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 A Guide to Arts and Sciences' News, Events and People

April 2011

Contents
Renowned Writers, Inspiring Professors

Cohen Wins Guggenheim Fellowship

Announcing New Anthropology PhD

The Energy of Innovation

$100K Bequest to Women's Studies

Answering the First Lady's Call to Action

Graduate Certificates: A Practical Alternative

The Value of Research

Healing through Art Therapy

Protecting Egypt's Antiquities

In Memoriam: Thomas, Turner

New Books

Awards and Recognition

Published Articles

Columbian College Video

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Upcoming Events
Brown Bag Presentation by Lauren Strauss
April 13, 12:00 pm
2142 G Street

Information Session: IES Beijing Program
April 13, 2:00 pm
812 20th Street NW, OSA Conference Room

Information Session: Applied Quantitative Risk Analysis Graduate Certificate Program
April 13, 6:00 pm
Arlington Graduate Education Center

Communications Lecture and Networking Event Featuring Victoria Nellor
April 14, 8:00 am
Marvin Center, Room 403

Spring Danceworks
April 14, 15, 16, 7:30 pm
Marvin Center Betts Theatre

Legend & Love: Music of the 1920s Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble Concert
April 14, 7:30 pm
Lisner Auditorium

Jazz Combo III & The Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet
April 15, 7:00 pm
Sequoia Restaurant, 3000 K Street NW

GW Opera: The Medium and the Old Maid and the Thief
April 15, 16 7:30 pm
Hand Chapel, Mt. Vernon Campus

Junior Saxophone Recital: Lauren Pacho
April 16, 3:00 pm
Phillips Hall, Room B120

University Orchestra Concert
April 17, 3:00 pm
Lisner Auditorium

Jazz Fest with GW Latin Band, Jazz Combo I, Jazz Combo II & King James and the Serfs of Swing
April 17, 7:00 pm
Marvin Center Betts Theatre

Nixon Legacy Forum
April 18, 2:00 pm
Jack Morton Auditorium

Vive La France! Piano Concert
April 18, 7:30 pm
Marvin Center Betts Theatre

Anthropology Lecture: Richard Shweder on Cultural Pluralism in the New World Order
April 19, 4:00 pm
1957 E Street, Room 213

All-Voice Recital
April 20, 5:00 pm
Career Center, Room 208

Senior Job Search Group
April 20, 5:00 pm
Career Center, Room 208

Strategy in Information and Influence Campaigns
April 20, 6:30 pm
1957 E Street NW, City View Room

King James and the Serfs of Swing and the GW Latin Band Ballroom Dance Party
April 20, 7:00 pm
Marvin Center Ballroom

Chamber Concert
April 20, 7:30 pm
Phillips Hall, Room B120

The 18th Federal Forecasters Conference
April 21, 8:00 am
2 Massachusetts Ave. NE

Reading by Fiction Writer Sana Krasikov
April 21, 7:00 pm
Marvin Center Amphitheater

Electronic Music Concert
April 21, 7:30 pm
Marvin Center Betts Theatre

Jazz Vocal Workshop with Professor Alison Crocket
April 22, 11:00 am
Phillips Hall, Room B120

GW Percussion Ensemble Concert
April 22, 2:30 pm
Phillips Hall, Room B120

Monteverdi: Madrigals & Arias
April 25, 7:00 pm
The United Church, 1920 G Street NW

Something Happens Here
April 25, 8:30 pm
Studio "J" Dance Theatre

All-Piano Concert
April 26, 7:30 pm
Phillips Hall, Room B120

Post Racialism: The Racial Divide in the Age of Obama
April 28, 7:00 pm
Jack Morton Auditorium

Faculty Recital: Elizabeth Field & Joseph Gascho, Bach & the Instruments
April 28, 8:00 pm
The United Church, 1920 G Street NW

Frances Kamm on "Justice after War: Proportionality and Compensation"
April. 29, 4:00 pm
Phillips Hall, Room 411

Duke Ellington Park Dedication
April 29, 4:00 pm
Duke Ellington Park, 21st and M Streets NW

Domine Martinez Junior Bass Recital
April 29, 6:00 pm
Phillips Hall, Room B120

Charlie Chan and the Mystery of Love/Islands
April 29, 30, 8:00 pm
Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre

