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Page 1 The Dean's musings Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Around the college Page 8 Page 9 Bookbeat Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 |
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a,4 L~ I ,,i lI q The University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences tes t - . I; . . . . . . . ht~ ~ LI- i~S - .. rr; c1 i . c~~~ e: - *~ "R .- ^' fhh: ~~ In this Issue: CLAS Honors Women's Movement Pioneer ........................ 3 CLAS Students Make the Grade...... 4 A Chosen Few .................................. 5 University of Botswana Dean Visits U F.................................. 6 Facing Challenges Together............ 6 Around the College ........................ 8 Bookbeat ....................................... 10 G rants............................. ........... 11 Zoology Professor is Teacher/Scholar of the Year.......... 12 UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA College of Liberal Arts and Sciences News and Publications 2008 Turlington Hall PO Box 117300 Gainesville FL 32611-7300 editor@clas.ufl.edu http://clasnews.clas.ufl.edu CLASnotes is published bi-monthly by the Col- lege of Liberal Arts and Sciences to inform fac- ulty, staff and students of current research and events. Dean: Editor: Contributing Editor: Design & Photography: Graphics Intern: Writing Intern: Contributing Writer: Copy Editor: Neil Sullivan Allyson A. Beutke Buffy Lockette Jane Dominguez Simone Williams Kimberly A. Lopez Elise Jacobus Lynne Pulliam The Dean's Musings Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future Graduation brings an especially joyous occasion to the college as we celebrate the achievements of our graduating students and set them on the commencement of their jour- neys toward their chosen careers. In 2003, as the University of Florida celebrates its 150th anniversary by honoring the past and shaping the future, we see a new cadre of students with a broad education and a clear understanding of the challenges facing an ever-shrinking global environ- ment. With the almost instantaneous connections available through advanced technology at all levels of interaction between different nations, our students today, who will emerge as tomorrow's leaders, must have a world perspec- tive. They cannot succeed, or even compete successfully, without a real understanding of the cultures, traditions and needs of the different societies around the world. The broad education of the liberal arts and sciences gives our students the training in critical thinking and an appreciation of different cultures and belief systems needed for the modern world. These skills make them keenly sought after by international business leaders, government agencies and foreign developers for top jobs in all fields. This interest in the CLAS graduate is not just because of their language skills or knowledge of different cultures, but because of their training in problem solving and their abilities to clearly articulate problems. These skills make our students ideal for management and leadership posi- tions. Our students are better prepared for international affairs, have a better understanding of ethics in the conduct of business and science, and an appreciation of socio-eco- nomic factors on a global scale that were not imagined 150 years ago. We congratulate the Class of 2003 and wish all of you every success in your endeavors, and we hope to hear from you as you help shape the future. Additional Photography: Courtesy Feminist Majority Foundation: p. 3 (Smeal) Simone Williams: p. 4 (Phi Beta Kappa); p. 8 (Employee Excellence Awards, Burns Lecture Series) Courtesy Betty Stewart-Dowdell: p. 7 (OASIS) Courtesy chemistry department: p. 8 (Kiltie) Richard Frasier, Courtesy National Endowment for the Humanities: p. 8 (McKnight) Jane Gibson: p. 10 (Marsiglio) Printed on recycled paper Neil Sullivan sullivan@phys. ufl. edu On the Cover: Awarding-winning CLAS students (back to front) Teresa Porter (Truman Scholarship winner); Wil- liam Sexton (2003 UF Outstanding Male Leader); Teesha McCrae (Four-Year CLAS Scholar); and Anup Patel (Goldwater Scholarship winner) prepare to shape the future. CLASnotes April / May 2003 page 2 CLAS Honors Women's Movement Pioneer As former president of the National Organization for Women and co-founder and president of the Femi- nist Majority Foundation, Eleanor Smeal's name has become synonymous with the women's movement. But as a political science graduate student at UF in the early 1960s, the word "feminism" was not part of her vocabulary. "I started reading about women's history, and I was so staggered by the fact that I thought I was so educated, but I had never really read about Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton," she says. "This whole period of history had been dismissed." Smeal decided to attend UF for a master's degree instead of going to law school. "A professor at Duke University told me if I went to law school, I would probably only find work as a law librarian, and I didn't see the point in that." While she grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, Smeal's family also had a home in Melbourne, Florida, so she was familiar with UE "When I came to UF in 1961, I was the only woman in the political science graduate program, and I worked with Ruth McQuown. Ruth was definitely a feminist. She wanted a women's party and encouraged me to write about the women's move- ment for my PhD work." In addition to reading about women's history, something personal happened that caused Smeal to get involved with the women's movement. After the birth of her children in the mid-1960s, Smeal went through a period of illness. "With almost anyone who really gets turned onto a cause, something has to hit home," she says. "For me, it was my medical