Office of the Provost | State University of New York at Fredonia
Encouraging College Students’ Democratic Engagement in an Era of Political Polarization
Sabbatical Goals:
During her sabbatical, Dr.McGowan-Kirsch set out to curate and publish an edited volume on how higher education promotes citizenship and democratic engagement among undergraduates. She aimed to develop a collection that offered practical recommendations for supporting students’ civic and political involvement by featuring diverse perspectives from experts across regions, disciplines, institutions, and campus roles. Dr. McGowanKirsch designed a competitive selection process for chapter proposals to ensure high-quality contributions from respected scholars and practitioners. As a newly tenured faculty member, she intended for this work to elevate her academic profile and foster collaborations with leading researchers in the field.
In addition to editing the book, she sought to deepen her research agenda and pedagogical expertise to become a more effective educator, mentor, and chair of Fredonia’s American Democracy Project (ADP). To this end, she examined the intersection of dialogue, deliberation, polarization, and civic engagement in higher education. She sought to understand strategies that foster democratic skills, civic identity, and community stewardship among students.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
Dr. McGowan-Kirsch compiled and published the edited volume Encouraging College Students’ Democratic Engagement in an Era of Political Polarization with Lexington Books (2025). The book presents four thematic sections that explore a range of pedagogical tools, such as dialogue, debate, public deliberation, artificial intelligence, and multimedia messaging, to empower students with the skills and knowledge needed to engage democratically in today’s polarized political climate.
Reflecting her goals for disciplinary diversity and superior quality, she received 30 proposals. She selected 12 chapters authored by experts from various academic fields and campus roles, including faculty, administrators, and student affairs professionals. This collaborative project broadened her professional network and positioned her as a leading voice in civic engagement education.
Dr. Angela McGowan-Kirsch Associate Professor, Communication
Through extensive literature review and close engagement with contributing authors, Dr. McGowan-Kirsch advanced her research and teaching expertise, particularly regarding civic engagement and deliberative pedagogy. These insights have informed her leadership of Fredonia’s ADP committee and contributed to institutional efforts to prepare students as ethical leaders who can navigate complex political and social challenges.
In addition to the book, Dr. McGowan-Kirsch pursued other scholarly activities during her sabbatical. She revised and published a co-authored paper on media literacy and misinformation in Communication Teacher (2024). She also co-authored an article published in College Teaching (2024) that explores open pedagogy through the lens of a renewable assignment in which students co-create a textbook. Furthermore, she authored a chapter on rhetoric and civic engagement in an Open Educational Resources (OER) rhetoric textbook (2025), further demonstrating her commitment to accessible, equity-minded teaching materials. Collaborating with a colleague, she co-presented on open pedagogy at the 2023 SUNY OER Summit and co-authored an OER book proposal on student-centered openaccess assessments. The open access book is in press with Milne Publishing.
Overall, the sabbatical provided Dr. McGowan-Kirsch the time and resources to produce a significant scholarly contribution that enhances civic engagement pedagogy, advances her research agenda, and strengthens her leadership role at Fredonia.
Encouraging College Students’ Democratic Engagement in an Era of Political Polarization
Continued-Fall 2023
Tether - An Experimental Narrative Feature Film
Sabbatical Goals:
The goal of Professor Hastings’s sabbatical was to advance the production of his featurelength experimental narrative film Tether. This included further development of the script and continuing to design and construct needed props, sets, and miniatures. These undertakings are directly tied to his teaching and the department’s mission of developing the mastery and understanding of the creative process through inquiry, development, evaluation, and presentation. Tether also connects with the department’s philosophy of fostering the ability to address societal, cultural, and individual messages and the consideration of the implications of aesthetic decisions.
Sabbatical Accomplishments:
Thanks to the time afforded to him by the granted sabbatical, Professor Hastings was able to develop a new draft of the Tether script. Writing this draft took him deeper into research on compromised brain function and memory loss such as those associated with Covid, and the ongoing physical maladies, mental decay and paranoia seen manifested in some who have struggled with social isolation. This research proved very helpful in further developing the overall thematic elements of the film and helped provide a much deeper backstory for the main characters. These developments spurred new plot points and actions for characters, which in turn added opportunities for new design choices.
These design choices focused on set design and props. A major undertaking for him was the design and fabrication of six working shutters that the central character interacts with throughout the film. These shutters were custom-designed using expanded polyvinyl chloride rigid foam and required the development of custom fabrication jigs to cut 200 individual shutter slats and drill over 800 mounting points for final assembly. Custom articulation hardware was designed and created, and the finishing of individual elements to resemble painted steel was begun. Preliminary camera tests using the shutters were conducted to confirm positive results and guide refinements.
Working with a local woman-owned metal fabrication shop, Professor Hastings modified a vintage metal desk with a custom articulating privacy panel and vintage telephone patch bays and wiring, which the main character sits at and interacts with during the film. Inspired by elements within the new draft of the script, additional props were created, including a first aid kit, associated contents, and other small items. This required research into historical industrial and graphic design fields spanning the machine age, as well as research into
Mr. Phillip Hastings Associate Professor, Visual Arts and New Media
replicating these aesthetics with modern-day materials and processes for film production needs. Additional tools and techniques explored included the learning of 3D resin printing, silicone mold making, and resin casting.
He also investigated new camera technologies, researching high-end recording formats and evaluating these for improved image capture, post-production manipulation, and delivery. Professor Hastings further developed his understanding of video compositing techniques using Blackmagic Design’s Fusion software.
While all these endeavors directly aided the continued development of his film project, they are also being incorporated into future teaching plans. His proposed Scale Models and Props course and the updated Visual Effects course will both greatly benefit from this research as it is integrated into future subject matter and assignments. Since returning to teaching in spring 2024, he has shared these accomplishments with students, discussing the use of physical objects as storytelling devices and providing directions on how to navigate the continual technological evolution of a medium that can fundamentally change while one is working with it on a given project.
