For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and achievements of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Recent appointments, publications and honors, as well as news about a student who was featured this week on a network television news program, include the following:

New assignments

Karen Aniunas has been named associate provost and chief of staff in the Office of the Provost, effective Feb. 15. She will be responsible for providing support to the provost, as it relates to the academic administration, planning and budgeting across all academic activities of the University. Aniunas replaces Peggy Bottorff, who is retiring from the position March 31. Previously Aniunas spent 10 years in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, most recently as assistant vice president for communications and constituent relations. For 20 years prior, she served as assistant dean for student services in UD’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English/journalism and a master’s degree in college counseling and student personnel administration, both from UD. Bottorff has served as associate provost since 2010 and previously was assistant provost for administration and planning. Earlier, she held a number of positions in UD’s Lerner College of Business and Economics. A graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, Bottorff also holds an MBA from UD.

In performance

Erin Bellucci, a junior music education major from Hartford, Connecticut, performed the Etta James standard “At Last” during the Feb. 20 Michael Bublé concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Bellucci was attending the concert with her sister, Allison, when Bublé invited her to sing to the crowd. The moment, captured on video by her sister, was featured on the Twitter feeds of several national media outlets, and Ryan Seacrest, who was at the concert, shared his own video of her on Live with Kelly and Ryan on Feb. 21. In addition, Billboard.com referred to her performance in its concert coverage, calling it “impressive.” Her story was also picked up by a West Hartford website, we-ha.com, and it was featured on ABC News’ national broadcast on Feb. 21. At UD, Bellucci performs with the UD Jazz Band and the Golden Blues a cappella group.

Publications

Trevor A. Dawes, vice provost for libraries and museums and May Morris University Librarian, co-published an article in the February issue of Technical Services Quarterly. Dawes co-wrote the article, “Amazon.com vs. EBSCO’s GOBI Library Solutions: Evaluating New and Used Book Vendors While Building a Diverse Collection,” with Russell Michalak and Monica Rysavy from Goldey-Beacom College. The article is also available online.

Rudi Matthee, John and Dorothy Munroe Distinguished Professor of History, published, “Nadir Shah in Iranian Historiography: Warlord or National Hero?,” in Sabine Schmidtke, ed., Studying the Near and Middle East at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (1935-2018) (Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2018), pp. 467-74.

Honors

Matthew Weinert, associate professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, has been appointed senior editor for the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies, a joint publication of Oxford University Press and the International Studies Association.

Steven M. Kendus, director, marketing and communications for the Division of Professional and Continuing Studies (UD PCS), has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) Dorothy Durkin Award for Strategic Innovation in Marketing and Enrollment Management. The award recognizes an individual for achievement in strategic planning, marketing innovation or enrollment management that has been used to position or reposition an institution of higher learning, to increase enrollment numbers, to improve or diversify the applicant pool, or to develop new educational products and services that meet the demands of the evolving marketplace. Along with this year’s other national award winners, Kendus will be honored at the 2019 UPCEA annual conference, March 27-29, in Seattle. “Serving contemporary learners with innovative and impactful education is at the core of professional, continuing and online education,” said Mary Angela Baker, director of the Center for Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning at Salisbury University and chair of the UPCEA Association Awards Committee. “This year’s award recipients exemplify the breadth and depth of the contributions UPCEA members bring to the field.” Kendus, who has more than 20 years of marketing and communications experience and more than 10 years of executive management experience, has assisted organizations in enhancing their productivity and identity through marketing, corporate communications and employee education. Learn more at http://www.pcs.udel.edu/kendus-upcea-award-2019/.

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