University community reports recent presentations, publications, honors
For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.
Recent presentations, publications and honors include the following:
Presentations
David Satran, associate professor and director of the Associate in Arts Program, led a three-day research and writing workshop for English graduate students in the Faculty of Humanities at Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) in Bangkok, Thailand. At SWU, he also gave a presentation titled “The Treatment of Strangers in the Ancient Western Tradition” that draws on his Study Abroad teaching in Greece and provided students with perspectives on American postsecondary education. While in Thailand, Satran also met with representatives of Burapha University, located southeast of Bangkok in the Chon Buri district along the Gulf of Thailand, to discuss opportunities for collaboration.
On March 30, 2023, Margaret Stetz, Mae and Robert Carter Professor of Women's Studies and professor of humanities, gave an invited lecture at an event sponsored by the Women's Leadership Program at George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Her talk, "'Comfort Women' Issues Today," addressed current activist and artistic responses to the unresolved question of justice for the survivors of WWII-era Japanese military sexual slavery in Asia. In addition, her podcast, titled "The Legacy of Sexual Violence in WWII," hosted by UD's Center for the Study and Prevention of Gender-based Violence in its "Measuring Violence" series, is now available on Spotify. On March 17, 2023, she was also an invited participant in an online international workshop on film adaptations of works by Oscar Wilde that was hosted by the Working Group in Aestheticism and Decadence, a project sponsored by the Central New York Humanities Corridor and supported by a Mellon Foundation grant.
Valdese West, assistant policy scientist at the University of Delaware Institute for Public Administration (IPA), and Latoya Watson, assistant dean of co-curricular coaching in the College of Arts and Sciences, led presentations at the Delaware ACE Women's Network (DAWN) Leadership Summit on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. More than 100 women gathered together to learn from, network with and celebrate women in higher education. DAWN is the Delaware chapter of the American Council of Education (ACE) Women Network and seeks to promote women’s leadership roles in higher education. Kathy Murphy, IPA associate director, Joy Jordan, IPA assistant policy scientist, and West all serve on the DAWN Executive Committee and helped to plan the event. During the summit, West and Watson both led enriching breakout sessions for attendees. West facilitated a presentation titled “Discover Happiness,” where she discussed the importance of focusing your energy on how to grow and glow regardless of one’s circumstance. This session served as a catalyst that promoted self-confidence and taught how to embrace the positivity of life. Watson led a session titled “Equity Mindedness in Higher Education,” where she focused on the importance of an equity-minded cognitive frame. In this session, participants had the chance to learn about the equity-minded framework, while also being engaged through reflection questions to consider equity-minded practices in their own work. Professional women representing every institute of higher education in the state of Delaware attended the summit, hosted on the Goldey-Beacom College campus. Eighteen faculty and professional staff from the University of Delaware participated in the event. The Institute for Public Administration is a research and public service center in the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration.
Publications
Amish Trivedi, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of English, was recently published in the journal Pedagogy. The article, “Preparing for the Posthistorical University: Teaching Capital in the Creative Writing Classroom,” examines the application of critical pedagogy to creative writing courses in the modern era of higher education. The article incorporates discussions of various forms of capital and histories of cultural and capital production to examine the tension between teaching knowledge acquisition versus direct skills in creative writing classes. He concludes that the goal in today’s teaching isn't to make writers, necessarily, but to give students information and knowledge to not only value the artforms taught, but to continue doing writing work if they desire. Trivedi, a poet, has published three books along with several other articles.
Honors
Matthew Trevett-Smith, director of the Center for Teaching and Assessment of Learning, has been identified as a thought leader by the POD Network for the 2023 Institute for New Educational Developers. Trevett-Smith has been an engaged member of the professional association for more than a decade. Just 24 professionals were selected nationally for the Institute’s 13th faculty cohort to mentor new practitioners and facilitate excellence in practice among POD Network members. Tracks will include the field of educational development, assessment of learning, program curriculum and pedagogy. Trevett-Smith is the first-person selected to serve as institute faculty from UD since UD hosted both the first and second cohorts in 1997 and 2000 respectively. Trevett-Smith said, “I am honored to have been selected for this opportunity to contribute to the advancement of my field and inspire the next generation of educational developers. I am grateful to my peers and colleagues for their support.”
Alicia Downer, facilities coordinator for the CHS Facilities Team, recently received the 2023 Zeta of the Year award. Downer was originally initiated into Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated, Chi Theta Chapter, in May 1992. She has served more than 22 years as a professional painter for the University of Delaware, which aided her to take classes and finish her degree. During her employment, Downer served critical roles as vice president and executive board member for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 3472. She was the first woman to serve as vice president in the local 3472’s history, the first woman in the skilled trades to attain the title of Senior in the University of Delaware’s history, and led negotiations for multiple collective bargaining agreements. Downer was promoted to facilities coordinator last month and is an active member of the Epsilon Rho Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated where she serves on three committees.
Jennifer Graber, associate dean of academic affairs and practice initiatives for the School of Nursing, was honored at the International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing’s (ISPN) 2023 conference in Southern California in late March. She received the ISPN Education Award, which recognizes exceptional creativity and effectiveness in curriculum development and teaching strategies. ISPN Education Award recipients are considered mentors and role models by both colleagues and students. UD School of Nursing doctoral alumna Rebecca Ivory nominated Graber for the award. “This is my specialty area, and it’s a great honor to be recognized at an international conference,” Graber said. Graber has been an active member of ISPN since 2016. She currently serves as the coordinator for the Northeast region. At this year’s conference, she presented along with Ivory on Operator Syndrome and Navy SEALs and what their brain health predicts about asymmetric warfighters’ and survivors’ future mental health needs from the Ukrainian battlefield and beyond.
The Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics was ranked 63rd by Poets&Quants For Undergrads in the latest rankings by the leading online business school publication. According to the Poets&Quants For Undergrads website, recent graduates across the 93 ranked schools were surveyed on aspects of faculty availability, extracurricular activities and accessibility of the alumni network. The ranking is based on three equally weighted categories of admissions standards, academic excellence and career outcomes. Schools had to meet a minimum 10% response rate for their alumni data to fully count. In addition to the overall rating, Lerner was also ranked 73rd in the publication for admissions standards, 63rd for academic experience and 59th for career outcomes.
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