During his sabbatical, Professor Hastings submitted work to several festivals. His experimental animated film, With Love and Sincerity, which is a declaration of self-worth and a proclamation against abusive relationships in whatever form they appear, was included in the Buffalo International Film Festival and the SIMULTAN Festival in Timisoara, Romania in October 2023. In 2024, the film was a finalist in the Los Angeles Animation Festival and screened in the NFT |New Media | Experimental | Digital Arts| Film Festival in London, where it was awarded a Gold Medal in the digital animation category. It was also included in the AA29 Video Project screening in Campania, Italy. Selections from his Fragmentum Series were part of a curated show called Communities/Trust at the Burchfield Penney Arts Center in Buffalo, New York. The show was part of The Front Yard film screening, which was projected on the outside of the Burchfield Penney building between September and December 2023 and included diverse perspectives of ten regional media artists. Lastly, he licensed praying mantis footage to the international production company Object & Animal for the Jorja Smith music video Try Me, which has now been viewed over 5 million times.
Tether - An Experimental Narrative Feature Film
Continued - Fall 2023
“The Gothic Double in Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Hall” / Buffalo Pan-American Exposition
Sabbatical Goals:
The plan for Dr.Liggins’ Spring 2024 sabbatical, as indicated in her request, was to complete an essay for publication that explores the gothic conventions present in Brit Bennett’s 2020 novel The Vanishing Half and to begin initial research on the Pan-American Exposition that was hosted by Buffalo in 1901.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
The Vanishing Half is a novel about African-American twin sisters—one of whom passes for white—their separate lives, and their attempts at reconciliation. The article Dr. Liggins began working on, tentatively titled “Gothic Intersections in Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half,” looks at how the novel signifies an intersection of the gothic novel, with its use of the gothic convention of the doppelgänger or double, and the novel of passing, to speak to the complexities inherent in African-American individuals’ attempts at creating a new identity. While her intent was to submit the article to an appropriate journal—such as AfricanAmerican Review or Callaloo—by July or August 2024, as the sabbatical came to a close, she did not yet feel the article was in a condition to be considered for publication. More research is needed to strengthen the claims being made about the presence of gothic elements in the novel. She also believes more analysis of other African-American novels that foreground racial passing should be included. For those reasons, Dr. Liggins will continue working on the article until it is in better shape.
While the essay is not quite ready for publication, she feels that the research and writing completed during the sabbatical have better prepared her to teach the novel in both Introduction to African-American Literature & Culture and African American Studies classes. The Vanishing Half not only deals with issues of racial passing, but also with issues of family, class, and trans identity. While the topics the book addresses are complex, it remains accessible and easy to read; Dr. Liggins anticipates it will be well received by students in the classroom.
The additional plan for her sabbatical was to begin initial research on the Buffalo PanAmerican Exposition in 1901. Her main catalyst for beginning this research was her limited prior knowledge of the Exposition and her desire to uncover content that might be relevant
Dr. Saundra Liggins Associate Professor, English
for the African-American literature courses she teaches. In these classes, one of her primary focuses is the representation of African Americans over time. Since the Exposition included exhibits that presented stereotypical and disparaging images of Africans and African Americans—one display was titled “Old Plantation” and another, “Black Africa,” was a recreation of an African village—artifacts from the Exhibition that Dr. Liggins could find would be important and useful resources to share with her students. Fortunately, the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library houses Exhibition guidebooks and other memorabilia; a guidebook about the Exhibition can also be accessed online.
In doing her research, Dr. Liggins was reminded that the Pan-American Exposition occurred in the same year—1901—as the publication of several significant African-American texts: Booker T. Washington’s seminal autobiography Up from Slavery, Charles Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition, and Pauline Hopkins’ Hagar’s Daughter. All three of these texts, albeit in different ways, depict the challenges and accomplishments of African Americans before and after the Civil War.
While no direct connection between the Exposition and these texts has been identified— at least not to her knowledge—the early twentieth century was a pivotal time in AfricanAmerican history and culture. The end of Reconstruction in 1877 marked what many historians consider the lowest point in African American society. Legislation passed after slavery with the intent of providing African Americans with rights and opportunities was being rolled back. Simultaneously, there was an increase in racialized violence. At the same time, African Americans were focused on the idea of racial uplift: the improvement of the economic and social status of their community. It is clear that the Exposition’s depictions of Africans and African Americans were intended to remind attendees that, even in a new century, Black people would continue to be regarded as the “Other,” outside of mainstream society. The initial research Dr. Liggins completed during her sabbatical has laid the groundwork for her to seek out even more Exposition material to use in her classes, especially with the 125th anniversary of the Pan-American Exposition occurring in a little over a year.
“The Gothic Double in Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Hall” / Buffalo Pan-American Exposition Continued AY 2023-2024
“Bringing the Perils of Victorian Publishing to Publication”
Sabbatical Goals:
Responding to feedback from colleagues at Reacting to the Past, Dr.Kaplin planned to complete three substantial revisions to his four-week role-immersion “game” about Victorian literature and publication. These revisions entailed locating and evaluating unpublished manuscripts and novels published by obscure presses from the 1840s and ‘50s, as well as researching economic details of publishing contracts by the major (and now defunct) London firms. These activities required significant time and travel, but they would allow Dr. Kaplin to release a completed prototype of the game for nationwide access and prepare it for publication consideration by W.W. Norton & Co.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
Dr. Kaplin first researched what happened to the six major publishing houses that existed in London during the time frame of the game, the 1850s. He found and contacted nine firms that may have taken over some or all of the business of these publishers. Seven replies were received: two firms stated that the assets they hold from previously acquired businesses no longer have anything to do with fiction and literature; two firms confirmed that they are successors to Victorian firms but no longer maintain holdings from that time; and three firms invited Dr. Kaplin to talk with them further, leading him to set up appointments to meet with them.
When Dr. Kaplin arrived in London in September of 2023, he met with representatives from each publishing firm. Examining their correspondence from that decade, he discovered comparable contract information about other writers that confirmed what he had already learned from original correspondence at the National Art Library in the Victoria & Albert Museum, the British Library, and online research sources. With this information, Dr. Kaplin adjusted the financial aspects of the game to more accurately reflect the realities faced by authors and publishers in 1852.
Additionally, he assembled a short list of novels that were referred to much smaller, now defunct firms for publication in that decade. Of these titles, Dr. Kaplin found one in digital format online and the other two available at the Bodleian Library at Oxford. He also found one manuscript consisting of four chapters and notes for the remainder of the plot, which he believes is a suitable addition to the publishing options in the game. Dr. Kaplin transcribed these pages and plans to include them in the next iteration of the game.