Senior Voice Recital: Andre Smith
April 30, 7:30 pm
Mount Vernon Campus, Post Hall

Dance Time
May 1, 3:00 pm
Marvin Center Betts Theatre

American Choral Music: University Singers
May 1, 4:00 pm
2401 Virginia Ave, NW

Senior Voice Recital: Jeenie Yoon & Alex Thomas
May 6, 6:00 pm
Mount Vernon Campus, Post Hall

Senior Voice Recital: Emily Olmsted
May 7, 2:00 pm
Mount Vernon Campus, Post Hall

Senior Capstone Lecture and Performance: Kevin Robinson
May 7, 6:00 pm
Phillips Hall, Room B120

Columbian College Celebration
May 14, 12:00 pm & 3:30 pm
Smith Center

GW Commencement
May 15, 9:30 am
National Mall

Alumni Events
I/O Psych Alumni Reception at SIOP Conference
April 14, 6:00 pm
Trattoria #10, Chicago, IL

Celebration of Jarol Manheim
April 20, 6:30 pm
1957 E Street NW, The City View Room

Would You Like Some Jobs with Your Recovery?
April 26, 6:00 pm
Funger Hall, Room 103

Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Multiple Diversities in the New Millennium
May 6, 9:00 am
Alumni House, 1918 F Street NW

GW Culture Buffs: Lunch and Tour at the National Museum of Women in the Arts
May 7, 11:30 am
National Museum of Women in the Arts

GW Museum Programs Alumni Reception at AAM
May 24, 5:30 pm
Hilton Americas-Houston, Texas

From the Departments
Academy of Classical Acting

Africana Studies

Anthropology

Art Therapy

Chinese

English

Judaic Studies

Medieval and Early Modern Studies

Museum Studies

Philosophy

Political Science

Professional Psychology

Regulatory Studies

Romance German, and Slavic Languages and Literature

Media and Public Affairs

Science and Engineering Complex

Solar Institute

Speech and Hearing Sciences

Statistics

Theatre and Dance

Public Policy and Public Administration

University Writing

Renowned Writers, Inspiring Professors
Imagine taking a writing course from a Pulitzer Prize winning author . . . or signing up for a poetry seminar from the 2010 winner of the prestigious Poet's Prize. Intimidated? Students in Columbian College's Creative Writing Program aren't. Despite the faculty star power, students are more in awe of the level of one-on-one instruction they receive to develop intellectually and artistically-providing them the platform to emerge as the next generation of award-winning novelists, playwrights, and poets.  Read more.


Cohen Wins Prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship
Jeffrey J. Cohen, professor of English and director of the Institute for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, has won a coveted Guggenheim Fellowship for his work in medieval literature. Cohen was one of 180 fellows, chosen from a group of 3,000 applicants, recognized for their exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or creative ability in the arts. As a Guggenheim Fellow, Cohen plans to complete a book entitled Stories of Stone: Dreaming the Prehistoric in the Middle Ages. Read more.


New PhD in Anthropology to Launch Fall 2012
In today's interconnected world of global media, commerce, health, and politics, the need to understand human cultures becomes increasingly relevant and necessary in many spheres. The newly established PhD in Anthropology focuses on helping students develop the communication and scholarly skills required to apply anthropological theory and method to contemporary social problems.

"Our faculty teach and write about human rights, infanticide, autism, refugees, education, and intellectual property rights," said Richard Grinker, professor of anthropology and international affairs. "We hope to foster creativity in our students and train anthropologists who are great communicators." Read more.


Planet Forward Airs National TV Special "The Energy of Innovation"
Planet Forward, GW's online social network dedicated to encouraging the exchange of ideas on energy, climate control, and sustainability, premiered its nationwide television special "The Energy of Innovation" this month on PBS. Produced by the School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA), the special showcased seven innovative concepts-chosen from hundreds of online video entries-focused on energy use and efficiency. The panel of experts, with feedback from the studio audience, chose a concept presented by Danny Kennedy, the CEO and founder of Sungevity, as the "Planet Forward Innovator."  His innovation, involving the leasing of solar panels, will be followed online by the Planet Forward community for the next 12 months. (A video about Kennedy's project can be viewed at http://planetforward.org/idea/leasing-solar-panels/.)  Read more.


