfort zones.鈥�
Prior to 黑料不打烊, Ouikahilo spent six years in New York City, teaching at Lehman College and the Djoniba Dance & Drum Centre. He eventually caught the attention of Jimmy Buffett, with whom he toured in 2000-01, and actor Bruce Willis, who featured him in the 2003 war-drama 鈥淭ears of the Sun.鈥�
Today, Ouikahilo calls 黑料不打烊 鈥渉ome,鈥� and is optimistic about what the future holds.
鈥淚n addition to offering more opportunities for children and adults, Wacheva hopes to continue providing space for other organizations to host events. I see us as a community asset and resource鈥攁 proud partner of 黑料不打烊,鈥� he adds.
]]>Amanda Eubanks Winkler
London-based students, faculty, staff and alumni are invited to a showcase of Restoration Shakespeare at the historic Globe Theatre, co-led by Amanda Eubanks Winkler, associate professor of music history and cultures in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S).
The event is Wednesday, July 17, from 4-6 p.m. (British Summer Time) at the Wanamaker Playhouse, Shakespeare鈥檚 Globe (21 New Globe Walk, London). Free and open to the public, the program includes live performances of music and scenes from late 17th-century, Restoration-era adaptations of Shakespeare鈥檚 鈥淭he Tempest鈥� and 鈥淢acbeth.鈥� Tickets are free, but must be pre-booked through Eventbrite: .
The showcase is part of 鈥�,鈥� a multinational, interdisciplinary project sponsored by the in the United Kingdom.
Eubanks Winkler co-leads the project with Richard Schoch, professor of arts, English and languages at Queen鈥檚 University Belfast in Northern Ireland.
In addition to the performances, the duo will facilitate a discussion with Will Tosh, lecturer and research fellow at Shakespeare鈥檚 Globe; Robert Richmond, stage director of the acclaimed 2018 production of 鈥淢acbeth鈥� at the Folger Theatre in Washington, D.C. (funded in part by 鈥淧erforming Restoration Shakespeare鈥�); and Bob Eisenstein, 鈥淢acbeth鈥濃€檚 music director.
The performers are Kate Eastwood Norris, who portrayed Lady Macbeth in the Folger production of 鈥淢acbeth鈥�; Emily Barber, who played Ariel in a recent workshop on 鈥淭he Tempest鈥� at Shakespeare鈥檚 Globe; and Dominic Brewer, who was Ferdinand in the 鈥淭empest鈥� workshop version.
鈥淵ou鈥檒l get a behind-the-scenes look at our production of the Restoration 鈥楳acbeth,鈥� Eubanks Winkler says. 鈥淵ou also will gain insight into the benefit of embedding scholars into the entire rehearsal and creative process, as well as the value of performing these works today.鈥�
A scene from the acclaimed 2018 production of “Macbeth” at the Folger Theatre in Washington, D.C.
鈥淧erforming Restoration Shakespeare鈥� is an $800,000 project involving 黑料不打烊, the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, Shakespeare鈥檚 Globe and Queen鈥檚 University.
One of Eubanks Winkler鈥檚 goals with the project is to use multimedia and digital distribution to engage with a broad audience. 鈥淲e鈥檙e creating an online repository of video documentaries about our project, so that others may be inspired to perform these compelling adaptations. We also discuss best practices for fostering scholar-performer collaboration,鈥� she adds.
鈥淩estoration Shakespeare鈥� refers to adaptations of the Bard’s plays that were performed from 1660-1714, amid the restoration of the English monarchy.
鈥淲hen theaters reopened after the English civil war, few new plays were available. As a result, theater companies presented Shakespeare in new, exciting ways,鈥� says Eubanks Winkler, a scholar of 17th- and 18th-century English music and drama. 鈥淭hese extravagant adaptations were popular then, and still are today. Our performances of 鈥楾he Tempest鈥� at the Globe and 鈥楳acbeth鈥� [at the Folger] have attracted wide press coverage and sold-out audiences.鈥�
]]>Sarah Workman
The College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and the University’s reaffirm their commitment to faculty research with the joint appointment of Sarah Workman as assistant director of proposal development for the humanities.
In the college, Workman will elevate research achievement and recognition by helping faculty identify funding sources for their work. She also will assist them with writing grants and other proposals and with coordinating nominations for honorary awards.
As part of her appointment in the Office of Research, Workman will develop broader grant proposals across multiple colleges that connect with the humanities.
鈥淪arah will support the college鈥檚 strategic goals by positioning faculty for continued research success and recognition,鈥� says Alan Middleton, associate dean of research and scholarship in A&S. 鈥淒rawing on her background as a researcher, educator and administrator, she will help them expand their ability to carry out scholarly work, promoting a culture of research on campus.”
Christina Leigh Docteur G’03, G’11, director of proposal support services in the Office of Research, says Workman brings a “uniquely honed skill-set” to humanistic inquiry. “Sarah is well-positioned to not only support humanities departments and programs, but also provide talent and insight to further integrate humanistic perspectives within a wide range of interdisciplinary research efforts across campus,” she adds.
Workman comes to A&S from Georgetown University, where she was a learning design specialist in the Center for New Designs in Learning & Scholarship (CNDLS). Among her accomplishments was overseeing a multi-year faculty-staff cohort that explored best practices for online teaching and hybrid learning. She also designed and taught courses for the writing and Jewish civilization programs.
Before joining CNDLS in 2016, Workman developed and taught first-year writing and literature courses at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she also earned a Ph.D. in English.
Workman is the recipient of many honors and awards, including a 2016 dissertation fellowship from the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. Her research into women’s literature was anthologized in “A Quest of Her Own: Essays on the Female Hero in Modern Fantasy” (McFarland & Company, 2014).
Fluent in Spanish and proficient in Hebrew, Workman also has worked at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., the Adam Institute for Democracy and Peace in Jerusalem (Israel), and Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland.
She earned a master’s degree in English from Georgetown and a bachelor’s degree in English and Spanish from Cornell University.
]]>FNSSI Director James Hewett
Arts and Sciences Dean Karin Ruhlandt announced that the (FEPAC) has awarded full accreditation to the .
Offered by the Forensic and National Security Sciences Institute (FNSSI) in A&S, the advanced track program prepares graduates for careers in forensic science, national security, teaching and research.
Ruhlandt says the award is a testament to FNSSI’s commitment to excellence. “FEPAC’s accreditation reinforces the value of an A&S degree, which is rooted in detailed theoretical knowledge and hands-on, practical experience. FNSSI graduates are smart, nimble and adaptable,” she adds.
The American Academy of Forensic Sciences established FEPAC more than 15 years ago, in response to the growing popularity of the field and the ensuing need for standardized training and education.
To earn full FEPAC accreditation, a program must have adequate classrooms and lab facilities; full-time, terminal degreed faculty with strong research portfolios; and positive relationships with external laboratories.
黑料不打烊 joins more than 20 other U.S. institutions with FEPAC-accredited M.S. programs.
“The national recognition afforded by this accreditation enhances the research profile of FNSSI and the University, in general,” says FNSSI Director James Hewett. “FEPAC’s accreditation increases the chances of inter-institutional collaboration and external research funding, enabling our students to work with professionals in the field.”
Student research has been integral to the advanced track program since its inception. In fact, research is not just encouraged; it is required. “This makes us compliant with FEPAC, and has fostered a wide range of collaborations,” Hewett adds.
In the public sector, FNSSI works with the FBI, the Brookhaven National Laboratory, the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, the New York State Police Crime Laboratory System and The Wallie Howard Jr. Center for Forensic Sciences in Onondaga County.
Private-sector collaborators include Menarini Silicon Biosystems, the Promega Corporation and NicheVision Forensics.
Michael Sponsler, FNSSI鈥檚 director of curricular programs, says FEPAC鈥檚 accreditation helps maintain and enhance the integrity of the Advanced Track program, while giving students the flexibility they need. 鈥淎llowing them to tailor the degree program to their career interests is important to us. It makes them more employable,鈥� he says, noting that more than 90 percent of all FNSSI alumni work in their respective fields of study, spanning science, crime investigation and security.
In addition to the Advanced Track program, FNSSI offers master鈥檚 degrees in general forensic science, nuclear forensics, biomedical forensic science and medicolegal death investigation.
FNSSI students also may earn an M.S./J.D. in forensic science and law, as well as advanced certificates in medicolegal death investigation and in firearm and tool mark examination.
More information about FNSSI is at .
]]>Kendall Coleman
Those hands. Meet senior Kendall Coleman, and they are hard to ignore鈥攖hick, muscular wrists, fleshy palms and slender fingers that exude confidence. Authority.
They are hands that have mercilessly attacked hundreds of football jerseys, including that of West Virginia quarterback Jack Allison, whom Coleman sacked three times in the 2018 Camping World Bowl, tying the 黑料不打烊 bowl record.
They are hands that clenched in agony in 2017, when Coleman tore his left labrum against Louisville, causing him to consider giving up playing.
They are hands that dance their way across Coleman鈥檚 keyboard, whether working on a research paper for Falk College or stringing together lines of poetry for his own enjoyment.
They are hands that tell stories.
鈥淚nspiration can strike anywhere,鈥� says the 6鈥�3鈥�, 252-pound defensive end and poet. 鈥淥ne time I got off the bus near Crouse College, as the sun was setting. The sky was beautiful, with lots of purples, pinks and blues. I had to take a picture, so I could write about what I saw.鈥�
For all his success on the field, Coleman wrestles with his creativity in other ways. Since arriving at 黑料不打烊 in 2016, he has written scores of poems about all matter of subjects鈥攍ove, loss, coming of age, the circle of life and the simplicity of beauty.
In keeping with his mobile persona, Coleman uses an app to write and store his work. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice because I don鈥檛 have to scroll as much. I also can call up music and photos on my phone for inspiration,鈥� says the three-year letterwinner, giving his iPhone a perfunctory swipe.
During a meeting on South Campus, Coleman reveals how writing poetry helps him absorb scenes and navigate emotions. It also helps him unwind from a long day, which usually begins at 6 a.m. and includes morning conditioning sessions, followed by an internship in the Manley Field House weight room.
Whether analyzing an opposing offense or the 5-7-5 structure of a haiku, Coleman relies on instinct. Such proficiency has made him an intrepid pass rusher, teaming with senior Alton Robinson to form the No. 1 sack duo in the ACC, with 20 combined quarterback takedowns last season.
Coleman鈥檚 sixth sense also translates into the classroom, where he hopes to parlay his training in human development and family science into a career in coaching or athletic advising.
鈥淓verything I do has a little bit of heart and a little bit of gut,鈥� says Coleman, who also is eyeing the 2020 NFL Combine in his hometown of Indianapolis. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 exactly teach intuition, but you can do things to improve it鈥攆rom studying the stances of your opponent; to listening to your body, if it鈥檚 tired or injured; to experimenting with different rhythms and meters in writing.鈥�
It took Coleman time to find his creative muse. Years, in fact. He traces his interest in poetry to a seventh-grade assignment, in which he had to write about a poet of his liking. Coleman initially chose rapper Common, but his mother, Nikki Coleman, disapproved.
鈥淚n those days, I didn鈥檛 think rappers were poets, nor did I think Common represented our family鈥檚 values,鈥� recalls Nikki, speaking by phone from Indianapolis, where she is a pharmacist for Eli Lilly and Co. 鈥淢y perspective has changed considerably since then.鈥�
Fitting, if not prophetic, that she introduced Coleman to the jazz-tinged poetry of Langston Hughes鈥攏otably, his 1922 chestnut 鈥淢other to Son.鈥�
Nikki recites the opening lines, as if she were reading them to Kendall for the first time:
Well, Son, I鈥檒l tell you:
Life for me ain鈥檛 been no crystal stair.
It鈥檚 had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor鈥�
Bare.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 realize the impact that poem would have on Kendall. I think it gave him insight into parenting, as well as got him hooked on poetry,鈥� says Nikki, who gave Kendall a volume of Hughes鈥� poetry for his 21st birthday in April.
Coleman pauses at the mention of 鈥淢other to Son,鈥� admitting the work struck him at a 鈥渃ore level.鈥� He says it also showed him how music transforms into poetic verse.
鈥溾€楻ap鈥� actually is an acronym for 鈥榬hythm and poetry,鈥欌€� explains Coleman, adding that modern-day rappers, such as J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar, are continuing what Hughes started. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 talented enough to be a musician, but I do like to add my own lyrics to other people鈥檚 grooves.鈥�
Coleman penned his first poem during his senior year of high school. Tasked with writing a term paper or creating a piece of art, he went rogue, insisting that a two-page original poem was 鈥渏ust as artistic鈥� as a painting, photograph or piece of sculpture. 鈥淗is father, sister and I were surprised by what he wrote,鈥� recalls Nikki, who was a published poet in high school. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 know Kendall had it in him.鈥�
Nor did his classmates, who began pestering him for poems.
Kendall Coleman in action against Clemson.
Coleman continued writing at 黑料不打烊, while skyrocketing to gridiron success. (In 2016, he was the Orange鈥檚 first true freshman to start a season opener at defensive end in nearly 20 years.) Credit teammate Hernz Laguerre 鈥�16 for giving Coleman his literary break. 鈥淥ne day, Hernz told me to show up at this place at two in the afternoon and to bring my r茅sum茅 and a couple of poems,鈥� Coleman remembers. 鈥淚 hadn鈥檛 composed anything in a while, so I stepped outside and began writing about a tree I saw on campus.鈥� The result was a tender ballad about Coleman鈥檚 friend Leah, whose name is Greek for 鈥渓emon tree.鈥�
Turns out Laguerre was doing a favor for a friend, whose sorority needed contestants for a charity pageant. 鈥淚 was nervous because I had never read my poems in public before, but it went OK,鈥� Coleman says. 鈥淪omeone came up to me afterward and said my writing reminded them of J. Cole鈥檚. Talk about the ultimate compliment.鈥�
Months later, Coleman shared his poetry at Remembrance Week 2017, honoring the memory of the 35 黑料不打烊 students killed on Pan Am Flight 103. He was inspired to write an eight-line tribute, after a Remembrance Scholar visited one of his classes. 鈥淚 was kind of blown away,鈥� former teammate Cameron MacPherson 鈥�16, G鈥�18 told The Daily Orange, after witnessing Coleman鈥檚 performance.
Coleman recalls the 2017 season with mixed emotions, as injuries took their toll on him. Days after tearing his labrum, he informed his parents he was quitting the team. They issued an ultimatum: Stay at 黑料不打烊 and play football, or come home and enroll in community college. 鈥淕iving up was not an option,鈥� Nikki says.
Although the path to recovery was 鈥渓ong and hard,鈥� the experience made him a well-rounded player. 鈥淏eing sidelined gave me a different perspective of the game. I began to see it through the eyes of a D-line [defensive line] coach,鈥� says Coleman, who also became obsessed with health and fitness. He currently is interning under the watchful eye of Corey Parker, assistant athletics director for Olympic sport strength and conditioning.
Coleman says rehab forced him to slow down鈥攖o become more observant and keenly aware. As a result, poetry began spilling out of him, as if emanating from some divine or supernatural source. Ideas that used to take days to develop came together in a matter of hours or minutes. Impressive, considering Coleman has never taken a creative writing class or attended a poetry workshop.
Nikki thinks rehab helped Kendall 鈥渃onnect the dots鈥� on multiple levels鈥攁s a poet, a student-athlete and a person. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of unconscious bias about African American football players鈥攖hat they鈥檙e big, scary or dumb. People are surprised to find out that Kendall really is a teddy bear. He loves to cook and make origami. His faith is very strong,鈥� she says, noting his longtime involvement with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Coleman says he will need plenty of faith to surpass last year鈥檚 personal best, which included 32 tackles (23 solo), 12 of which were for a loss. He also led the ACC in sacks per game (0.83) and tied for second in the conference with 10 sacks. Until then, he is riding the 鈥渨ave of excitement鈥� of summer training. 鈥淔rom top to bottom, this is the most athletic team I鈥檝e ever played on at 黑料不打烊. Competition is high, our work ethic is strong, and everybody wants to win,鈥� he grins, extending his hand for a final, well-executed handshake. 鈥淣ow that鈥檚 something to write about.鈥�
Mind of the Rich
By Kendall Coleman 鈥�20
If it doesn鈥檛 make money, it doesn鈥檛 make sense.
Help the poor? What for? They鈥檙e not tryna help me stay rich.
Give them a sweepstake instead and let them play rich.
Let them see and feel this lifestyle, but never let them get a grip.
Knowledge and hope are their biggest weapons.
Man, I pray for my sake they never become equipped.
A graduate-student clinician works with a child in the Stuttering Research Lab.
The at 黑料不打烊 will present Speaking Orange, its annual fluency camp for kids who stutter.
The camp will run聽Wednesday, June 26, from 3-6 p.m. and Thursday and Friday, June 27-28, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Gebbie Clinic (621 Skytop Rd.) on South Campus.
The cost is $140 per person鈥�$120 for anyone registering on or before Tuesday, June 18. For more information, call 315.443.4485 or visit . Walk-ups are welcomed.
Co-organizer Victoria Tumanova says Speaking Orange is for elementary school-aged children who stutter, as well as their parents, other family members and legal guardians.
鈥淲e will explore what happens when we stutter, how to be more assertive when speaking and how to develop healthy attitudes about communication,鈥� says Tumanova, assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders (CSD) in the College of Arts and Sciences.
She and co-organizer Anita Lightburn will focus on the so-called ABCs of stuttering鈥攁ffective, behavioral and cognitive factors.
Assisting the duo will be graduate-student clinicians, supervised by Lightburn.
鈥淲e will engage in activities that promote awareness of and monitoring of one鈥檚 self and others while speaking,鈥� says Lightburn, an assistant teaching professor of speech-language pathology in the Gebbie Clinic. 鈥淔or instance, we will study Speech Helpers [parts of the body that produce speech] to understand how we talk and what happens when our speech is interrupted.鈥�
She and Tumanova also will present role-playing scenarios to help campers 鈥渋nitiate, participate and advocate鈥� for themselves.
Speaking Orange culminates with a capstone activity, highlighting each camper’s attitudes and emotions about speaking.
“What children learn about speech is informative. What they learn about stuttering is intriguing. The experience of encountering other children who stutter is invaluable,” Lightburn says.
Stuttering is a communication disorder in which the flow of speech is broken by repetitions (鈥渓i-li-like this鈥�), prolongations (鈥渓iiiiike this鈥�) or abnormal stoppages of sounds and syllables.
Experts believe stuttering is triggered by various factors, including genetics, child development, neurophysiology and family dynamics.
According to The Stuttering Foundation, more than 70 million people worldwide stutter, 3 million of whom are in the United States. About five percent of all children go through a period of stuttering that lasts six months or more.
While there are no miracle cures for stuttering, speech therapy offers many benefits, says Tumanova, director of 黑料不打烊’s Stuttering Research Lab. “Speech therapy helps children understand what happens when they stutter. It teaches them how to improve their fluency by gaining control over their speech, and helps them become effective communicators,” she adds.
Founded in 1972, the Gebbie Clinic is a state-of-the-art educational, clinical and research facility. In addition to serving as a training site for CSD graduate students, the clinic offers affordably priced audiology and speech-language services to the public.
]]>Christopher Anderson
Karin Ruhlandt, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), announced that she has promoted to director of graduate and undergraduate recruitment.
Previously associate director of undergraduate recruitment, he succeeds Denny Nicholson, who is the University鈥檚 new assistant dean of admissions.
Anderson brings 14 years of experience to the position, in which he will direct admissions efforts for undergraduate programs in A&S and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, as well as graduate programs in A&S.
鈥淐hris is a passionate proponent of the liberal arts and of how they can help students forge their own path to a rich and successful life,鈥� Ruhlandt says. 鈥淗is vision, professionalism and drive will ensure A&S and Maxwell maintain a diverse, academically strong and intellectually curious student body.鈥�
In his new capacity, Anderson will implement a comprehensive recruitment plan to meet enrollment targets for more than 50 undergraduate degree programs in A&S and Maxwell. He will represent both units at local, regional, national and international recruiting functions, as well as support central enrollment management planning and execution.
His graduate portfolio encompasses more than 40 advanced degree and Ph.D. opportunities in A&S, including programs in forensic science, applied statistics, speech-language pathology and audiology.
鈥淪tudents have a wide variety of graduate programs from which to choose, making A&S more desirable and competitive than ever,鈥� says Anderson, who joined the College in 2007, after two years in central admissions.
His personalized approach to recruitment owes to the belief that applicants are students, not statistics.
鈥淎&S and Maxwell want students who thrive in a liberal arts environment鈥攐nes who make a difference on campus and engage with the community. My job is to make sure we鈥檙e a good fit for students, and they鈥檙e a good fit for us,鈥� he says.
Anderson鈥檚 efforts over the past decade have helped increase the selectivity of both units鈥� undergraduate programs.
This year, A&S and Maxwell have received more than 15,000 applications, nearly double from 2009, with over one-third of the pool coming from students of color. Of those, the average admitted student GPA and SAT score are 3.7 and 1315, respectively. 鈥淚 hope to preserve the positive momentum we have attained in our recruitment efforts, quantitatively, and qualitatively,鈥� he says.
