I am delighted to present the 2008-2009 collection of Faculty Achievements in Scholarship and Service at Marymount Manhattan College. This annual publication celebrates the scholarly achievements and service contributions of our full-time faculty. Scholarship is the creation and dissemination of new knowledge or creative work. The MMC faculty make significant contributions to their fields and often bring our students with them into the community of scholars.
Contributions to Marymount Manhattan College through service are vital to the achievement of our institutional mission. The faculty sponsor student organizations, chair and serve on standing and ad-hoc committees, collaborate on college-wide strategic initiatives, and serve on peer review and search committees. These contributions enhance the College immeasurably.
I am enormously proud of the faculty at Marymount Manhattan College and their significant achievements in teaching, scholarship and service. MMC offers students an opportunity to study with faculty who are passionate teachers, active scholars, and devoted members of the academy. Congratulations to each of the faculty members recognized in this publication.
Sincerely, David M. Podell, Ph.D. Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty
Please click on the links below for each section of the Awards and Achievements page
Assistant Professor of Art: promoted to Associate Professor of Art
Prof. Robert Dutiel
Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts: granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Theatre Arts
Professor Emeritus Awards
Associate Professor of English: promoted to Professor Emeritus
Professor of Theatre Arts: promoted to Professor Emeritus
Distinguished Chair Awards
List of Award Winners for 2009-2012
Marymount Manhattan College created the Distinguished Chair Award, funded by This is the Day, the Campaign for Marymount Manhattan, to be one of the highest honors it can bestow upon a faculty member. The Distinguished Chair is awarded to faculty whose scholarship has been widely recognized for its excellence; its purpose is to provide the time and resources to allow awardees to produce major works in their discipline.
Dr. Kathleen LeBesco
Professor of Communication Arts: appointed as a Distinguished Chair of Communication Arts for the next three academic years (2009-2010, 2010-2011 and 2011-2012).
Dr. Jason Rosenfeld
Associate Professor of Art History: appointed as a Distinguished Chair of Art History for the next three academic years (2009-2010, 2010-2011 and 2011-2012).
Teaching Excellence Award
Award Winner for 2008-2009
Dr. Peter Naccarato
Associate Professor of English
Sokol Award, Marymount Manhattan College
List of Award Winners for 2009-2010
Dr. Adrienne Bell
Art History
14 14 13 13Funding for travel costs to several American museums to directly study the work of Charles Caryl Coleman and to complete Dr. Baxter Bell's third and fourth books, tentatively titled International Aesthetics in the Life and Work of Charles Caryl Coleman and The Noetic Landscape: American Art, Spirituality, and Modernism.
Dr. Michael Colvin
Spanish
Funding for travel and lodging expenses to continue Dr. Colvin's research at the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal and the Biblioteca Nacional de Espaà±a in Madrid. This research relates to his current book project, “Singing for Salazar and Putting on a Show for Franco: The Spanish Civil War, Fado Music, Fascism, and the Death of the Portuguese Talkie,” which he plans to complete during the 2009-2010 academic year.
Dr. Rebecca Mushtare
Prof. Rob Dutiel
Prof. Nancy Lushington
Communication Arts
Theatre Arts
Dance
Dr. Peter Naccarato
Funding to collaborate on an interdisciplinary performance work incorporating technology, moving image, art installation, dance and music for inclusion in the Fall 2009 Faculty Dance Concert. This is an innovative and exciting project that reflects collaboration between our faculty and advances the Strategic Planning goals of emphasizing interdisciplinary and experiential learning.
Dr. Jason Rosenfeld
Art History
Funding for travel costs and follow up with an exhibition surveying the Victorian art movement. Over the past several years, Dr. Rosenfeld has been working on mounting a major exhibition of the work of John Everett Millias for Tate Britain; the Millias show was exhibited in 2007 and was a popular as well as critical success. Based on the achievements of that show, Dr. Rosenfeld and his co-curator, Dr. Allison Smith, have been invited by the Director of Tate Britain to mount a new show based on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood school of Victorian Art.
Dr. Kathleen LeBesco
Dr. Peter Naccarato
Communication Arts
English
Dr. Jason Rosenfeld
Funding to help ethnographic research and completion of a manuscript of a new book, Culinary Capital. The project is an expansion of work Drs. LeBesco and Naccarato begun in their ground-breaking book Edible Ideologies: Representing Food and Meanings (SUNY Press, 2008). Further research requires travel eating events, cooking classes and various types of food businesses.