Women's Rights Advocate Leaves $100,000 Bequest to Women's Studies
Alumna Clara Schiffer, MA '39, a tireless advocate for women's rights who died April 3 at the age of 97, left a $100,000 bequest to Columbian College's Women's Studies Program to create The Clara Schiffer Project on Elder Women and Health Care Policy. The gift will support a visiting scholar and a Clara Schiffer fellow.   

"Her gift will make it possible for our students and scholars to continue making a difference in the lives of women and girls," said Daniel Moshenberg, director of the Women's Studies Program and associate professor of English. "That was Clara's daily ambition and it is a part of her legacy. She was a woman of unwavering determination and compassion in the area of social and legal rights for women-a true change maker." Read more.


Answering the First Lady's Call to Action
Since 2008, First Lady Michelle Obama has mentored a cohort of local high school students with the goal of helping them be prepared for and accepted to college. One of the biggest challenges she wants to help them face: perfecting their writing skills. With that in mind, she invited Derek Malone-France, interim director of Columbian College's University Writing Program, as well as other GW professors and senior leaders, to the Old Executive Office Building to lead a series of writing workshops for high school students. Malone-France's workshop focused on the differences between high school and college writing.

 "What college is all about is forming your own opinion and figuring out what it means to develop your own expertise in a specific subject," said Malone-France. "Professors are looking for students that act more like a colleague than a student." Read more.


Graduate Certificates: A Practical Alternative to Advance Professionally
An increasing number of recent graduates and working professionals are turning to graduate certificate programs to enhance skills and advance careers. Compared to a full-fledged master's program, it is a more focused, flexible approach to education and, in most cases, requires less time and financial commitment. Columbian College currently offers nine graduate certificate programs.  Read more.


The Value of Research
Seniors Sally Nuamah's and Chloe Shields' interests have taken them to different parts of the globe during their four years at GW. But as freshman roommates in Madison Hall, they shared one common bond: research. On March 30, Nuamah and Shields presented their respective research projects along with 34 other Luther Rice Collaborative, George Gamow, and Office of the Vice President for Research undergraduate research fellows at a celebration in GW's Marvin Center.

"We realized that we were both interested in exploring certain questions about issues that were important to us," said Nuamah, a political science major. "So we decided that before we graduated, we'd take advantage of opportunities at GW and abroad to further investigate these questions. Through all these experiences, we discovered what research is." Read more.


Healing through Artistic Self-expression
GW's Art Therapy Center, in collaboration with Columbian College's Art Therapy Graduate Program, offers low-fee art therapy services for adults, adolescents, and children. Student clinicians-working under the supervision of registered and board-certified art therapists and licensed mental health professionals-provide consultation, outreach, and individual and group sessions in art therapy to help its clients work through issues such as depression, anxiety, illness, trauma, loss, relationships, self-esteem, stress, and major life changes. To schedule a free confidential screening or find more information about the Center's services, visit the Center's website


Protecting Egypt's Antiquities
The GW Capitol Archaeological Institute, housed in Columbian College, launched an initiative to protect Egyptian antiquities from illicit trade around the world. Many of the most respected Egyptologists in the United States and the world have joined the GW institute in calling for action by government and law enforcement authorities.

"As an institute located in the heart of our nation's capital, we have a special responsibility to help ensure that issues and solutions are highlighted for policy and law makers," said Eric Cline, institute director and chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Read more.


In Memoriam: Raymond E. Thomas and William L. Turner
We note with regret the passing of Raymond E. Thomas, BA '55, MA '57, professor emeritus of statistics. After receiving his master's in statistics, he joined the faculty full time. From 1964 to 1974, Thomas was director of the GW Academic Computer Center. He later returned to teaching statistics and computer science before retiring in 1991. Read the full obituary in The Washington Post.

We also sadly note the passing of William L. Turner, an associate professor emeritus of English. Turner joined the English Department in 1941 and served as assistant dean of the Columbian College before retiring in 1976. He was a founding member of the GWU Faculty Club and the GWU Society of the Emeriti, a docent at the Hillwood Museum for 20 years, and a guide at Washington National Cathedral. Read the full obituary in The Washington Post.