Anderson estimates that at 黑料不打烊, he has reviewed nearly 11,000 applications, conducted more than a thousand college interviews and organized over 230 recruiting events on-campus and in the field.
He also has used social media to help drive enrollment in new markets, such as China, and has co-founded the Dean鈥檚 Team, an elite group of A&S undergraduates that assists Ruhlandt with various admissions activities throughout the year.
鈥淚 am excited to build on the success of my predecessors鈥攕trengthening partnerships and relationships between A&S and Maxwell, and demonstrating a commitment to diversity and inclusion,鈥� he says.
Anderson resides in Brewerton, New York, with his wife, Michele, and their daughters Grace and Mary. Before joining the University, he held various positions at the 黑料不打烊 City School District, CXtec and the New Jersey Nets.
Cristina Marchetti
Professor Emerita has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences,聽in recognition of her original research into soft and living matter.
The theoretical physicist is part of a 100-person cohort, 40 percent of whom are women鈥攖he most elected in any one year to date.
In March, Marchetti was awarded聽the Leo P. Kadanoff Prize from the American Physical Society (APS), where she is a Fellow and an editor of Physical Review X. The former Kenan and Distinguished Professor also is a Fellow of the聽American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
]]>Scott Freeney ’97 working with a student.
Hannah, a first-year student in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), can’t decide on a major.
Sitting across from her advisor in a cozy, book-lined office in the Hall of Languages, the 19-year-old admits she’s at a crossroads.聽鈥淚鈥檓 good at science, but I鈥檝e been writing poetry since junior high,鈥� she confides. 鈥淚t’s so hard to decide.鈥�
smiles and nods. He鈥檚 heard this before. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the rush?鈥� the former 黑料不打烊 football star asks. 鈥淓xploring is one of the best things you can do as a student. The more you explore, the more versatile you become. Employers like that in a graduate.”
Freeney should know. A top linebacker from Clarke Central High School in Athens, Georgia, he played for 黑料不打烊 in the mid-nineties, a heady time in the program鈥檚 130-year history. Freeney reinvented himself in the early 2000s, spending six years as the team鈥檚 academic coordinator.
Today, the 黑料不打烊 native brings the same winning mentality to in A&S. He works with hundreds of undergraduates such as Hannah, analyzing the Xs and Os of college life and beyond.
Yet, the gridiron is never far from Freeney鈥檚 thoughts, given his recent induction into the聽 (AAHOF).
鈥淭his induction is a big deal for me,鈥� admits Freeney, who spent most of high school near the University of Georgia, a perennial SEC juggernaut. 鈥満诹喜淮蜢� is my home, but Athens has a special place in my heart.鈥�
Freeney used football to find purpose in life. Born and raised in 黑料不打烊, he and his siblings lived with their mother, Adelle, not far from a low-income housing project on the East Side.
After a year at Henninger High School, Freeney moved to Athens to be with his father. The chance to play for Billy Henderson, one of the winningest coaches in Georgia prep history, sweetened the deal. 鈥淐oach Henderson and his staff [at Clarke Central] helped make me into the person I am today,鈥� Freeney says. 鈥淲ithout them, I wouldn鈥檛 have been able to play D-1 ball, much less gotten into an institution such as 黑料不打烊.鈥�
Freeney thought about enlisting in the Army or Marines after high school, but Mark Whitley, who coached track and football at Clarke Central, had other plans for him.
The two bonded during Freeney鈥檚 senior year, when things got tough at home. Whitley virtually adopted Freeney, taking him under his wing and giving him a place to stay. He reminded Freeney of his natural abilities, which included an unquenchable work ethic. 鈥淚 had no choice but to do well in school and in football,鈥� Freeney recalls.
Freeney was a prize of 黑料不打烊’s 1992 recruiting class.
At 6-3 and 235 pounds, Freeney was imposing, but fast on his feet. His instincts as a high-level playmaker made him one of the top defensive ends in the Southeast. They also earned Freeney a spot on the 1991 roster of the USA Today All-USA High School Football Team, and netted him the Gatorade State High School Player of the Year award. Then the phones began to ring.
Entertaining multiple offers, Freeney jumped at the opportunity to return to 黑料不打烊. His physicality lifted the Orange to three bowl victories, notably a nailbiter against Colorado in the ’93 Fiesta Bowl and a 41-0 trouncing of Clemson in the ’96 Gator Bowl. 鈥淚t was a magical time,鈥� recalls Freeney, a four-year letter winner. 鈥淲hile I was there, Coach Pasqualoni produced a handful of NFL Draft selections, including wide receiver Marvin Harrison and quarterback Donovan McNabb [for the 1996 and ’99 drafts, respectively].鈥�
鈥淪cott is kind of my role model,鈥� Freeney鈥檚 next-door neighbor told The Post-Standard in 1993. 鈥淚 see a lot of kids going down to the corner and doing wrong things. He is going to college. He鈥檚 going to be somebody.鈥�
Freeney fulfilled his neighbor’s prediction, eventually trading his cleats for a clipboard. He was a graduate assistant at St. Cloud State and then Purdue, leading the Boilermakers to back-to-back Alamo Bowl victories and an appearance in the 2000 Outback Bowl, losing, ironically, to Georgia in overtime.
鈥淗e coached at a high level, right out of 黑料不打烊,鈥� Mark Whitley recalls. 鈥淚 wanted to hire Scott, but the college ranks already had their hooks in him.鈥�
Freeney found his way back to 黑料不打烊 in 2002. As the team’s academic coordinator, he helped student-athletes remain focused on and off the field.
The 鈥淕entle Giant鈥� (as Whitley called him) stressed the importance of character鈥攐n the field, in the classroom, in the community. Despite his size, Freeney was all about brains over brawn. 鈥淕ood football players are usually good scientific thinkers,鈥� says Freeney, who earned a master’s degree in higher education from Purdue. 鈥淭hey have no choice, given the stop-and-go structure of the game.鈥�
During Freeney鈥檚 tenure, 黑料不打烊 frequently earned high marks from the American Football Coaches Association, including three honorable mentions for the coveted Academic Achievement Award. Many footballers also became regulars on the BIG EAST Honor Roll.
Freeney left SU Athletics in 2008. For the next decade, he served in various positions on campus while raising a family. Today, the father of three works from a slightly different playbook.
In A&S, he stresses the value of a liberal arts education鈥攃ritical thinking, creative problem solving and teamwork. Not too different from what he used to hear in the locker room and on the sidelines.
鈥淪cott鈥檚 extraordinary career as a student-athlete, followed by his professional success, is inspiring,鈥� says Steve Schaffling, assistant dean of student success in A&S. 鈥淗e gives students the tools they need to take control of their education. Scott helps them realize their potential and, in the process, find their purpose.鈥�
Advisees agree, praising Freeney for his genuine interest in and concern for them as individuals. Says one student, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think you鈥檒l find a more patient or understanding advisor. Scott Freeney always asks about me and my studies鈥攚ants to know how I’m doing. He wants to see me succeed.”
Freeney takes the praise in stride. 鈥淚 just like helping students find their way,鈥� he says self-effacingly.
“He makes me feel like a winner,” Hannah smiles.
]]>Deborah Pellow
, professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and the Maxwell School, is the 2019 recipient of the William Wasserstrom Prize for the Teaching of Graduate Students.
A&S Dean Karin Ruhlandt conferred the prize on her at the Graduate School Doctoral Hooding Ceremony on Friday, May 10.
The prize memorializes William Wasserstrom, a noted English professor at 黑料不打烊, who died in 1985. 鈥淒eborah Pellow embodies his approach as a graduate seminar leader, research and dissertation director, advisor and role model,鈥� Ruhlandt says.
A multidisciplinary scholar, Pellow specializes in urban studies, the anthropology of space and place, and feminism, with emphasis on West Africa.
She is the author of five books, including the forthcoming 鈥淟iving Afar, Longing for Home: The Role of Place in the Creation of the Dagomba New Elite鈥濃€攄rawing on more than four decades of research in Ghana, the past 15 years of which have been spent in the country’s Northern Region.
Douglas Armstrong, professor and chair of anthropology in A&S and Maxwell, notes the 鈥渟trong bond鈥� between Pellow and her graduate students. 鈥淚t is a relationship characterized by intensive mentoring and impressive dedication,鈥� he says.
Armstrong also mentions Pellow鈥檚 鈥渙pen-door policy,鈥� in which she invites students into her home for a delicious meal or quiet place to study.聽Pellow鈥檚 Thanksgiving Dinner, in fact, is a departmental tradition. 鈥淧eople come for the food, but stay for the conversation,鈥� he adds.
Many of Pellow鈥檚 students have found their calling in academe. Fritz Lampe G鈥�03, G鈥�06, for example, teaches anthropology at Northern Arizona University.
鈥淒eborah鈥檚 fieldwork experience, intellectual perspective and comfort in entertaining new data sets, collaborative relationships and ethnographic voice [have] created space for lively conversations,鈥� says Lampe, also a campus pastor. 鈥淗er commitment to giving back to the department, the University and professional societies has inspired me to do the same.鈥�
Other former students echo these sentiments. Richard L. Warms G鈥�84, G鈥�87, professor of anthropology at Texas State University, regards Pellow as an 鈥渋deal intellectual sparring partner鈥濃€攕omeone who encourages students to 鈥渢hink deeply and challenge received ideas.鈥�
Anthony Kwame Harrison G鈥�99, G鈥�04, the Gloria D. Smith Professor of Africana Studies, as well as associate professor of sociology and Africana studies at Virginia Tech, praises her 鈥渦nwavering guidance, wisdom and love,鈥� all of which have influenced his own professional trajectory.
For Pellow, the Wasserstrom Prize joins other honors from 黑料不打烊, including A&S and Maxwell’s 2016 Faculty Advisor of the Year award.
Robert A. Rubinstein, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and professor of international relations, considers Pellow a friend and colleague. 鈥淭o say Deborah is involved in the life of the University is almost an understatement. Recognition for her decades of dedicated service to and care for doctoral education is richly deserved,鈥� he says.
]]>鈥溾€� (Common Ground Research Networks, 2019) contains interviews with 16 people, including a waitress, an exotic dancer, a choir director and several store owners and store clerks.
Harvey Teres
Teres will read from, discuss and sign copies of his book on Friday, May 3, at 7 p.m. at the YMCA鈥檚 Downtown Writers Center (DWC) at 340 Montgomery St., 黑料不打烊. The event is free and open to the public, and is part of the DWC鈥檚 Visiting Author Reading Series.
“Conversations with Beauty” attests to what Teres calls the “unseen power of the aesthetic experience”鈥攆rom former Berkeley, California, mayor 鈥淕us鈥� Newport reflecting on the role of beauty in organizing under-served communities, to 黑料不打烊 business owner Janet Lutz reveling in the 鈥渟isterhood鈥� of quilting, to local salesman Anthony Frisiello responding to the sublimity of a Thomas Kinkade painting, to Manlius Art Cinema owner Nat Tobin championing high-quality films.
An expert in 20th-century American literature and culture, Teres says beauty triggers myriad responses in people. “Some responses are moral or political in nature, others are religious or spiritual.聽It is a territory of human experience that remains uncharted, even by the media and the academy,鈥� he adds.
The anticipated follow-up to his book 鈥淭he Word on the Street: Linking the Academy and the Common Reader鈥� (University of Michigan Press, 2010), “Conversations with Beauty” considers people鈥檚 responses to beauty as solitary individuals and as part of a community of shared sensibilities.
With the possible exception of Newport, all of Teres’ subjects are relatively unknown. They are mostly local, middle- or working-class people who value the arts, but do not rely solely on them for income.
Teres spent more than 15 years on this oral history project. He met some of his subjects through chance encounters or word of mouth; others he actively pursued.
For all of them, opening up about their personal experiences with beauty was a first.
Jean Fahey, for example, describes how selling ballet shoes has enhanced her appreciation of Degas, renowned for his drawings and paintings of dancers. 鈥淒egas gets it right,鈥� the dance supply store owner tells Teres. 鈥淟ots of artists and photographers think they can do it, and they don鈥檛. They miss something. It may not be something that you could explain to them, but it鈥檚 in the line. If they can鈥檛 feel it, they鈥檙e not going to get it right.鈥�
For Marshall Blake 鈥�70, listening to opera cultivates empathy, enabling him to be a better labor organizer. 鈥淵ou know the clich茅 about the Italian guy hearing opera and crying? Until I became interested in opera, I never got it. Then I found tears running down my cheeks listening to 鈥榁issi d鈥檃rte鈥� from [Puccini鈥檚] 鈥楾osca,鈥欌€� he says during his interview.
Other examples abound, including a person breaking out in a 鈥渉appy dance鈥� in front of a sculpture, a husband-wife team restoring old cars and a community organizer using art to transform an inner-city neighborhood.
鈥淢ost of our conversations about beauty are not about us, but rather are about other people or places, such as the attractiveness of a celebrity or a stunning sunset. I am interested in the important, permanent effects of beauty on ourselves,鈥� says Teres, who made his literary debut with 鈥淩enewing the Left: Politics, Imagination and the New York Intellectuals鈥� (Oxford University Press, 1996).
Since joining the English faculty in 1993, Teres has held various faculty and administrative positions, including director of the Jewish Studies Program and inaugural faculty representative to the 黑料不打烊 Board of Trustees.
He began his teaching career at Princeton in 1986, after earning a Ph.D. at The University of Chicago.
鈥淓nglish professors need to engage with the public and listen to what our fellow citizens have to say about literature, culture and the aesthetic experience,鈥� Teres says. 鈥淧rojects such as this one shed light on our own experiences, while providing insight into our own vital, perennial concerns.鈥�
]]>Karan Mahajan
Indian American novelist Karan Mahajan will close out the on Wednesday, April 24.
Known for writing that is 鈥渟mart, devastating and enviably adept in its handling of tragedy鈥� (The New York Times Book Review), Mahajan will participate in a Q&A session from 3:45-4:30 p.m. and then read some of his original work from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Both events take place in Gifford Auditorium of Huntington Beard Crouse Hall, and are free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Sarah Harwell G鈥�05, associate director of the M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing, at 315.443.2174 or scharwel@syr.edu.
This year’s Don MacNaughton Reader in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), Mahajan is the author of two acclaimed novels: 鈥淭he Association of Small Bombs鈥� (Viking, 2016), a National Book Award finalist and one of The New York Times鈥� 鈥�10 Best Books of 2016,鈥� and 鈥淔amily Planning鈥� (Harper Perennial, 2008), a finalist for the International Dylan Thomas Prize that has been published in nine countries.
Mahajan is a Fellow of the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at The New York Public Library, where he is working on a novel about return-migration to India. The bestselling author also is assistant professor of literary arts at Brown University.
The Connecticut-born author spent his formative years in New Dehli, India, returning to the United States as an adult. In addition to earning an M.F.A. in creative writing from The University of Texas at Austin, he has worked as an editor in San Francisco and an urban planner in New York City.
Mahajan’s work has appeared in many publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker.
Granta magazine named him one of the “Best Young American Novelists鈥� of 2017.
Based in A&S, the Carver series takes its name from the poet and short story writer who taught at 黑料不打烊 in the 1980s.
]]>Peter Balakian
(POC) in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) celebrates National Poetry Month with a joint reading by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Peter Balakian and up-and-comer Lauren Sanderson.
The duo will read and discuss their work on Thursday, April 18, at 6 p.m. at the POC Gallery, located on the ground floor of the Nancy Cantor Warehouse, 350 W. Fayette St., 黑料不打烊. Free and open to the public, the event is part of POC鈥檚 鈥淐ruel April鈥� poetry series. For a complete schedule, visit .
Balakian is the author of seven books of poems, notably 鈥淥zone Journal鈥� (The University of Chicago Press, 2015), winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. The Armenian-American poet also is the author of two memoirs and has had his work translated into more than a dozen languages.
Based at Colgate University, he is the Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar Professor of the Humanities in the Department of English.
Lauren Sanderson accepting an award at Colgate University. (Photo by Mark DiOrio.)
鈥淧oetry should never be editorial,鈥� says Balakian, noting the challenge of mixing art and politics. 鈥淧oetry must be faithful to the richness of language, poetic form and the complexity of experience. The political sphere should deepen a writer and make his or her work larger, richer and morally resonant.鈥�
Sanderson also has ties to Colgate, where she earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree last year in English, with a creative writing emphasis. Also a nationally ranked student-athlete, the Ontario (Canada) native makes her literary debut later this year with a volume of poetry titled 鈥淪ome of the Children Were Listening鈥� (Write Bloody Publishing).
鈥淪he [was] an unusual student, one with real leadership qualities who contributed greatly to the intellectual life of the student body,鈥� Balakian says.
“Cruel April” coincides with the release of the 12th volume of 鈥淐orresponding Voices鈥� (POC, 2019). The award-winning poetry collection is co-edited by two A&S colleagues: Jules Gibbs G’12, a poet and part-time instructor in the Department of English, and Tere Paniagua 鈥�82, executive director of the Office of Cultural Engagement for the Hispanic Community and a Spanish instructor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics (LLL).
Volume 12 of “Corresponding Voices”
In the book’s preface, Gibbs channels the late Pedro Cuperman, the eminent Argentine scholar who founded POC and taught in A&S. “‘Corresponding Voices’ is a continuous, meaningful text, with relatively loosely defined borders, where translation and dialogue with other poets occupies a central role,” Gibbs quotes him as saying.
She adds: 鈥淲hen I recall Pedro鈥檚 sense of the multivocal and multivalent, of boundary crossing as marks of transgression, the title snaps back into place. ‘Corresponding Voices’ offers an untidy, more expansive notion of correspondence, one that is ever-opening and reconfiguring.”
Paniagua agrees, noting the new dimensions that “Corresponding Voices” continues to open, verbally and visually. “I am proud of the way we bring poets from different backgrounds together to form a dialogue. It’s exciting and gratifying,” she says.
This year’s volume features poetry and photography by Rachel Eliza Griffiths, as well as cover art by Michael Burkard, a renowned poet and retired associate professor of English in A&S.
A&S and the at 黑料不打烊 co-sponsor 鈥淐ruel April,鈥� with support from LLL and the New York State Council on the Arts.
]]>Theo Cateforis
Is rock dead? “Not if you’re really listening,” says , associate professor of music history and cultures in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S).
The author of the perennial seller聽鈥溾€� (Third Edition: Routledge, 2019), Cateforis may be one of the genre’s greatest evangelists. He also is the new president of the U.S. chapter of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM).
“Rock has historical and cultural value that’s worthy of study. For students curious enough to dig, they will find all sorts of great, new music out there,” says the former drummer, who recently hosted a visit by Anthony DeCurtis, longtime contributing editor for Rolling Stone.
A&S caught up with Cateforis, who teaches in the Department of Art and Music Histories, for a backstage look at the excitement.
1. Why do you think your book [now in its third edition] is so popular?
Rock has a long history that interests people, especially undergraduates. I am proud to see many colleges and universities using my book as part of their courses on rock music and American popular music.
My goal with this edition was to keep the contents in step with the times. Most of the new readings deal with recent changes in the industry, such as the rise of Spotify, royalty issues, the impact of social media, the dearth of rock stars and the crisis facing electric guitar manufacturers in an age where rock is no longer king.
2. What are you working on now?
I am researching the history of alternative rock, most immediately for a chapter in a forthcoming edited collection. Ultimately, I want to do a book-length study [on alt-rock], examining its musical and cultural impact during the 1990s.
3. How has the field changed from when you started out?
As a graduate student in the early 鈥�90s, I could count on one hand the number of music historians who had written dissertations or full-length studies on rock or popular music. Now, it’s a commonplace and widely accepted subject within the discipline. Popular music studies is one of the fastest growing areas of scholarly pursuit among academic music societies.
4. How does IASPM fit into all this?
The first conference I ever attended as a graduate student was for IASPM. It was an eye-opening experience to meet so many scholars of popular music. That is one of our most important functions鈥攑roviding a venue for those studying popular music to connect and network with one another.
It also was through our in-house publication, The Journal of Popular Music Studies, that I published my first article [about the post-punk group Sonic Youth]. I cannot stress enough how important IASPM has been to my career.
5. If you could meet any musician, who would it be?
The legendary bluesman Robert Johnson, who died under mysterious circumstances in 1938. I would ask him if he really sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his prodigious [guitar playing]. He might find it interesting or amusing to know that such a myth has circulated about him.
Avinay Bhat
Ph.D. candidate Avinay Bhat studies neutrinos鈥攖iny, elusive particles that hold clues about the origin of the Universe. As a member of the (HEP) research group, he also builds components for a major experiment at Fermilab, a U.S. Department of Energy physics lab near Chicago.
鈥淭he components are for the Short-Baseline Near Detector [SBND], one of three particle detectors in Fermilab鈥檚 Short-Baseline [SBN] Program,鈥� says Bhat, who has worked at Fermilab since November.
SBN focuses on neutrino oscillation, the process by which neutrinos change types, or flavors, as聽they hurtle through space and matter close to the speed of light.
Neutrinos come in three flavors, but SBN is聽searching for evidence of a fourth, known as the sterile neutrino. “Proving its existence would change the way we look at elementary physics,鈥� says Bhat, adding that sterile neutrinos do not emit light or energy.
The College of Arts and Sciences recently spoke with Bhat about his innovative work in the Department of Physics.
