FACULTY & STAFF
NOTEWORTHY NEWS
Faculty Accomplishments Dr. Reuben [Al] Benthall, Assistant Professor of English, was one of 18 faculty members selected from among 62 nominees to participate in a highly competitive, week-long seminar on Lyric Poetry, held in August at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D. C. Dr. Benthall’s paper, “What the Thrush Said to T. S. Eliot,” was accepted for publication in English Studies, a Journal of English Language and Literature. Dr. Kevin Bezner, Lecturer in English, along with Dr. Angela Miss, Associate Professor of English, and Dr. Joseph Pizza, Assistant Professor of English, have had their paper on the interdisciplinary aspect of our new Rhetoric course accepted for the upcoming 4C’s Conference (on College Communication and Composition) in St. Louis. Mr. Steve Brosnan, Associate Professor of Math/Physics, attended the Benedictine Pedagogy Conference and gave a talk on “Teaching Benedictine Values in a Freshman Symposium Course” at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. Drs. Grattan Brown and Ronald Thomas, both Assistant Professors of Theology, and Dr. Mark Newcomb, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, participated in the “New Evangelization Project,” an invitation-only, national conference for young theologians, who have recently earned their doctorate. They were selected to speak alongside 15 bishops concerning how to evangelize the faithful. The conference, held in September, was hosted by Donald Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, DC. (See our story on page 51.) Dr. Grattan Brown gave two lectures on conscience in health care. The first lecture was presented to the monks of Clear Creek Abbey in Hulbert, Oklahoma in July and the second was presented at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee in September. In August, Ms. Laura Campbell, Director of Teacher Education, arranged, under Belmont Abbey College auspices, for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for Catholic school elementary teachers to be offered at St. Gabriel’s school in Charlotte, North Carolina. 52 CROSSROADS
The Magazine of Belmont Abbey College
Dr. Travis Cook, Chair of the Department of Government and Political Philosophy and Assistant Professor in that field, wrote an article entitled “David Hume (1711 – 1776)” for volume III of The Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought. In September, Dr. Carson Daly, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, served as the Program Chair for the annual meeting of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars held in Detroit, Michigan. The theme of the conference was Catholic Social Thought and Economics. And, in October, Dr. Daly participated in Baylor University’s “Educating for Wisdom in the 21st Century” conference, speaking on “The Study of Rhetoric as a Stepping Stone to Wisdom.” Dr. Michael Hood, Professor of English, published a short story entitled “English Class” for the fall issue of the journal, Indiana English. Dr. John [Daniel] Hutchinson, Assistant Professor of History, completed his doctorate at Florida State University. Dr. Judith McDonald, Assistant Professor of Education, presented on “inquiry as a strategy” at the North Carolina Science Teachers Association (NCSTA) conference in November. Dr. Angela Miss, Associate Professor of English, edited the The Belmont Abbey Reader, which was custom-designed by the College’s Rhetoric Committee. (See our interview with Dr. Miss beginning on page 12.) The Reader is being used in the following courses: Rhetoric I, Communications Essentials, and will also be used in Rhetoric II. In addition, Dr. Angela Miss taught ten Rhetoric workshops for all those who are teaching Rhetoric I and II as part of the College’s new core curriculum. Dr. Rebecca Munro, Assistant Professor of English, wrote an essay on Othello, entitled “Othello, the Classical/ Medieval Synthesis, and the Platonic Concept of the Soul,” which was accepted for the Ignatius Critical Edition of the play. And, in October, Munro presented her paper, “It is Requir’d You Do Awake Your Faith: The Wisdom of The Winter’s Tale,” at Baylor University’s “Educating for Wisdom in the 21st Century” conference. Dr. Lisa O’Neil, Assistant Professor of Education, completed her Ph.D. at Gardner-Webb University.
Winter 2012