Faculty, Staff — Update, In Memoriam
Update
“Women and Crime,” a podcast cohosted by Meghan Sacks, criminology and graduate program director, criminology/criminal justice, and Amy Shlosberg, criminology and chair, criminology/criminal justice (both Flor), has been named one of the 30 Best True Crime Podcasts because “it combines expertise, thorough research and excellent discussion.” The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher.
Several faculty and staff are part of this year’s Teaneck International Film Festival (TIFF) which will run through Sunday, November 20. Yelena Aronson, computer graphics (Metro); Howard Libov, film and director, MFA in film, and chair, School of the Arts (Flor); and Anita Rivers, executive director of community relations, Petrocelli Center for Continuing Studies (Metro), are part of TIFF’s General Committee. Rivers is also part of this year’s Film Selection Committee. On November 15, Eric Goldman, director of the Yeshiva/Seminary program, Petrocelli Center (Metro), was part of the talkback for the coming-of-age film “1982,” with its director Oualid Mouaness.
Christian Traba, chemistry (Metro), is the lead investigator on a new National Science Foundation (NSF) grant titled “HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution) Pilot Project: STEM Undergraduate Retention, Graduation and Engagement (SURGE).” The grant was awarded as part of NSF’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-serving Institutions Program. FDU was awarded nearly $200,000 to transform how STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programming is delivered at the University and to change the STEM culture.
Deirdre Collier, accounting, and Scott McGregor, accounting (both Flor), announce that the FDU Nu Sigma Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) has been recognized internationally as a Distinguished Chapter — the first time in chapter history. The chapter has “far exceeded the baseline requirements of BAP and has excelled in the areas of academics, professionalism and leadership.”
Michael Avaltroni, University provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, held Provost Pop-Up events at the Metropolitan and Florham campuses in October and November to engage with and listen to members of the University community, hear their ideas and concerns and talk about the future of FDU.
Khyati Joshi, multicultural education (Metro), was a keynote speaker at the 2022 Annual Conference of the North American Hindu Chaplains Association, where she spoke about “Discerning the Illusion of Religious Equality in America.” The conference was held in November both in-person in Boston, Mass., and online.
John Niser, director, International School of Hospitality, Sports, and Tourism Management, was sworn in as president of The Les Amis d‘Escoffier Society of New York during its 84th Fall Dinner in New York City on October 27. Joseph Donon, a founding member of the society, was a chef at the Vanderbilt-Twombly Estate (now the Florham Campus) for 38 years. To read more go to “FDU’s John Niser sworn in as President of the Les Amis d’Escoffier Society of New York.”
Dale Caldwell, executive director, Rothman Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Flor), is chair of the Entrepreneur Zone (EZone) Working Group, which was created by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and the legislature. This initiative is part of the collaboration among the town of Newton, N.J., the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and FDU to pursue the establishment of EZones within town and throughout the state to help local small businesses expand, succeed and create more private-sector jobs. To read more go to “Newton Partners with Fairleigh Dickinson University to Spur Economic Growth through Nation’s First Entrepreneur Zone.” On January 13, 2023, Caldwell will be the keynote speaker at the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County’s 34th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Breakfast. The breakfast will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Eatontown Hotel.
“Role-Playing, Reader Response and Play-Therapy in Fantasy Fiction: ‘You could hear the dice rolling’ in Novels About Abuse and Recovery,” an article by James Gifford, English, director of University core and director of editorial committee, FDU Press (Van), was published in English Studies in Canada, the journal of the Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English.
Rob Warren, director of golf, athletics (Metro), announced that freshman Abey Baker has been named the recipient of the Susan L. Capeci Women’s Golf Endowed Scholarship — the second Knight to receive the award and the first four-year recipient. The gift was established by Susan’s husband, John Capeci, in 2021, and is given annually to a student-athlete on the women’s golf team. To read more about Baker go to “Abbey Baker Named Second Recipient of the Susan L. Capeci Women’s Golf Endowed Scholarship.” To contribute to the Susan L. Capeci Endowed Scholarship or make a gift to FDU Knights Athletics go to Support Knights Athletics.
Bruce Peabody, government/politics and director, Florham Institute for Lifelong Learning (FILL) (Flor), announced that FILL is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Established in 1972, FILL gives senior citizens the opportunity to enroll in courses for audit, for credit and to work toward a degree. On September 23, more than a hundred guests attended the anniversary celebration held at the Florham Campus. The night’s festivities included refreshments, live music, giveaways and appearances by special guests. To read more go to “A golden anniversary for senior learners.”
“History, the Past and Public Culture: Results from a National Survey,” a coauthored report by Peter Burkholder, history (Flor), was mentioned in The Pulitzer Prize website (For the Record section).