Dr. Adrienne Bell
Art History
14 14 13 13Funding for travel costs to several American museums to directly study the work of Charles Caryl Coleman and to complete Dr. Baxter Bell's third and fourth books, tentatively titled International Aesthetics in the Life and Work of Charles Caryl Coleman and The Noetic Landscape: American Art, Spirituality, and Modernism.
Dr. Michael Colvin
Spanish
Funding for travel and lodging expenses to continue Dr. Colvin's research at the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal and the Biblioteca Nacional de Espaà±a in Madrid. This research relates to his current book project, “Singing for Salazar and Putting on a Show for Franco: The Spanish Civil War, Fado Music, Fascism, and the Death of the Portuguese Talkie,” which he plans to complete during the 2009-2010 academic year.
Dr. Rebecca Mushtare
Prof. Rob Dutiel
Prof. Nancy Lushington
Communication Arts
Theatre Arts
Dance
Dr. Peter Naccarato
Funding to collaborate on an interdisciplinary performance work incorporating technology, moving image, art installation, dance and music for inclusion in the Fall 2009 Faculty Dance Concert. This is an innovative and exciting project that reflects collaboration between our faculty and advances the Strategic Planning goals of emphasizing interdisciplinary and experiential learning.
Dr. Jason Rosenfeld
Art History
Funding for travel costs and follow up with an exhibition surveying the Victorian art movement. Over the past several years, Dr. Rosenfeld has been working on mounting a major exhibition of the work of John Everett Millias for Tate Britain; the Millias show was exhibited in 2007 and was a popular as well as critical success. Based on the achievements of that show, Dr. Rosenfeld and his co-curator, Dr. Allison Smith, have been invited by the Director of Tate Britain to mount a new show based on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood school of Victorian Art.
Dr. Kathleen LeBesco
Dr. Peter Naccarato
Communication Arts
English
Dr. Jason Rosenfeld
Funding to help ethnographic research and completion of a manuscript of a new book, Culinary Capital. The project is an expansion of work Drs. LeBesco and Naccarato begun in their ground-breaking book Edible Ideologies: Representing Food and Meanings (SUNY Press, 2008). Further research requires travel eating events, cooking classes and various types of food businesses.
Science Faculty Awards
List of Award Winners for 2009-2010
Physics
Funding to support a student stipend, travel, and computer upgrades for the continuation and expansion of Dr Jordahl's scholarship prior to and since joining the College on Tectonic fabric of the Pacific Seafloor. Using processing tools that he developed for his last student-faculty research project, he will use existing data to construct new maps of the South Pacific seafloor to describe past motions of tectonic plates of broad geographic scope.
Dr. Ann Aguanno, Ph.D.
Biology
Funding for student support, laboratory supplies and student travel in a continuing project in an undergraduate biology research training program, The role of cyclin dependant kinase 5 (CDK5) in the development of mammalian tissues. Dr. Aguanno has implemented a method of faculty and peer training that has enabled the establishment of an on-going lab. The support offered by this grant will allow the continuous development of student researchers and will keep the lab operating through the summer session.
Dr. Judith Hanks, Ph.D.
Biology
Funding to provide equipment for Dr. Hanks' laboratory experiments and to support a student researcher who will develop the protocol to be used in a project Preliminary studies on the antibacterial properties of plant extracts. Dr Hanks is a research associate at New York Botanical Gardens. Her project will provide a student with the opportunity to study and do research in Botany.
Dr. Benedetta Sampoli Benitez, Ph.D.
Chemistry
Funding for student support and travel expenses for a research project Computational Studies of the fidelity mechanism of DNA polymerase X in the presence of oxidatively damaged DNA. This project is a study of the interaction of DNA polymerase X with damaged DNA through a series of simulations with different incoming nucleotides in the presence of oxoG to understand the behavior of DNA polymerase X when this lesion occurs. Students will collaborate with her on this project and gain experience in the cutting edge field of computational modeling.
Faculty Leaves And Fellowships
List of Awards for 2009-2010
Dr. Susan Behrens, Ph.D.