I’m told that massive stars do not go gently into that good night鈥攖hat they explode in a supernova, whose energy is carried away by a burst of neutrinos.
These聽explosions are called core-collapse supernovae, which give birth to neutron stars and black holes. I study neutrinos from these events.
滨苍迟别谤别蝉迟颈苍驳.听
Due to their low energies, supernova neutrino interactions are difficult to reconstruct in MicroBooNE, where I do physics analysis….鈥淢icroBooNE鈥� is short for 鈥淢icro Booster Neutrino Experiment,鈥� a multinational project in which hundreds of scientists study neutrino interactions.
Say more about core-collapse.
The core of a giant collapsing star is incredibly dense. When energy from a star’s nuclear reaction cannot hold its mass, gravity causes the outer layers of the star to fall inward. Thus, the core experiences a collapse.
During the collapse, almost 99 percent of the star’s binding energy is released in the form of neutrinos, which travel in all flavors and in all directions.
Fermilab, outside of Chicago (Photo courtesy of Reidar Hahn/Fermilab)
And you detect these neutrinos in MicroBooNE鈥�
The neutrinos arrive in MicroBooNE before the light [from the core-collapse supernova] reaches telescopes on Earth. Therefore, we can tell astronomers where to point their telescopes in the sky, in time to observe a supernova explosion.
What else do you do at Fermilab?
In addition to MicroBooNE physics analysis, I do SBND hardware installation. Both projects fall under the realm of experimental neutrino physics.
Would you elaborate?
Because neutrinos have no charge and very little mass, they rarely interact with other particles. In fact, most of them pass through Earth undetected.
Neutrinos occasionally collide with atoms. When that happens, we study their interactions to learn more about the properties of neutrinos and their role in the Universe.
With SBND, [postdoc] Pip Hamilton and I have been working on the APA wiring effort.
For those keeping score, an APA [anode plane assembly] is a large, rectangular frame on a liquid-argon particular detector. Each APA contains nearly 15 miles of delicate wire, which records signals created by neutrino collisions.
Right. Pip and I spent most of last year at the Wright Lab [at Yale] doing wiring. In November, we finished our second APA and shipped it to Fermilab.
Have you always liked detector design and development?
While I was working on my master鈥檚 degree, I was involved with a semester-long project at INO [the India-Based Neutrino Observatory]. It was there I learned about basic neutrino physics and particle detection, using various detectors. For these reasons, I chose to focus on neutrinos at 黑料不打烊.
Posdoc Pip Hamilton (foreground) and Bhat work on part of an anode plane assembly, or APA, at Yale University.
What else should we know about neutrinos?
After photons, they are the most abundant particles in the Universe. We, in fact, swim in a sea of neutrinos.
Not long ago, the Standard Model [a theory describing how particles and forces relate to one another] determined that neutrinos were massless. Now we know that they not only have mass, but also change “flavor” from one type of neutrino to another. Neutrinos have a tendency not to interact with matter.
What鈥檚 your goal with this research?
To answer some big questions. I want to know what role neutrinos play in supernova explosions….Can supernova neutrinos help verify the existing neutrino oscillation and core collapse models? What can they tell us about neutrino mass hierarchy?
Do you foresee any applications?
Our knowledge of neutrinos is small, so the immediate focus is on basic research. As with most basic research, we have no idea where we will end up.
An analogy is the discovery of the electron in 1897. Back then, nobody knew that the flow of electrons created electricity鈥攌nowledge that has changed the course of history. Likewise, neutrino detectors currently monitor nuclear proliferation activity. As we learn more [about neutrinos], the possible applications in science and technology are far-reaching.
How do you like working with Associate Professor Mitch Soderberg?
His involvement with multiple neutrino experiments has enabled me to get much-needed experience in both hardware installation and physics analysis. Mitch is supportive and understanding, and his expertise has contributed greatly to my growth as a doctoral student. We鈥檙e already thinking about postdoc interviews.
Jessica Arb Danial G’16
Today, the museum has reached more than two-thirds of its $17 million goal鈥攕uccess she attributes to her liberal arts training in the (AMH).
鈥淭he Everson is proud to spearhead one of the biggest capital campaigns of its kind in the region,鈥� says Danial, who, at 38, is the youngest board chair in the museum鈥檚 122-year history. “Central New Yorkers believe in the importance of arts and culture.”
A&S recently caught up with the mother of two, who also is an art collector and a philanthropist, to talk about museum activism and social responsibility.
Why do we need good arts leaders?
Part of the Everson’s mission is to contribute toward a more vital, inclusive society, an exciting effort alongside a historic period of broader investments and revitalization in downtown 黑料不打烊.
We foster a safe urban core through increased pedestrian activity, while broadening interest in downtown living.
How so?
We effect positive change through targeted community partnerships, educational activities and social programs. They include our Teen Art Council, as well as free or reduced admission days.
We also have increased the number and types of classes we offer; expanded our summer youth camps; provided hands-on activities for school tours; and added social events, such as First Fridays [an evening of art, music and art-making].
Danial holding her son at the dedication of her eponymous education center. (Photo courtesy of the Everson Museum of Art)
How have you put your AMH training to work?
I am thrilled to be part of 鈥淭he Everson. First and Forever,鈥� the most historic and ambitious fundraising campaign in the museum鈥檚 history. I also am keenly aware of the Everson鈥檚 immense cultural and educational potential for 黑料不打烊.
I have learned that by establishing a strong fiscal foundation, we can better connect with the community, promote demographic and artistic diversity, and inspire curiosity and lifelong learning.
Gender equality is alive and well at the Everson.
It is. I work closely with President and CEO Elizabeth Dunbar鈥攖he first time that two women have been at the helm of the museum.
Philanthropy also is important to you, as evidenced by the newly renovated and newly named Danial Family Education Center, which opened in January.
I believe strongly in the Everson鈥攊ts mission and the arts being part of every child’s education and life. As a family, we subscribe to the belief that the arts provide the foundation for lifelong learning, creativity and critical thinking.
By investing in the Everson and its new education center, we are investing in the future of our community鈥檚 children. I especially want to instill a sense of community and civic pride in my two boys.
If you could meet any artist, dead or alive, who would it be?
I would love to meet Frida Kahlo. Some may think we have romanticized her pain, both in tragic love affairs and physical trauma, but I have such admiration for how she transformed her suffering into hope and beauty. She is truly an inspiration. I would relish the opportunity to hear her side of her tragedies, art and loves. She鈥檚 timeless.
Do you collect art?
I try to collect work by young, emerging artists. As I鈥檝e begun collecting art more seriously, my personal mission statement has helped me focus on new acquisitions.
The Books in the Humanities Reception represents work done by authors and editors in 12 schools and colleges, as well as SUArt Galleries. (Photo courtesy of Skylines/Shutterstock.com)
Looking for something new to read? Don’t miss the fourth annual , featuring works by more than 60 University authors and editors from across campus.
Organized by the 黑料不打烊 Humanities Center in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), the reception is Wednesday, April 17, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Goldstein Alumni and Faculty Center. Free and open to the public, the event features a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction titles that were published last year. Books will be available for sale, and many of the authors will be on hand to sign copies.
A complete list of submissions is available on the 黑料不打烊 Libraries’ page.
For more information, contact the Humanities Center at 315.443.7192 or visit .
A&S Dean Karin Ruhlandt considers the event a fitting recognition of faculty contributions to their respective fields. 鈥淭his is a joyous occasion to celebrate creative work in the humanities, ranging from monographs to poetry, from short stories to biographies. A&S faculty are leading the way in illuminating the human experience,鈥� she says.
Humanities Center Director Vivian May agrees, noting that the event captures a broad range of faculty research interests. “It exemplifies the humanities footprint on campus,” says May, adding that the submissions span a dozen schools and colleges on campus, as well as the 黑料不打烊 Art Galleries.
A&S sponsors the reception, with additional support from the University’s Office of Research, the 黑料不打烊 Bookstore and 黑料不打烊 Libraries.
鈥淭his year鈥檚 submissions convey significant scholarship and accomplishments, and high levels of research productivity by colleagues in A&S and across campus,鈥� says John Liu, the University鈥檚 vice president for research and professor of biology in A&S. 鈥淭he breadth and depth of these publications are a barometer of the great work being conducted in the humanities at 黑料不打烊.鈥�
Located in the Tolley Humanities Building, the Humanities Center cultivates diverse forms of humanities scholarship, sponsors a range of dynamic programming and partnerships, highlights the humanities as a public good and underscores the relevance of the humanities for addressing enduring questions and pressing social issues.
]]>Presented by the Humanities Center in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), the series explores the role of storytelling through an interdisciplinary lens. More information is at .
A&S recently caught up with a few of this month鈥檚 organizers鈥擮samah Khalil, associate professor of history, Anneka Herre, program director of the Urban Video Project (UVP), and Phil Memmer, executive director of the Arts Branch of the YMCA鈥攖o discuss their programming.
Osamah, tell us about your transnational symposium, 鈥�,鈥� on April 11-12.
Osamah Khalil
We will address the theme of 鈥淪tories鈥� by examining how authoritarianism has been experienced and resisted through a range of expressions, from text and film to art and activism, over the past seven decades.
Our topics will range from Japanese-American internment during World War II, to the end of the Cold War, to current debates over immigration. In addition to different kinds of authoritarianism, we will explore why it endures.
You鈥檝e assembled a terrific lineup.
Thank you. Participants include 黑料不打烊 faculty and graduate students, as well as scholars from Cornell and the U.S. State Department [Associate Professor Jeremy Wallace and historian James Graham Wilson, respectively].
Urban Video Project will screen 鈥淐ulture Capture: Terminal Addition” on the Everson Museum Plaza from April 11-May 25.
Anneka, you have invited the New Red Order [NRO], a rotating and expanding cast of visual artists and performers, to campus. Tell us about them.
Our three guests鈥擜dam and Zack Khalil, as well as Jackson Polys鈥攁re core contributors to the NRO. [April 16-18], they will discuss and premiere their film 鈥淐ulture Capture: Terminal Addition,鈥� commissioned by LightWork for UVP and shot in and around 黑料不打烊.
The NRO is a 鈥減ublic secret society鈥� that challenges European settler and colonialist tendencies with what they call 鈥渟ites of savage pronouncement.鈥�
American history told through a Native lens, as it were.
Their project is about many stories. They include stories that we, as a country, built on settler-colonialism, tell ourselves about our own history, specifically the way we have consigned Indigenous peoples to a historical past.
Phil, you regularly team up with 黑料不打烊 Symposium for a mini-residency by a renowned writer. What should we know about this year鈥檚 visitor, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, on April 25?
Laure-Anne Bosselaar
She鈥檚 an acclaimed poet whose four books demonstrate how the unique particulars of one鈥檚 life stories鈥攖he horrors of anti-Semitism, the pain of childhood neglect and abuse, the grief of losing a spouse鈥攃an, through the filter of art, shimmer with universal truths.
Her latest book, 鈥淭hese Many Rooms鈥� [Four Way Books, 2019], draws on the sudden loss of her husband, noted poet Kurt Brown. Like her previous volumes, it shows how the particulars of any individual鈥檚 story have the potential to become universal through artful retelling.
Her own life story is rather unique鈥攂orn in Belgium, raised by a convent of 鈥渁busive nuns.鈥�
Laure-Anne describes the family that briefly raised her as 鈥渧irulent anti-Semitism.鈥� Her stories from these difficult times permeate her first three books of poems, which show how early emotional and physical deprivation can be overcome by intelligence, humor, curiosity and determination.
[Pulitzer Prize-winning poet] Charles Simic says that Laure-Anne writes 鈥渨ise poems about memory鈥攑oems whose art lies in their ability to make these memories ours, too.鈥�
Rounding out 黑料不打烊 Symposium is a (April 23-24) by Michelle Caswell and Samip Mallick, co-founders of the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA) in Philadelphia.
“They will address how institutional archives have historically served as sites of white privilege and supremacy, thus disadvantaging the stories of marginalized communities,” writes organizer Tarida Anantachai, a librarian in 黑料不打烊 Library鈥檚 Learning Commons in Bird Library. “Their programs will explore the embedded oppressions within archival practices and how community-based archives such as SAADA have countered these structures and amplified the experiences of historically underrepresented communities.”
]]>Layli Long Soldier
The continues with a program by poet Layli Long Solider on Wednesday, April 3.
Long Solider will participate in a Q&A session from 3:45 to 4:30 p.m., followed by a reading of her original work from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Both events take place in Gifford Auditorium of Huntington Beard Crouse Hall and are free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Sarah Harwell G鈥�05, associate director of the M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), at 315.443.2174 or scharwel@syr.edu.
Long Solider is an Oglala Lakota poet, writer and artist who teaches at Din茅, a tribal college in northeastern Arizona. She is renowned for her debut collection of poetry, 鈥淲hereas鈥� (Graywolf Press, 2017), inspired by the Congressional Resolution of Apology to Native Americans, or S.J. Res. 14., from 2009-10.
鈥�’Whereas鈥� confronts the coercive language of the U.S. government in its responses, treaties and apologies to Native American people and tribes. It also reflects that language in its officiousness and duplicity back on its perpetrators,鈥� writes Long Soldier, a National Book Award finalist, who won the 2017 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2018 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award.
The Santa Fe resident also is the author of the chapbook, 鈥淐hromosomory鈥� (Q Avenue Press, 2010), editor of the literary journal Drunken Boat and poetry editor for Kore Press. Her poems have appeared in POETRY Magazine, The New York Times, The American Poet, The American Reader, The Kenyon Review Online and BOMB.
An accomplished artist, Long Soldier has participated in several shows, including 鈥淲hereas We Respond鈥� and 鈥淧t茅 Oyate,鈥� both of which recently debuted at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
She earned an M.F.A. in creative writing at Bard College.
Each year, the Carver Reading Series presents 12-14 prominent writers who, as part of their mini-residencies, interact with members of an undergraduate creative writing course, led by TAs in the M.F.A. program.
The series takes its name from the legendary poet and short-story writer who taught at 黑料不打烊 in the 1980s.
]]>“Burning the Bride,” a Mithila painting from Susan S. Wadley’s personal collection, on display at ArtRage.
The Ray Smith Symposium鈥攊n conjunction with , whose theme this year is 鈥淪tories鈥濃€攃ontinues with eight events under the heading 鈥淪tories We Are Told, Stories We Tell.鈥�
The series, which explores the role of storytelling in Indian culture, is led by Susan S. Wadley, the Ford-Maxwell Professor of South Asian Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and the Maxwell School, in partnership with the South Asia Center (SAC).
All events are free and open to the public, and take place at the ArtRage Gallery (505 Hawley Ave., 黑料不打烊), unless otherwise indicated. For more information, contact Emera Bridger Wilson G鈥�17, G鈥�22, associate director of and outreach coordinator for SAC, at elbridge@maxwell.syr.edu 辞谤听315.443.2553.
“The Ray Smith Symposium [based in A&S] moves to connect the University with the broader campus community by involving ArtRage and a cross-section of 黑料不打烊 faculty,” says Wadley, a veteran anthropologist. “It’s the public humanities at its best.”
Wadley also is co-curator of an exhibition at ArtRage titled “.” Running from April 16-May 18, the show includes Mithila artwork from northern India, where she has carried out field research for more than a decade. “They’re from my personal collection and include several never-before-seen paintings,” says Wadley, who is retiring from 黑料不打烊 this summer.
Indian dancer-activist-choreographer Mallika Sarabhai (third from left) in “The Colours of Her Heart.” (Photo courtesy of Magic Dust Photography)
The schedule is as follows:
Saturday, April 6
Opening Reception: 鈥�” art exhibition
7 to 9 p.m.
Wednesday, April 10
Literary Performance: 鈥�,鈥� presented by Arthur Flowers, associate professor of English
7 to 9 p.m.
Friday, April 12
Dance-Drama Performance: 鈥�,鈥� co-directed by Mallika Sarabhai and Yadavan Chandran. Co-sponsored by SAC, the six-person work features choreography by Sarabhai (also one of the performers) and music by Samia Malik.
7 to 9 p.m.
Everson Museum of Art, 401 Harrison St., 黑料不打烊
Free for Everson members; $8 for non-members
Tuesday, April 16
Lecture: 鈥�,鈥� presented by Coralynn Davis, professor of women鈥檚 and gender studies and of anthropology at Bucknell University.
6 to 8 p.m.
Susan S. Wadley
Wednesday, April 24
Gallery Talk: 鈥�,鈥� featuring Wadley and Geraldine Forbes, Distinguished Teaching Professor Emerita of History at SUNY Oswego.
7 to 9 p.m.
Thursday, April 25
Seminar: 鈥�,鈥� co-facilitated by Jason Zencka, an award-winning author and journalist, and Florencia Lauria, a Ph.D. student in English at 黑料不打烊.
7 to 8:30 p.m.
Registration required; R.S.V.P. at info@artragegallery.org by April 22
Sunday, April 28
Interactive Dance: 鈥�,鈥� a family-friendly, interactive program, led by Sudha Raj G’85, G’91, a teaching professor of nutrition science and dietetics in Falk College, who also is an authority on Bharatanatyam, an ancient form of Indian classical dance.
3-5 p.m.
Wednesday, May 8
Screening: 鈥溾€� (鈥淏lood Leaves Its Trail),鈥� with a talkback with Wadley.
7-9 p.m.
One of the signature offerings of the Ray Smith Symposium is 鈥淔rom Gods to Social Justice.” In addition to Mithila paintings (created by women from the region), the exhibition features Patua scrolls. On loan from Geraldine Forbes’ personal collection, the scrolls are made by men from the Bengal region of India and can be several feet long.
Both types of painting, Wadley says, tackle such contemporary themes as violence against women, female infanticide, political corruption, climate change and war.
Patua painting also figures prominently in Arthur Flowers鈥� performance, based on his 2013 graphic novel by the same name. Onstage will be the original scroll that Patua artist Manu Chitrakar created for Flowers鈥� book.
Wadley notes that 鈥淸Flowers] will use Manu鈥檚 scroll to turn Dr. King鈥檚 historic journey into a truly universal legacy.鈥�
Support for these events comes from the Ray Smith Symposium (A&S), the 黑料不打烊 Humanities Center (A&S), the South Asia Center (A&S, Maxwell and the U.S. Department of Education), the Department of Art and Music Histories (A&S) and the Department of Anthropology (Maxwell).
Additional support for 鈥淭he Colours of Her Heart鈥� comes from the Ford-Maxwell Professorship (Maxwell), the Department of Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies (A&S), the Indian Community and Religious Center, the Everson Museum of Art and the University鈥檚 chapter of the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth.
The Ray Smith Symposium takes its name from the Auburn, New York, native, who, after graduating from 黑料不打烊 in 1921, became a highly respected educator and administrator.
]]>黑料不打烊 Symphony alumnus William “Bill” Harris conducts and plays with Bones East.
Bones East, a 黑料不打烊-based, 24-piece trombone ensemble, will present a Palm Sunday concert at DeWitt Community Church (DCC).
On Sunday, April 14, the group will perform from 1 to 2 p.m. in the sanctuary of DCC at 3600 Erie Blvd., 黑料不打烊. Open to the public, the concert features traditional and contemporary favorites, including compositions and arrangements by local resident Tom Camp.
Several members have ties to 黑料不打烊, including soloist David DiGennaro 鈥�90 and guest conductor William “Bill” Harris, a veteran of the 黑料不打烊 Symphony Orchestra, who teaches low brass in in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
“Dave is a Setnor alumnus and a former student of mine,” beams Harris, also professor of music emeritus at Onondaga Community College. “It’s always a pleasure to work with him.”
Moreover, guest conductor Mark Anderson is a master’s student in the Setnor School’s conducting program, and Clifford Crain and Jim D’Addario also play in the 黑料不打烊 Brass Ensemble, based in the College of Arts and Sciences.
The concert is free; however, a $5 donation supporting DCC鈥檚 organ fund is encouraged. For more information, contact Rob Enslin at 315.559.8115 or rmenslin@syr.edu.
David DiGennaro 鈥�90 is a music teacher at Homer High School.
鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled to partner with DeWitt Community Church on this special springtime concert,鈥� says Camp, affectionately known as Bones East鈥檚 鈥渟taff arranger.鈥� 鈥淲hether you鈥檙e an experienced musician, a beginner or someone who appreciates fine playing, the concert offers something for everyone. The sound is nothing short of majestic鈥攖he perfect accompaniment to the holidays.鈥�
Bones East will present more than two centuries of music, including 鈥淎chieved is the Glorious Work鈥� from Haydn鈥檚 oratorio 鈥淭he Creation; the 鈥淎dagio鈥� from Saint-Sa毛ns鈥� Symphony No. 3 (鈥淥rgan Symphony鈥�); and 鈥淢ake Our Garden Grow鈥� from Bernstein鈥檚 operetta 鈥淐andide,鈥� featuring soloists Pete Sanborn, a retired military bandsman, and Jim Peer, assistant director of brass instruction for the Oswego City School District.
The program includes three Camp originals: 鈥淟atine Ossium鈥�; 鈥淔or Those Who Have Gone Before鈥�; and 鈥淩eflective Journey,鈥� featuring DiGennaro as soloist. The group also will present Camp’s arrangements of the Scottish folksong 鈥淒urisdeer鈥�; 鈥淏riny Ballads鈥�; and the U.S. Navy Hymn, 鈥淓ternal Father, Strong to Save.鈥�
Rounding out the program are low-brass chestnuts by Vaclav Nelhybel, Tommy Pederson and Josef Rheinberger.