Dr. David Kaplin Associate Professor, English
Dr. Kaplin also worked on recalibrating the methods and numbers of points students would earn throughout the various phases of the game. With the additions of the texts described above and the new information about contracts and authors’ remuneration he acquired, Dr. Kaplin will continue revising these point-gaining mechanisms before running the game again in the upcoming semester of ENGL 326: Victorian Literature.
Finally, Dr. Kaplin had two triumphs in researching additions for his Literary London course. He spent an afternoon with one of the curators of the Brunel Museum, located in the former shaft entrance to the Thames Tunnel, the first underwater passageway for pedestrians, which opened in 1843. The curator expressed interest in hosting a group of Dr. Kaplin’s students and giving them a private historical tour of the tunnel (now a Tube line). Dr. Kaplin was also excited to learn that the “Thames River Police” force, which features in several Victorian and Edwardian detective novels, still exists in its original location on the north shore of the river in Wapping. It is now a division of the Metropolitan Police, but the original office houses a museum dedicated to the history of this unique branch of the force. The operator of this museum offered to work with Dr. Kaplin to prepare an afternoon in the squad room and museum around his course in Victorian detective fiction.
After returning from England in the spring, Dr. Kaplin incorporated most of the new texts, economic information, and point mechanisms into the game. He will run the game in the spring semester, and after any adjustments resulting from that run, Dr. Kaplin plans to resubmit the new version to RTTP and invite colleagues across the country to run it in their classrooms. He hopes their feedback will encourage RTTP’s publishing committee to advance the game to its final review stage. Dr. Kaplin is also applying to add the game to the roster at RTTP’s annual Game Development Conference over the summer, where professors attending the conference will have the opportunity to sample a mini-version of the game and provide feedback.
The additions and revisions to the game promise to deepen students’ immersion into and understanding of the professional world in which the writers studied by Dr. Kaplin operated. The improved version also more strongly models role-immersion pedagogy for his students, including the education majors who frequently enroll in his courses. As the game moves through the rest of the publishing track at RTTP and Norton, tested by colleagues at other universities who include it in their curricula, Dr. Kaplin’s campus will gain exposure as one that demonstrates a commitment to exploring role-immersion and gamification techniques. These pedagogies are becoming increasingly popular and attractive to both scholars and students alike.
“Bringing the Perils of Victorian Publishing to Publication”
Continued
AY 2023-2024
“‘Children and Art’: Sondheim and the Broadway Musical”
Sabbatical Goals:
With this project, Dr.Gerber sought to achieve three goals: (1) an exhaustive analysis of the lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton!, bringing a fine-tuned awareness of grammar, style, linguistics, sociolinguistics, and versification to complement existing discussions of characterization, plot, and the history of the musical; (2) to study the composition of Broadway lyrics, which Dr. Gerber planned to incorporate into future offerings of ENGL 132: Word and Sound, at least one Honors seminar, and, if approved by the English department after development, a new offering in the new writing major; and (3) to work on a mix of creative and critical projects, including drafting lyrics to an original musical titled The Better Side of Me, as well as researching and writing at least two articles.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
Dr. Gerber made four scholarly presentations, including an invited two-day workshop on Hamilton! at West Chester University Poetry Center’s summer arts conference, an invited talk on Sondheim’s lyric writing for Think journal’s online symposium, remarks on Frost and Sondheim at a collaboratively led three-day discussion of “The New Lyric” at the Robert Frost Sesquicentennial, and a presentation on “Prominence and Perception” at Southern Methodist University’s Symposium on Poetic Form. Thanks to a UUP/IDA grant, Dr. Gerber also conducted archival research on Sondheim at the Paley Center for Media (NYC) and the Theater on Film and Tape Collection at NYPL’s Library for the Performing Arts. In addition, Dr. Gerber completed three musical-theater courses through the Dramatists Guild Institute, the national professional organization for dramatists. She analyzed 240+ lyrics from 12 Sondheim shows and compiled over 1,200 pages of annotations. Dr. Gerber published an essay titled “‘Order Out of Chaos’: Pararhyme in Sondheim” and is currently drafting another two essays. She also wrote six lyrics toward an original musical and designed an Honors course. Moreover, Dr. Gerber was invited to copyedit the manuscript of a forthcoming Sondheim book, Matching Minds with Sondheim: The Puzzles and Games of the Sondheim Legend (Applause Books, 2025), and built connections to the international Sondheim Hub, which publishes “new essays, interviews & features about the work of Stephen Sondheim.” The latter two experiences resulted in guest talks by Sondheim scholars in HONR 302 and in the publication on 12/15/2024 of selected students’ reflections on Sondheim (“Gen Z Takes On Sondheim”) on the Sondheim Hub. Dr. Gerber achieved all of this while being asked to step back into the Honors Program to ensure continuity of services for students.
Dr. Natalie Gerber Professor, English
The Jordan Curve Theorem and Other Results within Axiomatic Neutral Geometry
Sabbatical Goals:
Background: Neutral geometry refers to the collection of results that can be proved from Euclid’s first four postulates (or a modern axiomatic equivalent), without the use of the Euclidean Parallel Postulate. Such results hold in both Euclidean and hyperbolic models. The Jordan Curve Theorem asserts that any simple closed curve in the plane decomposes the plane into exactly two path components, one of which (the interior) is bounded. While this may seem intuitively obvious, proving that it holds for all simple closed curves, no matter how complicated, is nontrivial. Most proofs rely on algebraic topology. In 1980, Helge Tverberg provided a proof using more elementary methods in the Euclidean plane. Dr. Wilson adapted Tverberg’s proof to neutral geometry, using an axiomatic framework in a document titled Core. The following is the prioritized list of goals that Dr. Wilson included in her detailed research statement in her sabbatical application: 1. Finish adapting Tverberg’s proof of the Jordan Curve Theorem to neutral geometry, and add it, along with all prerequisite results, to Core. 2. Post Core, along with some auxiliary documents, on a website for dissemination. 3. Submit papers #1-3 [described in Dr. Wilson’s sabbatical application] for publication. 4. Finish the neutral treatment in Core of area, write paper #4, and submit. 5. Educate herself about conic sections in hyperbolic geometry, investigate the possibilities for a neutral treatment, and possibly prove some results toward that end. 6. Add more results to the section in Core on hyperbolic geometry, including proofs of the hyperbolic versions of the Pythagorean Theorem, Law of Sines, and Law of Cosines.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
Dr. Wilson’s primary objective was to prove the Jordan Curve Theorem within an axiomatic framework for neutral geometry by adapting Helge Tverberg’s 1980 Euclidean proof. Tverberg first proves the polygonal version of the Jordan Curve Theorem (Lemma 1), then proves that an arbitrary Jordan curve can be approximated arbitrarily closely with polygons (Lemma 2), and finally he proves two difficult technical results (Lemmas 3 and 4) that demonstrate that the path component structure of the complements of the polygons survives the limiting process. Before this sabbatical, Dr. Wilson had already proved neutral versions of Lemmas 1 and 2, and she had a solid lead on how to adapt the proofs of Lemmas 3 and 4, but carrying this out was (as Dr. Wilson expected) a challenge. In particular, she had to develop some basic point-set topology within her neutral axiomatic framework in order to be able to carry
Dr. Julia Wilson Associate Professor, Mathematical Sciences
out arguments involving continuity, connectedness, and compactness. This work took up the summer and fall of 2023, and it was only after that that she could devote herself to the proofs of Lemmas 3 and 4, which she completed by the beginning of February 2024.