Speech-Language PathologyAudiology, Spring 2010
To work on three related projects: 1) writing and revising a grammar textbook; 2) design a course entitled The Structure of English, for which the new text would be used; and 3) audit a graduate level course and revisions of text. The projects are related and serve to further the mission of the Communication Sciences and Disorders Program, as well as the General Education Curriculum. The text fills a gap in the textbook market.
Dr. Adrienne Bell
Art History, Spring 2010
To work on three projects: 1) complete a book provisionally entitled International Aesthetics in the Life and Work of Charles Caryl Coleman. Dr. Baxter Bell's workon Coleman may also entail curating the first exhibition of Coleman's paintings in America. The topic is under discussion with curators at several American museums; 2) advance work on a second book provisionally entitled The Noetic Landscape: American Art, Spirituality, and Modernism; and 3) advance research and development of ART 271 “ Arts of the Americas, an exploration of major traditions of painting, sculpture, and architecture from North America, Mexico, and Central and South America.
Dr. Magdalena Maczynska
English, Academic Year 2009-2010
To work on her first book on postmodernist fiction and post secular thought. Dr. Maczynska intends to continue developing her ideas on the question of contemporary fiction's growing engagement with religious discourses, laying the groundwork for a book-length project. In addition to her own scholarship, Dr. Maczynska will make important contributions to the curriculum, both in the English and World Literature major and the Shared Curriculum.
Dr. Peter Naccarato
English, Fall 2009
To continue Dr Naccarato's research and writing a book Culinary Capital, co-authored with Dr. Kathleen LeBesco. This book follows the successful publication of Edible Ideologies: Representing Food and Meaning (co-edited with Dr. LeBesco; published by SUNY Press in 2008). In addition to his scholarly work in this field, Dr. Naccarato will team-teaches with Dr. LeBesco a course on food called “Edible Ideologies: The Politics of Food.”
Dr. Cheryl Paradis, Psy.D.
Psychology, Spring 2010
To work on three areas: 1) write an article based on her recently submitted forensic casebook tentatively titled The Amazing Madman: Case Studies in Forensic Psychology; 2) complete two research articles based upon the data collected on isolated sleep paralysis and competency to proceed evaluations; and 3) prepare a new Cultural Studies (COR 300) course based on her recent study of the field of genocide.
Dr. MJ Robinson
Communication Arts, Spring 2010
To work on two projects: 1) revise Dr. Robinson's dissertation ““Voice of the City?': The Rise and Fall of WNYC-TV” into a book and pursue its publication; 2) design two new upper-level courses for the Communication Arts Department's new Critical Media Studies concentration: “The Television Industries: History, Theory and Practice,” and “New York on the Screen: Cop Shows.”
Dr. Kent Worcester, Ph.D.
Political Science, Spring 2010
To conduct research on the early history of Anglo-American law. Dr. Worcester intends to organize a symposium, to be published in the quarterly journal PS: Political Science and Politics, on the genesis and legacy of Magna Carta, with special reference to the seventh-century Kentish laws preserved in the Textus Roffensis and the development of English customary law. This project will contribute to an understanding of intellectual foundations of modern law and politics and enhance MMC's course offerings on democratic theory, social movements, crime and society, and conservative political thought.
Dean's Fellowships
External Grants and Gifts to Support
Academic Programs and Scholarship
Foundations
Louis and Anne Abrons Foundation, Inc.
The Louis and Anne Abrons Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to the Writing Center. Lewis Frumkes.
The Achelis and Bodman Foundation
The Achelis and BodmanFoundation awarded $25,000 to the Bedford Hills College Program for general support. Dr. Cindy Mercer and Aileen Baumgartner.
The George I. Alden Trust
The George I. Alden Trust awarded MMC a $90,000 grant in support of the renovation of the Thomas J. Shanahan Library, a project intended to enhance the educational environment for students and faculty, a central initiative of This is the Day.
Booth Ferris Foundation
The Booth Ferris Foundation awarded MMC a $200,000 grant for the Thomas J. Shanahan Library renovation project. The renovation of the Library is part of the College?s three-phase renovation of the third floor, a project intended to enhance the educational environment for students and faculty, a central initiative of This is the Day.
Rose M. Badgeley Residuary Charitable Trust
The Rose M. Badgeley Residuary Charitable Trust renewed its support for the Rose M. Badgeley Scholars Program at Marymount Manhattan with a grant of $10,000. This program supports student-faculty research projects in the Division of the Sciences. Through these projects, MMC students have the opportunity to participate in laboratory-based research activities. Dr. Ann Jablon and Science Faculty.
