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

Recent presentations, appointments and honors include the following:

Presentations

Sharon P. Pitt, vice president for information technologies and chief information officer, was a panelist for two presentations at the EDUCAUSE annual conference, held Oct. 26-29, 2021, in Philadelphia and online. She participated in a session entitled “From Resilience to Transformation: What’s Next,” and another on “Work/Life Balance, They Say. Is It Possible? How Can I Get There?” At the same conference, three UD students -- Chianna Spencer, Evan Centofanti and Tori Glover -- were panelists for a session entitled “Surviving and Thriving: How College Students Are Navigating New Environments,” facilitated by Amelia Parnell, vice president for research and policy at NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. At the conference, the students also met with EDUCAUSE leaders and staff and toured the Exhibit Hall.

Maria Aristigueta, dean of the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration, recently gave the keynote address at the online Global Public HR Conference in South Korea. Her presentation, "Current State of the U.S. Civil Service and Enduring Questions," explored the juxtaposition between a perceived public distrust of government and decrease in morale among government employees with the need for a robust civil service infrastructure to support the delivery of necessary services and the preservation of democracy. The conference is an annual event hosted by the National Human Resources Development Institute (of South Korea) and is attended by Korean and foreign government officials, high-profile dignitaries, scholars, and experts in the field. Aristigueta was invited to speak due to her expertise in organizational behavior and performance management in the public sector and the Biden School's research strength and commitment to activities that help preserve robust, functional democracy.

Trevor A. Dawes, vice provost for libraries and museums and May Morris University Librarian, was a speaker on a panel, entitled “2022 is the Right Year to Make a Difference: Collaborative Collections Lifecycle Platform,” at the Charleston Library Conference on Nov. 4, 2021. Dawes’ co-presenters were Todd A. Carpenter (NISO), Sebastian Hammer (Index Data) and Boaz Nadav-Manes (Lehigh University). The presentation was an overview of the Collaborative Collections Lifecycle Platform (CCLP) that will help consortia and individual libraries, as well as industry and standards partners work toward fulfilling a vision for coordinated collection development and management in order to support the teaching, research and public access missions of the respective institutions as well as the global scholarly community.

Appointments

Mary Watson, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, has been appointed as an associate editor of the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Organic Chemistry. The peer-reviewed journal publishes fundamental research in all branches of the theory and practice of organic chemistry and is the most-cited journal in the field.

Honors

Tia Barnes, assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, was one of six individuals named a Social and Emotional Learning Leader of the Year by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning. These annual awards honor individuals whose body of work and commitment to social and emotional learning have advanced the field and paved the way for others. Barnes received the Joseph E. Zins Award for Social and Emotional Learning Action Research, which is presented to two researchers each year that are at distinct phases in their careers: an early-career researcher and an established scholar. Barnes’ research focuses on social-emotional learning, culturally responsive pedagogy and special education.

Abeo String Quartet, inaugural Graduate Ensemble String Quartet at the School of Music, played Merkin Hall in New York City on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021, the only string quartet in the finals of the internationally prestigious Young Concert Artists Competition. One of 10 finalists chosen from hundreds of applicants, the Abeos played an impressive program of Haydn, Holland and Shostakovich. The performance can be viewed on YouTube, with their introduction beginning about 4:11:00. Abeo Quartet, mentored by new School of Music faculty and audience favorite Calidore String Quartet, will give its first UD performance at 8 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 1, in Gore Recital Hall.

Nine faculty members have received this year’s College of Arts and Sciences awards for outstanding achievement in a variety of categories. The 2020-21 awards were given to Agnes Ly, associate professor of psychological and brain sciences, and Devon Miller-Duggan, assistant professor of English, both for excellence in teaching; Jaclyn Schwarz, associate professor of psychological and brain sciences, and McKay Jenkins, Cornelius A. Tilghman Professor of English, both for excellence in scholarship; Christine Cucciarre, professor of English, for excellence in service; Miranda Wilson, associate professor of English, and Jennifer Nauen, associate professor of biological sciences, both for excellence in advisement; Ronet Bachman, professor of sociology, for excellence in faculty mentoring; and Sharon Rozovsky, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, for excellence in advocacy. For more about the honorees, see this article.

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