Dr. Wilson spent her time after that perfecting her proofs and writing up her results. In addition to drafting several papers for submission, she incorporated all of this work into Core, an online document she has been maintaining for a decade that contains a thoroughgoing axiomatic treatment of neutral, Euclidean, and hyperbolic geometry. She also took advantage of this opportunity to improve and expand many other results in Core and to fix some errors. Core is now posted on a website in an anonymized form where it can be accessed by journal referees, since the papers Dr. Wilson has submitted can only be assessed within that context. After some of these papers are accepted, Dr. Wilson plans to post Core more publicly and start promoting it via conference presentations.
Dr. Wilson’s first paper, A Neutral Proof of the Jordan Curve Theorem, is under consideration at a journal. A second paper, Balancing Pragmatism and Formalism in a College Geometry Class, is under revision based on feedback from referees. She is working on a paper on a neutral treatment of compass and straightedge constructions; much of the mathematics is complete, but she would like to revise the Geogebra tools that she created years ago for carrying out constructions in the Poincaré Disk model of the hyperbolic plane. Dr. Wilson envisions future research projects involving neutral treatments of area and volume, as well as conic sections. She read three journal articles and portions of a text on conic sections in hyperbolic geometry, and she has some tentative ideas for how to adapt this to neutral geometry
In addition to her work on axiomatic neutral geometry, Dr. Wilson read a book on mathematical music theory in ancient India, in preparation for revising Math and Music (MATH 307), with the goal of offering it at the 200 level in Fredonia Foundations.
The Jordan Curve Theorem and Other Results within Axiomatic Neutral Geometry Continued
AY 2023-2024
Chautauqua County Behavioral Health Services: Amplifying Student Research Experience Through
College-Community Partnerships
Sabbatical Goals:
This sabbatical leave centered on three goals. The first goal was to increase Fredonia Program Evaluation Center (PEC) student research experience. The PEC began operations in 2017 and reflects a close partnership between SUNY Fredonia and the Chautauqua County Mental Hygiene Department (CCMHD). The PEC provides evaluation services for CCMHD grants. The following planned sabbatical results were identified: (1) with PEC faculty consultation, Dr. Clarkson-Hendrix developed an efficient onboarding system for student research assistants, and (2) with one or more student research assistants, he conducted a research project using CCMHD National Outcome Measures Survey data.
The second sabbatical leave goal was to capture Chautauqua Addiction Services Leadership Development Program (CASLDP) successes for future applied student experiences. CASLDP was a cross-institutional (Chautauqua County Mental Hygiene Department, SUNY Jamestown Community College, and SUNY Fredonia) behavioral health workforce recruitment project. Funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program grant, the project brought together students, program faculty, and local agency leaders for guided topical discussions. The PEC provided evaluation services for this project. CASLDP served 34 students (15 SUNY Jamestown Community College, 19 SUNY Fredonia) between Spring 2021 and Spring 2023 semesters. The planned sabbatical result of this goal was, with CASLDP faculty as co-authors, to submit a journal manuscript sharing project evaluation findings.
The final sabbatical leave goal was to invigorate The Chautauqua Center and The Resource Center research partnership. The Chautauqua Center and The Resource Center were community partners for a workforce retention study currently in its dissemination phase. The study investigated the role of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and workplace attachment in the organizational retention intentions of rural, community-based health providers. The planned sabbatical results were to: (1) conduct presentations with the agencies sharing project findings and identifying possible future project partnerships, and (2) submit the Social Work in Health Care manuscript with an alumna co-author.
Dr. Michael Clarkson-Hendris Associate Professor, Social Work
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
This sabbatical resulted in several accomplishments. Concerning the goal to increase PEC student research experience, Dr. Clarkson-Hendrix developed an onboarding program curriculum. The curriculum was created in partnership with Reed Library and PEC faculty. The Reed Library partnership has been a welcome additional support in program development. Library staff have agreed to assist with sourcing open-education resources for program components, and they have identified the possibility of pursuing a microcredential together for research assistants completing the program. Reed Library was also instrumental in advocating for a FREDLearn course’s creation, which will house the program materials. The course has been created, and materials are being added to the course. The onboarding program’s development will continue into Summer 2024 with an anticipated pilotimplementation in August 2024.
Data analysis was implemented with two CCMHD National Outcomes Measures Survey research projects. A PEC research aide assisted with both projects. The first project investigated social connectedness’ role in recent daily life functioning in treatment-seeking adults. A paper presentation proposal was submitted for the Council on Social Work Education’s 70th Annual Program Meeting in February 2024. A manuscript is also currently in preparation. The other research project examined the role of nights homeless in recent selfreported emergency room use. In April 2024, an oral presentation proposal was submitted with this project’s preliminary findings to the Society for Social Work and Research’s Annual Conference. The PEC research aide was included as a co-presenter on this proposal submission.
For the goal of capturing CASLDP successes for future applied students’ experiences, CASLDP faculty submitted a manuscript to the Journal of Rural Mental Health in April 2024.