situation. Women couldn't get disability insurance. I asked a doctor what happens to women when they get sick and have little children, and he told me they just have a lot of relaps- es. The attitude of some male doctors and how they treated women as neurotic complainers was horrible." Smeal says this attitude, probably more than anything, led to her involvement with the women's movement. Smeal finished her PhD classes at UF in the early 1970s and started working on her dissertation. She moved to Pittsburgh and became active in NOW, going from a local officer to the national board in 1973 and elected chair in 1975. The research Smeal started at UF eventually led to her discovery of the At the CLAS commencement ceremony on May 3, Eleanor Smeal received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from UF. She was also the keynote speaker. gender gap in election results in 1980. She found an eight percent difference between men's and women's votes for Ronald Reagan in his election over Jimmy Carter. "It was clear there were a lot of differences between male and female attitudes on a host of issues," she says. "Everything from social security and women's rights to Medicare and committing troops abroad. Women had been voting since 1920, but our voting power had been ignored for 60 years." Smeal wrote her dissertation, which was published, with co-author Audrey S. Wells, as a chapter in Women in Politics edited by Jane S. Jaquette. However, she decided not to come back to UF to defend it. "I needed about two more months to add in footnotes, but there was so much to be done with NOW, so I didn't finish. Ruth always said I should call myself'doctor' because I essentially got the degree." Smeal served as NOW's president from 1977 to 1982 and 1985 to 1987. In 1987, she co-founded and assumed the presidency of the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF). The organization specializes in programs that combine research and action to develop long- term, cutting-edge strategies for the political, economic and social empower- ment of women. The foundation was the first women's group to launch a Web site (www.feminist.org) and has devel- oped five additional sites since 1995. It also owns Ms. Magazine and started a legislative advocacy arm, the Feminist Majority, as well as the Feminist Major- ity political action committee. For Smeal, there are still many issues she wants to tackle. "I would like to eliminate discrimination in social security benefits," she says. "One of the reasons older women are in poverty is that they get about 60 percent of what men get. We still have the job of closing the wage gap, and women still aren't in sufficient numbers in leadership roles. We also need to solve the childcare problem in this country and make a big- ger dent on violence towards women." Smeal says jobs like hers won't make someone rich, but the work is too rewarding not to do. "If you're the kind of person injustices really bother, you shouldn't just feel helpless," she says. "You should empower yourself. Get more education because you can use it in many different ways. When you're going through school, you don't appre- ciate it enough, but I've certainly used mine in countless ways." -Allyson A. Beutke CLASnotes April / May 2003 page 3 NSF Fellowships Several current and former CLAS students have received a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship. These fellowships provide three years of support for advanced study to approximately 900 out- standing graduate students in the mathematical, physi- cal, biological, engineering, and behavioral and social sciences, and to research-based PhD degrees in science education. Overall, UF had nine winners this year, and five of them are from CLAS. The fellows are listed below, along with the year they graduated from UF and the university they plan to attend for graduate school. Kate C. Dollen, computer engineering and quantita- tive sciences, 2003; Colorado State University John Dominy, interdisciplinary studies, neurobiologi- cal sciences, 2002; Cornell University Fabian Fernandez, interdisciplinary studies, neurobio- logical sciences, 2002; Stanford University Christopher Osovitz, zoology, 2001; University of California-Santa Barbara Michael Wasserman, nrl i-. .p. .1... 'and zoology, 2002; University of Washington The following CLAS students received an honorable mention from the NSF: Tracy Bucholz, chemistry and chemical engineering Sara Gamble, physics Stephen Hicks, math and physics Maren Jimenez, sociology Shaela Jones, physics Hope Klug, psychology and zoology Desika Narayanan, astronomy and physics McQuown Awards The O. Ruth McQuown Scholarships honor CLAS female scholars in the humanities, social sciences, women's studies, and interdisciplinary majors in these areas. Graduate and undergraduate women are selected based on their academic achievement and promise. Graduate Recipients of $3,000-$10,000 Sara Villaneuva Abraham, psychology Lela Felter Kerley, history Indira Rampersad, political science Guillermina Sofia Seri, political science Julie Ann Sinn, English Rosa Esther Soto, English EriSugita, in rl'r. .p. 1.. Undergraduate Recipients of $500-$1,500 Sarah Rose Bartlett, history Lindsey Megan Evans, inrlr..p..l , Frances J. Ingram, political science Incoming Graduate Recipient of $10,000 Rabia Nafees Shah, English CLAS Students Make the Grade CLAS Students Receive Prestigious Scholarships Teresa Porter, a junior double-majoring in political sci- ence and sociology, has been named a Harry S. Truman Scholar. One of just 76 winners nationwide and the only recipient from Florida, Porter will receive $3,000 to use during her senior year of college and $27,000 for graduate school. Truman Scholars are selected for their extensive record of community service and for their commitment to careers in government and public