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

Recent presentations, awards and publications include the following:

Presentations

On Tuesday, Dec.12, Margaret Stetz, Mae and Robert Carter Professor of Women's Studies and professor of humanities, was interviewed online by Claire Hennessy for The Global Novel: A Literature Podcast, which is heard on Apple, Google, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora and other platforms. Stetz was asked to speak about the comic novel Zuleika Dobson, or, an Oxford Love Story (1911) by Max Beerbohm. The first twenty minutes of Stetz's presentation on the podcast can be accessed for free on Apple. Also, on Friday, Dec. 1, both Stetz and Mark Samuels Lasner, senior research fellow, University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press, delivered back-to-back invited lectures at the New York Public Library. Stetz's lecture, "What Would Beerbohm Do?" was a lighthearted examination of Max Beerbohm's 1909 self-caricature, Sudden Appearance of Mr. Beerbohm in the New English Art Club, a work displayed in the exhibition Max Beerbohm: The Price of Celebrity, co-curated by Stetz and Samuels Lasner, which is on view at the NY Public Library until Jan. 28, 2024. In that drawing, Beerbohm irreverently replaces the central figure in Jan Joest's The Apparition of Christ with an image of himself. Samuels Lasner's lecture, "A Lifelong Case of Maximania," was a tribute to Beerbohm's talents as both a writer and visual artist, as well as an account of many decades spent building a collection of Beerbohm rarities, ranging from letters and manuscripts to watercolors and photographs, along with personal items such as Beerbohm's walking stick.

Rudi Matthee, John and Dorothy Munroe Distinguished Professor of History, presented “Beyond the Forbidden Fruits: Rudi Matthee Uncorks the Iranian Past” as an AppleTV podcast.

Awards

Whitfield Lovell: Deep River by Eakins Press Foundation, to which Julie L. McGee, associate professor of Africana studies and art history, contributed a major essay, was selected by the The New York Times as one of the best art books of 2023.

Anna Hernandez, a senior medical laboratory science major, received a scholarship to attend the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) National Diversity in STEM Conference in Portland, Oregon, in late October.

“The mission of SACNAS is to advance undergraduate and graduate students in STEM by promoting leadership and inclusivity in the field,” Hernandez said. “It was an exciting opportunity to learn about collaborations between students from underrepresented backgrounds who look like you. It was also a valuable networking opportunity.”

Hernandez, who’s the vice president of UD’s SACNAS Chapter, is enrolled in the 4+1 BC/MS Program in UD’s Department of Medical and Molecular Sciences in the College of Health Sciences. She aims to spend her graduate career studying infectious diseases. She hopes to present research at the SACNAS conference in the future.

“The dedication and passion of the researchers was really inspiring,” Hernandez said. “I remember sitting there and thinking that this could be me one day – so that was motivating.”

Jennifer Saylor, associate dean of faculty and student affairs for the School of Nursing, was elected to the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society Board of Directors. In this role, Saylor serves as a liaison to the various committees within Sigma Theta Tau, as well as a leader in governance and updating policies and procedures with the remaining Board of Directors. Saylor will be involved in ensuring that the organization operates in accordance with its mission, values, and applicable laws and regulations as well as collaborating on healthcare initiatives that benefit the nursing profession. She has been a proud member since 2000, serving on the Charter Review Task Force for almost 10 years, chairing the International Governance Committee over the past four years which included a major overhaul of the International Bylaws, and committing to the Beta Xi Chapter and Tri-State Consortium regionally.

Additionally, Jennifer Graber, associate dean of academic affairs and practice initiatives, was elected to Sigma Theta Tau as Regional Chapters Coordinating Committee Chair. Graber oversees international and national coordination between the 15 North American chapter regions as well as across Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, Latin America and Caribbean, and the Middle East. As chair of the committee she is responsible for leading 21 elected regional coordinators by advancing initiatives that meet the needs of the global chapters and fulfills the mission and vision of Sigma. She has been a dedicated member since 2006 and served various roles across chapter, regional, and international levels, including most recently as regional coordinator for Delaware, D.C., northeastern Maryland, southeastern Pennsylvania, and northeastern Virginia.

Publications

The journal Soil Biology and Biochemistry chose three exemplary papers commemorating World Soil Day 2023. The journal selected the review article "The unexplored role of preferential flow in soil carbon dynamics" from UD researchers Shane Franklin, a new doctoral recipient under the advisement of Yan Jin, Edward and Elizabeth Rosenberg professor of plant and soil sciences, Rodrigo Vargas, a professor of ecosystem ecology and environmental change, Jeffry Fuhrmann, a professor of soil and environmental microbiology, and Bruce Vasilas, a professor of agronomy and soil management. The editors considered articles relating to World Soil Day’s 2023 theme: Soil and water, a source of life, which emphasizes that the majority of our food comes from soil and water and it is important to preserve and enhance both of these resources.

Heinz-Uwe Haus, professor of theatre, published in the newest issue of Lumina Lina - Revista de spiritualitate si cultura romaneasea 12 poems, translated from German into Romanian by Christian Schenk. The poems were chosen from the collection Reiss doch die Tür nicht so, which was recently translated in its entirety for an anthology in Greek.

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