The late Howard Kelley founded Bones East in the early 1980s, around the same time he and his wife, Gayle, formed the Skaneateles Community Band. Since then, Bones East has sported a core group of about 15-20 trombonists鈥攕emi-pros, students and retirees, mostly鈥攚ho play for the joy of it.
The group frequently plays to packed houses throughout the City of 黑料不打烊 and Central New York. Recent engagements include the Moravia Music Boosters Club and 鈥淔r眉hling Posaunen鈥� (鈥淪pring Trombones鈥�) in Ithaca, where Bones East shared the stage with trombone choirs from Eastman, Penn State and Ithaca College.
]]>The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland is the world鈥檚 biggest, most powerful particle accelerator.
黑料不打烊’s Sheldon Stone helps discover matter-antimatter asymmetry in charmed quarks
Physicists in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) have confirmed that matter and antimatter decay differently for elementary particles containing charmed quarks.
Distinguished Professor says the findings are a first, although matter-antimatter asymmetry has been observed before in particles with strange quarks or beauty quarks.
Quarks are elementary particles that are the building blocks of matter.
Stone and members of the college鈥檚 (HEP) research group have measured, for the first time and with 99.999-percent certainty, a difference in the way聽D0 mesons and anti-D0 mesons transform into more stable byproducts.
Mesons are subatomic particles composed of one quark and one antiquark, bound together by strong interactions.
“There have been many attempts to measure matter-antimatter asymmetry, but, until now, no one has succeeded,鈥� says Stone, who collaborates on the Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment at the CERN laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a milestone in antimatter research.鈥�
The findings may also indicate new physics beyond the Standard Model, which describes how fundamental particles interact with one another. “’til then, we need to await theoretical attempts to explain the observation in less esoteric means,” he adds.
Every particle of matter has a corresponding antiparticle, identical in every way, but with an opposite charge. Precision studies of hydrogen and antihydrogen atoms, for example, reveal similarities to beyond the billionth decimal place.
Sheldon Stone
When matter and antimatter particles come into contact, they annihilate each other in a burst of energy鈥攕imilar to what happened in the Big Bang, some 14 billion years ago. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why there is so little naturally occurring antimatter in the Universe around us,鈥� says Stone, a fellow of the American Physical Society, which has awarded him this year’s W.K.H. Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics.
The question on Stone’s mind involves the equal-but-opposite nature of matter and antimatter. 鈥淚f the same amount of matter and antimatter exploded into existence at the birth of the Universe, there should have been nothing left behind but pure energy. Obviously, that didn鈥檛 happen,鈥� he says in a whiff of understatement.
Thus, Stone and his LHCb colleagues have been searching for subtle differences in matter and antimatter to understand why matter is so prevalent.
The answer may lie at CERN, where scientists create antimatter by smashing protons together in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world鈥檚 biggest, most powerful particular accelerator. The more energy the LHC produces, the more massive are the particles鈥攁nd antiparticles鈥攆ormed during collision.
It is in the debris of these collisions that scientists such as Ivan Polyakov, a postdoc in 黑料不打烊鈥檚 HEP group, hunt for particle ingredients.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 see antimatter in our world, so we have to artificially produce it,” he says. “The data from these collisions enables us to map the decay and transformation of unstable particles into more stable byproducts.”
HEP is renowned for its pioneering research into quarks, of which there are six types, or flavors. Scientists usually talk about them in pairs: up/down, charmed/strange and top/bottom. Each pair has a corresponding mass and fractional electronic charge.
In addition to the beauty quark (the “b” in “LHCb”), HEP is interested in the charmed quark. Despite its relatively high mass, a charmed quark lives a fleeting existence before decaying into something more stable.
Recently, HEP studied two versions of the same particle. One version contained a charmed quark and an antimatter version of an up quark, called the anti-up quark. The other version had an anti-charm quark and an up quark.
Using LHC data, they identified both versions of the particle, well into the tens of millions, and counted the number of times each particle decayed into new byproducts.
鈥淭he ratio of the two possible outcomes should have been identical for both sets of particles, but we found that the ratios differed by about a tenth of a percent,” Stone says. “This proves that charmed matter and antimatter particles are not totally interchangeable.鈥�
Adds Polyakov, 鈥淧articles might look the same on the outside, but they behave differently on the inside. That is the puzzle of antimatter.鈥�
The idea that matter and antimatter behave differently is not new. Previous studies of particles with strange quarks and bottom quarks have confirmed as such. What makes this study unique, Stone concludes, is that it is the first time anyone has witnessed particles with charmed quarks being asymmetrical: “It’s one for the history books.”
HEP’s work is supported by the National Science Foundation.
]]>Larry Blumenfeld
is a cultural journalist, music critic and longtime contributor to The Wall Street Journal. As this year’s聽Jeanette K. Watson Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Humanities Center, he will聽explore “Jazz in Troubled Times” through a series of聽lectures, workshops, public discussions and musical performances.聽Everything is free and open to the public. For more information, visit .
The College of Arts and Sciences recently caught up with Blumenfeld to discuss his residency, which runs from March 25-April 5 and covers the “ongoing relevance and resonance” of jazz culture.
What is 鈥渏azz culture鈥�?
There are many possible interpretations, but jazz culture begins and ends with music. For our purposes, it refers to shared patterns of behavior and values that both give rise to bodies of music and draw from them in a functional way. It speaks of many of the things we like to鈥攁nd need to鈥攄iscuss right now, such as race, gender, ethnicity, class, cultural heritage and a sense of purposeful community.
How is jazz still relevant?
A century ago, jazz was a brand-new style of music. Fifty years later, it was mainstream music. The radio played it. People danced to it. Musicians earned a living performing it, and sometimes achieved popular stardom. Those days are gone.
While tastes have changed, jazz is still very much alive, but in different ways. Just as Miles Davis, John Coltrane and a long legacy of musicians mined repertory and contemporary influences against the backdrop of activism and experimentalism, today鈥檚 jazz artists are reimagining the concept of jazz for their lives and times. Though it may not have the mainstream appeal it once had, the music binds a vital community and connects it to an important history.
Pianist Jason Moran will perform in Hendricks Chapel on April 5. “He personifies the relevance of jazz culture,” Blumenfeld says.
What are some examples?
Proof of jazz鈥檚 relevance is all around us, from Spike Lee鈥檚 Oscar-winning film [“BlacKkKlansman”] to聽Henry Threadgill鈥檚 recent Pulitzer Prize [for his composition “In for a Penny, In for a Pound”].
Just as jazz culture was indelibly tied to the Civil Rights Movement, it now reflects the Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements. Its connections to other styles of music鈥攑op, rock, hip hop, electronica, classical music鈥攁re sometimes obvious and other times less so, but they remain essential. I would argue that jazz, more so than other genres, continually updates and reinvents itself.
Talk about your theme, “Jazz in Troubled Times.”
Jazz is a century old. Troubled times are far older. We鈥檙e living in a troubled time now.
Jazz is music, but it exists within a humanistic perspective. It also is inherently multicultural. Since the 1920s and ’30s, jazz has been a conduit for political action, social justice and spiritual healing. It also has coincided with some of the darkest hours of our nation鈥檚 history and has helped us through those times.
The main lectures of my residency will focus on two areas. One is the role of jazz culture in the recovery of New Orleans, since the 2005 floods that resulted from levee failures after Hurricane Katrina. The other is the impact of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians [AACM], a collective founded in Chicago more than 50 years ago that has been grounded in jazz tradition and has affected all corners of musical life.
Saxophonist Yosvany Terry will explore the “centrality of Cuban tradition to jazz culture” in a concert at La Casita on March 29.
You have histories with both.
I am working on a book drawn from my research and reporting in New Orleans since 2005. I have studied the ongoing struggles and contributions of brass bands; the Mardi Gras Indians; Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs; and jazz musicians of all stripes. I am convinced that jazz culture has shaped the city鈥檚 recovery process. I also am concerned about the role of culture in what is now a 鈥渘ew鈥� New Orleans. There are larger lessons and metaphors to that story that tell us a lot about the identity of jazz and our country.
AACM emerged in Chicago in the ’60s, in response to many rapid changes in the city and our society, in general. Since then, AACM has supported the growth of composers, performers and educators who understand the traditions of jazz and African American culture but also look beyond categories and styles. AACM focuses on individual realizations. It does great work for children and developing musicians, often embracing other art forms, such as dance, theater and painting.
I probably will touch on elements of jazz criticism and musicology, but that鈥檚 not the purpose of my visit. My focus is on how jazz culture fosters notions of activism, spiritual growth and a sense of community, in a deeply personal and intersectional way. We appreciate jazz鈥擨 appreciate jazz鈥攁s music, first and foremost. But isn鈥檛 it also the voice of a community, or of several communities?
Bassist Linda May Han Oh will lead a jazz listening party in 114 Bird Library on April 4.
I imagine your guests will help answer that question.
Bassist Linda May Han Oh will lead a listening party [in 114 Bird Library on April 4] that constructs a jazz history from music composed or played by female musicians. She and I will also discuss a changing perspective when it comes to gender and jazz that affects how we consider the past, and what opportunities women have in the jazz field moving forward.
Saxophonist Yosvany Terry, who teaches at Harvard University [and whose visit includes a concert at La Casita Cultural Center on March 29], will explore the centrality of Cuban tradition to jazz culture in the United States. Often in spite of the politics, there is an exciting flow of culture between both countries.
My visit will conclude with my public conversation with pianist Jason Moran, followed by a solo-performance [in Hendricks Chapel on April 5]. I have known him for most of my career and marvel at how he consistently reimagines jazz culture and its connections to wider worlds. His solo-piano work is a thing to behold, and it should sound glorious in the chapel.
Jason’s approach comes out of the jazz-piano tradition, but it embraces and embodies other streams of music, too. He is a widely accomplished musician, composer and visual artist who, for me, personifies the relevance of jazz culture.
]]>When Ed Mitzen 鈥�89 was filling out his college application some 35 years ago, he had one goal in mind鈥攇etting into medical school. That all changed after high school graduation, when his father unexpectedly died.
With offers on the table from Cornell and 黑料不打烊, the Albany native trusted his instincts. 鈥淎s an 18-year-old kid who liked college sports, 黑料不打烊 made more sense to me,鈥� says Mitzen, a successful high school athlete. 鈥淢ore importantly, the University gave me the financial support I needed.鈥�
Ed Mitzen ’89
The death of his father, a biochemist, left Mitzen feeling adrift, but not without acquiring a taste for science. He decided to major in biology in the (A&S). 鈥淚 struggled to keep a 2.8 GPA,鈥� admits Mitzen, owner of a health care marketing agency in Saratoga Springs, New York, called . 鈥淚 knew I wouldn鈥檛 become a doctor.鈥�
The rigors of undergraduate research, combined with a sense of civic responsibility gained from presiding over the Pi Chapter of the Psi Upsilon fraternity, ignited Mitzen鈥檚 entrepreneurial spirit. He worked as a pharmaceutical sales rep in Albany and a pharmaceutical product manager in Rochester, before earning an M.B.A. from the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester.
In 1997, the 30-year-old aspiring business owner returned to New York to start his first company: CHS. 鈥淚 formed an ad agency without ever having worked for one,鈥� laughs Mitzen, who launched Palio Communications two years later.
In 2006, the biopharmaceutical juggernaut Ventiv Health acquired Palio, CHS and other companies for $220 million, providing the seed money for Fingerpaint, which Mitzen opened in 2008.
Today, almost everything he touches reflects an unwavering commitment to 鈥渇amily, employees and philanthropy.鈥� For instance, Ed and his wife, Lisa, regularly volunteer at Code Blue Saratoga, a temporary homeless shelter, located in a church basement near his office. 鈥淭he shelter holds about 40 to 60 people. There is only one bathroom and no laundry facilities. We barely have room for food and supplies,鈥� says Mitzen, who also serves on multiple boards.
In February 2017, the couple made headlines by offering to pay for the construction of a permanent Code Blue shelter. When done, the two-story home will provide beds for up to 100 people, a full kitchen, showers, a dining room and a food pantry. The home also will contain a drop-in center, where guests can meet social workers and other support staff during the day.
Despite delays over zoning and other land-use regulations, the project is moving forward.
鈥淟isa and I have gotten to know many of the [shelter鈥檚] guests. Some of them deal with mental health or substance abuse issues,鈥� says Mitzen, Saratoga Living magazine鈥檚 鈥�2018 Person of the Year.鈥� 鈥淢ost of them can鈥檛 catch a break because they have lost their jobs, homes or families.鈥�
Fingerpaint’s 10th anniversary gathering in Arizona in 2018.
Bill McEllen, who runs Fingerpaint鈥檚 New York and New Jersey offices, says the Code Blue project exemplifies Mitzen鈥檚 people-first philosophy. 鈥淏y ferociously protecting the core values he believes in, Ed creates the greatest good for our clients and the communities in which we live. People-over-profits is an enduring business model,鈥� he adds.
Indeed, Mitzen, 51, is part of a new wave of socially conscious business leaders.
McEllen marvels at how his boss fosters a happy, engaged work environment鈥攆rom paying 100 percent of his employees鈥� health care, to contributing to their student loan repayment programs, to giving each of his 230 workers a four-week paid sabbatical every five years. 鈥淓d is good about recognizing his employees鈥� successes,鈥� he says, citing, as an example, the company鈥檚 recent 10-year anniversary鈥攁n all-expenses-paid, three-day celebration in Scottsdale, Arizona.
For Mitzen, 鈥渉ealth and wellness鈥� is not just business; it is a way of life. 鈥淟isa and I have all that we need, including a loving family and a circle of good friends. I simply treat people the way I want to be treated,鈥� he says.
The approach is paying off, given Fingerpaint鈥檚 77-percent growth over the past three years. The agency, which has additional offices in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Arizona, also is a fixture on Inc.鈥檚 list of the fastest-growing U.S. companies and Medical, Marketing & Media鈥檚 list of the top-100 health care agencies.
Mitzen is aware, however, of some of the misconceptions about the health care industry. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 apologize for what I do because it helps save lives,鈥� he says.
On any given day, Fingerpaint might be pitching a story about a medical device that treats traumatic brain injuries; doing media buys for various cancer treatment and chemotherapy patient products; or branding innovative solutions for patients with central nervous system diseases, such as schizophrenia, major depressive disorder or multiple sclerosis.
Mitzen鈥檚 involvement with science and medicine also has inspired him to reconnect with his alma mater. In addition to joining the A&S Dean鈥檚 Advisory Board, he recently hosted a 黑料不打烊 fundraiser with M. Lisa Manning, associate professor of physics in A&S, and Shikha Nangia, assistant professor of biomedical and chemical engineering in the . 鈥淭hey were great because a lot of what they do has huge implications for biomedicine,鈥� he recalls.
Just as 黑料不打烊 took a chance on him, Mitzen hopes to mold the next generation of thinkers, scientists and leaders. In addition to several 黑料不打烊 graduates, he recently has hired Kevin Mann, a longtime adjunct professor in the .
鈥淢y company is looking for people who are personable. Do you get along with others? Are you energetic? Do you look me in the eye when I shake your hand?鈥� Mitzen asks. 鈥淚 want to know what kind of person you are鈥攁nd who you want to become.鈥�
]]>贵谤补苍办茅迟颈别苍苍别
贵谤补苍办茅迟颈别苍苍别, one of Haiti’s greatest living writers and artists,聽will visit 黑料不打烊, March 25-26.
The author of more than 40 books in Haitian and French, he is a Nobel Prize candidate,聽a聽commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in France, and a UNESCO Artist for Peace.
贵谤补苍办茅迟颈别苍苍别 will headline multiple lectures, readings and book signings, as well as a film screening and an art exhibition. All events are free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Jean Jonassaint, professor of French and Francophone studies in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics (LLL) in A&S, at 315.443.5382 or jjonassa@syr.edu.
鈥淸贵谤补苍办茅迟颈别苍苍别] is not only a major Haitian writer, but he is probably the Haitian writer,鈥� Jonassaint told The New York Times, which has dubbed 贵谤补苍办茅迟颈别苍苍别 the “father of Haitian literature.”
He will focus part of his visit on 鈥淒茅zafi鈥� (1975), his first novel in Haitian Creole, inspired by living under brutal Duvalier rule in the 1950s and ’60s. Last year, The University of Virginia Press published an English translation of the novel by聽Asselin Charles, with an afterward by Jonassaint.
The schedule is as follows:
Monday, March 25
Tuesday, March 26
The University of Virginia Press, 2018
贵谤补苍办茅迟颈别苍苍别’s visit is organized by Jonassaint in collaboration with the Haitian Studies Institute at Brooklyn College and The University of Virginia Press.Additional support comes from the Albert George Memorial Lecture Fund (A&S); the College of Arts and Sciences; CFAC; the Department of African American Studies (AAS); the Department of Art and Music Histories (A&S); the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics (A&S); the Department of English (A&S); the 黑料不打烊 Humanities Center (A&S); the Program on Latin America and the Caribbean (Maxwell School); the 黑料不打烊 Bookstore; and 黑料不打烊 Libraries.
Lewis will address 鈥淐hicago and the Black Arts Movement鈥� from 5-7:15 p.m. today in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons (114 Bird Library). The event is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Casarae Gibson, assistant professor of AAS in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), at clgib100@syr.edu or 315.443.4426.
鈥淧rofessor Lewis will discuss the significance of the Black Arts Movement [BAM], which refers to a group of politically motivated black artists, writers, dramatists and musicians who flourished between 1965 and 1975,” says Herbert Ruffin, associate professor and chair of AAS.聽鈥淭he movement was particularly strong in Chicago, where organizations such as Third World Press [the largest independent, black-owned press in the United States] helped establish a new 鈥榖lack aesthetic鈥� through culturally progressive and politically charged publications and activities.鈥�
At Washington State, Lewis teaches contemporary American literature, as well as humanities courses steeped in popular culture.
He has written extensively about American literature; masculinity; African American studies; and popular culture, including music and sports. His books include “Conversations with Toni Cade Bambara” (University Press of Mississippi, 2017) and “Ballers of the New School: Race and Sports in America” (Third World Press, 2010).
鈥淗e is interested in a range of topics, from diversity in positions of power and leadership to racial stereotypes sustained in contemporary culture,鈥� says Gibson, adding that Lewis earned a Ph.D. in English from Saint Louis University.
She considers BAM one of the most important chapters in African American history. In addition to laying the foundation for modern-day spoken word and hip-hop, BAM inspired the black studies movement, leading to the formation of academic programs, departments, centers and institutes across the country.
John L. Johnson (Photo courtesy of Special Collections Research Center)
This year is considered the 50th anniversary of the black studies movement.
The John L. Johnson Lecture takes its name from a 黑料不打烊 faculty member who chaired the committee to organize an AAS program, became its first director and was appointed assistant provost for minority affairs. Johnson, who joined the A&S faculty in 1966, also helped retain scholarships for the 鈥満诹喜淮蜢� 8,鈥� a group of African Americans unfairly dismissed from the University’s football team in 1970. He left 黑料不打烊 the following year to become associate superintendent of schools in Washington, D.C.
A&S recently caught up with two young alumni who embody the versatility of a liberal arts education. Megan Phan 鈥�17 is a Seattle-based health resource specialist who recently won the . Jacob Urban 鈥�18 is an analyst for British Petroleum (BP) in Chicago, with an interest in clean energy. Both were Remembrance Scholars and members of the Ren茅e Crown University Honors Program, an all-University program in A&S.
Megan Phan
Megan, describe your path from a double major in chemistry and neuroscience to a career in public health care?
黑料不打烊, particularly the Honors Program, exposed me to interdisciplinary study. That, along with clinical and public health endeavors I pursued throughout college, shaped the way I thought about medicine and its impacts on society. Becoming a physician and working with medically underserved populations seemed like my next natural goals.
How do you like working at Neighborcare Health, which helps those with little or no health insurance?
I enjoy positively impacting people’s health, whether through medical or dental screenings, health education presentations or other community outreach efforts where health resources are lacking.
Some of the challenges I face stem from the cultural and linguistic diversity of our patients. I have to adapt to unfamiliar environments, individualize my approaches to patient communication, overcome ideological and communicative barriers, and challenge my own assumptions about others’ abilities and experiences. I will certainly carry all I’ve learned through community health work into my medical education.
What are some misconceptions about your work?
Healthcare is not that simple. For instance, it’s difficult for people to access healthy foods if they live in a food desert or do not have reliable transportation. In a similar way, it’s difficult for people to take their medications if they cannot afford them or their insurance does not cover them.
I know many patients who work several jobs to take care of their families, so it’s easy for personal care to become a low priority. Some also grapple with past or ongoing traumas related to poverty, domestic violence, refugee resettlement or a death in the family, all of which can act as barriers to healthcare access. Through all this, I’ve learned the importance of social determinants of health in medical practice.
Social responsibility is also important to you, Jacob. Was it a byproduct of your liberal arts training?
