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

Recent grants, presentations, publications and honors include the following:

Grants

Erin C. Cassese, professor of political science and international relations, has received a $30,000 grant from the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP)/Pivotal Ventures for her research on women in American politics. Entitled “Masculine and Feminine Attributes: Understanding America’s Changing Conceptualization of Candidates and Parties,” the project aims to offer insights into how public health issues and systemic racism shaped mobilization and voter decision making in 2020 across race and gender groups and how these factors might continue to play a role in future American elections.

Presentations

Susan Conaty-Buck, assistant professor of nursing and a family nurse practitioner in UD's Nurse Managed Primary Center, presented an invited podium talk entitled “Healthcare Informatics: Preparing Faculty to Teach Tomorrow's Nurses” at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing “Transform 2021: Where Nurse Faculty and Innovation Meet” conference in Dallas, Texas, on Dec. 3, 2021. She is co-leader of the American Association of Nurse Practitioner's Health Informatics and Telehealth membership group. 

Rudi Matthee, John and Dorothy Munroe Distinguished Professor of History, spoke, via Zoom and in Persian, about drugs and stimulants in modern Iranian history for Kanoon, the Iranian Cultural Association of the Atlanta, Georgia area, on Dec. 17, 2021.

On Dec. 9, 2021, a tour of the Delaware Art Museum’s recent reinstallation of its American galleries was facilitated by doctoral candidate Anne Cross, co-founder of the Art History Graduate Student Anti-Racism Initiative and current Lynn Herrick Sharp Curatorial Fellow at the Delaware Art Museum. Museum curators Heather Campbell Coyle, Margaret Winslow and Margaretta Frederick walked UD art history graduate students through the museum's process and fielded questions on representation, reparations and community engagement. This is the first comprehensive museum rehanging since 2005. The museum worked with a Delaware-based advisory board to reimagine the galleries, acquiring several significant pieces by women and Black artists that tell a more inclusive story of the visual arts. 

Publications

Susan Sheehy, professor in the School of Nursing, and Linda Spooner Schwartz, who served in the Obama Administration in the Department of Veterans Affairs as the assistant secretary for policy and planning, are coauthors of an article in the journal Nursing 2021. The article, “Ask the question: ‘Have you ever served?’ Caring for military members and veterans in civilian healthcare,” was selected as the featured/cover article. Nursing 2021 has more than 400,000 subscribers worldwide. 

Larry Purnell, professor emeritus of nursing, is the author of “Models and Theories Focused on Culture” in Philosophies and Theories for Advanced Nursing Practice, written by Janie B. Butts and Karen L. Rich and published by Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Honors

Catherine Lawless, graduate of the School of Nursing, was the recipient of the Anne Muller Rising Star Award in recognition of her contributions and dedication to the Beta Xi Chapter. This award, provided by the Tri-State Consortium of Sigma Theta Tau International, is awarded annually in recognition of a member of a Tri-State Chapter who demonstrates leadership in service to their profession or advancing health. As a student, Lawless served as a Beta Xi leader intern assisting with the induction of new members, organizing service and outreach activities, collaborating with nursing leaders, and communicating and managing content via social media. Additionally, she served as a teaching assistant for a School of Nursing course as well as a volunteer at the Nurse Managed Primary Care and COVID-19 testing sites. After graduating and starting her career as a nurse, she continued her dedication to the chapter and was recently elected publicity chairperson, newsletter editor and social media liaison.

Capt. Alex Mayberry, visiting scholar in Air Force ROTC, was recently named the AFROTC Northeast Region Instructor of the Year for 2020-21. This award "recognizes instructor achievement in the classroom or during field leadership activities.” Mayberry is a U.S. Air Force Air Education and Training Command-certified instructor, and he led all education and recruiting initiatives for the detachment in 2020-21. He also prepared students for the Air Force's intense hands-on leadership summer course. All students from Detachment 128 based at UD not only passed but the detachment's performance increased from the previous year. Mayberry spent more than two months in Alabama during the summer training cadets from detachments across America. His work as a field training officer ensured proper training was delivered to future Air Force leaders at the largest-ever field training graduation class. Mayberry, who is in the middle of his second academic year with UD, has been leading the cadet wing this year through all training as their operations flight commander.

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