service. A St. Augustine native, Porter is president of the Panhellenic Council and a member of Phi Mu sorority. She has studied abroad at Portr the University of Cambridge and teaches intermediate and Porter advanced level dance at a local studio. Robert Abel, a junior from Davie, Florida, and Anup Patel, a junior from Altamonte Springs, Florida, have each received a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. The award was created to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences or engineer- ing, and foster excellence in those fields. Abel is a mathematics major and chemistry minor who intends to pursue a doctorate in theoretical or computational chemistry. Patel is double-major- ing in biochemistry and molecular Abel genetics and economics. He hopes to pursue an MD/PhD specializing in molecular genetics. Each scholarship covers expenses for tuition, fees, books, and room and board, up to a maximum of $7,500 annually. Patel International Awards On April 24, certificates were presented in the Reitz Union Auditorium to eight international graduate and undergraduate students in CLAS who were nominated by their departments for outstanding academic achievement. The recipients are: Avni Argun, Isa Benitez, Naichao Li, chemistry; Marco Gemignani and Anca Mirsu-Paun, psychology; Parakh Hoon, Fredline McCormack, Guillermina Seri, political science. Graduate Student Teaching Awards On April 24, nine CLAS graduate students received university-wide recognition for outstanding teaching. This year's Graduate Teaching Award winners are: Katie Ama- ral, chemistry; Luis Cruz, physics; Jennifer Gillett, plant pathology; Mark Hove and Stephen Ortiz, history; Laura Ruiz, Romance languages and literatures; Derek Merrill, Bernard O'Donnell, and Harun Thomas, English. CLASnotes April / May 2003 page 4 This group of students was recently inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, one of the old- est honor societies in the country. A Chosen Few UF Students Inducted Into Honor Societies As spring commencement approaches, undergraduates have the chance to add one last accomplishment to their resumes before graduating-membership in an honor society. The best and brightest students in the college are invited to join Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi, two of the nation's oldest and most prestigious societies. "Membership is not something we give; students earn it," says Felix Berardo, sociology professor and chapter president of both groups this academic year. "Stu- dents work very hard and sometimes go unnoticed. This recognizes them in a very scholarly way, and it's something they can be proud of. They become part of a very select group, and it gives them a peg to put on their resumes that sets them apart." Phi Beta Kappa, which has been on cam- pus since 1938, recog- nizes students who have attained a high standard of scholastic achievement in a liberal arts curricu- lum. "Students are nomi- nated entirely on the basis of their transcripts," says Richard Hiers, religion professor and historian of Phi Beta Kappa since 1992. "An elected faculty membership committee gathers information, such CLASnotes April / May 2003 as overall GPA and elec- tives taken outside the major. There's a strong emphasis placed on a liberal education. We've rejected people who have a 4.0 GPA but didn't venture beyond courses required for their major." Emily Taylor, a grad- uating senior majoring in English and pre-medicine, says she is excited to join an honor society that awards scholastic diversity. "When I came to UF, I knew I wanted to go to medical school, but I also loved English," she says. "A lot of people have teased me about that, but Phi Beta Kappa actually values the fact that I have a lot of different interests. And, looking back, I wouldn't change anything. I feel my liberal arts edu- cation has prepared me for life, not just a career." Although 95 percent of those invited to join Phi Beta Kappa are liberal arts and sciences students, no particular major is required. On occasion, students studying eco- nomics, agriculture, jour- nalism and other fields are offered membership if their transcripts reflect a liberal course of study. All nominees must stand in the top 15 percent of their graduating class in their college. Undergraduates are elected during their senior year and inducted during the fall or spring, prior to commencement exercises. "We usually don't see them again," says Hiers. "The principal thing that happens is that it is noted on their tran- scripts so it follows them around and is a nice thing to have on their CVs." Phi Kappa Phi oper- ates much like Phi Beta Kappa, with the excep- tion of requiring students to have a liberal arts emphasis. The organiza- tion has been on campus since 1912 and encour- ages superior scholarship in all academic disciplines and draws membership from all colleges and departments. During the fall and spring semesters, the registrar's office pulls a list of the top 7.5 per- cent of juniors and the top 10 percent of seniors university-wide and inducts them in a formal ceremony. Both organizations have been in operation nationally for many years. Phi Beta Kappa was established at William and Mary College in Virginia in 1776 as the nation's first university honors society and Greek letter fraternity. Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 at the University of Maine. In addition to honoring undergraduates and a limited number of PhD students, Phi Beta Kappa also extends alumni and honorary memberships to those making a contribu- tion to liberal arts fields. Phi Kappa Phi inducts the top 10 percent of gradu- ate students who didn't get the chance to join while they were under- graduates. "Both of these organizations have been around a long time and potential employers know what they are," says Berar- do. "But more and more of these groups are spring- ing up all over and com- peting for these students. What we have to do is inform students who we are and that we are legiti- mate." Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa are also hoping for more involve- ment of faculty members on campus who joined these societies while they were students. Berardo and Hiers both retire this year and younger faculty are needed to step up and run these programs. "We operate entirely with faculty sponsors," Berardo says. "We're looking for new volunteers." -Buffy Lockette page 5 University of Botswana Dean Visits UF For 10 days in April, Nobantu Raseotsa, University of Botswana Dean of the Fac- ulty of Humanities, got a taste of how the University of Florida runs business. Raseot- sa shadowed CLAS Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Yumiko Hulvey and met with different groups on campus. The trip was a measure to begin preparations for an agreement between the two universities that would allow for an exchange program. Raseotsa, who earned a PhD in Eng- lish from the State University of New York, says there are structural differences between UF and her university. Only 12,000 stu- dents attend the 21-year-old University of Botswana, which is the only university in the country of 1.7 million. "The good thing is that both universi- ties recognize the importance of collabo- ration and diverse interdependence that comes from a shared responsibility of going beyond and joining hands with the rest of the world." Raseotsa says her students will have chosen the right place if they choose to study abroad at UF because of the countless opportunities available here in a variety of disciplines. "There are benefits for both groups culturally and with knowl- edge," she says. Ideally the program would begin during the 2004-2005 school year, however, it is likely that UF students will be able to travel to Botswana before vice- versa travel takes place. Facing Challenges Together OASIS Provides Guidance to Success Tucked in the walls of Walker Hall, some students find an oasis that provides nourishment. But the refreshment found here is not the H20 variety. Instead, these walls house the Office for Academic Support and Institutional Services (OASIS). From tutoring to counseling, OASIS becomes the hub where many students begin to find the resources they need to succeed at UF. CLAS Associate Dean Harry Shaw, who has served as OASIS director since its start in 1989, says the office has given students the opportunity to suc- ceed in numerous ways. "OASIS is a good name to summarize what we do," Shaw says. "The office pro- vides refreshment, rescue and resuscitation when need- ed. We provide students with the drive to succeed in an environment that otherwise might be very daunting and perhaps discouraging." The office's objective is to enhance the recruit- ment, retention, follow-up support and graduation of minority students. With such services as counseling, tutoring and academic workshops, OASIS educates students on how to succeed and fights against factors that may impede academic success. Shaw says the success stories of OASIS are numer- ous and varied, and its services have reached beyond CLAS. Morgan Ellis, a junior microbiology and cell science major in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, says that while she has never been a CLAS major, she took advantage of tutoring services her freshman year when she faced the challenge of many first-year students-general chemistry. "The tutors were very knowledgeable and were open to assisting me in any way they could," Ellis says. "Classes like chemistry can be difficult for a freshman, but reaching out to services like OASIS can make all the difference." Ellis says that while she has not returned to the tutoring services since her freshman year, it gives her a sense of security to know she could CLASnotes April / May 2003 page 6 Peer counselors in the PAACT program receive training from OASIS staff. These counselors facilitate training sessions for first-year students at UF always turn to OASIS. Shaw says that fresh- men and sophomores mainly use tutoring services because OASIS can readily provide tutors for the general subjects these students take. Upper-division courses require more specialization; nonetheless, OASIS seeks such tutors for these courses if necessary. Certain OASIS programs reach out to students before they even set foot on campus. Outreach efforts include Upward Bound, a federally-funded program that aims to assist low-income high school students in develop- ing academic and personal skills as well as to motivate them in pursing and succeeding in higher education. To succeed in retaining the university's minority enrollments, OASIS has an advocacy service that intervenes on behalf of minority students who have not succeeded in solving a problem within reasonable and recommended means. One of the most successful and known programs of OASIS is Pledging to Achieve Academic Competence Together, more com- monly known as PAACT. African-American students are invited to a one-week session prior to the beginning of the fall semes- ter-or a two-day session for students begin- ning in Summer B term-where they engage in numerous activities and workshops that promote leadership and academic success. "PAACT is best seen as an academic boot camp," Shaw says. "We want to make sure students know whom to seek for assistance and learn how to avoid the pitfalls that often lead to academic mediocrity, or even aca- demic failure. The program fills students with the spirit of empowerment to achieve." During the program, students tour cam- pus and are pointed in the right direction for frequently asked questions. Beginning the semester with such a motivation to succeed, many PAACT students become involved in leadership opportunities on campus. Shaw says