New Books
Professor of Religion and International Affairs Robert Eisen authored The Peace and Violence of Judaism: from the Bible to Modern Zionism.

Professors of Political Science Martha Finnemore and Susan Sell co-edited Who Governs the Globe?

Edward C. Green, BA '67, authored Broken Promises: How the AIDS Establishment Has Betrayed the Developing World and co-authored AIDS, Behavior, and Culture.

Director of the Women's Studies Program and Associate Professor of English Daniel Moshenberg co-edited Searching for South Africa.

Director of the Museum Studies Program Kym Rice co-edited World of a Slave: Encyclopedia of the Material Life of Slaves in the United States, Volume 2.


Awards and Recognition
Associate Professor of Mathematics Lowell Abrams received the inaugural Writing in the Disciplines Distinguished Teaching Award, which recognizes excellence, dedication, and innovation in service of the WID program and GW students.

Professor of Mathematics Frank E. Baginski received a NASA Glenn Faculty Fellowship position for summer 2011.

Associate Professor of Classics, History, and Anthropology Eric Cline's book The Oxford Handbook of the Aegean Bronze Age was given four stars by Choice and said to be "an indispensable reference book."

Professor of English and Human Sciences Jeffrey J. Cohen received the American Council of Learned Societies Grant for 2011-12.

Professor and Chair of Mathematics John Conway was honored at the Southeastern Analysis Meeting with "John Conway Day" in recognition of  his influence on function theoretic operator theory and in honor of his upcoming retirement.
 
Diogo De Castilho Penha de Lemos, a graduate student in political science, received a Doctoral Degree Grant from the Foundation for Science and Technology of the Portuguese Ministry for Science, Technology and Higher Education.

The American Academy of Forensic Sciences awarded the Paul L. Kirk Award to Professor of Forensic Sciences Harold Deadman.

Graduate Teaching Assistant in English Mark DeCicco and his paper "More than Human: The Queer Gothic Scientist of the Fin-de-Siècle" received an award for the best paper presented by a graduate student from the International Association of Science Fiction.

The Sigur Center for Asian Studies awarded the Korean Language Grant to Caleb Dependahl, a junior majoring in Asian Studies and Chinese Language and Literature; and Susanne Greenbaum, an MA candidate in Speech and Language Pathology.

PhD candidate in English Jessica Frazier received a $3,900 stipend to attend the National Endowment for the Humanities summer seminar on "Shakespeare: From the Globe to the Global."

Hadas Gold, MA '11, won the competitive SMPA-Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting student fellowship.

Katie Hogan, BA '06, was named deputy press secretary for the 2012 Obama campaign.

Anna Holster, a doctoral student in public policy, was inducted into the national Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society.

Priscilla Bloom Kostiner, BA '65, received the 2011 Rabbi Joshua Stampfer Community Enrichment Award.

Erinn Larkin, a graduate student in political science, is among eight semi-finalists in GW's Business Plan Competition.

Creative Writing Program Director Thomas Mallon received the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The $10,000 award is for a writer "whose work merits recognition for the quality of its prose style."

Senior Daria-Ann Martineau won this year's Student Poetry Prize with her poem "Orchids."

Brittney Melloy
, a junior in the School of Media and Public Affairs, was awarded a George Gamow Undergraduate Research Fellowship. She'll be spending six weeks at an Islamic boarding school in Jogyakarta, Indonesia, studying the use of Facebook.

Professor of Statistics Reza Modarres received the Graduate Advisor Award.

Graduate student in political science Medlir Mema won a Belgian American Educational Foundation fellowship for the 2011-12 academic year.

Chris Mitchell, a graduate student in political science, was awarded a research grant from the German Academic Exchange Service.

Professor of English Faye Moskowitz was selected as one of two Partners in Justice honorees by, AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps.
 
The Sigur Center for Asian Studies awarded field research grants to Political Science doctoral candidates Dawn Murphy, Varun Piplani, and Ajay Verghese.

Sally Nuamah, a senior in political science, received a fellowship from the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

Seung Joon Paik, doctoral candidate in Political Science was one of four students awarded a $24,000 Chinese Language Grant for study in Taiwan.