Martha Papson Garcia, director of veterans services (Metro/Flor), announced that in honor of Veterans Day, the Hospitality Society and Student Veterans Association collaborated on “Stockings for Solders.” The charity event, which ran through November 15 on both the Metropolitan and Florham campuses, accepted a variety of donations — travel-size toiletries, dental-hygiene supplies, skincare, feminine products); nonperishables; gum; and mints — for men and women in uniform.
The Office of Global Learning hosted U.N. Coffee Hour at both campuses in October to discuss various opportunities at the United Nations. Speakers at the event (all Metro) included Diana Cvitan, director of global learning and partnerships; Benjamin Freer, psychology and director, psychology/counseling; and Marisela Rivera, assistant director for global engagement.
Benjamin Rifkin, dean, Becton College, was the guest speaker at Ramapo College, Mahwah, N.J., on October 24, where he talked about “Where are the Nazis? Memory and Myth in Russia, Ukraine and the USA.” The free event was sponsored by the college’s Gross Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
Bradford Hurlbut, director of athletics (Metro), has formed the Athletic Director’s Council, a forum of student-athletes who will provide feedback to him; Cathy Liggett, deputy director of athletics; Jennifer Quirk, senior associate athletic director for compliance; and Jason Young, senior associate athletic director for external affairs. The nine student-athletes selected as inaugural members of the council for the 2022–23 academic year were Ahmed Brown (men’s track and field), Nina Carlomusto (women’s soccer), Tessa Fisk (women’s volleyball), Andreya Flores (softball), Grady Hoffman (men’s volleyball), Altana Martinez-Montoya (women’s soccer), Taeco O’Garro (men’s track and field), Victoria Schroedl (women’s golf) and Madeline Selvaggi (women’s basketball).
This year, all of the women full-time coaches at the Florham Campus will be participating in WeCOACH, a nonprofit organization with a mission to recruit, advance and retain women coaches in all sports and levels. They include Katherine Fissel, Ferguson Recreation Center building manager and assistant coach, women’s soccer/women’s golf; Kristin Giotta, co-interim diretor of athletics for compliance and head women’s soccer coach; Maura Johnston, head field hockey coach; Kendall Luy, head men’s and women’s cross country/track and field coach; and Bridget Rafter, head softball coach. The year-round professional growth and leadership-development program is designed specifically for Division II and Division III women coaches and will feature experts addressing topics impacting the coaching profession.
Kathleen Stein-Smith, languages (Metro), did a variety of presentations from August through October: “The Resurgence of French Language and Francophone Culture in the US,” at the American Council for Québec Studies 2002 Conference in Baltimore, Md.; “Language Advocacy — Building Understanding, Connections and Community,” at the Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association 2022 Conference in Lancaster, Pa.; “Multilingualism and Global Learning — Overcoming the US Foreign Language Deficit,” at the American Association of Colleges and Universities Virtual Conference on Transforming Global Learning; “Reflections on Advocacy — Recharging Your Language Advocacy,” at the Foreign Language Association of Virginia 2022 Conference in Williamsburg, Va.; and at the Many Languages One World online reunion. She also spoke about her latest book, French All Around Us: French Language and Francophone Culture in the United States, at a Meet the Authors event in Manchester, N.H., and at a virtual event for the Alliance Française du Maine. Stein-Smith’s book was also featured in the Center for the Advancement of Languages, Education and Communities display at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. In addition, her article “Language Learning on Campus and Beyond — Heritage Languages, Independent Learning and 21st Century Skills for All” was published in the October 2022 issue of the International Journal of Contemporary Education.
Daniel Cassino, government/politics and executive director, FDU Poll (Flor), wrote the article “The real gap on abortion views isn’t about sex, it’s about gender,” which was posted on The London School of Economics and Political Science blog on October 5.
Anita Rivers, executive director of community relations, Petrocelli Center for Continuing Studies; Rashard Mills, assistant director of Student Union Building operations (both Metro); and Anupama Kinatukara, Live2Lead representative, are cohosting a Leadership Summit at FDU on Saturday, December 3, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Rutherford Room, Student Union Building, on the Metropolitan Campus. Guests speakers will be John Maxwell, bestselling author, coach and speaker; Patrick Lencioni, founder/president, The Table Group; Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author; Eric Thomas, critically acclaimed author, speaker, pastor and Audie Awards finalist; and Tim Elmore, founder/CEO, Growing Leaders.
Richard Laughland, Silberman College (Flor), did a lecture via Zoom on October 11 to promote his book A History of the Nets: From Teaneck to Brooklyn. A sportswriter, his articles have been seen in Sports Illustrated and on Fox Sports and CBS Sports.