he has seen many student leaders excel over the years and knows that programs like PAACT provide an extra push for some students who need it. "It could make all the difference in success," Shaw says, mentioning success stories such as former Student Body Vice President Suzette Maylor who complet- ed the PAACT orientation and immediately became involved with Student Government. To continue the pledge made during the orientation program, PAACT leaders organize several activities throughout the year in order to keep tabs on students and also help students recognize the support system is there. So strong are the bonds students cre- ate in PAACT that several former students have formed the PAACT Alliance for Service and Scholarship (PASS). PASS continues to implement the goals of PAACT through ser- vice, scholarship and social activities. While structured services such as tutoring and counseling are great assets to students, many find the best comfort in knowing someone is there to ensure they achieve a successful undergraduate career. Classics junior Brandy Jones has been amazed by how often Shaw and OASIS staff have contacted her, even though it has been three years since she completed PAACT. "Dr. Shaw does a really good job of keeping track of the students," she says. "He and the OASIS staff make sure that you have the neces- sary resources to succeed." Jones says she still receives many e-mails from Shaw and has been on several listservs that keep her updated on opportunities and events. The communication and effort ensures students are headed in the right direction, she says. Shaw says providing support for stu- dents is perhaps the most important aspect of OASIS, and over the years he has developed a close relationship with many students. "It becomes a home away from home," he says. "It is good for students to know someone is here to listen, give encouragement and pro- vide practical guidance." The needs of students vary greatly, and many times all a student lacks is information about what office to contact to solve a prob- lem. But in the end, Shaw believes his efforts can make the difference in UF retaining and producing successful students. "It is gratifying to have students indicate that OASIS is the difference between graduating and not, or having a successful career versus no career." -Kimberly A. Lopez CLASnotes April / May 2003 page 7 CLAS Staff Receive Superior Accomplishment Awards Balkcom Four CLAS employees recently received UF Superior Accomplish- ment Awards. The program rec- ognizes staff and faculty members who contribute outstanding and meritorious service to the univer- sity and have improved the quality of life for students and employees. Binello The four divisional winners are: Donna Fay Balkcom, program assistant, physics Carol Binello, administrative assis- tant, dean's office Grace Kiltie, grants assistant, chemistry Kathy Rex, advisor, Academic Kiltie Advising Center Binello and Kiltie each received a university-wide Superior Accomplishment Award. Binello was given a Gabor Employee Recognition Award, and Kiltie, an HRH Employee Recognition Award. Rex Three Receive CLAS Employee Excellence Awards At a recognition ceremony in April, three staff mem- bers received the Second Annual CLAS Employee Excellence Award for their service to the college. CLAS chose the winners based on their strong work ethics, service-oriented attitudes, dedica- tion to their jobs and willingness to assist beyond nor- mal expectations. Winners receive $1,500 and a plaque. This year's win- ners are (left to right): Karen Jones, office manager, In r -,..-p.J1.. ,- department; Cindy Powell, accountant, psychology department; and Dianne Bolinger, office manager, Center for Studies in Criminology and Law. CLASnotes encourages letters to the editor. E-mail edi- tor@clas.ufl.edu or send a letter to CLASnotes, PO Box 117300, Gainesville FL 32611. CLASnotes reserves the right to edit submissions for punctuation and length. Around the College History Professor Visits White House In late February, History Professor Stephen McKnight and his wife Rebecca traveled to Washington, DC for the National Council on the Humanities induc- tion ceremony. During the trip, the McKnights met First Lady Laura Bush and other council members. President George W Bush nominated McKnight to serve on the 25-person advisory council last fall, and the US Senate unanimously confirmed his nomination in January. He will serve a six-year term on the council, which is an inde- pendent grant-making agency of the federal government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation and public programs in the humanities. Major General Visits Campus Marianne Mathewson-Chapman, the first woman to be promoted to the rank of Major General in the Army National Guard, visited campus in late March in honor of Women's History Month. Hosted by the Center for Gerontological Studies, Mathewson-Chapman is a UF alumnus with a PhD in nursing sciences and a gerontology minor. She gave two lectures on her experi- ences rising through the ranks of the military and on her career as a nurse executive for the Veterans' Health Administration. She is pictured with her two daughters who are UF students, Helena (left) and Heather (right). Burns Lecture Series The history department's 4th Annual August M. Burns Lecture Series held on April 1 was a debate between the chief Florida attorneys for Al Gore and George W Bush during the 2000 Presidential elec- tion recount. UF History Professor Julian Pleasants, who has interviewed the lawyers as part of an elections project, organized the debate. Pictured above (left to right) are Barry Richard, Bush's attorney; Professor Emeritus of History Michael Gannon, who served as moderator; and Dexter Douglass, Gore's attorney. The men spoke to a crowd of several hundred and provided interesting details. For