Bradberry Family Foundation
The Bradberry Family Foundation awarded a $25,000 grant to the Writing Center. Lewis Frumkes.
The Brand Foundation of New York, Inc.
The Brand Foundation of New York awarded a $20,000 grant to the Writing Center. Lewis Frumkes.
The Chilton Foundation
The Chilton Foundation awarded $50,000 to The William Kavanagh Endowed Scholarship Fund for theatre majors who demonstrate financial need and academic excellence.
The Clark Foundation
The Clark Foundation made a grant of $250,000 for the Bedford Hills College Program endowment. This grant was made as a challenge and awarded after the College raised $50,000 for the Bedford Hills College program endowment. Dr. Cindy Mercer and Aileen Baumgartner.
The Downe Foundation
The Downe Foundation awarded a $1,000 grant to the Writing Center. Lewis Frumkes.
Fein Foundation
The Fein Foundation awarded a grant of $1,500 to the Writing Center. Lewis Frumkes.
Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust
The Samuel Freeman Charitable Trustawarded MMC a $100,000 grant in support of The Lowerre Family Terrace, a 5,000 square foot urban quad joining the College?s Main and Nugent buildings.
The L. W. Frohlich Charitable Trust
The L. W. Frohlich Charitable Trust provided a grant of $10,000 to the Madeleine D. Burns Scholarship for non-traditional age female students.
Alana & Lewis Frumkes Foundation, Inc.
The Alana & Lewis Frumkes Foundation awarded a $1,500 grant to the Writing Center. Lewis Frumkes.
The Glickenhaus Foundation
The Glickenhaus Foundation awarded MMC a grant of $50,000 to support scholarships for students who demonstrate academic merit and financial need.
Joseph C. and Clare F. Goodman Memorial Foundation, Inc.
The Joseph C. and Clare F. Goodman Memorial Foundation awarded a $30,000 grant to the Writing Center. Lewis Frumkes.
Jephson Educational Trusts
The Jephson Educational Trusts awarded MMC a grant of $10,000 to support scholarships to students who demonstrate academic merit and financial need.
The Willis and Nancy King Foundation
The Willis and Nancy King Foundation awarded $5,000 to the Bedford Hills College Program for general support. Dr. Cindy Mercer and Aileen Baumgartner.
The Samuel J. & Ethel Lefrak Charitable Foundation, Inc.
The Samuel J. & Ethel Lefrak Charitable Foundation awarded a $15,000 grant to the Writing Center. Lewis Frumkes.
The Mortimer Levitt Foundation, Inc.
The Mortimer Levitt Foundation awarded a $32,500 grant to the Writing Center. Lewis Frumkes.
The Betty and Norman F. Levy Foundation
The Betty and Norman F. Levy Foundation made a grant of $400,000 for the Bedford Hills College Program endowment. This was a challenge grant awarded after the College raised $50,000 for the Bedford Hills College program endowment. Dr. Cindy Mercer and Aileen Baumgartner.
The Frederick Loewe Foundation
The Frederick Loewe Foundation gave a grant of $2,500 to the College?s Dance Department. Katie Langan.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundationprovided a $60,000 grantto help establish the Learning Communities Program. The Program is aimed at improving the First-Year Experience and increasing student retention.
The Henry E. Niles Foundation, Inc.
The Henry E. Niles Foundation, Inc. awarded $10,000 to the Bedford Hills College Program for general support. Dr. Cindy Mercer and Aileen Baumgartner.
The Schiff Foundation
The Schiff Foundation awarded a $2,000 grant to the Writing Center. Lewis Frumkes.
Smart Family Foundation, Inc.
The Smart Family Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to the Writing Center. Lewis Frumkes.
The Starr Foundation
The Starr Foundation made a grant of $50,000 for the C.V. Starr Foundation Endowed Scholarship Fund. The Fund, which supports students who demonstrate academic merit and financial need, is the College?s largest scholarship fund.
The Frederick and Margaret L. Weyerhaeuser Foundation
The Frederick and Margaret L. Weyerhaeuser Foundationgave a grant of $2,500 to the Antonetta Ferraro Scholarship which supports female students with financial need whose fathers are deceased and/or mothers are heads of household.