Certainly. I was part of the 黑料不打烊 Center for Fellowship & Scholarship Advising Young Research Fellows Program, where I analyzed the federal government鈥檚 Renewable Fuel Standard. I also brainstormed solutions for how Congress might achieve its energy goals in the future.
Jacob Urban
Today, you’re part of BP鈥檚 Trader Development Program [TDP]. What’s that like?聽
Last summer, I interned at BP. At the end of the internship, I was fortunate enough to receive a full-employment offer in TDP, a three-year program that trains energy traders.
Energy traders buy and sell energy products, such as jet fuel, renewable diesel and gasoline.聽Though we have a profit motive, we are interested, first and foremost, in making sure society accesses the energy products it needs in a safe and timely manner.
How did your 黑料不打烊 education鈥攁 finance degree from Whitman and an Integrated Learning Major [in Energy and Its Impacts] degree from A&S鈥攑repare you for this line of work?
The Integrated Learning Major [ILM] helped me understand physics and public policy, as opposed to just the financial markets. The ILM gave me the interdisciplinary background needed to understand the origins of our current energy problems and the ability to seek solutions to them.
黑料不打烊 also taught me that learning happens everywhere, not just in the classroom. As a student, I was a research assistant for Gregory Zuckerman, a Special Writer at The Wall Street Journal, known for such books as 鈥淭he Frackers鈥� and 鈥淭he Greatest Trade Ever.鈥� His mentorship was a dream come true because it taught me a lot about journalistic principles. It also affirmed my desire to become a problem solver in the energy industry. It is my core belief that the most pressing challenges facing humanity are energy related.
Indeed, learning happens everywhere.
Phan: My brother died from SIDS [sudden infant death syndrome] before I was born, but his loss permeates my work. The same is true of Rick Monetti [a 黑料不打烊 student who died in the Pan Am Flight 103 terrorist bombing in 1988], whom I represented as a Remembrance Scholar. These experiences remind me that one’s humanity is never truly lost鈥攊t lives on through loved ones and other people whose lives they have touched.
Terrance Hayes (Photo by Becky Thurner Braddock)
The continues with a program by poet Terrance Hayes, the Richard Elman Visiting Writer, on Wednesday, March 20.
Hayes will participate in a Q&A session from 3:45 to 4:30 p.m., followed by a reading of his original work from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Both events will take place in Gifford Auditorium of Huntington Beard Crouse Hall and are free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Sarah Harwell G鈥�05, associate director of the M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), at 315.443.2174 or scharwel@syr.edu.
Hayes is author of (Penguin Random House, 2018), a finalist for both the National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry. The collection also was one of The New York Times Critics鈥� Top Books of 2018.
Last fall, Hayes released (Wave Books), a 2018 National Book Critics Circle Award finalist for Criticism.
The 2014 MacArthur Fellow has published five other award-winning collections, including (Penguin, 2010), winner of the National Book Award.
Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, Hayes is a member of the core graduate faculty of New York University鈥檚 Creative Writing Program. He has served as poetry editor for The New York Times Magazine and guest editor of The Best American Poetry, in which his work frequently appears.
Says poet Cornelius Eady, regarding Hayes鈥� verse: 鈥淔irst you鈥檒l marvel at his skill, his near-perfect pitch, his disarming humor, his brilliant turns of phrase. Then you鈥檒l notice the grace, the tenderness, the unblinking truth-telling just beneath his lines, the open and generous way he takes in our world.鈥�
Each year, the Carver Reading Series presents 12-14 prominent writers who, as part of their mini-residencies, interact with members of an undergraduate creative writing course, led by TAs in the M.F.A. program.
The series鈥� namesake refers to the legendary poet and short story writer who taught at 黑料不打烊 in the 1980s.
Leonard S. Elman 鈥�52, a retired New York City attorney and charter member of the A&S Dean鈥檚 Advisory Board, supports Hayes鈥� professorship. The A&S alumnus endowed a visiting writer fund in memory of his brother, Richard 鈥�55.
]]>Susan Hill
黑料不打烊 Symposium continues its yearlong exploration of 鈥淪tories鈥� with three events in March.
On March 5, Susan Hill, associate professor of history at the University of Toronto (UT), will discuss 鈥�” from 3-4:30 p.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons (114 Bird Library).
The following day, she will participate in a with Philip P. Arnold, associate professor and chair of religion, and Scott Manning Stevens, associate professor and director of Native American and Indigenous studies. (Both professors are in 黑料不打烊鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences.) The program is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Sk盲路no帽h鈥擥reat Law of Peace Center (6680 Onondaga Lake Parkway, Liverpool).
On March 21, Andrew Saluti G鈥�09, assistant professor of design in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) and coordinator of VPA鈥檚 Museum Studies program, will moderate a at the William H. Seward House Museum (SHM) in nearby Auburn. Joining him are Jeffrey Ludwig, SHM鈥檚 director of education, and Peter Hyde, owner of his eponymously named design firm in New York City. The event is from 6:30-8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Nancy Cantor Warehouse (350 West Fayette St., 黑料不打烊).
For more information, call the Humanities Center in A&S at 315.443.7192, or visit .
A&S recently spoke with all three organizers about their events.
In addition to directing UT鈥檚 Centre for Indigenous Studies, Susan Hill is author of 鈥淭he Clay We Are Made Of鈥� [University of Manitoba Press, 2017]. What else should we know about her?
Stevens: Dr. Hill鈥檚 work stands tall in the field of Indigenous history. She has a Ph.D. in Indigenous studies from Trent University鈥攐ne of the oldest, best regarded programs of its kind in Canada.
Dr. Hill was raised and lives in Canada鈥檚 Six Nations of the Grand River. Her formulation and articulation of a Haudenosaunee historiography in her published essays and in “The Clay We Are Made Of” make her a leading figure in the Haudenosaunee intellectual community.
Arnold: Her lecture will focus on the gap between written and oral accounts of the first contact between French Jesuits and the Onondaga people鈥攕omething that occurred near here in 1654. She鈥檒l tell the Indigenous side of the story.
Phil, how does First Contact relate to your role as founding director of Sk盲-no帽h, the Haudenosaunee heritage center at Onondaga Lake?
Arnold: Sk盲-no帽h is located on the site of a 17th-century French Jesuit mission. We will re-narrate聽 local history from the Onondaga perspective.
Stevens: Dr. Hill synthesizes information from traditional oral histories, wampum belts and document-based archives. The result is a distinctly Haudenosaunee historical perspective, offering a corrective to settler histories.
Andrew, your event uncovers a different period of local history.聽
Our program, 鈥淒esigning Stories of Abolition and Coalition,” looks at how exhibition design affects our interpretation of history. We will focus on a new exhibition at SHM that links William Seward [U.S. Secretary of State from 1861-69], his family and his home in Auburn to the Underground Railroad.
Would you say more about the exhibition?
It recognizes our community鈥檚 role in the abolitionist movement. The exhibition also invites us to have difficult, yet important conversations about where we鈥檝e come from and who we are today.
There is archival evidence of the Seward House being not only a stop on the Underground Railroad, but also the home, for a while, of Margaret Stewart, possibly the daughter or niece of Harriet Tubman.
What is 鈥渆xhibition design鈥�?
It refers to the way we consume the information presented鈥攖he way we interpret and experience it. Exhibition design ranges from the way labels are type set, to the complete transformation of an environmental space.
]]>
From 6-7 p.m., Anderson will participate in a panel discussion with moderator Tanisha Jackson, CFAC鈥檚 executive director, and James Gordon Williams, an assistant professor of African American studies and an authority on Prince鈥檚 music. Afterward, Anderson will lead a master class for musicians of all instruments and abilities until 8:30 p.m.
Both events are free and open to the public, and are presented in honor of Black History Month. For more information, contact CFAC at 315.442.2230, and include any accessibility accommodation requests.
In addition to primary funding from the 黑料不打烊 Humanities Center and CNY Jazz, Anderson鈥檚 visit is co-sponsored by the Department of Art and Music Histories in A&S, CFAC, the Goldring Arts Journalism Program and A&S.
]]>Artist Spencer Stultz 鈥�17 utilizes portraiture to interrogate the complexities of life.
Spencer Stultz 鈥�17, a master鈥檚 candidate in Pan African studies, will celebrate the opening of her first one-woman exhibition at the Community Folk Art Center (CFAC) on Friday, Feb. 22, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Titled 鈥淎 Time for Joy and a Time for Sorrow,鈥� the show uses portraiture to explore notions of identity, spirituality and experience. The exhibition runs until Saturday, March 23, in honor of both Black History Month and Women鈥檚 History Month.
The (AAS) in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) is co-sponsoring Friday鈥檚 reception and the exhibition, which are free and open to the public.
CFAC is at 805 E. Genesee St., 黑料不打烊. For more information, call 315.442.2230 or visit .
鈥淪pencer is a gifted painter, utilizing portraiture to interrogate the complexities of life,鈥� says CFAC Executive Director Tanisha M. Jackson. 鈥淎rt is a lens through which she conceptualizes topics that are integral to the human experience.鈥�
In AAS, Stultz resides at the nexus of contemporary art and community development. She is an academic consultant for fullCIRCLE, an all-University program in the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) that helps undergraduates adjust to college life.
Stultz is a master’s candidate in Pan African studies in A&S.
After transferring to 黑料不打烊 from Howard University, Stultz received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in political science from A&S and the Maxwell School, with a minor in AAS and painting in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
As an undergraduate, she won the Winston Fisher Seminar鈥檚 business plan competition, served as a peer mentor in OMA and tutored student-athletes in the Stevenson Educational Center.
鈥淚 am interested in how contemporary black visual art affects community and social activism,鈥� says the Columbus, Ohio, native. 鈥淛ust as my own identity and experiences drive the work I create, I hope to expand the conversations we have around issues of bias, race and identity.鈥�
Founded in 1972 as a launching pad for African diaspora artists, CFAC has grown to support Latino, Native American and women artists. The center is a longtime partner of AAS, offering public exhibitions, artist talks, classes and workshops, particularly in art, dance and movement.
]]>Recognizing the careers of Professors Susan S. Wadley and Ann Grodzins Gold, the event includes guest panelists Kirin Narayan (Australian National University), Joyce Flueckiger (Emory University), Corinne Dempsey G鈥�96 (Nazareth College) and Priti Ramamurthy G鈥�95 (University of Washington).
The discussion is free and open to the public, and takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Dr. Paul & Natalie Strasser Legacy Room, 220 Eggers Hall. For more information, contact the Humanities Center in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) at 315.443.7192 or visit .
Wadley and Gold also are involved with 鈥�,鈥� running from April 6-May 18 at ArtRage Gallery, 505 Hawley Ave., 黑料不打烊. The opening reception for the exhibition, which represents two painting styles from eastern India, is Saturday, April 6, from 7 to 9 p.m.
A&S recently caught up with both professors, who have enjoyed prolific careers in A&S and the Maxwell School.
Susan S. Wadley
Sue, you hold multiple positions, including the Ford-Maxwell Professor of South Asian Studies. What will you miss most about 黑料不打烊, when you retire in June?
Wadley: I love teaching ANT 185, Global Encounters: Comparing World Views and Values Cross Culturally. It鈥檚 an introductory course focusing on war, organ transfers, surrogate mothers and global tourism. It usually attracts about 200 students.
I also will miss the Coronat Scholars Program, of which I am founding director. This fall marks our 16th incoming class.
Most of all, I’ll miss my great graduate students.
Is it true, Ann, that you鈥檝e already retired?
Gold: Officially, my first day [of retirement] was Jan. 1, 2019. I spent it with my husband in an Indian ashram, which he has been visiting since the ’60s.
I miss everyone at 黑料不打烊鈥攎y colleagues, my students, our wonderful staff, the vital interdisciplinary conversations. I鈥檝e had a fortunate career here.
You were the Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion, in addition to being an anthropology professor. How do you define ethnography?
Gold: There are many definitions, but, to me, it means writing based on living in a place, as part of a community or even as part of another family.
India must seem like a second home to you.
Gold: Fieldwork depends on interpersonal relationships, and there are risks of them souring, of unfulfilled expectations. The rewards of incorporation鈥攊nto a community and a family鈥攁nd of learning whole worlds from people seem to outweigh the risks. The work is worth the struggle.
Wadley: Our fieldwork is very basic鈥攏o electricity nor amenities. Through our research, we鈥檝e gained major insights into how women live their daily lives.
Ann Grodzins Gold
You鈥檝e assembled a remarkable panel, some of whom have 黑料不打烊 connections.
Gold: Corrine [Dempsey] was my first graduate advisee. I have enjoyed seeing her work take remarkable, new directions. Corrine鈥檚 latest book is about spirit work in Iceland.
Wadley: My memory is that her doctoral dissertation and first book grew out of a course that I taught.
Priti聽[Ramamurthy] and I worked closely together when she was a student and later in her various roles at 黑料不打烊, including associate director of the South Asia Center [in the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs] and a faculty member in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies [in A&S].
Gold: Although I never taught Priti, we are now friends and colleagues.
I feel like we鈥檝e known Kirin [Narayan] and Joyce [Flueckiger] forever鈥攐ur work is closely intertwined. Our shared reliance on intimate ethnography and many forms of narrative is pivotal to our enduring sense of connection.
How will you spend retirement?
Wadley: Gardening, when the weather is nice. Also quilting, which is my second love. Grandchildren and more.
Gold: I am figuring it out as I go along.
The panel discussion is co-sponsored by the Department of Religion (A&S), the Department of Anthropology (Maxwell), the South Asia Center (Maxwell), the Humanities Center (A&S) and the Ray Smith Symposium (A&S).
]]>Larry Blumenfeld
Larry Blumenfeld, cultural journalist, music critic and longtime contributor to The Wall Street Journal, will serve as the at 黑料不打烊, March 25-April 5.
Blumenfeld’s residency, titled 鈥淛azz in Troubled Times: The Relevance and Resonance of a Culture,鈥� will explore the convergence of politics, activism and the arts, while rethinking the nature of jazz as an enduring culture.
The Humanities Center in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) supports the annual Watson Professorship in partnership with a faculty host鈥攖his year鈥檚 is Eric Grode, assistant professor in the Newhouse School and director of the Goldring Arts Journalism Program.
Blumenfeld will headline eight scholarly and artistic events, drawing on his extensive fieldwork in New York City, New Orleans and Havana. The schedule includes public discussions with performances by saxophonist Yosvany Terry and his quartet (March 29) and pianist Jason Moran (April 5), as well as a listening party co-curated by bassist Linda May Han Oh. (April 4).
Jason Moran
All events are free and open to the public. For more information, including a complete schedule, contact the Humanities Center at 315.443.7192 or visit .
Humanities Center Director Vivian May looks forward to Blumenfeld鈥檚 residency, saying it will underscore how jazz culture influences鈥攁nd is influenced by鈥攕ocial change.
鈥淟arry鈥檚 work embodies public humanities scholarship,鈥� says May, also a professor of women鈥檚 and gender studies in A&S. 鈥淗e will explore jazz鈥檚 deep resonance as an art form; its improvisational power to bridge arts and activism; and its continued relevance as framework for understanding questions of inequity, identity and community in turbulent times.鈥�
Undergirding Blumenfeld鈥檚 visit is jazz’s alleged resurgence. In the WSJ, he wrote, 鈥淩eports of jazz鈥檚 death have been ill-advised. So, too, have tales of [its] resurrections.鈥�
Linda May Han Oh (Photo by Shervin Lainez)
Against this backdrop, the former Jazziz editor in chief will examine 鈥淎merica鈥檚 classical music鈥� through a multicultural lens. Emphasis will be on how questions of race, gender, ethnicity, class and cultural heritage are intertwined.
One of Blumenfeld鈥檚 lectures will draw on his extensive study of cultural recovery in post-Katrina New Orleans鈥攁lso the basis for his forthcoming book from the University of California Press. 鈥淛azz has been a powerful conduit for political action, social justice and healing,鈥� he says, recalling his time along the Gulf Coast in the wake of the deadly 2005 hurricane.
Another lecture will stem from his research into the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), a Chicago-based nonprofit that, for more than 50 years, has championed original music spanning avant-garde jazz, classical and world music. Blumenfeld considers the AACM the 鈥渃learest driving force of any new jazz aesthetic,鈥� responsible for erasing borders between genres and disciplines.
Among the beneficiaries of AACM鈥檚 aesthetic鈥攁nd the consistent foci of Blumenfeld鈥檚 scholarship鈥攁re Moran, the Kennedy Center artistic director for jazz, who teaches at the New England Conservatory (and whose artwork is on view this fall at the Whitney Museum of American Art), and Terry, a leading proponent of Afro-Cuban jazz, who is both a senior lecturer on music and director of jazz ensembles at Harvard University.
Yosvany Terry
Terry and Moran will precede their performances at La Casita Cultural Center and in Hendricks Chapel, respectively, with interdisciplinary discussions about jazz culture.
鈥淗ow do you write about something being created in front of you?鈥� Grode asks. 鈥淗ow do you harness art for the greater good?
“Larry has spent decades answering these questions, and music lovers of all stripes will benefit enormously from hearing what he鈥檚 learned, through workshops, roundtables, lectures, performances and a public listening session of recordings made by female musicians throughout jazz history.鈥�
The listening party co-led by Oh, who teaches bass at The New School, involves The Diane Arthur Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive in 黑料不打烊 Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center.
Blumenfeld adds that, with all the recent talk about walls, jazz stands as a metaphor for and a document of this nation鈥檚 multicultural truth.
鈥淚ts aesthetic demands and develops an elevated, open-minded exchange of ideas that opposes caricature and fundamentalism,鈥� says the Brooklyn resident, who also curates a music series for Spoleto Festival USA and presents the popular 鈥淛azz and Social Justice鈥� series for the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. 鈥淛azz is not in need of a revival; it is a culture through which we summon spiritual energy, humanistic focus and political power鈥攖he stuff of real transformation.鈥�
]]>Sigird Nunez (Photo by Marion Ettlinger)
The continues today with a program by novelist Sigrid Nunez, the Spring Visiting Writer in 黑料不打烊鈥檚 top-ranked M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing in the College of Arts and Sciences.
The 2018 National Book Award winner will participate in a Q&A session from 3:45-4:30 p.m. and then will read some of her original work from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Both events take place in Gifford Auditorium of Huntington Beard Crouse Hall, and are free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Sarah Harwell G鈥�05, associate director of the M.F.A. program, at 315.443.2174 or scharwel@syr.edu.
Nunez will draw mostly from 鈥淭he Friend鈥� (Riverhead Books, 2018), centering on a lonely woman who inherits, after the suicide of a friend, his Great Dane.
The New York Times describes the bestseller as a 鈥渟ometimes acerbic meditation on loss and love,鈥� highlighting the author’s interest in animals. 鈥淭he Friend鈥� also explores isues of sexual harassment and assault.
The New York City native is the author of five other novels, as well as 鈥淪empre Susan鈥� (Riverhead, 2014), a memoir of her friendship with writer Susan Sontag.
Each year, the Carver Reading Series presents 12-14 prominent writers who, as part of their mini-residencies, interact with members of an undergraduate creative writing course led by TAs in the M.F.A. program.
The series鈥� namesake refers to the legendary poet and short story writer who taught at 黑料不打烊 in the 1980s.
]]>Prince (left) with Marcus Anderson, who was the late artist’s sideman from 2012-16 and played on his final studio album, “HIT N RUN Phase Two.”
The 黑料不打烊 Humanities Center has announced acclaimed saxophonist Marcus Anderson will visit campus on Monday, Feb. 25, in honor of Black History Month.
A veteran of Prince鈥檚 backing band, the New Power Generation, Anderson currently tours with CeeLo Green and runs his own coffee label line.
The artist-entrepreneur will participate in a聽聽with James Gordon Williams, assistant professor of African American studies in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and an authority on Prince’s music; Tanisha Jackson, executive director of the Community Folk Art Center (CFAC); and Eric Grode, assistant professor in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and director of the Goldring Arts Journalism Program.
Afterward, Anderson will lead a master class from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at CFAC, 805 E. Genesee St., 黑料不打烊. Registration is required. Call 315.442.2230 by Monday, Feb. 18, and include any accessibility accommodation requests.
鈥淒uring his visit, Marcus will reflect on the current state of the music business, including how contemporary music can promote social and cultural understanding,鈥� says Vivian May, director of the Humanities Center and professor of women鈥檚 and gender studies in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). 鈥淲e鈥檙e also excited about his master class, which is open to singers and instrumentalists of all ages and backgrounds. Come play or just watch.鈥�
Both events are free and open to the public. For more information, call the Humanities Center at 315.443.7192 or visit .
On Sunday, Feb. 24, CNY Jazz will present Anderson as part of its popular Cabaret Series at 5 p.m. at the Marriott 黑料不打烊 Downtown, 100 E. Onondaga St., 黑料不打烊. For tickets and more information, call 315.479.5299 or visit .
In addition to primary funding from the Humanities Center and CNY Jazz, Anderson鈥檚 visit is co-sponsored by the Department of Art and Music Histories in A&S, CFAC, the Goldring Arts Journalism Program and A&S.
]]>Anthony DeCurtis (Photo by Francesca DeCurtis)
黑料不打烊 Symposium continues its yearlong excursion into 鈥淪tories鈥� with a program by , bestselling authors of biographies of musicians Lou Reed 鈥�64 and Joni Mitchell, respectively.