example, Bush spoke to Richard only twice and did not influence the legal strategy, while Gore microman- aged his legal team and twice went against the advice of his Florida attorneys. CLASnotes April / May 2003 page 8 DEPARTMENT NEWS Academic Advising Center Albert Matheny has received a National Academic Advising Association (NACA- DA) Outstanding Advising Award in the academic advising administrator category as part of the 2003 NACADA National Awards Program for Academic Advising. Kathy Rex has received a 2003 NACA- DA Outstanding Advising Certificate of Merit in the academic advising primary role category. Matheny and Rex will be honored at the group's annual conference in October. Chemistry Alan Katritzky gave the lecture "The Universal Importance of Chemical Structure" this spring at Florida Atlantic University's Frontiers in Science series. He also visited Cuba at the invitation of the University of Havana and gave lectures about his research. Communication Sciences and Disorders Speech pathology senior Alyssa Rade- man was one of five individuals across Florida recognized in February with the Governor's Mentoring Initiative Award of Excellence for being an outstanding school-based mentor. She is the only collegiate winner of the award and will receive a cruise for two from Carnival Cruise Lines and get to stay in the presi- dential suite. As director of Project MASCOT, she helps place college students in school settings to serve as mentors to children in need. Rademan has also helped recruit more than 800 mentors to the CHAMPS program and worked on the governor's Front Porch Initiative, which encourages mentoring in communities across Florida. Classics David C. Young was quoted extensively in a March 30th article in the Los Ange- les Times on the origin of the modern Olympic Games. Criminology Alex Piquero has been appointed to serve on the editorial boards of the top four journals in the criminology/criminal justice field. Piquero is the deputy editor of Justice Quarterly and on the boards of Criminology, Journal ofResearch in Crime and Delinquency, and the Journal of Quantitative Criminology. English MarkA. Reid presented "French Cin- ema, Postnegritude and Black Paris" at The Black Atlantic: The Making of Black Diasporas conference held at King Alfred's College in Winchester, England in April. His photographs of the premier punk rock group the Ramones appear in the CD booklet that accompanies the 2003 album A Tribute to Ramones: We're a Happy Family. Germanic and Slavic Studies German Professor Keith Bullivant lectured on the German-Turkish author Zafer Senocak at the international con- ference Crossing Borders: German-Lan- guage Literature of Ethnic Minorities, which was organized by the University of Istanbul in late March. He also gave a talk on EC. Delius' German Autumn tril- ogy at a conference on Violence in Ger- man Culture since 1945, held at Lincoln C II Oxford (UK) in April. German Professor Otto W Johnston was elected president of the Florida chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German. He will serve a two-year term during which he will supervise projects devoted to securing funding from various government and private agencies. Johnston also served as president from 1981-1982. Center for Gerontoloaical Studies Susan Bluck, who is also appointed in the psychology department, has edited the volume Autobiographical Memory: Exploring its Functions in Everyday Life, which appears as a stand-alone vol- ume and a special issue of the journal Memory. The volume includes empirical and theoretical work that examines why adults of all ages recall so much about their own personal past. Nicole Alea, a psychology doctoral candidate, contrib- uted a paper that proposes a conceptual model of the social function of autobio- graphical memory. Land Use and Environmental Change Institute The American Society of Limnology and Oceanography awarded Claire Schelske the Ruth Patrick Award for Environ- mental Problem Solving at its Aquatic Sciences meeting held in Salt Lake City in February. Schelske was recognized for his research on the Great Lakes during his 20-year tenure with the Great Lakes Research Division at the University of Michigan and for his more recent research on Lake Apopka and Lake Okeechobee conducted at UE Philosophy Graduate student Ana Maria Andrei presented her paper, "A New Account of Unbound Anaphora," at the City Uni- versity of New York Graduate Student Conference in New York City in March. Graduate students Daniel R. Boisvert and Christopher M. Lubbers' paper "Frege's Commitment to an Infinite Hierarchy of Senses" is published in the March issue of the journal Philosophical Papers. Marilyn Holly has completed the text- book Introduction to Philosophy and is under contract for a second textbook on existentialism. Graduate student Kathy Kanuck presented her paper, "On the Context Dependence of Phenomenal Concepts," at the Southern Society for Philosophy S1 I. I *. I i in Atlanta in April. Dan Kaufman recently gave lectures on "Masses, Organisms, and Individuation: Locke and the Intractable 'Kinds Prob- lem'" at Auburn University, the Univer- sity of Utah, and Texas Tech University. Graduate student Ellen Maccarone pre- sented "The Ethical Case for Scientists as Advocates for Environmental Policy" to the Western Social Sciences Association in Las Vegas in April. The American Council of Learned Soci- eties has awarded John Palmer a Fred- erick Burkhardt Residential Fellowship for Recently Tenured Scholars. The fel- lowship carries a $65,000 stipend, which he plans to use during the 2004-2005 academic year to develop a new narrative for the history of early Greek philoso- phy. He will conduct his research at the National Humanities Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Several faculty members and graduate students recently presented