External Grants and Gifts to Support
Academic Programs and Scholarship
Government Grants
United States Department of Education
A congressionally-directed federal appropriations grant of $335,043 is supporting a minority teacher preparation initiative. It includes the recruitment of students to the Teacher Education Program through outreach, a partnership with a local high school, and financial aid. This appropriation is thanks to the support of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).
New York State Department of Education
A grant of $10,000 is supporting the installation of a new Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) system in the Thomas J. Shanahan Library. This system allows the College to make its audio-video collection available digitally on the local area network, giving faculty the opportunity to utilize multimedia resources in classroom teaching and allowing students greater access to course materials. This grant is thanks to the support of Assemblyman Jonathan L. Bing (D-NY).
New York State Department of Education
A grant of $5,000 is supporting equipment and software upgrades to the Theresa Lang Center for Producing. The grant helps ensure that current and future students have access to the best possible education in video, graphic design, sound design, and multimedia This grant is thanks to the support of Assemblyman Jonathan L. Bing (D-NY).
United States Department of Education
A congressionally-directed federal appropriations grant of $335,043 is supporting a minority teacher preparation initiative. It includes the recruitment of students to the Teacher Education Program through outreach, a partnership with a local high school, and financial aid. This appropriation is thanks to the support of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).
New York State Department of Education
A grant of $10,000 is supporting the installation of a new Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) system in the Thomas J. Shanahan Library. This system allows the College to make its audio-video collection available digitally on the local area network, giving faculty the opportunity to utilize multimedia resources in classroom teaching and allowing students greater access to course materials. This grant is thanks to the support of Assemblyman Jonathan L. Bing (D-NY).
New York State Department of Education
A grant of $5,000 is supporting equipment and software upgrades to the Theresa Lang Center for Producing. The grant helps ensure that current and future students have access to the best possible education in video, graphic design, sound design, and multimedia This grant is thanks to the support of Assemblyman Jonathan L. Bing (D-NY).
Barbara Adrian
Professor, Theatre Arts
Edna Aizenberg
Professor , Humanities
Barbara Ballard
Associate Professor , History
John Basil
Assistant Professor, Theatre Arts
Susan Behrens, Ph.D.
Professor , Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology
Adrienne Bell
Assistant Professor , Art
Carrie-Ann Biondi
Assistant Professor , Philosophy and Religious Studies
Giovanna Chesler
Assistant Professor , Communication Arts
Hallie Cohen
Associate Professor , Art
Michael Colvin
Associate Professor , Humanities
Kevin Connell
Associate Professor, Theatre Arts
Millie Falcaro
Associate Professor , Art
Anthony Ferro
Associate Professor , Dance
Mary Fleischer
Theatre Arts
Bradley Herling
Assistant Professor , Religious Studies
James Holl
Associate Professor , Art
Julie Huntington
Assistant Professor , English and World Literatures
Katie Langan
Professor , Dance
Kathleen LeBesco
Professor , Academic Affairs
Alessandra Leri, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor , Chemistry
Leslie Levin
Associate Professor , Business Management
Corey Liberman
Assistant Professor , Communication Arts
Twila Liggett
Assistant Professor , Social Science
David Linton
Professor , Communication Arts
Lia Leon Margolin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor , Mathematics
David Mold
Associate Professor, Theatre Arts
Ellen Orenstein
Associate Professor, Theatre Arts
Cheryl Paradis, Psy.D.
Associate Professor , Psychology
Mark Ringer
Professor , Theatre Arts
Jason Rosenfeld
Associate Professor , Art
Benedetta Sampoli Benitez, Ph.D.
Associate Professor , Chemistry
Alister Sanderson
Professor , Communication Arts
Linda Solomon, Ph.D.
Professor , Psychology
Jill Stevenson
Assistant Professor, Theatre Arts
Laura Tropp
Associate Professor , Communication Arts
Andrew Warshaw
Associate Professor , Music
Jerry Williams
Associate Professor , English and World Literatures
Kent Worcester, Ph.D.
Professor , Political Science
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
EDITOR
Lora Georgiev
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
David Podell Marguerita Grecco Yvonne Roen
PRINTER
Michael Graphics, Inc. 11 Terminal Road New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-846-8680
SPECIAL THANKS
Maria Raftelis, Office of Institutional Advancement Manuel Romero, Office of Institutional Advancement Cathy Kurtzo, Michael Graphics, Inc.