Shannon Powers, a doctoral student in political science, won the Philip Amsterdam Graduate Teaching Award.

GW's School of Business officially inducted professional football agent and president of BEST Football Joel Segal, BA '86, into the School of Business Sports Executives Hall of Fame. 

Matt Smith, an undergraduate political science major, was selected to be a visiting scholar at Pembroke College in Oxford for 2011-12.

Acting Chair of the Department of Sociology Gregory Squires received the The Robert and Helen Lynd Career-Lifetime Achievement Award from the Community and Urban Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association.

Erin Marie Williams, a hominid paleobiology doctoral student, received a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship to continue her research on human origins.


Published Articles
University Professor of International Affairs and Political Science Michael Barnett wrote an op-ed "Libya Strikes-Broad Coalition Was Worth the Wait" in the Star Tribune.

Brandon Bartels, assistant professor of political science, published "The Dynamic Properties of Individual-Level Party Identification in the United States" in the March issue of Electoral Studies.

Assistant Professor of Psychology Tara S. Behrend co-authored "Similarity Effects in Online Training: Effects with Computerized Trainer Agents" in Computers in Human Behavior.

Professors of Political Science Sarah Binder, Eric Lawrence, and Forrest Maltzman published "The Impact of Party Cues on Citizen Evaluations of Senators" in the recent issue of Congress & the Presidency.

Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Nathan Brown wrote "Egypt's Syndicalist Future" and "Why Nobody Noticed What Egypt's Opposition Has Won" for The Middle East Channel.

Professor of Philosophy Robert Paul Churchill wrote the essays "Global Human Rights" in The Morality and Global Justice Reader and "Compassion and Reconciliation" in Remembrance and Reconciliation.

Associate Professor of Classics, History, and Anthropology Eric Cline co-authored the article, "New Fragments of Aegean-Style Painted Plaster from Tel Kabri, Israel" in the American Journal of Archaeology.

Professorial Lecturer in Public Policy and Public Administration Susan Dudley authored the article "Alfred Kahn: Remembering the Father of Airline Deregulation" in the current issue of Regulation.
 
Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Harvey B. Feigenbaum wrote  "America's Cultural Challenge Abroad" for Political Science Quarterly.

Professor of Statistics and Economics Joseph L. Gastwirth wrote "Statistics can Help us Avoid Counterfeit Goods on the Internet, Study Shows" in Significance magazine.

Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Charles Glaser wrote "Will China's Rise Lead to War?" in the March/April edition of Foreign Affairs.

Ruth Weintraub Professor of Biology Gustavo Hormiga's work with spiders appeared in  El Pais-the largest newspaper in Spain.
 
Assistant Professor of History Christopher Klemek authored "Dead or Alive at 50? Reading Jane Jacobs on her Golden Anniversary" for the "Reconsiderations" feature in Dissent.

Professor of Physics Frank X. Lee and doctoral student Lai Wang published the article "Eta-nucleon coupling constant in QCD with SU(3) symmetry breaking" in the International Journal of Modern Physics A.

Associate Professor of Political Science and Media and Public Affairs Marc Lynch recently published two articles: "Explaining the Awakening: Engagement, Publicity, and the Transformation of Iraqi Sunni Political Attitudes" in Security Studies and "America and Egypt after the Uprisings" in Survival. He was also profiled in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

David Malet, PhD '09, published an article, "Biological Weapons and Security Dilemmas," in the Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations.

Jarol Manheim, professor of media and public affairs, wrote Strategy in Information and Influence Campaigns. He was also profiled in the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's annual report (page 27) for his 25 year-contribution to scholarship and teaching in the field of strategic political communication.

Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Media and Public Affairs Steven Roberts wrote the article "In France's Dordogne, a Rental House Offers Ease of Exploration" for the The Washington Post and "The Oxygen that Spreads the Flames of Freedom" for Michigan Live.

Charles Sullivan, a graduate student in political science, published the article "Havoc on the Horizon: The Dangers of State Failure and Radical Islam in Central Asia" in the Washington Review of Turkish and Eurasian Affairs on Islamic groups in Central Asia.

Sami Yenigun, BA '10, a music producer at NPR authored the story "The Real Value of 7 Million Facebook Fans."


 

 

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