Finally, for the sabbatical goal to invigorate community research partnerships, Dr. ClarksonHendrix conducted a presentation with The Chautauqua Center on February 27, 2024. The meeting resulted in the discussion of a partnered research project. This project will investigate strategic plan-related health and wellness factors’ impacts on organizational retention intentions. Job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and workplace attachment will also be examined as mediators between the health and wellness factors and organizational retention intentions. This project will be further conceptualized in Summer and early Fall 2024 with a projected implementation in late Fall 2024 into Spring 2025. Finally, a manuscript with an alumna co-author disseminating the previous project’s findings has been submitted to Social Work in Health Care.
Chautauqua County Behavioral Health Services: Amplifying Student Research Experience Through College-Community Partnerships Continued
Fall 2023
Studies in Consumer Perceptions of Prices, Purchase Justifications,
Cultural Awareness, and Marketing Tourism
Sabbatical Goals:
The main goal of Dr. Shazad Mohammed’s sabbatical was to improve the quality of the institution and the School of Business by:
1. Authoring or co-authoring 3 journal articles.
2. Assessing and improving the international component of the curriculum as directed by AACSB.
3. Engaging in academic visits at 1-2 international universities.
4. Presenting at relevant academic conferences.
5. Generating and developing material for use by undergraduate business students.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
In the Fall of 2023, Dr. Mohammed made an academic visit to the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt (Fachhochschule Wiener Neustadt) in Austria. During this visit, he developed a survey to assess the international content contained in their courses. The survey was conducted at the institution, analyzed, and used to develop an assessment tool that will be implemented at Fredonia’s School of Business. As part of his sabbatical plan, Dr. Mohammed gave a presentation of the survey results and insights titled “Introducing and Developing Multicultural Competency for Undergraduate College Students” to Fredonia Business Faculty on November 5, 2024. The assessment tool will be utilized in Spring 2025, and curriculum adjustments are currently being discussed by School of Business faculty.
Dr. Mohammed also presented four graduate-level seminars in Marketing to senior business students at the institution. Additionally, he conducted research on a local business (including a site visit) for a business case focused on tourism marketing. He further presented a paper titled “The Ethics of Green, Pink, and Sports Washing in Business” at the Erasmus Business Ethics and CSR conference in Romania on September 25th, hosted by Universitatea “1 Decembrie 1918” Din Alba Iulia.
Dr. Shazad Mohammed
Associate Professor, Business Administration
In Spring 2023, Dr. Mohammed was approved to visit Izmir University of Economics in Türkiye with the intention to continue data collection on international content, refine the assessment tool, and present additional marketing seminars.
The entirety of the Spring semester was spent at Fredonia, where Dr. Mohammed concluded the writing of a journal article on price perceptions, titled “A Further Examination of the Within-Product Category Effects of Partially Comparative Pricing.” He also developed the journal article “Introducing and Developing Multicultural Competency for Undergraduate College Students” with co-authors Professor Stuart Shapiro and Dr. Reneta Barnava, wrote “Von der Kuh bis zum Wow! Gelato and Tourism Marketing” based on research conducted in Austria, and collected data for the paper “Vocabulary of Motives and Purchase Justifications.”
Other activities included Dr. Mohammed’s participation in QPR Gatekeeper training in Suicide Prevention and a textbook review of College Success: Achieving Your Goals v2.0 by FlatWorld Knowledge.
Studies in Consumer Perceptions of Prices, Purchase Justifications, Cultural Awareness, and Marketing Tourism.
Continued
AY 2023-2024
Refinement of a Sustainability Measurement
Tool: Understanding Triple Bottom Line Impacts and Risk in Supply Chains
Sabbatical Goals:
1. Metric Standardization: Establish a common set of metrics for each dimension (people, planet, profit) for global application.
2. Consolidation Mechanism: Refine a mechanism to consolidate these metrics into an overarching sustainability score for supply chain partners.
3. Risk Assessment: Develop a mechanism to assess sustainability-related risks within supply chains.
4. Tool Validation: Validate the tool within organizations or businesses with complex, global supply chains.
5. Dissemination: Provide access to the tool through presentations, publications, and potential copyright, aiming for widespread practitioner adoption.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
During the academic year 2023-2024, Dr. Walters focused her sabbatical on refining a Sustainability Measurement Tool to better understand the Triple Bottom Line Impacts and Risk in Supply Chains. This report summarizes her activities in teaching, scholarship, and service, including guest lecturing on sustainability, completing Harvard’s course on casebased teaching, attending the World Economic Forum on Sustainability, and presenting and publishing several related research projects. Dr. Walters also contributed to institutional service projects and continued work on developing a web-based app that integrates her research outputs.
Introduction to Sabbatical Work:
Dr. Walters’ sabbatical aimed to refine a Sustainability Measurement Tool she had developed in 2020. The tool evaluates supply chains based on the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. Initially constrained by the COVID-19 pandemic, the tool was limited to U.S.specific metrics. Her sabbatical focused on expanding its scope for global application and validating it with businesses possessing complex supply chains.
Dr. Lisa Walters Associate Professor, Business Administration
Conferences and Forums:
World Economic Forum on Sustainability: Dr. Walters attended to initiate research on supply chain sustainability. Kennametal Center for Operational Excellence Conference: Dr. Walters presented preliminary research on sustainability in supply chains.
Publications and Presentations: Publication:
“Recycling on College Campuses” (Lean & Six Sigma Review, May 2024), co-authored with Reneta Barneva and two former students, focusing on environmental sustainability. Presentation: “Development and Application of a Sustainability Evaluation Tool for SMEs” at the Western Business & Management Association International Research Conference.
Journal Acceptance: Co-authored “Are Emily and Gregg (Still) More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal (in Public Accounting Firms)” with Dr. Mark Nickerson and Dr. So Jin Yu, accepted by the Journal of Applied Business and Economics. Journal Acceptance: Dr. Walters’ final sabbatical research on SMEs and supply chain sustainability was accepted by the Business Management and Change Journal. Journal Submission: Submitted “Enhancing SME Sustainability: An Experiential Exercise Using a Novel Sustainability Measurement Tool” to Business Education Innovation. AI in Education: Dr. Walters presented on the use of AI in syllabus and lesson plan development at the 2024 Fredonia IBAC, co-presenting with Drs. Mark Nickerson, So-Jin Yu, and Linda Hall. Collaborative Projects: Dr. Walters collaborated with Professor Lisa Jo Elliot from PSU-Erie to develop an app based on her sabbatical research. The front-end design, created by PSU students using Figma, is ready. Dr. Walters is working with the SUNY Research Foundation to explore incorporating the app into their system.