Both authors will discuss their respective books and rock biographies, in general, on Tuesday, Feb. 19, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, 114 Bird Library. Theo Cateforis, associate professor of music history and cultures in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), will moderate the discussion. Afterward, DeCurtis and Yaffe will sign copies of their books, which will be available for sale.
Cateforis also will host a session with DeCurtis on 鈥淭he Music and Life of Lou Reed鈥� in conjunction with Cateforis’ course Rock Music/HOM 378 on Feb. 19 from 2 to 3:20 p.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons.
Both events are free and open to the public. For more information, call the Humanities Center in A&S at 315.443.7192 or visit .
鈥淎s a fellow author, I admire Anthony鈥檚 and David鈥檚 ease of prose. They have a wonderful sense of flow,鈥� says Cateforis, author of “The Rock History Reader” (Routledge), the third edition of which was published last month.聽鈥淚t is tremendously difficult to engage a reader, but they make it look easy.鈥�
A contributing editor for Rolling Stone for more than 35 years, DeCurtis is author of four books, including 鈥淟ou Reed: A Life鈥� (Little, Brown and Company, 2017) and 鈥淭he Soundtrack of My Life鈥� (Simon & Schuster, 2013), with music legend Clive Davis. DeCurtis also is a distinguished lecturer in the creative writing program at the University of Pennsylvania. His many honors include a 1988 Grammy Award for 鈥淏est Album Notes鈥� for the Eric Clapton 鈥淐rossroads鈥� box set and three ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thompson Awards.
DeCurtis says his liberal arts education, which includes a Ph.D. in American literature from Indiana University-Bloomington, has helped him identify with Reed, long considered one of rock鈥檚 most singular and influential artists.
鈥淟ou saw himself as a writer,鈥� says DeCurtis, adding that the Velvet Underground leader earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in English at 黑料不打烊. 鈥淕rowing up in Greenwich Village, I had a firsthand relationship with many of the worlds in which Lou moved, even the most marginal, underground ones. This, coupled with my teaching and research interests, has helped me comprehend and render this aspect of his creative life and identity.鈥�
David Yaffe (Photo by Ellen M. Blalock)
Like DeCurtis, Yaffe is a seasoned journalist and scholar鈥攁 humanities professor in A&S, who writes about music for such periodicals as The Nation, Harper鈥檚 Magazine and The New York Times. He also is author of three books, notably 鈥淩eckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell鈥� (Sarah Crichton Books, 2017).
Yaffe notes similarities between Reed and Mitchell, suggesting they are musical polymaths, as remarkable as they are complicated. The difference, however, is that Mitchell is alive and Reed is not鈥攇iving 鈥淩eckless Daughter鈥� a sense of urgency.
鈥淏oth of them walked into pop music and transcended whatever limitations it was thought to have,鈥� says Yaffe, winner of an ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thompson Award and a Roger Shattuck Prize for Music Criticism. 鈥淭hey were untrained musicians who were as original as anyone could have been.鈥�
Cateforis admits that writing about celebrities, dead or alive, can be challenging. He references the opening chapter in 鈥淩eckless Daughter,鈥� in which Yaffe details how Mitchell 鈥渢urned on him鈥� after interviewing her for The New York Times in 2007. 鈥淵ou constantly risk offending or overly flattering your subject,鈥� says Cateforis, newly elected president of the U.S. chapter of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music.
Theo Cateforis
Conversely, DeCurtis probably would have never considered writing a book about the 鈥減rickly and combative鈥� Reed, were he still alive. 鈥淲ith Lou鈥檚 passing [in 2013], the challenge then falls to reconstructing the artist鈥檚 life through the eyes and memories of others, while still maintaining a critical distance,鈥� Cateforis adds.
In addition to primary funding from the Humanities Center, both events are co-sponsored by A&S, the Department of Art and Music Histories (A&S), the Department of English (A&S) and the Goldring Arts Journalism Program in the Newhouse School.
]]>Adela C. Licona
, this year鈥檚 黑料不打烊 Symposium keynote speaker, finds the euphemistically termed 鈥渢ender-age facilities鈥濃€攊n reality, prisons for migrant babies and children鈥攚holly reprehensible.
The University of Arizona (UA) professor, artist and activist believes the oft-repeated phrase masks extreme cruelty and violation. 鈥淚 seek to unmask such violence, using socially engaged art to intervene and offer shared outrage,鈥� she explains.
Humanities Center Director Vivian May is an ardent supporter of Licona鈥檚 work, having invited the scholar to participate in the symposium鈥檚 yearlong foray into 鈥淪tories.鈥� 鈥淎dela shows how the humanities and creative arts give us tools to confront our complicity in violence, while combating inhumane ways of thinking and being in the world,鈥� says May, professor of women鈥檚 and gender studies in A&S.
An outspoken critic of Trump鈥檚 zero-tolerance immigration policy, Licona makes creative projects that highlight the long and brutal history of state violence against families and children. Such projects, she says, help raise public awareness of, deepen collective engagement in and spur action around issues of social justice.
Licona insists the public humanities鈥攁nd the liberal arts, in general鈥攑lay a key role in questioning and combating Trump鈥檚 policy, which, to date, has “divided more immigrant children than have been counted from their parents or caregivers.”
鈥淚 first heard the term 鈥榯ender-age facility鈥� last summer, when the current administration began separating and incarcerating children in isolation from those with whom they were traveling,鈥� says Licona, who holds multiple appointments at UA, including associate professor of English and vice chair of the Ph.D. minor in Social, Cultural and Critical Theory. 鈥淐hildren and adults have died at the hands of ICE [the United States鈥� Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency] and in the context of 鈥榯ender-age facilities鈥� and 鈥榯ransgender migrant pods.鈥� It鈥檚 urgent to ensure people understand there is nothing 鈥榯ender鈥� about them.鈥�
On Thursday, Feb. 21, Licona will discuss 鈥�,鈥� an original participatory art project that directs attention to the United States鈥� flawed immigration system and long histories of forced separations and incarcerations. The event is 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium. The following morning, Licona will present a on a type of coalitional community engagement she calls 鈥渂orderlands activism.鈥� Both events are free and open to the public.
A&S recently caught up with Licona to discuss how 鈥淪tories鈥� can help contextualize histories of cruelty inflicted on migrant and refugee children and their families.
鈥淭ENDER R/AGE :: RABIA TIERNA”
You have said that Audre Lorde, who wrote that our silence does not protect us, was the inspiration for 鈥淩ABIA TIERNA鈥� [Spanish for 鈥淭ender Rage鈥漖. How has your creative project evolved?
It began as a crowdsourcing call to friends to send in photos of themselves as children. Like many project participants, I lived a cage-free childhood, and have always known that caging people was wrong. This project has become a collective outcry against what is happening to children and other migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
As someone studying textual and visual rhetoric, I contemplate new ways of seeing, being and relating. Therefore, 鈥淭ENDER R/AGE鈥� is a collaboration of socially engaged art that intervenes into the horrors of U.S. policy regarding migrants and asylum seekers. At its inception and especially as the project circulates online and as a site-specific exhibition, it becomes relational and coalitional, with distinct localities and other movements for social justice broadly defined.
Family separations are nothing new in the United States.
We have a long, brutal history of them. From slavery and government boarding schools to internment camps, the United States has incarcerated and killed many children through imposed or enforced separations.
We are witnessing the proliferation of a for-profit industry that is unfolding before our eyes, but also stays purposely obscured from us. 鈥淭ender-age facilities鈥� are prisons. They are a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States.
This proliferation is taking place in what I call a 鈥渞egime of distortion,鈥� where the current administration cultivates fear and suspicion through dehumanizing and criminalizing rhetorics. This brings me to the role of the humanities.
That role is鈥�
Formulating tough questions beyond the how, how many and why of any given practice鈥攊n this case, issues of migration and asylum.
We can sketch the most pressing issues of our time with data, but the ethical, moral and human rights dimensions [of these issues] must be interrogated and reimagined through a creative and critical humanistic approach. It鈥檚 at times like these that I look first to the poets among us.
(Sakhorn/shutterstock.com)
What do you say to people who think illegal border-crossers deserve punishment?
Rather than seeing these separations as a form of punishment, I see them as enactments of simultaneous torture鈥攆or the child and the adult. I believe the cries of the children we have heard from the prisons are a call to collective action. They are calling us to do something.
I am fortified by the many writers, thinkers, artists, scholars and music makers who turn their creative and critical attentions toward imagining a world of broad justice, one free from domination. They include [writer] Octavia Butler, who didn鈥檛 shy away from the ugliest truths about humanity; [cultural theorist] Gloria Evangelina Anzald煤a, who reminded us that the pen can be used as a sword in the fight for social justice; and [writer] Toni Morrison, who believes writing helps civilizations heal.
I hope my time at 黑料不打烊 inspires meaningful conversations and that, together, we might imagine new strategies and practices for collectively being.
]]>Christopher Kennedy
The first event of the 2019 , featuring poet Christopher Kennedy G鈥�88, has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 6.
The director of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 top-ranked M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing will read original selections from 3:45-4:45 p.m. in Gifford Auditorium of Huntington Beard Crouse Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
Kennedy was originally scheduled to read on Jan. 30, but extreme winter temperatures forced the University to cancel his event, along with the rest of its evening classes and activities.
For more information about the reading, contact Sarah Harwell G鈥�05, associate director of the M.F.A. program in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), at 315.443.2174 or scharwel@syr.edu.
The author of five books of poetry, Kennedy will highlight his latest, which is titled 鈥淐lues from the Animal Kingdom鈥� (BOA Editions, 2018). Fellow professor George Saunders G鈥�88 calls the collection a 鈥渕oving portrait of the human heart examining itself.鈥�
Adds writer-publisher Dave Eggers: “There is joy and dread here, in every carefully considered line.鈥�
Kennedy admits that while some of poems are decades old, most of the collection dates from 2007-16. 鈥淚 tend to save old poems and scavenge from them when I鈥檓 stuck working on something newer,鈥� he recently told Poets & Writers magazine. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all coming from the same source, and can be reshaped to resolve whatever dilemma I鈥檓 facing.鈥�
Kennedy’s 鈥渟ingular and deeply pleasurable prosetry鈥濃€攖o quote Eggers鈥攑ermeates the rest of his canon, including 鈥淓ncouragement for a Man Falling to His Death鈥� (BOA Editions, 2007), which won the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award. The A&S English professor also has co-translated the acclaimed 鈥淟ight and Heavy Things: The Selected Poems of Zeehan Sahil鈥� (BOA Editions, 2013) for the Lannan Translation Series.
The Wednesday afternoon series continues with novelist Sigrid Nunez, a visiting writer at 黑料不打烊 (Feb. 13); novelist Jonathan Dee, assistant professor of English (Feb. 27); poet Terrance Hayes, the Richard Elman Visiting Writer (March 20); Layli Long Soldier, an Oglala Lakota poet, writer and artist (April 3); and novelist Karan Mahajan, the Don MacNaughton Reader (April 24).
Each year, the Carver Reading Series presents 12-14 prominent writers who, as part of their mini-residencies, interact with members of an undergraduate creative writing course, led by TAs in the M.F.A. program.
The series鈥� namesake refers to the legendary poet and short story writer who taught in A&S in the 1980s.
]]>Nu Rho Psi is an independent, nonprofit, grass-roots organization consisting of more than 80 chapters and 5,100 members. The invitation-only society encourages professional interest and excellence in neuroscience scholarship.
Faculty advisor Katharine 鈥淜ate鈥� Lewis says New York Delta is a testament to the 鈥渟trength, breadth and depth鈥� of neuroscience-related curricula and research at the University.
鈥淚t shows we have a concentration of talented neuroscience faculty and students,” says Lewis, professor of biology and director of the Neuroscience Integrated Learning Major (ILM) in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). “Charter decisions take into account the number of high-achieving students and faculty affiliated with a successful neuroscience research program, the strength and breadth of the [program’s] neuroscience curriculum, and the enthusiasm of faculty and students for sustaining a chapter over many years.”
Biology Professor Katharine 鈥淜ate鈥� Lewis is the chapter’s faculty adviser.
New York Delta currently is accepting applications for membership. The chapter is open to graduate students in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Neuroscience Concentration (I-GNC) and to undergraduates in the Neuroscience ILM. Faculty members and alumni of either program also may apply. For more information, contact Lewis at kelewi02@syr.edu. A downloadable application form is available at .
Upcoming New York Delta events include NightLab: Brainfreeze on Friday, Feb. 1, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology (MOST) and the chapter鈥檚 inaugural induction ceremony, scheduled for later this semester.
Lewis considers Nu Rho Psi a “springboard for collaboration and networking” among people interested in the brain and nervous system.
鈥淐hapter members are members for life, once they are elected. Members also are eligible for competitive travel awards, enabling them to participate in regional and national meetings, as well as other opportunities fostering social and intellectual interaction,” she says. “Our newly elected officers are planning a variety of brain-awareness activities for chapter members and the public alike.”
Chapter officers are all A&S undergraduates: President Gabriela Susana 鈥�19, Vice President Julia Riley 鈥�20, Secretary Taylor Sorice 鈥�20 and Membership Director Elaine Marji 鈥�20.
The Faculty for Undergraduate Research founded Nu Rho Psi in 2006 to develop national and regional networks for the enhancement of undergraduate neuroscience education, research and faculty development.
]]>Christopher Kennedy
The kicks off spring semester with a program by poet , professor of English and director of the top-ranked M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S).
On Wednesday, Jan. 30, Kennedy will participate in a Q&A session from 3:45-4:30 p.m. and then read some of his original poetry from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Both events take place in Gifford Auditorium of Huntington Beard Crouse Hall, and are free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Sarah Harwell G鈥�05, associate director of the M.F.A. program, at 315.443.2174 or scharwel@syr.edu.
Each year, the Carver Reading Series presents 12-14 prominent writers who, as part of their mini-residencies, interact with members of an undergraduate creative writing course, led by TAs in the M.F.A. program.
The series鈥� namesake refers to the legendary poet and short story writer who taught at 黑料不打烊 in the 1980s.
Kennedy, who has authored five books of poetry, expects the reading to highlight his latest collection, 鈥淐lues from the Animal Kingdom鈥� (BOA Editions, 2018). Fellow professor George Saunders G鈥�88 calls the book a 鈥渕oving portrait of the human heart examining itself.鈥�
Adds writer-publisher Dave Eggers: “There is joy and dread here, in every carefully considered line.鈥�
Kennedy admits that while some of poems are decades old, most of the collection dates from 2007-16. 鈥淚 tend to save old poems and scavenge from them when I鈥檓 stuck working on something newer,鈥� he recently told Poets & Writers magazine. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all coming from the same source, and can be reshaped to resolve whatever dilemma I鈥檓 facing.鈥�
The A&S professor’s 鈥渟ingular and deeply pleasurable prosetry鈥濃€攖o quote Eggers鈥攑ermeates the rest of his canon, including 鈥淓ncouragement for a Man Falling to His Death鈥� (BOA Editions, 2007), which won the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award. Kennedy also has co-translated the acclaimed 鈥淟ight and Heavy Things: The Selected Poems of Zeehan Sahil鈥� (BOA Editions, 2013) for the Lannan Translation Series.
The Wednesday afternoon series continues with novelist Sigrid Nunez, a visiting writer at 黑料不打烊 (Feb. 13); novelist Jonathan Dee, assistant professor of English (Feb. 27); poet Terrance Hayes, the Richard Elman Visiting Writer (March 20); Layli Long Soldier, an Oglala Lakota poet, writer and artist (April 3); and novelist Karan Mahajan, the Don MacNaughton Reader (April 24).
]]>Avinash 鈥淎vi鈥� Thakur
Avinash 鈥淎vi鈥� Thakur, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Physics in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), recently made headlines with his role in the development of a novel class of nanomaterials that could possibly improve cancer detection.
The announcement鈥攃ourtesy of a paper he co-authored with physics professor Liviu Movileanu in (Springer Nature, 2018)鈥攑robed the real-time measurement of protein interactions at the single molecular level, using a genetically modified hole, or nanopore. The online version quickly became the journal鈥檚 top-ranked article, marking the culmination of a six-year student-mentor relationship.
鈥淭his paper is the result of an amazing journey with many obstacles and detours,鈥� says Movileanu citing Thakur鈥檚 drive and persistence. 鈥淎vi is an inspiration to other graduate students, as well as talented undergraduates pursuing careers in fundamental science and medical biotechnology.鈥�
The Indian-born student is unmoved by the praise, saying A&S鈥攁nd Movileanu’s lab, specifically鈥攁ffords him opportunities to design his own projects and experiments.
鈥淚 came here because I wanted to grow as an independent researcher,鈥� says Thakur, who expects to earn a Ph.D. in May. 鈥淏y working with other departments on campus鈥攊ncluding biology, chemistry, and biomedical and biochemical engineering鈥擨 have helped design something that could potentially transform into a technology. This work may benefit drug discovery [in medicine, biotechnology and pharmacology] and protein-based diagnostics.鈥�
A&S recently caught up with Thakur鈥攚hose expertise combines protein engineering, design and application鈥攖o discuss his time in A&S.
Your background includes biochemistry and biotechnology. How did it prepare you for 黑料不打烊?
With my training in biotechnology, I learned about next-generation applications of protein engineering in various fields, including diagnostics and therapeutics. With biochemistry, I learned the tools and techniques that would help me develop, design and validate new protein engineering approaches.
Such as nanobiosensors?
Yes. I design and develop barrel-like sensors that are 100,000 times thinner than a human hair. These sensors detect proteins and transduce [convert] that detection into an electrical current as an output.
We think our sensors have a role in existing flow cells and microfluidic devices, enabling high-throughput drug screening against protein targets of interest.
So that I understand correctly鈥攜ou create a hole in a biological membrane, through which you shoot an electric current. When a protein goes in or near the hole, the current鈥檚 intensity changes, enabling you to identify the protein鈥檚 properties and identity, right?
Indeed. Our sensor is capable of detecting and quantifying proteins in a clinical sample-like condition, such as blood serum, with great accuracy.
PPIs [protein-protein interactions] occur everywhere in the body, but are hard to detect with existing methods because they last only a millisecond. Our real-time techniques may help diagnose disease in which a protein is a biomarker [a measurable indicator of a disease state].
Liviu must be an inspiring mentor.
I like his positive approach to problem solving. He has taught me not to get too disappointed with failure or setbacks. The physics department also is pretty chill. The people are friendly.
What are your short-term plans?
I will defend my thesis in February. Afterward, I want to do postdoctoral training to enhance my skills as an independent research scientist. Post-training, I would like to be a research group leader in industry or academia.
What鈥檚 the best piece of advice you鈥檝e ever gotten?
Believe in yourself, your friends, your family and your work. When you do that, great things happen.
Thelma Bonzek ’43 and Bob Newman
Soon after retiring from public teaching, Thelma Bonzek 鈥�43 treated her former 黑料不打烊 professor Robert 鈥淏ob鈥� Newman to lunch.
The duo (along with their respective spouses, Joe Bonzek and Katherine Hughes 鈥�91, 鈥�07) rekindled their affiliation over coffee and sandwiches, while espousing the merits of individualized education鈥攁 contrast to the more prevalent one-size-fits-all model.
鈥淚 wanted to say 鈥榯hank you鈥� to Dr. Newman for leading the way for me to teach,鈥� says Bonzek, who spent the last 15 years of her career teaching kindergarten at what is now the Seymour Dual Language Academy in 黑料不打烊. 鈥淭hat lunch blossomed into a friendship that has continued to this day.鈥�
That was more than 20 years ago. Since then, the association has outlived Bonzek’s 66-year marriage to Joe, who died of cancer in 2012.
As Newman, 91, adapts to life with advanced-stage Parkinson鈥檚, Bonzek wonders when she and Katherine will have only each other.
鈥淧eople of integrity, compassion and caring need to be honored,鈥� says Bonzek, speaking by phone from the city鈥檚 West Side, which she has called home since 1929. 鈥淒r. Newman was a super professor who believed each child is a special human being and should never lose his or her sense of wonder. He was a hero to me and many others.鈥�
Anyone who has set foot in or driven by The New School鈥攁 modest, two-story dwelling on Jamesville Road, which winds its way through the hushed suburb of DeWitt鈥攈as Newman to thank. He started the school鈥檚 predecessor, the 黑料不打烊 Institute of Enabling Education (SIEE), in 1970, while serving on the faculty of the University鈥檚 School of Education (SOE).
Newman conceived SIEE as an alternative elementary school, where teachers, parents and children could function as a collaborative unit.
His approach was not necessarily new, explains Mary Cunningham G’05, who co-founded The New School in 1988, following a decade-long teaching stint in SIEE. 鈥淚n the ongoing argument over which was primary [the child or the curriculum], Bob believed the child came first. He was a man who had the courage of his convictions,鈥� she says, adding that he drew inspiration from the reformist writings of John Dewey, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky and Carl Rogers.
Newman came to 黑料不打烊 in 1965 as the free school movement was gaining momentum. His previous experience included serving as a principal at The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (co-founded by Dewey in 1894) and teaching in a one-room schoolhouse in the hills of Northern California.
