Tony Astran, publications staff writer, College Relations, was elected to the board of directors of the Public Relations Society of America Buffalo Niagara Chapter. He will serve as secretary during the 2009 year.
Donn Youngstrom, professor, Theater, hosted a fencing demonstration at the Burchfield Penney Art Center on Friday, November 28, as part of the new museum’s opening celebration. The 20-minute demonstration included a short history of fencing as a sport, an introduction to the types of weapons, and an actual fencing bout. Two girls and two boys, ages 8 to 10, acted as judges for the match.
John Thompson, associate professor, Computer Information Systems, presented a session, “Technology Words: A Study in Current Spelling,” at the First International Online Language Conference on September 16. The international conference was held entirely online, with Thompson being the only presenter from the United States. His presentation received a Best Presentation Award.
Deborah Silverman, assistant professor, Communication, organized and served as a presenter for the panel “Ethics in Public Relations” at the national Public Relations Student Society of America conference in Detroit, Michigan, on October 25. The session was attended by approximately 100 public relations students. Silverman also was a panelist for the session “Making an Educated Decision to Become an Educator” at the Public Relations Society of America’s International Conference in Detroit on October 27. The session, which targeted current PR practitioners, was intended to address the nationwide shortage of public relations faculty.
Susan Schroeder, assistant professor, English, led a Research Roundtable sponsored by the Conference on English Education at the 98th annual convention of the National Council of Teachers of English in San Antonio, Texas, November 20–23, presenting her paper “Developing Multi-modal Curriculum.” She was also a panel participant in a session titled “Using Technology to Build Classroom Connections: Video, Fanfiction, and Wikipedia” and was elected associate chair of WILLA, a gender and literacy assembly.
Joseph Piccillo,professor, Art Education, was chosen as a featured artist for Steuben Glass’s fall 2008 collection. Piccillo’s work was selected for a limited-edition run of 25 pieces. The crystal image of Piccillo’s leaping stallion is the result of an entirely freehand engraving process; each unique piece took more than 75 hours to cut. Piccillo’s work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and is in the permanent collections of a number of museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Steuben Glass, considered to produce the highest quality clear crystal in the world, was founded in 1903 in Corning, New York. Piccillo’s piece was exhibited in New York City this past summer.
Susan McMillen, associate professor, Mathematics, presented a paper, “Bar None: Graphing Activities for Primary Students,” at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Regional Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, October 16–17.
Joëlle Leclaire, assistant professor, Economics and Finance, published her article “U.S. Deficit Control and Private-Sector Wealth” in the Journal of Post Keynesian Economics 31 (1): 139–149.
George T. Hole, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor, Philosophy, read a selection of his poems at Hallwalls as part of the Gray Hair Poets series, sponsored by Earth’s Daughters, on October 12; Hole also had two poems, “The Shoelace Sutra” and “Three Incarnations of a Fly,” published in the November issue of Sugar Mule.
Jeffrey Hirschberg’s article “Behind the Greenlight: Why Hollywood Makes the Films It Makes” is the lead chapter in a new volume titled The Business of Entertainment(Greenwood Publishing: Praeger Perspectives). The book is available in retail outlets and will be sold to college and university libraries throughout the world.