Deans' Summer Research Fellowship

Every year students at Rockhurst University have the opportunity to apply for a Deans’ Summer Research Fellowship. Besides the monetary bonus, it provides the student the opportunity to work closely with a faculty mentor. This year another student of mine, Andrea Essner, who is a Theology major was selected as one of seven to receive the fellowship. Many more students had submitted competitive proposals. I heard the selection process was difficult.

Andrea comes from Saint Louis, MO and is pursuing a double major in English and Theology. She intends to go onto grad school to earn a Ph.D. in theology. Her summer project is entitled “Feminine Images of God in English Mystical Texts: A Comparative Analysis,” and I will serve as her mentor since I have some expertise in this field of study. Andrea’s knowledge of English literature will enable her to appreciate how mystics throughout the British Isles used feminine metaphors of God to convey a spiritual reality that was meaningful for their audience.

Congratulations go to all of our fine recipients this year!

· Ms. Madiha Aslam, “Inquiry - Based Learning in Mathematics,” under the direction of Dr. Mairead Greene, Department of Mathematics and Physics.
· Ms. Blair Ballard & Ms. Bailey Williams, “Accuracy of Personality Judgments: Theory, Research, and Applications,” under the direction of Dr. Kate Nicolai, Department of Psychology.
· Ms. Rebecca Benjamin, “Evaluating the Success of a Relocated Population of Timber Rattlesnakes,” under the direction of Dr. Mindy Walker, Department of Biology.
· Ms. Andrea Essner, “Feminine Images of God in English Mystical Texts: A Comparative Analysis,” under the direction of Dr. Daniel Stramara, Jr., Department of Theology & Religious Studies.
· Ms. Jeanette Powers, “Looking In and In and In: Fractals and Nature,” under the direction of Dr. Zdenka Guadarrama, Department of Mathematics and Physics.
· Mr. Alhagie Touray, “Case for Economic Cooperation and Integration in Africa: Is It Possible?,” under the direction of Dr. Michael Tansey, Department of Economics.

Faculty Member of the Year Award

Every Spring students get the opportunity to recognize one of our faculty members as an outstanding teacher who is dynamic in the classroom and facilitates learning by really connecting with students. This year the “Rockhurst Faculty Member of the Year 2007-2008 As Voted by the Student Body” went to Mr. Glenn Young. Mr. Young is presently wrapping up his dissertation at UMKC on The Cloud of Unknowing. This is his first year teaching here at Rockhurst full-time and its quite an achievement to receive this award at all, let alone in one’s first year! Glenn teaches TH 1000 Christianity I: Foundations and its sequel TH 3000 Christianity II: Development, and we’re glad to have him in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies.

At Rockhurst we are centered around student learning, which is bolstered by an instructor’s scholarship and service to the community. We’re expecting great things from you, Glenn. No pressure!

Going to India -- An Interview

One of our Rockhurst faculty members, Dr. Faith Childress from the History Department, has just been accepted into a prestigious summer institute in India. So here’s an interview report in the first person.

"I’ve been selected to participate in the National Endowment of the Humanities’ Summer Institute entitled “Bharata Darshan—Past and Present in the Study of India’s History and Culture.” The Institute is composed of about 20 professors from across the US. For the month of July, I’ll be living in three locations in India: Shimla, New Delhi, and Agra. We’ve already been warned that the climate may prove challenging because although all three locations are in northern India, temperatures in July range from the 50s in Shimla to 110-plus degrees in New Delhi and Agra. Every day I will be attending morning lectures by scholars of South Asia, in the afternoons visiting sites related to the lectures, and attending cultural events in the evenings."

"I'm really jealous, Faith!"

"Well of course you are, Daniel. Anyhow, I’m excited about the Institute because it’s interdisciplinary. We’ll examine India’s religions, arts, architecture, history, and literature from ancient times to the present. Likewise, we’ll explore a variety of topics such as the creation of Indian myth, the traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, the synthesis of Hindu and Islamic artistic traditions, the interaction of British colonial power with the Princely States, the nationalist struggle, and the sexual economies of modern India. In addition, we’ll see temples and mosques, Mughal sites such as the Red Fort and the Taj Mahal, and memorial sites for leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Indira Gandhi. I know that being in India will be a fantastic experience, and I’m looking forward to incorporating what I’ll learn and experience into my World Civilizations and Modern South Asia courses."

"Did you know that I'm a contortionist and can fit into a small trunk?"

Dr. Childress gasps, "O my gosh, Daniel! How did you do that? But I'm sure they won't let me smuggle a wild animal into India."

Have a great time, Dr. Childress!

International Faculty

A university is a vibrant community, composed of students, faculty, and staff. And like any dynamic and living organism a university changes; it grows, adapts, etc. Next Fall Rockhurst will be gaining some new faculty. Because of job opportunities and family reasons our History Department had lost two faculty members. The new hires are Mr. K.D. Motes for Early US History and World History, and Dr. Cecilia Samonte for Modern US History and World History. (Dr. Samonte has already been with us for one year.) Our Department of Communication and Fine Arts had also lost a faculty member to a new job opportunity. He will be replaced by Ms. LaKresiha Graham. A faculty member in the Political Science Dept. had retired and will be replaced by Mr. Matthew Beverlin. And Biology and Chemistry likewise needed new members and thus Dr. Christine Wills and Dr. Petia Bobadova-Parvanova (from the University of Sophia, Bulgaria) will be joining us, respectively. And Rockhurst is pleased to hire a Director of Global Studies and Assistant Professor of Anthropology all-in-one: Dr. Chanasai Tiengtrakul. Dr. Chanasai will help launch our new Global Studies Perspectives requirement and reshape our Global Studies Program.