Bob Newman and Katherine Hughes ’91, ’07
Hughes, who teaches part-time in the Community Folk Art Center, says the latter experience was particularly formative for her husband because it made him switch up his game. 鈥淗is students in California ranged in ages from six to 14, so he had no choice but to individualize his curriculum. This became the basis for all his teaching from then on,鈥� she adds.
In the late ’60s, Newman received a grant to launch a graduate program in SOE for mid-career workers interested in careers in teaching. Bonzek, a pianist and area music educator, was one of his students. She says his signature style worked on adult students, too.
鈥淭here were about 35 of us, and we paid $45 each to enroll,鈥� says Bonzek, a self-proclaimed 鈥渄evout Christian feminist.鈥� 鈥淒r. Newman demonstrated many of his techniques in a special classroom at the Seymour School, where I was fortunate enough to get hired.鈥�
The associate professor then helped launch SIEE, which, according to Cunningham, viewed teachers as 鈥渃o-learners and partners鈥� with students. By local standards, the approach was radical鈥攁llowing each child鈥檚 passions and interests to dictate his or her learning outcomes. Newman so believed in the institute鈥檚 mission that he enrolled his two daughters there.
SIEE addressed other hot-button issues, including teacher stress, burnout and attrition. It was a space, Newman maintained, for students and teachers alike to stretch themselves, intellectually, artistically and socially.
鈥淏ob didn鈥檛 just believe in these ideas; he turned them into reality. With tenacity, courage and skill, he worked with some of his University student-teachers to bring these ideas to life,鈥� says Cunningham, now The New School鈥檚 educational consultant. 鈥淗e wanted school walls to be permeable, allowing each child to experience the wider world.鈥�
As proponents of experimental education know, schools such as SIEE have ebbed and flowed in popularity, owing to various political, economic and socio-cultural factors. In 1982, Newman took early retirement from the University and turned his attention to other projects, including consulting and writing. His best-known books are 鈥淎 World Where We鈥檙e All in This Together鈥� (Split Oak Press, 2013) and 鈥淏uilding Urban Little Schools: Where Children Succeed with Dignity鈥� (Brookline Books, 1999).
Newman also handed Cunningham the keys to the SIEE kingdom, from which emerged The New School. Thirty years on, the school flourishes鈥攁 testament to Newman鈥檚 unwavering belief in critical thinking, active citizenship and lifelong learning.
鈥淗e has created a legacy that lives on through many people,鈥� Cunningham says.
Adds Bonzek: 鈥淚 know because I鈥檓 one of them. Thank you, Dr. Newman, for all you have done for us.鈥�
]]>Tanisha M. Jackson
The College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) has announced the appointment of Tanisha M. Jackson as executive director of the (CFAC) and professor of practice in the (AAS).
Jackson comes to A&S from The Ohio State University (OSU), where she was assistant director of The Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center.
Concurrently, Jackson was an adjunct assistant professor of Africana studies at the University of Cincinnati (UC), specializing in eLearning strategies, and a visiting assistant professor of Africana studies at The University of Toledo (UT).
鈥淭he College proudly supports CFAC, which provides access and opportunity for a range of visual and performing artists,鈥� says A&S Dean Karin Ruhlandt. 鈥淚 look forward to collaborating with Tanisha, who is a big-picture thinker with a clear vision of the arts and humanities for the campus community. CFAC plays a major role in showcasing diverse cultural perspectives, offering critical engagement for students and the community.鈥�
Jackson will oversee all CFAC operations: curating exhibitions, developing cultural programs and research initiatives, maintaining collections, coordinating public outreach and managing fundraising.
She also will teach one AAS course per semester on African diaspora art and culture.
鈥淚 am committed to building on the foundation laid by my predecessors, notably Interim Executive Director Kal Alston, and showcasing the transformative power of art from the African diaspora. CFAC provides a nexus between the campus community and the people of African descent in the surrounding region,鈥� says Jackson, who has more than 15 years鈥� experience in consulting, research and instruction in nonprofit and for-profit settings.
At OSU鈥檚 Hale Center, Jackson supervised a staff that included nearly a hundred student workers. She also co-designed curricula for an accredited course on black cultural centers; developed and maintained records; and helped organize lectures, screenings, exhibitions and performances.
It was at OSU that Jackson earned multiple degrees, including a Ph.D. in art education and an M.A. in African American and African studies. She also earned an executive MBA degree from UT.
鈥淢y background as an educator, curriculum designer and content writer has led to organizational growth and to increased productivity and performance,鈥� says Jackson, citing additional experience with OSU鈥檚 University Exploration program and Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing. She also worked for Crane R&D鈥攁 Columbus-based, minority-owned consulting firm鈥攄eveloping STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) curriculum and activities for scholastic and collegiate clients.
Founded in 1972 as a launching pad for African diaspora artists, CFAC has grown to support Latino, Native American and women artists. The center offers public exhibitions, artist talks, classes and workshops (particularly in art, dance and movement), and is a longtime academic partner of AAS.
]]>Gabriela Gonz谩lez G鈥�95 delivering a TED Talk.
贵辞谤听, life is a honeymoon鈥攖o quote a recent country hit.聽No sooner had the renowned physicist returned from her own honeymoon than she and her husband, fellow Argentinian theorist Jorge Pullin, moved the party to 黑料不打烊 in 1989. Swapping modest digs in Central Argentina for similar ones in Central New York, the newlyweds found themselves at the future epicenter of gravitational-wave astronomy.
At 黑料不打烊, Pullin worked as a postdoc, while Gonz谩lez chipped away at a Ph.D., mastering the finer points of spacetime measurement鈥攁 mathematical model supporting Einstein鈥檚 general theory of relativity, which posits that Earth鈥檚 rotation warps space and time.
Spacetime also underpins Gonz谩lez’s prize-winning research into gravitational waves, which are invisible 鈥渞ipples鈥� caused by the collisions of dense, massive objects, such as black holes.
From 2011-17, Gonz谩lez was spokesperson of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration, an international community of researchers that hunts for gravitational waves. Gonz谩lez鈥檚 involvement with LIGO led to her induction into both the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as her inclusion on Nature magazine鈥檚 2016 list of 10 people who matter in science.
Gonz谩lez beaming at the 2016 announcement of LIGO’s detection of gravitational waves.
鈥淛orge and I like to think we have proven Einstein wrong, since he said his theory was not to blame for people falling in love,鈥� jokes Gonz谩lez, who, along with Pullin, is on the physics faculty at Louisiana State University. 鈥淲hen I was at 黑料不打烊, I never thought that learning how to measure spacetime would make scientific history. It鈥檚 rewarding to do what you love.鈥�
The College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) recently caught up with聽Gonz谩lez, who admits that her honeymoon is far from over.
Gonz谩lez flanked by David Howard Reitze (left) and Peter Saulson, physics professors at Florida and 黑料不打烊, respectively. All three are former LIGO spokespeople. (Photo courtesy of the National Academy of Sciences)
What have we learned about gravitational waves since their detection three years ago?
They are not as rare as expected. Nature is very generous, and large black holes [whose primordial collisions give off gravitational waves] seem to find each other a lot. Our study of gravitational-wave astronomy has begun with a bang.
A Big Bang, literally [as gravitational waves offer clues about the early universe]. What鈥檚 next for gravitational-wave research?
A year ago, I would have said it was detecting a collision of neutron stars with electromagnetic counterparts. We saw that, however, in August of 2017, much earlier than expected.
The next big thing could be the discovery of a periodic signal from a rotating star in our galaxy, or, if I had to dream, a signal of unknown origin.
You are close to Peter Saulson [the Martin A. Pomerantz 鈥�37 Professor of Physics in A&S], who, like you, was a spokesperson for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. What have you learned from him?
Peter joined the 黑料不打烊 faculty in 1991, not long after I started my doctoral research there. In fact, I was his first Ph.D. student at 黑料不打烊. He showed me that spacetime is not just mathematical abstraction; it is something real and measurable.
Peter is part of a strong group of researchers who are enthusiastic about these measurements. His passion is inspiring. At 黑料不打烊, he was a caring advisor who patiently taught me a lot about conducting experiments.
You recently were elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences. What does that say about your work?聽
At first, I didn鈥檛 feel like I belonged to this esteemed group of people, which advises the federal government on scientific matters. After I joined, I began to appreciate the broad spectrum of their activities, particularly in areas of science literacy and diversity.
Did you know Stephen Hawking?
I spoke at a public symposium for his 75th birthday at the University of Cambridge [in July 2017, less than a year before his death.] Dr. Hawking not only delivered a moving public talk, but also said he liked mine.
Afterward, he gave me a copy of his autobiography, with his thumbprint on one of the pages. The page was from a chapter in which he discussed trying to make, albeit unsuccessfully, a gravitational-wave detector in the Seventies. We had a good laugh over it.
How do you feel about being a role model for young women and Latinas?
I want to show them that not all physicists are geniuses鈥攐r are male, gray haired, or eccentric. Most of them are fairly normal people.
We need to make sure young boys and girls don鈥檛 buy into the 鈥渕ad scientist鈥� stereotype. Instead, they need to understand that contributions to science鈥攐r any field, for that matter鈥攔equire curiosity and hard work. This approach has served me well.
]]>Yuksel Sezgin
A 黑料不打烊 professor has received a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) fellowship, supporting research into the complex interplay between democracy and Muslim Family Laws (MFLs) in non-Muslim-majority countries.
, associate professor of political science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and the College of Arts and Sciences, will use the $60,000 fellowship to work on a book-length comparative study of the democratization of Islamic laws in Greece, Ghana, India and Israel.
Under contract with Cambridge University Press, the book will be the first of its kind, empirically answering the question: 鈥淐an MFLs and democracy co-exist within a non-Muslim-majority country?鈥�
For more than a thousand years, MFLs have regulated familial relations among Muslims, influencing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance.
There are currently 53 countries鈥�35 Muslim and 18 non-Muslim-majority ones鈥攖hat formally integrate MFLs into their national legal systems.
Sezgin is focusing on Greece, Ghana, India and Israel because they are the world鈥檚 only non-Muslim-majority countries that are considered functioning democracies and formally integrate MFLs into their legal systems. These four 鈥渢est cases,鈥� he says, may hold clues to how Islamic law could flourish within other democratic frameworks.
鈥淢ost scholars suggest that various aspects of state-enforced MFLs, such as underage marriages, polygyny and unilateral male divorce, are irreconcilable with democracy and the rule of law because they violate basic human and women鈥檚 rights,鈥� says Sezgin, a scholar of comparative religious law, who also directs the Middle Eastern Studies Program in A&S and the Maxwell School. 鈥淚 believe it is possible to reform MFLs and render them compliant with these rights, provided certain institutional and political prerequisites are met.鈥�
Drawing on field research he conducted in all four countries from 2012-16, Sezgin has accumulated a treasure trove of ethnographic and archival data supporting his argument.
He says that while the four countries identify certain aspects of MFLs as 鈥減roblematic,鈥� their non-Muslim governments lack the moral authority to amend such religious laws: “As a result, they delegate the task of reforming Islamic laws to their civil judiciaries.聽These civil courts, however, don鈥檛 always bring about direct changes to MFLs.”
Sezgin thinks his book will appeal to general readers and academics alike, especially students and scholars of socio-legal studies, area studies, gender studies, Islam and comparative religion.
As with most of his work, this book likely will attract readers from the United States and the broader Muslim world鈥攁reas with deep-seated convictions about the other.
鈥淚n systems where Muslims are allowed to choose between civil and religious laws, there is considerable evidence of respect for and compliance with human and women鈥檚 rights. Likewise, jurisdictions whose courts enjoy legitimacy among Muslim citizens, court-initiated reform in Muslim law is more successful,鈥� Sezgin says. 鈥淧erhaps this book will provide a roadmap to understanding.鈥�
]]>An artist’s conception of a stream of neutrinos hitting Earth.
Physicists in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) are playing an important role in a multinational neutrino experiment that could lead to major breakthroughs in the study of the universe.
, associate professor of physics, oversees a group of researchers in A&S studying neutrinos鈥攖iny, elusive particles that hold clues about the origin of the universe. His group has led the U.S. effort to build two major components for an experiment at the Department of Energy鈥檚 , a high-energy particle physics laboratory near Chicago.
The components have been shipped to Fermilab, where they await installation into the Short-Baseline Near Detector (SBND), one of three particle detectors in the Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) program.
鈥淯nlocking the properties of neutrinos may explain how the universe works and why matter exists at all,鈥� Soderberg says. “The technology we develop to perform our research could benefit areas such as homeland security, industry and workforce development, to name a few.”
Mitch Soderberg
With the SBND project, Soderberg’s group makes important contributions to SBN detectors, having previously helped build components at 黑料不打烊 for the MicroBooNE detector. The SBN program focuses on neutrino oscillation鈥攖he process by which neutrinos change flavors, or types, as they hurtle through space and matter at essentially the speed of light.
The Standard Model, which explains how fundamental particles interact with one another, posits that neutrinos occur in three flavors. SBN is searching for evidence of a fourth flavor, called sterile neutrinos.
Soderbeg hopes confirming the existence of these聽infinitesimally small, sterile particles will help him and other scientists answer questions about the universe that the Standard Model cannot.
“While really big questions, such as ‘Why is there more matter than antimatter in the universe?,’ are driven more by intellectual curiosity than practical application, they stretch our understanding of the way the universe functions,” he says. “Perhaps along the way we will devise new technologies that have applications beyond the realm of particle physics.”
Eric Schiff, professor and chair of physics at 黑料不打烊, is excited about the research, saying the existence of “ghostly” sterile neutrinos might explain phenomena such as dark matter鈥攊nvisible material that makes up 25 percent of the universe, but does not emit light or energy.
“Every particle physicist on Earth would love to be part of the team that does an experiment with results beyond the Standard Model. If found, sterile neutrinos would be just this type of experiment,” he adds.
]]>Laura Enslin
Singers interested in using mind-body awareness to improve their vocal technique and overall performance are encouraged to register for a series of public workshops presented by CNY Singing Garden, a 黑料不打烊-based private voice studio.
Soprano Laura Enslin and tenor Daniel Fields 鈥�17, professional singers and certified yogis affiliated with 黑料不打烊 (SU), will co-lead a trio of Sunday afternoon workshops called Yoga for Singers. The series runs Jan. 6, Jan. 13 and Feb. 3 from 3-5 p.m. at DeWitt Community Church (3600 Erie Blvd.).
Yoga for Singers is open to all singers (preferably ages 14 and up), regardless of musical or yogic experience. Admission is $50 for one workshop, $85 for two workshops and $110 for all three. College students are eligible for a 10 percent discount, but must present a student identification card upon arrival.
Space is limited, and registration is required. To register or get more information, visit , or call Enslin at 315.436.2970.
Daniel Fields
鈥淭his is an opportunity to see how the science of yoga can be incorporated into a vocalist鈥檚 daily practice,鈥� says Enslin, CNY Singing Garden鈥檚 founder who also teaches voice and yoga at SU. 鈥淭he science is used to balance prana, which refers to the life force given to us at birth鈥攐ur first breath. Yogic practice builds good breath management, while reducing stress and performance anxiety.鈥�
Fields agrees, saying increased focus also promotes expressive and authentic singing. 鈥淭hese time-honored techniques help you tap into your higher potential, whether you sing onstage, in church or in the shower,鈥� he adds.
Yoga for Singers is the brainchild of Fields, who earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in voice performance from the Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music in SU鈥檚 College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA), and Enslin, who teaches voice in VPA.
The duo takes a trifecta approach to their work, combining the mental, physical and spiritual aspects of singing.
The first workshop, 鈥淔ree the Body: Authentic Movement for Singers,鈥� is Jan. 6 in DCC鈥檚 Miller Commons. The program uses expressive ritual movement and dance to help integrate one鈥檚 mind, body and spirit. Special emphasis is on the vocal technique of intoning and on a unique physical and spiritual practice called JourneyDance.
Fields, a certified JourneyDance facilitator, says no dance experience is required. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about learning steps; it鈥檚 about rediscovering your natural intuitive movement,鈥� he explains.聽 鈥淛ourneyDance invokes a physical and emotional transformation.鈥�
The next workshop, 鈥淔ree the Mind: Mindfulness and Energy Awareness for Singers,鈥� is Jan. 13 in the DCC parlor. The session explores how mindfulness techniques, including meditation, pranayama (ancient breathing exercises and techniques) and energy work, can unlock one鈥檚 vocal potential.
鈥淪ound is a form of energy associated with the vibrations of matter,鈥� says Enslin, who has taught musical theater and jazz and commercial music at SU for more than 12 years. 鈥淚f parts of your body are blocked, the vibrations cannot freely flow. This workshop shows you how to clear such tension, while keeping your instrument in tip-top shape.鈥�
The final session, 鈥淔ree the Spirit: Yoga for Singers,鈥� is Feb. 3, also in the DCC parlor. Singers will acquire a basic, daily yoga routine that increases vocal strength, flexibility and stamina and reduces jaw, tongue and neck tension. Each participant should wear loose, comfortable clothing, and bring a yoga mat.
鈥淲e鈥檒l explore a variety of basic asanas [poses] and pranayama that can be incorporated into your daily vocal warm-ups,鈥� says Fields, a rising star on the regional concert circuit who regularly performs with the Society for New Music.
Like Fields, Enslin is a critically acclaimed soloist, recitalist and teacher. She previously taught voice in Rochester, New York, at Nazareth College and the Eastman School of Music, earning a master鈥檚 degree from the latter.
Enslin recently founded CNY Singing Garden to offer private lessons, workshops and small-group classes to singers of all ages and backgrounds.
鈥淪inging is not an elitist endeavor, but, rather, is one鈥檚 birthright,鈥� she says. 鈥淓ach person鈥檚 voice is as unique as a fingerprint, and deserves to unfold, blossom and share its beauty with others. Through mind-body awareness, we singers can heal ourselves and ultimately the world around us.鈥�
]]>
Nina V. Fedoroff ’66
Nina V. Fedoroff 鈥�66 has built a career on defying the odds. From working her way through college as a single mother to being the first to clone and characterize maize transposons (bits of DNA that hop from place to place), the intrepid molecular biologist thrives on risk-taking鈥攑referring the road less traveled to the well-beaten path.
It was in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) that Fedoroff became hooked on the work that would define her career. 鈥満诹喜淮蜢� gave me a solid foundation in science and in both writing and thinking clearly,鈥� says the biology and chemistry major who, decades later, received the University’s George Arents Pioneer Medal.
At SU, Fedoroff鈥檚 favorite mentors were not just scientists, such as zoology professor Roger Milkman. They also were artists and humanists, including Fernando Molina and William Wasserstrom, professors of philosophy and English, respectively. 鈥淭hey gave me opportunities, above and beyond the classroom, to develop the critical thinking and writing skills so important in scientific research,鈥� she says.
After earning a Ph.D. at Rockefeller University, Fedoroff blazed a trail in molecular biology, first in DNA sequencing and later in plant research, becoming a champion of genetically modified (GM) crops. A decade and a half of her career was spent as a Willaman Professor of the Life Sciences at Penn State, where she founded the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. Today, the National Medal of Science winner remains a sought-after science advisor, author and .
A&S recently caught up with Fedoroff鈥攁 longtime member of the National Academy of Sciences and a former science and technology adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State鈥攖o discuss genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and how they can help solve some of the world’s most pressing problems.
Fedoroff is co-author of the landmark book “Mendel in the Kitchen” (Joseph Henry Press, 2004) and is a regular contributor to The New York Times.
There seem to be popular myths and misconceptions about GMOs. Would you set the record straight about what GMOs are鈥攁nd are not?
About 40 years ago, new molecular methods for the improvement of crops, animals and microorganisms came into use in agriculture and were considered quite novel. People thought they were so novel that we needed to develop procedures for monitoring them. These concerns gave rise to an elaborate regulatory system, compliance with which costs many millions of dollars.
As these methods have continued to develop and our knowledge of genetics grows, it has become more and more difficult to distinguish between the kinds of genetic changes that happen spontaneously in nature, the kinds of changes that breeders induce using chemical and radiation mutagenesis [a process by which genetic information is changed, resulting in a mutation], and the kinds of changes made using molecular methods.
As a result, it is becoming difficult to defend the definition of a GMO as somehow distinct from organisms modified by older, unregulated methods. As well, no evidence of hazards attributable to the use of molecular methods has emerged after some four decades of research and widespread use of genetically modified crops and microorganisms.
What does the current CRISPR controversy teach us about the GMO debate?
That we must reexamine the regulatory apparatus we鈥檝e built around agriculture out of unfounded fears about GMOs.
Until now, regulators have regulated on the basis of the molecular process by which an agricultural organism was modified. Such organisms could be identified by molecular tests because they had bits of added DNA. The new gene editing methods, of which CRISPR/Cas is the most popular, can make changes that are indistinguishable at the molecular level from those that arise spontaneously in nature and those that can be induced using chemical and radiation mutagenesis.
Since earlier kinds of genetic modifications and procedures used in agriculture were never regulated鈥攁nd did not give rise to any health or environmental disasters鈥攚hy are we continuing to regulate based on the process of modification? The only rational way out of this dilemma is to regulate agricultural crops and microorganisms based on the new traits that are added by molecular methods. If the organism is familiar, such as corn, and the new trait does not change it in a way that could be harmful to people, animals or the environment, we should not regulate it.