Summary of Teaching Activity:
Guest Presentation: Dr. Walters delivered a guest lecture on sustainability practices in Dr. Yu’s special topic course, sharing insights from her sabbatical work. Continuing Pedagogical Education: Dr. Walters completed Harvard’s “Teaching with Cases” course, which enhanced her strategies for case-based teaching. She also attended TopHat Boot Camp in Summer 2025 to integrate AI and digital applications into her coursework.
Summary of Service:
Snack Shack Implementation: Dr. Walters assisted in setting up a Snack Shack to improve campus amenities. IBAC Committee: Dr. Walters played an active role in organizing and participating in the IBAC conference. Awards and Recognitions: Best in Business Award for Excellence in Faculty Research: Fredonia School of Business (2023). Recognition of
Refinement of a Sustainability Measurement Tool: Understanding Triple Bottom Line Impacts and Risk in Supply Chains
Continued AY 2023-2024
Contributions to OPEX: Awarded by the Kennametal Center for Operational Excellence, McKenna School of Business, St. Vincent College (2023). ASQ Recognition: Acknowledged by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) in the September 2024 edition of Quality Progress as an important contributor to the field of Quality and Operational Excellence.
Refinement of a Sustainability Measurement Tool: Understanding Triple Bottom Line Impacts and Risk in Supply Chains
Continued AY 2023-2024
Portable Water in Honduran Villages: Effectiveness of Membrane Filters
Sabbatical Goals:
The primary objective for Dr. Lee’s sabbatical is to study the effectiveness of membrane filters that are used to purify water for drinking and other household uses in rural Honduran villages. In the past year, he has made three trips to Honduras and collected water samples to analyze the levels of bacteria in filtered and unfiltered water. The initial analysis of the water was astonishing in that bacterial growth was substantial in the post-filtration water samples that people use for drinking and cooking. Thus, the focus of this sabbatical proposal is to continue studies on the effectiveness of filters in removing bacteria and other microorganisms from drinking water. Dr. Lee received a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct the research at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH) in the spring 2024 semester.
The work will focus on drinking water in rural villages about an hour outside from the capital, Tegucigalpa. There are multiple villages that have received filters in the past few years, and the distribution of new filters has been resumed following the pandemic. The SUNY Fredonia J-term program in Honduras participated on a medical brigade in the village of El Plan in January 2023. The village did not have water filters at this time but received them later that month. Part of the research will be to see if there are health impacts on the individuals in this village after they have access to filtered water; a Fredonia associated group should be visiting this village twice a year for the next few years.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
The focus and highlight for Dr. Lee’s sabbatical was the Fulbright Scholar Fellowship at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH) in the spring 2024 semester. His primary goals for the time at UNAH were to study the effectiveness of point-of-use water filters that have been distributed in villages and to learn about other water projects in the country.
UNAH has a research laboratory for infectious diseases; the person who runs the lab was very helpful in all of Dr. Lee’s work in the lab. He requested a student to work with in the lab, who had completed her undergraduate degree in Spain, and she assisted him with much of the lab work. He provided letters of recommendation for her graduate applications, and she has started a PhD program.
Dr. Ted Lee
Distinguished Professor, Biology
For the study on the effectiveness of Sawyer water filters in the Honduran villages, Dr. Lee collected samples from villages in January and March and brought these to the university lab for processing. Additional samples were plated in May at the host site for the Fredonia group, but Dr. Lee was sick at that time and wasn’t able to collect much data then.
From the samples collected in January and March, water was plated on media that allowed for the growth of coliform bacteria; these are intestinal Gram-negative bacteria that can ferment lactose. Samples were plated at 37˚C and 44.5˚C to allow for the growth of total coliforms and fecal coliforms, respectively. DNA was isolated from nearly 100 colonies, and the 16S rRNA gene from all samples was successfully amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR products were brought back to Fredonia for DNA sequencing. Once the DNA sequencing is completed, Dr. Lee will prepare a manuscript on the DNA results, as well as testing of the filters done in his lab at Fredonia, primarily by his graduate student at Fredonia.
While at UNAH, the lab manager told Dr. Lee he had been contacted by a US physician about parasitic infections in children at a Honduras orphanage. He asked Dr. Lee if this could be where the Fredonia group stays (Nuevo Paraiso), and Dr. Lee told him he didn’t think so as they have a state-of-the-art water purification system. It turns out that this was the children at Nuevo Paraiso; the water system had not been maintained and was not functioning. So, Dr. Ted Lee and his team collected samples from Nuevo and have started work to address the bacterial levels in the water there.
Dr. Lee visited various water systems in Honduras, and there were not any great solutions to the challenges in providing potable water to communities, large and small. He tested samples from a couple of different water systems, and all contained contamination with coliform bacteria. He visited a water laboratory, in a small city, Marcala, that is supported by a group from the US. They are using clay filters, and these seem to be better; the Mission Honduras water group (this is the group that Dr. Lee has done the water brigades with in Honduras) will be testing a couple of these in 2025.
To understand drinking water in villages, Dr. Lee communicated with a teacher at a rural village where he participated in medical (not with Fredonia students) and water brigades. The village, Suyatilla, did not have a water tank until about 15 years ago, so very recently the people from the village were getting their water from a creek. When Dr. Lee visited Suyatilla in May with the water group, he went to the tank. The water is delivered from the creek to the tank and is then distributed to homes without treatment. So they have a more reliable source of water, but it is not free from microorganisms. At another village, a couple of people knew that Dr. Lee was testing water for microorganisms so they brought water from the wells at
Portable Water in Honduran Villages: Effectiveness of Membrane Filters
Continued AY 2023-2024
their homes for him to test. He also obtained a water sample from a spring that people collect water from as well; all of these samples had extremely high levels of coliforms. This work highlights the importance of the filters, but these are a bandage on a very large problem.
One of the communities Dr. Lee visited was Triquilapa, a nature preserve area. The Triquilapa group provides drinking water to a neighborhood but does not do any treatment. Dr. Ted Lee and his team collected samples and tested for coliform bacteria, and the water had high levels of coliforms. Dr. Ted Lee was subsequently where ways to improve their water quality was discussed.