We eagerly await this diverse group of talented people--from across the USA (from California to Pennsylvania) and from around the world--to enrich our faculty and Rockhurst learning community. Our faculty is becoming more diverse and international.

Quaking in My Boots

One of the purposes of the RU blogs is to give you a glimpse into the life of students and faculty. So here’s one about me—my most favorite subject. jk! (Those who know me, know I really don’t like talking about myself, and I hate filling out Annual Faculty Data Reports where I need to talk about everything I’ve done and how good I am at doing what I do. YUCK!!!)

Any who . . . sometimes research and articles are spawned by accident. As I said previously, one of my hobbies is genealogy. As an historian I always try to track down all the verifiable information and documentation that I can find. One particular line of my ancestry is Quaker, and my most immediate Quaker ancestor was “disunited” for “marrying out.” In other words, he married a non-Quaker and was kicked out of the local Quaker congregation for it. Thus “disowning” and “disuniting” amongst the Society of Friends intrigued me so I investigated it. In looking at transcripts of original documents I discovered that many New Jersey Quakers were also disowned for their participation in the American Revolution, so this led to a whole new line of inquiry. Quakers were and are pacifists. So what about these fighting Quakers? Well it turns out that very little has been written about New Jersey Friends who took up arms, just a passing paragraph in some books. A good bit has been done on PA Quakers. So all of this “love of learning” has led to my cranking out an article written with a social sciences approach regarding New Jersey Quakers and the American Revolution.

So besides teaching and trying to foster learning, faculty members do research and writing that feeds back into the classroom. This research has given me a better understanding about the Society of Friends and appreciation for the complex relationships that existed during an important era of US history.

University life is about the love of learning and having gusto for life.

Shrouded in Mystery

The Shroud of Turin, the alleged burial cloth of Jesus, has attracted a lot of attention ever since 1898 when it was discovered that the image on the cloth is a photographic negative. Scientists remain puzzled as to what exactly caused the image. Now the Shroud has gone High-Def, photographed “almost 1,300 times stronger than a picture taken with a 10 million pixel digital camera.” A BBC documentary about the recent filming etc will soon be aired on the Discovery Channel.

Back in 1988 Carbon-14 tests were done on a corner sample producing the dating between 1260 and 1390. Subsequently, most scientists dismiss the Shroud as an ingenious Medieval Latin forgery, but many questions still remain. The image on the Shroud in places is no more the 1/500 of an inch thick; modern science still has no way to replicate that. Seen through a VP-8 Imager, a photograph of the Shroud image is actually 3-D; regular photographs are not. Pollen samples as well as limestone build-up indisputably prove that the cloth existed in the Jerusalem area. Likewise, the weave of the cloth is unique to first-century Palestine textiles. How did a Medieval-Early Renaissance forger know the specific weave etc and replicate it? And then there are medical anatomical facts as well. Theories have been posited regarding how the forgery could have been pulled off, as well as theories questioning the Carbon dating results. No matter what, the Shroud proves for interesting scientific investigation. Nothing like a good mystery!

The bottom line is, the belief in Jesus Christ being the Incarnate eternal Son of God, who was crucified and resurrected, is a matter of faith, not reason. Faith and reason can and should work hand in hand; religion shouldn’t fear science. As a Catholic university, Rockhurst values both faith and reason; religion and science. Whether the Shroud is the actual burial cloth of the historical Jesus of Nazareth is not essential for Christian faith; however, ongoing scientific questions and resultant data support the idea that faith shouldn’t be summarily dismissed either. Something is going on that defies present scientific understanding.

For links about the up-coming Discovery Channel program as well as the Shroud of Turin, click below.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/02/28/shroud-of-turin.html

http://shroud.com/

http://www.shroudofturin.com/

Spring Break

Well this is mid-term week and EVERYONE is looking forward to Spring Break which starts Saturday, or earlier if you're lucky! It's been a jam-packed semester especially since we started much later this year. Then there's Easter Break right on the heels of Spring Break. We're back for four days and then off again. The Calendar Committee better not do this again! Just wrap it all up in one enchilada. Anyhow, all of us teachers are looking forward to the time off, though we need to grade the mid-terms and turn in grades by next Tuesday March 11, during Spring Break. Thus for many of us, Spring Break really doesn't kick in until all that grading is done.

As for me, after that I'll be here trying to catch up on stuff, such as writing up reports for powers that be, finishing up articles I'm writing, preparing an extensive writing guide for research papers, and handouts for up-coming Greek classes. But at least the pace will be more relaxed for a week. Hopefully the weather will end up being nice and sunny and warm for a day or two and if so, I'll escape from the office. Please God let it warm up!

So not much new in the zoo besides the animals getting restless and planning an escape.