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

Recent presentations, publications and honors include the following:

Presentations

David Shearer, Thomas Muncy Keith Professor of History, delivered the keynote address, “Stalin’s Socialisms," to an international conference, “Stalinism and the Search for Social Control, 1929-1956.” The conference was hosted by the Friedrich-Schiller Universität, Jena, Germany. June 3-4, 2021.

Estella Atekwana, dean of the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, gave a virtual lecture on “Biogeophysics: Microbial Mediated Geophysical Signatures and the Search for Life in Extreme Environments.” The lecture was part of the Marie Tharp Lecture Series for Ocean Research, which aims at presenting high-profile female scientists in marine sciences as role-models for young scientists. After the talk and questions from the audience, there was also a virtual get-together that was designed for early career female scientists, as well as anyone interested in discussing career paths and finding a work-life balance. The lecture was hosted by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, a world-wide leading institute of marine research.

Trevor A. Dawes, vice provost for libraries and museums and May Morris University Librarian, was a featured speaker on a panel titled, “Libraries’ Leadership in Transforming Student Success,” on June 22, 2021. The webinar is part of a series, “Libraries in Shaping the Future of Higher Education” that is co-sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP). A recording of the session will be available on the SCUP website. 

Rudi Matthee, John and Dorothy Munroe Distinguished Professor of History, on June 16 delivered a lecture, in Persian, on the theme of Russian relations with Iran in the 19th and early 20th century on the occasion of the publication of the Persian translation of his edited book, Russians in Iran (2018), as part of webinar series on the history of foreign relations organized by the Institute for Political and International Studies, Tehran. 

Kathryn Benjamin Golden, assistant professor of Africana studies, and two 2021 graduates of the department, Olivia Anderson and Keri Edwards, gave presentations at the Delaware Juneteenth Association’s observance on Saturday, June 19, in Wilmington. The presentations covered the history of Juneteenth, community celebrations of Juneteenth and the history and legacy of slavery and emancipation in the state of Delaware. The students also emphasized the significance of Africana studies in their education and how the subject has shaped their understanding of freedom as a prolonged process to continue pursuing. Also at the observance, Delaware Gov. John Carney announced the June 17 signing of Delaware Black History Education legislation.

School of Music faculty and students were featured in two virtual concerts as part of the 2021 Victoria International Arts Festival in Malta this June. Now in its 24th year, this is a 5-week international festival that brings performers from around the world to Malta each summer. The first concert, on June 10, featured nine music faculty members and 80+ UD students in the UDSO. The second concert, on June 24, featured 10 music faculty members and UD Ensemble-In-Residence 6-WIRE. Both concerts were presented online and can be viewed for free.

Publications

Anne M. Boylan, professor emerita of history and women and gender studies, has published Votes For Delaware Women (University of Delaware Press), the first book-length study of the woman suffrage struggle in Delaware. It looks especially at why, despite decades of suffrage organizing, and an epic struggle in Dover in the spring of 1920, the legislature refused to make Delaware the final state to ratify the 19th Amendment.

Stephanie E. Raible, assistant professor of human development and family sciences and faculty director of the Social Entrepreneurship Initiative, coauthored an article titled “The relatable entrepreneur: Combating stereotypes in entrepreneurship education,” published in Industry and Higher Education. The article will be free to access for a limited time.

A poem by Margaret Stetz, Mae and Robert Carter Professor of Women's Studies and professor of humanities, was published in the Washington Post on June 9, 2021, as one of the winning entries in a competition for poetry related to the subject of cicadas. Her poem, "Street Harassment, 2021" (the title was not, however, included in the Post), used the topic as a way to address the issue of public spaces as unsafe places for women. Another poem by Stetz was published in the Spring 2021 issue (Vol. 16, No. 1) of the online journal Review Americana, which is affiliated with Americana, the Institute for the Study of Popular Culture. "Ida B. Wells Puts on Her Corset" is Stetz's verse tribute to the African American civil rights and women's rights icon, Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931).

The article “Combatting Plastics Waste” by Karen B. Roberts, science writer in Communications and Marketing, published on UDaily on April 21, 2021, was posted as a University Research News headline on the Office of Science homepage, and was featured in an Office of Science tweet with a link to the article.

Rebecca Wilt, collaborative pianist in the School of Music,  recently released a CD on the Naxos label, The Art of the Modern Trumpet – 2 . The recording, which may be found on all streaming sites, is part of a series of recordings featuring Huw Morgan, solo trumpet of the Basel Symphony Orchestra. 

Honors

The University of Delaware Division of Professional and Continuing Studies (UD PCS)/Graduate College marketing and communications team has been recognized with 20 awards from the Delaware Press Association (DPA) and four awards from the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW). Cindy Dolan, art director, earned eight honors for her artwork, while Adam S. Kamras and Nora Zelluk, communications specialists, received seven and two awards, respectively, for their writing in the statewide competition. In addition, three of the 20 awards in the annual DPA Communications Contest were presented to the whole UD PCS/Graduate College marketing and communications team, which is led by Steven M. Kendus, director, marketing and communications; and — along with Dolan, Kamras and Zelluk — includes Sherrie Fauvelle, data analyst; Tim Nelson, marketing assistant; and Eric Tommer, digital communications specialist. Based on a point system that took into account the number of entries per category, Dolan and Kamras finished in a third-place tie with two other entrants in the overall DPA Communications Contest, which had 184 entrants.

Yushan Yan, Henry B. du Pont Chaired Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has received the Carl Wagner Memorial Award, a prestigious honor from the Electrochemical Society that is given out once every two years. Previous awardees include some of the best known names in electrochemistry and electrochemical engineering, such as Allen Bard of the University of Texas as Austin and Richard Alkire of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Trevor A. Dawes, vice provost for libraries and museums and May Morris University Librarian, was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Information Standards Organization (NISO). NISO fosters the development and maintenance of standards that facilitate the creation, persistent management, and effective interchange of information so that it can be trusted for use in research and learning. Dawes’ three-year term will begin on July 1, 2021. 

Jennifer Joe, Whitney Family Professor of Accounting, Cohen Family Lerner Director of Diversity and chief diversity advocate, was recently named a recipient of the American Accounting Association 2021 Issues in Accounting Education Best Paper Award, along with Helen Brown-Liburd from the Rutgers Business School, for their paper “Research Initiatives in Accounting Education: Toward a More Inclusive Accounting Academy," that was published in the September 2020 issue. The Issues in Accounting Education Best Paper Award is presented to the best paper published each calendar year. More information about this award is available online.

As the recipient of the 2021 Delaware Division of the Arts Masters Fellowship, Jennifer M. Barker, professor of theory and composition in the School of Music, will have four of her compositions presented as music videos on screen at the Biggs Museum of American Art in Dover for their upcoming exhibition of 2021 DDOA fellowship artists.

To submit information for inclusion in For the Record, write to ocm@udel.edu and include “For the Record” in the subject line.