Portable Water in Honduran Villages: Effectiveness of Membrane Filters
Continued AY 2023-2024
Civil War Music: Meaning and Memory, Then and Now
Sabbatical Goals:
Dr. Davis’s primary goal was to complete two articles and submit for publication: “Bravely Meek: Jennie Cary and the Music to ‘Maryland, My Maryland’” (for submission to Virginia Magazine of History and Biography) and “Civil War Songs as Literary Tropes” (for submission to Nineteenth Century Studies). He wanted these submitted for publication as quickly as possible so he could address any revisions while still on sabbatical.
After submitting the first two articles, Dr.Davis had intended on finishing and submitting another two essays. The working titles are “Paul Lavalle, Antimilitarism, and the Decline of the American Concert Band” and “Veterans and the Reconstruction of Civil War Songs in the Gilded Age.” Both now exist as conference presentations but still require a fair amount of secondary source reading to flesh out the theories he is using. For reasons listed below, neither of these came to fruition. They still remain viable projects but have been put on hold.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
Dr. Davis’ plans changed dramatically, and he did not achieve all that he had outlined in his sabbatical request, but he did embark on a new research project and produce significant work. In short, Dr.Davis is thrilled with the results of his sabbatical as he achieved more than he could have hoped for, and he is extremely grateful to the State University of New York at Fredonia for providing him this valuable opportunity.
In April 2023, Dr. Davis was invited to contribute to an essay collection celebrating the bicentennial of the renowned songwriter Stephen Foster’s birth. Foster’s music is undergoing a vigorous reexamination and will soon be a leading topic for conferences, publications, etc. Dr. Davis was excited at the prospect of finally digging into Foster’s music, but he did not foresee the amount of time and effort required to come to grips with what was for him a new research area. In short, almost his entire sabbatical was devoted to Stephen Foster. That being said, Dr. Davis is proud to say that he was able to produce two major pieces. The first is a shorter essay (“Stephen Foster and Patriotism”) that will appear in a forthcoming collection published by University of Illinois Press. The second is a larger essay (“Stephen Foster’s War Songs”) which—if all goes to plan—will appear in a special issue of The Journal of Musicological Research in 2025-2026 dedicated to Foster. Dr. Davis includes both essays with this report.
Dr. James Davis
Distinguished Professor, Music
He still managed to address some of the projects from his original proposal. Dr. Davis rewrote and submitted an article on the writing of the Confederate anthem “Maryland, My Maryland.” Unfortunately, he was asked to revise and resubmit, so he chose to put this aside so he could focus on more pressing projects. His essay on the use of song titles and refrains as literary tropes was finished and submitted to Civil War History.
In addition, Dr. Davis was asked to provide an “Afterword” for a special issue of American Nineteenth Century History, while the final version of an invited piece on bands in American history was submitted in summer 2024 after responding to reader’s review and formatting the manuscript. That has now been published (“Soldiers or Artists? Civil War Musicians and the Band in Nineteenth-Century America,” in Bands in American Musical History: Inflection Points and Reappraisals, George Foreman and Bryan Proksch, eds. Eastman Studies in Music [Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2024], 260-78). These essays are included with this report.
Finally, Dr. Davis was asked to speak on the Baird Lecture Series at the University at Buffalo in March 2024, and two books from a series he edits for Routledge won awards from the American Musicological Society in 2023 and 2024.
Civil War Music: Meaning and Memory, Then and Now Continued AY 2023-2024
Schubert 2028 at Fredonia
Sabbatical Goals:
The purpose of this sabbatical was focused study, translation, practice, and research in preparation for a large-scale project leading up to the 200th anniversary of Franz Schubert’s death in 2028. In his short life (1797–1828), Franz Schubert wrote well over 600 songs, in addition to seven symphonies and volumes of chamber music and piano works. His songs served as a touchstone for composers, singers, and pianists for nearly 200 years. The more than 600 songs represented over 35 hours of music. Utilizing the large numbers in the Voice Area—including current students, faculty, alumni, and guest artists—and spread out over several semesters, the project has the potential to bring significant attention to the university. The songs are intended to be performed over several semesters beginning in Spring 2027, culminating in a symposium in Fall 2028.
He explored and laid the groundwork for a short study abroad program related to this project as well as a course, tentatively entitled Schubert Colloquium, to be co-taught with collaborative pianist Dr. Anne Kissel.
He also began planning a symposium for November 2028. The School of Music possesses the facilities, faculty, students, and experience to host a high-profile, meaningful event.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
Professor Harper’s Schubert performance project began in Fall 2024 with a number of current students performing Schubert lieder on their end-of-semester juries and as part of their curricular requirement. Beginning in spring 2025, they will produce a Schubertiade at least once per semester, which will include current students and faculty. Other Schubert song performances within the School of Music will take place on student recitals, faculty recitals, showcases, and juries.
In addition to the body of skill and knowledge they’ll acquire collectively, they will create video archives of each song, many of which could be live-streamed and/or made available publicly.
Professor Harper spent a significant number of hours studying Schubert’s lesser-known lieder, mostly written in the early part of his life, and developing strategies for helping the faculty and students find songs suitable for their voice, and for keeping track of the repertoire as it relates to the larger project.
Professor, Music
Mr. Joe Dan Harper
While translations of Schubert’s song texts are available, Professor Harper spent significant time creating translations on his own as a means of deepening his fluency in the German language and trying to experience the poetry as Schubert might have. This slow and careful work has always been the cornerstone of what he brings to his artistic work, and he believes it is important and unique in terms of what he brings individually to this larger project.
Of primary importance to this aspect of Professor Harper’s work was significant practice time, far beyond what is possible during a normal academic schedule. His first concert related to this work was scheduled for January 25, 2025.
In April, with the support of a UUP Individual Development Award, Professor Harper spent a week in Vienna. In addition to providing inspiration for the larger project, immersing himself in Schubert’s world was an opportunity to begin fleshing out a short study abroad program for SUNY students. He has identified Summer of 2026 and 2028 for this program.
Professor Harper feels Schubert’s influence often in his work, from specific homages to the composer, to subtle hints of a musical lineage tracing from the early 18th century to presentday. This planned study abroad program will give students the opportunity to experience the culture that inspired Schubert’s work, contextualizing his music and influence since his death in 1828 and understanding its relevance in modern society. They will embrace growth and learning through creative connections, global perspective, scholarship, and artistic expression. More specifically, this experience will involve historical tours, concerts, language development, and cultural studies.