It should be noted that the regulatory, as well as the ethical, issues are rather different when it comes to using gene editing in medicine as compared with agriculture. This is because breeders can routinely weed out and discard organisms with undesirable traits, irrespective of whether the trait arose naturally or through breeding techniques. Doctors cannot.
Nina Fedoroff receiving the 2006 National Medal of Science from President George W. Bush.
What other hot-button issues are important to you?
I am most concerned about increasing public acceptance of these new methods of modification in agriculture, particularly for crop plants. Climate warming is rapidly moving more and more of the Earth鈥檚 agricultural areas out of the climate in which plants were domesticated. Year by year, this encroaches on global agricultural productivity as the area experiencing very high growing season temperatures expands. Because the global human population is still growing, this will increasingly affect food security.
In order to rapidly adapt crops to warmer growth conditions, we need the modern tools of molecular modification鈥攁ll of them鈥攖o adapt our most productive crop plants to the warmer conditions. Older methods of plant breeding will not suffice, as they either take many years or fail altogether because the needed genes don鈥檛 exist in sexually compatible plants.
Why should we be scientifically literate?
We live in a society totally based on science and technology. Increasingly, the kinds of decisions that our leaders make are based on the ability of science to predict future trends, such as global warming. Since politicians cannot get ahead of their populace, the only way they can make scientifically sound decisions about issues such as climate change, GMOs vaccinations and many other important issues is through the support of a scientifically literate population.
How do organizations such as NAS help in this regard?
NAS was established by President Lincoln to help the government make scientifically sound decisions by calling on the expertise of the best and most accomplished scientists in the country. Its reports continue to guide the government to the extent that politicians recognize the validity of scientific guidance.
Christopher Scholz
The Scotland-based firm has donated 10 licenses of its to 黑料不打烊 for research and training purposes. The suite, which is valued at nearly $2.2 million, is considered the industry standard for geological modeling and structural analysis of Earth鈥檚 deep interior.
鈥淢OVE benefits faculty and students interested in tectonics and structural geology,鈥� says Christopher Scholz, professor of Earth sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). 鈥淲e are grateful to Petroleum Experts, whose software tools will particularly advance our understanding of continental rifting [i.e., the extending and thinning of Earth鈥檚 crust].鈥�
Petex, which has U.S. offices in Houston, Texas and Lafayette, Louisiana, develops software modules that help geologists obtain two- and three-dimensional images of features below Earth鈥檚 surface.
Starting in January, A&S professors, postdocs, graduate students and undergraduates will use MOVE to study the evolution of complex geological terranes.
鈥淢any of Earth鈥檚 economic resources are spatially concentrated through movements of the tectonic plates, creating complex, three-dimensional rock configurations over millions of years,鈥� says Scholz, an A&S faculty member since 1998. 鈥淒isentangling the history of an area鈥檚 deformation helps us learn more about the distribution of the subsurface resource鈥攚hether it is an ore body, an oil or gas accumulation, or a water aquifer.鈥�
In addition to aiding in the study of important sites that are undergoing active tectonic deformation, MOVE will lead to products that could elevate 黑料不打烊’s status in the field of rift basin architecture and evolution. “It will make us more successful in competing for the most substantial research grants and in publishing in the world’s top scientific journals,” Scholz says.
MOVE is the latest acquisition of the Earth sciences department, known for its state-of-the-art analytical and computing facilities in the Heroy Geology Laboratory.
Scholz says the licensing agreement will benefit faculty-led, departmental research projects, most of which are 鈥渓arge, collaborative, multi-institutional and multi-national鈥� in scope. Common among all of them is scholarly emphasis on Earth鈥檚 crust and mantle.
鈥淎cquiring skills in the collection and analysis of data is essential for Earth sciences students interested in careers in academia, government or industry. Working with MOVE will teach them critical thinking, an essential component of a liberal arts education,” he concludes.
Founded in Edinburgh in 1990, Petex is one of Europe鈥檚 fastest growing technology companies, with more than 420 clients worldwide.
]]>Liviu Movileanu
Liviu Movileanu, professor of physics, creates tiny sensors that detect, characterize and analyze protein-protein interactions (PPIs) in blood serum. Information from PPIs could be a boon to the biomedical industry, as researchers seek to nullify proteins that allow cancer cells to grow and spread.
Movileanu鈥檚 findings are the subject of a paper in (Springer Nature, 2018), co-authored by Ph.D. student Avinash Kumar Thakur. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has supported their work with a four-year, $1.17 million grant award.
“Detailed knowledge of the human genome has opened up a new frontier for the identification of many functional proteins involved in brief physical associations with other proteins,” Movileanu says. “Major perturbations in the strength of these PPIs lead to disease conditions. Because of the transient nature of these interactions, new methods are needed to assess them.”
Enter Movileanu’s lab, which designs, creates and optimizes a unique class of biophysical tools called nanobiosensors. These highly sensitive, pore-based tools detect mechanistic processes, such as PPIs, at the single-molecule level.
Even though PPIs occur everywhere in the human body, they are hard to detect with existing methods because they (i.e., the PPIs affecting cell signaling and cancer development) last about a millisecond.
Movileanu’s response has been to create a hole in the cell membrane鈥攁n aperture known as a nanopore鈥攖hrough which he shoots an electric current. When proteins go near or through the nanopore, the intensity of the current changes. The changes enable him to determine each protein鈥檚 properties and ultimately its identity.
The concept is not new鈥攊t was first articulated in the 1980s鈥攂ut only recently have scientists begun fabricating and characterizing nanobiosensors on a large scale to detect DNA, sugars, explosives, toxins and other nanoscale materials.
Movileanu hopes his real-time techniques will detect cancers before they spread.
One type of cancer in which he is particularly interested is lymphocytic leukemia, a common and aggressive disease that starts in the bone marrow and spills into the blood. Because leukemia cells do not mature and die properly, they often spiral out of control.
鈥淟eukemia cells build up in the bone marrow and crowd out normal, healthy cells,鈥� Movileanu explains. 鈥淯nlike other cancers, which usually start in the breasts, colon or lungs [and spread to the bone marrow], lymphocytic leukemia originates in the lymph nodes, hence the name.鈥�
Over the summer, he received another four-year grant from NIH鈥攈is third million-dollar one to date鈥攖o build nanobiosensors. This project involves colleagues at SUNY Upstate Medical University, led by Michael Cosgrove G鈥�93, G鈥�98, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology.
A digital illustration of a cancer cell undergoing mitosis (Christoph Burgstedt/Shutterstock.com)
Movileanu鈥檚 projects are part of a burgeoning field called interactomics, which uses experimental and computational techniques to study interactions鈥攁nd the consequences of those interactions鈥攂etween proteins.
鈥淭he data gleaned from a single protein sample is immense,鈥� says Movileanu, a member of the Biophysics and Biomaterials research group in the Department of Physics.聽鈥淥ur nanostructures allow us to observe biochemical events in a sensitive, specific and quantitative manner. Afterward, we can make a solid assessment about a single protein sample.鈥�
As for the future, Movileanu wants to study PPIs in more complex biological samples, such as cell lysates (fluid containing “crumbled” cells) and tissue biopsies.
鈥淚f we know how individual parts of a cell function, we can figure out why a cell deviates from normal functionality toward a tumor-like state,鈥� says Movileanu, who earned a Ph.D. in experimental physics from the University of Bucharest in Romania. 鈥淥ur little sensors may do big things for biomarker screening, protein profiling and the large-scale study of proteins [known as proteomics].”
In June, Movileanu presented at the first Northeast Nanomaterials Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS)鈥檚 Northern New York Section, held in Lake Placid. He has since reprised his ACS talk at Brown and Clarkson universities and at the 15th annual International Conference on Flow Dynamics in Sendai, Japan.
]]>Michael Ruggiero
Forbes magazine has recognized an alumnus of the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) for his contributions to the study of molecular movement.
, who earned master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees in chemistry in 2014 and 2016, respectively, is a member of , highlighting 600 young stars in 20 different industries throughout North America.
The 28-year-old Burlington, Vermont, resident is an assistant professor of chemistry at The University of Vermont (UVM), where his cutting-edge research has earned him a place in the 鈥淪cience鈥� category of 鈥�30 Under 30.鈥�
Ruggiero鈥檚 binary approach to the study of matter鈥攕pecifically, the movement of atoms and molecules鈥攃ombines experimental and theoretical techniques, resulting in materials whose properties benefit science and engineering.
鈥淚n everything around us, even in things as solid as a rock, atoms and molecules are constantly moving,鈥� says Ruggiero, who trained under Professor Timothy Korter at 黑料不打烊. 鈥淢y research is geared toward understanding these movements, which impact the properties of materials. This goes from the very basic to the very applied.鈥�
Ruggiero relies on vibrational spectroscopy to follow particles inside a molecule. 鈥淲e apply light in the form of infrared radiation to see precisely where their motions occur. Afterward, we use computational tools to pinpoint the motions that correspond to the experimental results we have obtained,鈥� he continues.
Already, his insights into the vibrations of atoms are a boon to the pharmaceutical, telecommunications and renewable energy industries. Ruggiero is particularly proud of how he has helped 鈥減harma鈥� understand the causes of drug degradation.
He also has improved the way semiconductors work in flexible displays (e.g., curved screens on computer monitors, televisions and phones), and has shed light on the mechanical properties of gas storage materials in hydrogen fuel cells.
鈥淎tomic vibrations play a pivotal role in everyday life, from dictating the mechanical response of materials, such as how stiff or rubbery something is, to determining the stability of materials, such as pharmaceuticals,鈥� says Ruggiero, whose expertise encompasses physical and computational chemistry, as well as materials science. 鈥淥ur lab currently is investigating materials that capture and store greenhouse gases, as well as impact long-acting, extended-release drugs.鈥�
Ruggiero traces his unique aesthetic to 黑料不打烊, where Korter鈥攁 department chair known for his dutiful, cadenced study of the physical characteristics of molecular solids鈥攊nstilled in him an appreciation for basic and applied research.
“He was one of the most productive students I’ve ever had,” says Korter, citing Ruggiero’s broad scientific interests and ability to bring demanding projects to fruition. “His idea of ‘relaxing’ is doing聽 three projects at once, instead of four. I am excited to see what he will produce in his own laboratory in the years to come.”
The co-author of nearly 25 science papers in top-tier journals, Ruggiero applauds Korter and A&S Dean Karin Ruhlandt (a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry) for teaching him the 鈥渘uanced aspects鈥� of contemporary research.
鈥淏eing on the 鈥�30 Under 30鈥� list is a testament to all the great education and support I have gotten throughout my career, especially from 黑料不打烊. It serves as a bastion for my own career goals: to inspire students the same way I was inspired,鈥� Ruggiero says.
]]>Alexander R. Weiss
Alexander R. Weiss 鈥�12 has a library full of books and journals, from arcane treatises on science and engineering to timeless works of literature and philosophy.
One book he holds dear is The New York Times Bestseller 鈥淭he Brain That Changes Itself鈥� (Viking Press, 2007), by Norman Doidge, a Canadian psychiatrist and award-winning science writer.
鈥淎t 黑料不打烊, I was part of [in the College of Arts and Sciences], which brought him to campus in 2009,鈥� recalls Weiss, who earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in bioengineering from the (ECS). 鈥淒r. Doidge discussed how neuroplasticity is challenging the traditional, hard-wired model of the brain in favor of something more malleable.鈥�
A polymath with a flair for neuroscience, Weiss recalls Doidge鈥檚 Honors Lecture with pinpoint precision. At one point, Doidge showed a video clip of a woman with damaged inner ears who suffered from a perpetual sense of falling. Seated in a neuroscience lab wearing a wired hard-hat, she had electrodes taped to her tongue. Technology enabled her to send signals to her brain via the tongue, thus bypassing pass the damaged vestibular system. 鈥淲ithin a year, she was healed because the electrical impulses had rewired the brain,鈥� Weiss says.
Norman Doidge
Imagine his surprise when, the day after the lecture, Doidge visited his classroom. Weiss was in 鈥淟inked Lenses,鈥� a popular honors course co-taught by professors Cathryn Newton and Samuel Gorovitz. 鈥淒r. Doidge signed my copy of his book, and sent me down the path I鈥檓 on now,鈥� says Weiss, speaking by phone from Baltimore, where he is a postdoctoral research fellow in neuroengineering at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). 鈥淚 still have that book, and often refer to it.鈥�
Weiss has come a long way, literally, from that galvanizing encounter. He has spent the past six years shuffling between Exeter College (one of the constituent colleges at the University of Oxford),聽earning a doctorate in biomedical science, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in Bethesda, Maryland, completing multiple fellowships.
Weiss no longer accrues frequent-flier miles the way he used to, but the accomplished young experimentalist is earning other kinds of points from his JHU colleagues.
For example, 60- to 80-hour workweeks in JHU鈥檚 Cognitive Neurophysiology and BMI Lab are de rigueur. 鈥淏MI鈥� refers to 鈥渂rain-machine interface,鈥� a growing field that uses movement- and other behavior-related neural activity to control prosthetic limbs and communicate with computers.
鈥淚 perform clinical research on BMI, functional mapping of language processes and cognitive neuroscience,鈥� Weiss explains. 鈥淚t is exciting, rewarding work, and has the capacity to develop assistive systems for individuals with disabilities.鈥�
The postdoc is in exalted company. His supervisor is the inimitable Nathan Crone, a pioneer in cognitive research, neuro-engineering and electrophysiology. 鈥淗e does real-time mapping of brain function in patients to reduce the possibility of impacting their brain function during surgery for epilepsy,鈥� Weiss says. 鈥淭his reflects our larger mission of understanding the neural mechanisms of motor, sensory and language functions.鈥�
Weiss arrived at JHU in September and expects to remain there for a few years. Meanwhile, he is in early talks with prospective employers from Harvard, Stanford and Caltech. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 say much, other than the projects involve really cutting-edge stuff. Until then, I will stay here, doing clinical research or getting involved with its vibrant startup scene,鈥� he says.
Growing up in the shadow of the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University, Weiss seemed destined for a career in Philly. His parents were dyed-in-the-wool Ivy Leaguers鈥攈is father a civil engineer, his mother a chemical engineer. Trips to Penn, Penn State and Temple were frequent. 鈥淭hen I visited 黑料不打烊 and fell in love with the campus. Didn鈥檛 hurt that I liked cold weather,鈥� Weiss says, half-jokingly.
Meeting Gustav Engbretson, professor emeritus of biomedical and chemical engineering at 黑料不打烊, sweetened the deal. Weiss first encountered the affable professor during his junior year of high school. 鈥淕us was the nicest guy,鈥� Weiss remembers. 鈥淗e was a bioengineer who was into retinal degenerative disease.鈥�
Engbretson told Weiss something he never forgot鈥攖hat choosing an undergraduate program is like deciding whom to date in middle school. 鈥淚t should be fun and feel important at the time, but it leads to bigger and better things in the long run,鈥� Weiss recalls him saying.
At 黑料不打烊, Weiss blurred the boundaries of professional and liberal arts learning. When not working in the 黑料不打烊 Biomaterials Institute (SBI), he could be found poring over books on statistics (his minor), playing trumpet in the marching and pep bands or studying multidrug tolerant infections in implant patients鈥攖he focus of his Honors Capstone project.
Recognition seemed to follow him everywhere, often in the form of scholarships and memberships in academic honor societies.
Cathryn Newton and Samuel Gorovitz
Cathryn Newton, professor of Earth and of Interdisciplinary Sciences, was an ardent early champion of his. 鈥淎lex鈥檚 creativity and incredible abilities of associative thinking are his hallmarks. He is quiet, funny, committed, insightful鈥攊n short, everything one would seek in a scientific colleague,鈥� says the A&S Dean Emerita, who also is Senior Advisor to the Chancellor and Provost for Faculty Engagement.
Another proponent was Weiss鈥� senior thesis advisor, Jeremy Gilbert, then professor of biomaterials in ECS. Both logged hundreds of hours in SBI, studying how bacterial biofilms attached to metal surfaces and interacted with different electrochemical processes.
Weiss had an innate grasp of what they were doing鈥攔are for an undergraduate, explains Gilbert, the newly appointed Hansj枚rg Wyss Endowed Chair for Regenerative Medicine at Clemson University. 鈥淎lex learned the methods that were required, including how to use an atomic force microscope to image and measure bacterial changes associated with the interactions. He was a pleasure to have in my lab.鈥�
A highlight of their partnership was the Society for Biomaterials Annual Meeting and Exposition in Orlando, where Weiss presented his and Gilbert鈥檚 findings before a blue-ribbon audience of academic, healthcare, governmental and business professionals.
Was the 黑料不打烊 junior nervous? A little, but he did not show it. 鈥淎lex acquitted himself quite well. He was poised, focused and clear in his communication,鈥� Gilbert adds.
Fate intervened during Weiss鈥� senior year, when he found out about the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program. If selected, Weiss could spend two years in Oxford鈥檚 Nuffield Department of Medicine, followed by three years at the NIH campus in Bethesda鈥攖he largest biomedical research facility in the world.
鈥淚 told Professors Newton and Gorovitz about it, and they said I should 鈥�100-percent apply.鈥� The fellowship seemed like a pipe-dream,鈥� he recalls.
Newton and Gorovitz worked closely with Weiss鈥攎eeting with him frequently, encouraging him to keep refining his application materials, urging him to be openly clear about his love of literature and of liberal education. They also arranged a mock panel interview, rounded out by Biology Professor John Russell, Gilbert and several ECS staffers. 鈥淚t worked out, I guess,鈥� Weiss says in a classic piece of understatement. 鈥淪hortly after graduation, I was on a plane to London.鈥�
Weiss muses wistfully about life after 黑料不打烊. At Oxford, he trained under Tipu Aziz, the Bangladeshi-born, British neurosurgeon, known for his innovative treatments for Parkinson鈥檚 disease, multiple sclerosis and neuropathic pain. Aziz also founded the U.K.鈥檚 first functional neurosurgical unit dedicated to novel approaches to the surgical treatment of brain disorders.
鈥淚t was amazing to see his surgeries offer hope to patients battling Parkinson鈥檚 and to people wanting to walk again,鈥� says Weiss, who worked with the renowned professor from 2012-14.
As the calendar flipped to 2015, Weiss returned stateside, spending the next three years with Judith Walters at NINDS. Walters is famous for many things, notably her studies of mechanisms in the brain that mediate dysfunctions associated with neurological diseases and disorders.
She says Weiss鈥檚 academic grooming, particularly in BMI and deep brain stimulation (in which implanted electrodes help the brain control body movements), was a boon to her research into Parkinson鈥檚 disease.
Judith Walters (Photo by Ernie Branson)
鈥淎lex has a combination of skill sets that make him popular on the job circuit,鈥� notes Walters, senior investigator and chief of NINDS鈥� Neurophysiological Pharmacology Section. 鈥淗e is experienced with engineering-related tasks, rodent and human neurophysiology, behavioral studies, rodent neurosurgery and complex techniques for data analysis. These qualities enable him to investigate changes in brain function in a range of neurological disorders.鈥�
Weiss鈥� soft skills are equally commendable. Walters says his 鈥済ood-natured collegiality鈥� made him popular among trainees and summer students. 鈥淗e was one of my lab鈥檚 best mentors. He was kind and understanding, but also politically astute,鈥� she says, noting his gift for a well-placed joke or piece of advice. 鈥淚 look forward to hearing great things about him in the future.鈥�
Weiss capped off his NINDS experience with a five-month postdoctoral fellowship, following graduation from Exeter in April.
Admittedly, having a 鈥減iece of paper鈥� from one of the oldest, most respected colleges in the world (Exeter is more than 700 years old) is 鈥減retty terrific,鈥� Weiss says, but he would not have gotten it without his 黑料不打烊 education.
鈥淲hat I accomplished at SU鈥攃ombining my knowledge of engineering and statistics with a burgeoning interest in neuroscience鈥攍aid the groundwork for what I do today at Johns Hopkins,鈥� says Weiss, who resides in the Capital Beltway community of Silver Spring. 鈥淛ust as importantly, 黑料不打烊 instilled in me an entrepreneurial spirit鈥攖he desire to find creative solutions to tough problems.鈥�
Weiss considers intellectual entrepreneurship more than an occupation; it is an attitude, a way of life for him. He credits his 黑料不打烊 professors, especially those in A&S and ECS, for teaching him the value of hard work; grit; and wide-ranging, associative, creative thinking.
鈥淪ometimes, the best ideas are the craziest ones, but you have to start somewhere鈥攖o be willing to make mistakes or fail,鈥� says Weiss, citing the concept of risk and reward. 鈥淚 am reminded of this almost daily in Baltimore, which, with its proximity to Washington, D.C., and with Johns Hopkins鈥� commercial arm [JHU Technology Ventures], is filled with smart people with incredible ideas.鈥�
Perhaps what Weiss is doing at JHU鈥攁nd has undertaken thus far at 黑料不打烊 and Oxford鈥攁ffirms the Norman Doidge adage that 鈥渨e see with our brains, not our eyes.鈥�
In a final nod to that psychological mentor, Weiss says, 鈥淭he same intelligence that allows us to worry and anticipate negative outcomes allows us to plan, hope and dream.鈥�
Without missing a beat, he adds, 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to keep our head in the game.鈥�
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