papers at the American Philosophical Association's meeting in March. Palmer presented the paper "The Method of Hypothesis and the Arguments of Plato's Phaedo." Greg Ray presented "Tarski, Soames and the Metalinguistic Liar," which will be pub- lished in the journal Philosophical Studies. Graduate student Catherine Galko, presented "Stark on Justice as Fairness," and graduate student Kelly Trogdon presented "Dualism, Mental Causation, and Counterfactuals." Psychology Undergraduate Stacy Eitel's paper, "The Effects of Phonological Priming on Tip- of-the-Tongue Resolution," received sec- ond place in the quantitative category of the University Scholars Program's annual writing competition. Eitel will receive $250, and her mentor is Lise Abrams. Romance Languages and Literatures French Professor Bernadette Cailler presented the paper "Les transfigurations d'Elissa/Didon. Etudes de textes par Fawzi Mellah et Moncef Ghachem" at the recent 29th Annual Meeting of the African Literature Association in Egypt. Zoology The International Association of Land- scape Ecologists has named Douglas Levey and Joshua Tewksbury as recipients of the Outstanding Paper in Landscape I .. Award for the paper "Corridor Affects Plants, Animals, and Their Interactions in Fragmented Land- scapes." The award is a given annually in recognition of the most outstanding contribution to literature in the field of landscape ecology. In Memory Amy Doucha, a 21-year-old junior majoring in sociology, died in a car accident on March 23 in Levy County near Williston. Doucha was in her first semester at UF, having transferred from Smith College in Northampton, Mass. She was a member of the UF Women's Chorale and spent the fall semester at SFCC before starting at UF this spring. Condolences can be sent in her name to Adopt-A-Pet, to the attention of R. Levin, at 720 NE 69th Street Apt 9F, Miami FL 33138. CLAS Faculty Receive Mentoring Awards Two CLAS faculty members have each received the UF Doctoral Dis- sertation/Mentoring Award. Psychology Professor Carolyn Tucker and History Professor Bertram Wyatt-Brown are two of five univer- sity-wide recipients. The award recognizes innovation, effectiveness and excellence in doctoral dissertation advising/mentoring. Each win- ner receives $3,000, plus an additional $1,000 to support graduate students. Read CLASnotes online at http://clasnews.clas.ufl.edu CLASnotes April / May 2003 page 9 Bookbeat Recent publications from CLAS faculty William Marsiglio, Sociol- ogy. Author of Sex, Men, and Babies, New York Uni- versity Press Catastrophe & Culture The Anthropology of Disaster, Edited by Anthony Oliver-Smith (Vnrl-r. .p .1. .1, and Susanna M. Hoffman. School of American Research Press. At a time of increasing globalization and worldwide vulnerability, the study of disasters has become an important focus for anthropo- logical research. Using a variety Catastrophe & Culture of natural and technological disasters-- including Mexican earth- quakes, drought in the Andes and in Africa, the nuclear meltdown at ...... .... Chernobyl, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Oakland firestorm, and the Bhopal gas disas- ter-the authors of this volume explore the potentials of disaster for ecological, politi- cal-economic, and cultural approaches to n, rl-. .p..1.._, along with the perspectives of archaeology and history. Sex, Men, and Babies In his most recent book, Sex, Men, and Babies, William Marsiglio delves into the psyche of the young American male. The book records the sexual awareness of men between the ages of 16 and 30, in order to present a conceptual analysis of the social and psychological experiences of young males learning about their reproductive ability. "The thrust of the book is designed to encourage males to become more mindful and to develop the ability to think in more nuanced ways about the meaning of procre- ation," Marsiglio says. The book builds on his former work, Procreative Man. Marsiglio and his colleague Sally Hutchinson, a recent retiree from UF's nursing program, recruited their participants from various public offices, clinics, fliers, and by word of mouth. Individ- uals were asked to describe their experiences regarding procreation: abortion, miscarriage, pregnancy scares, pregnancy and births. Much of the focus of Marsiglio's research was to determine a man's "fatherhood readiness." He describes this as "men's readiness to not only Plato' Reception ofParmenides, John A. Palm- er (Philosophy). Oxford University Press. John Palmer presents a new and original account of Plato's uses and understanding of his most impor- tant Presocratic predecessor, Par- menides. Adopt- ing an innova- tive approach to the appraisal of intellectual influ- ence, Palmer first explores the Eleatic underpinnings of central ele- ments in Plato's middle-period epistemology and metaphys- ics. By tracing connections among the uses of Parmenides over the course of several dialogues, Palmer both demonstrates his fun- damental importance to the development of Plato's thought and furthers understanding of central problems in Plato's own philosophy. -Book jacket procreate but to be a father to the child." Marsiglio's hope for both male and female readers is that they would com- municate with their partners and become more mindful of what it means to be able to create human life and to embrace not only the magic of it, but also the responsibility. Marsiglio earned his PhD from Ohio State University and has taught at UF for 15 years. He has been a consultant to three major national surveys in the US and Canada focusing on men and sexuality/fatherhood issues. His next book, Stepdads: Stories of Love, Hope, and Repair, will be released by fall 2003. -Elise Jacobus Hearts of Darkness, Bertram Wyatt-Brown (History). Louisiana State University Press. In this beautifully realized study, Bertram