Professor Harper spent significant time during his sabbatical conceptualizing a new course, co-taught with Dr. Anne Kissel, tentatively entitled Schubert Colloquium. They envision this as a performance-based course for singers, pianists, and perhaps others, meeting 1.5 hours per week, and hope to offer it for a number of semesters leading up to Fall 2028.
He worked on preliminary planning for a symposium as the culminating event for this multiyear project and tentatively planned for Monday, November 13th through Sunday, November 19th, 2028, the date of Schubert’s death in 1828. Events will include at least three lieder recitals, featuring Fredonia faculty, students, alumni, and guest artists, as well as a variety of scholarly presentations and a roundtable discussion including invited speakers.
In addition to his stated sabbatical goals, Professor Harper spent considerable time researching the instruments Schubert would have played, today known as the Fortepiano. Dr. Kissel and he have long had a goal of providing their community access to an early 19th-century Viennese fortepiano for performance of this repertoire. During his sabbatical,
Schubert 2028 at Fredonia
Continued Spring 2024
Professor Joe Dan Harper was able to move forward with the purchase of an instrument, a reproduction of a fortepiano built originally by renowned Viennese builder Graf. Their instrument was built in 1980 by J.R. Regier of Portland, Maine and is currently in his shop. It requires significant repair, but they hope to have it in working condition in time to be a part of this Schubert project. Professor Harper has spent significant time listening to recordings of fortepiano playing, attending concerts in London and Vienna, and viewing numerous instruments (including an original Graf) in the Neue Berg collection of historic instruments.
Schubert 2028 at Fredonia
Continued Spring 2024
Fandom in Musical Theatre and Further Intimacy
Direction Training
Sabbatical Goals:
During the sabbatical semester, Dr. Hillman-McCord planned on completing a book proposal and several opening chapters for an invited book project from Methuen Publishers on Musical Theatre Fandom. She also planned to undertake further education in the areas of theatrical intimacy direction and teaching to enhance her performance teaching skills. As a teacher and artist in theatre, scholarship and creative activity are equal parts of her work. Her pursuits during the sabbatical period would enrich both areas, advance the department goals and Fredonia’s reputation, and greatly enrich her students’ experience at Fredonia.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
Dr. Hillman-McCord had an extremely productive sabbatical in the Spring of 2024. She completed major work in several areas, including receiving a book contract and completing a full draft of the manuscript, being hired for professional theatre work as an Intimacy Director, and continued teaching enhancement and training in several areas, all outlined below.
Scholarship: Book Project: Bloomsbury Press – Methuen Drama – Fandom in Musical Theatre – part of Topics in Musical Theatre Series.
This year, Dr.Hillman-McCord has been invited to contribute a book to Bloomsbury Press, Methuen Drama’s series of volumes on musical theatre topics. They are a major publisher in her field, based out of London. She submitted a full proposal, and has been contracted for the book. She has completed research, outlined the full project, and written a full draft during her sabbatical. She will finish, edit, and submit the above book project by the end of next summer, with a delivery date of August 15, 2025.
Dr. Hillman-McCord also completed a book review, which has now been published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Popular Culture. Tiktok Broadway: Musical Theatre Fandom in the Digital Age. By Trevor Boffone, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2024. pp. 232. $34.95 (hbk).
ISBN: 978–0–19–774367–6 Journal of Popular Culture
Invited Presentations: Irish Classical Theatre Company – Speaker Series, March 3, 2024 – Dr. Hillman-McCord gave an invited talk on her work as the Intimacy Director for the production of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, as part of this theatre’s professional talkback series.
Dr. Jessica Hillman-McCord Professor, Theatre and Dance
Continued Training / Teaching Enhancement: IDC Intimacy Professional Accelerator Program - This burgeoning field, which choreographs scenes of staged intimacy, much as staged violence has been choreographed over theatrical history, has completely transformed the theatrical/film landscape in the last several years. Dr.Hillman-McCord’s work in Intimacy Direction has a very direct and foundational impact on students. This work has already dramatically shifted her approach to training students to a fully consent-based approach. The tools offered fundamentally change the way she offers training to students in the classroom, teaching them ownership of their own bodies, instruments, and choices. This continued training will also allow her to offer a new course in the field of Intimacy Direction.
The IDC Intimacy Professional Accelerator Program is the only one of its kind, is a major leader in this new and highly sought-after field, and has the leading professionals as its teachers. Dr. Hillman-McCord has completed Levels I and II, and is working through Level III, which will position her to complete the final certification in the field. She also continued her work with TIE (Theatrical Intimacy Education) with a workshop on Intimacy in Musical Theatre which is particularly relevant to her teaching/directing work at Fredonia.
Intimacy Direction Credits: This semester, Dr.Hillman-McCord has also worked with professional Buffalo theatres as an Intimacy Director, including three productions at Buffalo’s most prestigious professional Theatre: Irish Classical Theatre Company – Intimacy Director for Betrayal, February 2024 Irish Classical Theatre Company – Intimacy Director for Private Lives, April 2024Irish Classical Theatre Company – Intimacy Director for Dracula, JulySeptember 2024
Acting Teaching: Dr. Jessica Hillman-McCord has also taken several additional workshops in order to enhance her future teaching during this semester’s sabbatical. They have proved extremely enriching and will be transformative to her teaching methods in some areas. They include:
Michael Chekhov Acting Studio Workshop – Archetypal Imagination– This was a course in a physically based acting approach that Dr. Jessica Hillman-McCord will incorporate more fully into her First Year Acting Studio sequence (THEA 131/132).
Monologue Teacher Training– This was also directly applicable to her work teaching the first year BFA Acting and Musical Theatre students - teaching a very effective approach to breaking down monologues and preparing to audition with them.
Mental Health First Aid Workshop– This certification is helpful both in her progress towards
Fandom in Musical Theatre and Further Intimacy Direction Training
Continued Spring 2024
Intimacy Direction Certification, but also in her approach to students’ health and wellness.
Bystander Intervention Training– This training is helpful both in her progress towards Intimacy Direction Certification, but also in her approach to students’ health and wellness.
Service: NAST Accreditation report – Dr. Hillman-McCord helped create, draft, and edit a major self-study, and work with the accreditors on their on-campus visit.
Fandom in Musical Theatre and Further Intimacy Direction Training
Continued Spring 2024