Wyatt-Brown explores the defining role of melancholy in southern literature from the early nineteenth century to the early twen- tieth, when it evolved into modernist alien- ation. Deeply marked by high death rates, social dread, and bitter defeat, white southern ers imposed a climate of i parochial pride, stifling conven- tions of mas- culinity, social condescension, and mistrust of intellectualism. Many writ- ers experienced a conscious or unconscious alienation from the prevailing social currents, and they expressed emotional turmoil in and through their writing. -Book jacket -Book jacket CLASnotes April / May 2003 SEX, MEN, AND BABIES 17- 111, keavf or 4avkvesy page 10 Zoology Duo is a Spending a summer scuba diving in the French Polynesian islands sounds like a vacation to most people. For husband and wife zool- ogy research duo Craig Osenberg and Colette St. Mary, it is a way of unraveling the perplexities of fish populations. Winning Team The couple, along with Assistant Zoology Pro- fessor Ben Bolker, has received a $697,000 grant from the National Sci- ence Foundation to study density dependence in reef fish. They will spend the next four summers on the island of Mo'orea, near Tahiti, researching how a marine fish's choice of where to settle on a reef affects its ability to survive. "Marine ecologists have typically thought that fish larvae are spread throughout the ocean entirely at the will of the currents," says Osenberg, a professor of zoology. "Fish larvae exhibit much more complex behav- iors than we originally thought." "This grant is about trying to find out what happens to early settlers on reefs and how this, in turn, affects fish popula- tions," says St. Mary, an associate zoology profes- sor. "Marine fish release fertilized eggs into the water column and those larvae settle onto reefs and become juvenile fish. We're studying where they settle on the reef and how larval and habitat quality affects the overall fish population." At the Gump Marine Laboratory, Osenberg and St. Mary will study the six-barred wrasse using a series of tagging studies and field experiments. This project builds on their previous Grants through the Division of Sponsored Research January-March 2003 Total: $9,250,860 CLASnotes April / May 2003 research in the Florida Keys, where they studied marine ornamentals, fishes and invertebrates captured and sold for use in the aquarium trade. In the long term, they hope to find better ways of restoring degraded coral reef systems, like those found in the Florida Keys and the Indo-Pacific. Their work could also lead to better manage- ment of marine fisheries. Osenberg and St. Mary met at the Uni- versity of California at Santa Barbara, where St. Mary was completing her PhD and Osenberg, hav- ing already received his doctorate from Michigan State University, was doing post-doctoral work. The couple came to UF in 1995. They have two sons, ages 3 and 7, and plan to take them to Mo'orea this summer. "Aside from the abil- ity to have our family with us, which is nice, the good thing about working together on this project is that Craig and I have quite different areas of expertise," says St. Mary. "He's a population and community ecologist, and I am a behavioral ecologist, so we bring very different things to table." The grant also will fund two gradu- ate students and two undergraduates each year, some of whom will have the chance to conduct research in Mo'orea. -Buffy Lockette Read the full grants listing at http://clasnews.clas.ufl.edu/news.shtml in this month's issue of CLASnotes online. page 11 Zoology Professor is UF Teacher/Scholar of the Year UF Zoology Professor Karen Bjorndal has been named the 2003 Teacher/Scholar of the Year, the high- est honor bestowed upon a faculty member by the University of Florida. The award is given annually to a faculty member who demonstrates excellence in both teaching and scholarly activity. "A superb group of faculty members was nomi- nated, so the selection committee had an extremely difficult task," says Colin Sumners, a physiology pro- fessor in the College of Medicine. Sumners served on the Faculty Academic Advisory Committee that select- ed Bjorndal from a group of candidates comprised of one nominee from each college on campus. "What sets Karen Bjorndal apart is her outstanding performance in all aspects of her job-teaching, research, mentoring of graduate students and directorship of the Center for Sea Turtle Research," he says. Bjorndal, who received a PhD from UF in 1979, joined the faculty in 1987. As director of the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, she conducts a wide range of studies on the ecology, physiology and behavior of sea turtles. She has written more than 100 scientific publications and edited several books on a vari- ety of topics, from sea turtle biology and conservation to digestive processing in herbivorous reptiles. Bjorndal teaches an undergraduate course for non-science majors called Ecology, Evolution and Behavior. She also teaches graduate-level courses and seminars on nutritional ecol- ogy and sea turtle biology. Bjorndal is the second woman to be named Teacher/Scholar of the Year since its inception in 1959. Mary Budd Rowe, a science education professor, became the first woman to receive the award in 1980. Bjorndal stands among an impressive number of zoologists to receive the award-four have been rec- ognized in the past 10 years alone. UF President Charles Young will honor Bjorndal formally by presenting her with the Presidential Medallion at the university's August commencement ceremony. The honor includes a $3,000 award. W '- UNIVERSITY OF * FLORIDA Honoring the past, shaping the future College of Liberal Arts and Sciences News and Publications 2008 Turlington Hall PO Box 117300 Gainesville FL 32611-7300 editor@clas.ufl.edu http://clasnews.clas.ufl.edu |