Karl France, head men’s volleyball coach, athletics (Metro), announces that the Knights men’s volleyball team will open their 2023 season in Atlantic City, N.J., by competing in the “Battle for the Boardwalk” tournament at Harrah’s Resort and Casino. The Knights face the Eastern Nazarene Lions and the Monroe Mustangs in exhibition matches on Friday, January 6. They will be up against the Belmont Abbey Crusaders on Saturday, January 7, in the official season-opener.
Several faculty members at the Florham and Vancouver campuses moderated and spearheaded a variety of events during the University’s celebration of LGBTQIA+ History Month in October. Among them were Sheenam Bhardwaj, activities coordinator, student services (Van), who moderated a talk by Phiroozeh Petigara, healer/writer/teacher as part of National Coming Out Day; Francesca Degiuli, sociology (Flor), who moderated a Teach-in presentation at the Becton College Faculty Meeting; Nandita Ghosh, English (Flor), overall coordinator of events and who moderated “The Magic of Everyday Life: Luis Carle’s Queer Translocal Photography,” a conversation between Luis Carle, photographer/artist and visual arts consultant, New York City Housing Authority, and Arnaldo Cruz-Malave, Spanish literature, Fordham University, Bronx, N.Y., and curator of Carle’s exhibit; Roberto Gutierrez, Becton College (Flor), who moderated a conversation with Augusto Penaranda, executive director of New Jersey Pride Chamber of Commerce; Patricia Melloy, biology (Flor), whose students created posters for the exhibit “The Biology of HIV/AIDS and Antiretrovirial Therapy,” which will run through December 1; Harald Parzer, biology (Flor), who moderated an open forum featuring a panel of LGBTQIA+ students; and Lynn Reid, rhetoric/composition (Flor), who moderated “Thinking Queerly: A Workshop on LGBTQ+ Lives and Issues in the Classroom,” a faculty/staff workshop with guest speaker Jonathan Alexander, chancellor’s professor of English/informatics, University of California, Irvine, and author.
Ron West, law/taxation; chair, accounting/taxation/law department; director of tax program; and director of CFP® registered program (Flor), wrote the article “A Strategy to Pass the CPA Exam as it Transitions to a New Format” for the Silberman College of Business blog.
Claire Porter, Becton College (Metro), performed her PORTABLES comedic sketch (“Sexy Grammar”) at Pentacle’s 11th year of “Fall Further,” which featured six female-led dance companies on November 6 in Dixon Place, N.Y.C. Known for her comedic text and movement work, Porter has received many commissions and honors, including those from The Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Live Music for Dance Commissioning Project.
Peter Toth, Becton College (Flor), will be a guest pianist at the Southern Illinois Piano Festival of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which will feature free concerts and master classes. The festival, which started in October, will run through Friday, December 2.
Marco Silva has been promoted to interim assistant athletic director for sports performance, athletics (Metro), effective October 17. He has served as a strength and conditioning graduate assistant since January 2021. Silva was previously an assistant strength and conditioning coach at New York University. To read more about Silva go to “Silva Promoted to Knights’ Interim Assistant AD for Sports Performance.”
Edward Mendlowitz, Silberman College (Flor), wrote the article “Art of Accounting: 3-step tax return review process,” which was posted on October 3 on accountingtoday.com.
Seth Roland, head men’s soccer coach, athletics (Metro), marked his 350th career victory when the Knights defeated the Howard University Bison to clinch the Northeast Conference (NEC) championship on October 30. The Knights went unbeaten in NEC play for the first time in program history. To read more go to “Knights, Roland Record Milestones in Regular Season Finale Win at Howard.”
Patricia Melloy, biology (Flor), is the author of the textbook Viruses and Society, which was published by CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla., in August 2022.
The University Players, a student theater group at the Metropolitan Campus, is presenting “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: A Holiday Celebration,” a dramatic reading of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Winter Solstice short stories and poems, celebrating the holiday season such as The Gift of the Magi and Christmas Carol. It will be held at 8 p.m. on Thursday, December 1, and on Saturday, December 3; and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 4. Ticket prices are $10 for the general public and $5 for the FDU community, senior citizens, children and college students (with ID). Thomas Swanzey, English (Metro), is a member of the cast, and James Rana, BA’98 (Metro), Becton College (Metro), and Athos Vardouniotis, BA’11, MA’13 (Metro), Petrocelli Center (Metro), will codirect the production.
In the news …
Irene Oujo, communications/English and executive director, Hispanic Center (Metro), was interviewed for the Diverse: Issues in Higher Education podcast’s October 22 episode about “improving Latinx student success in higher education.” She was also quoted in the article “FDU Programs Build Relationships to Positively Impact Hispanic Communities,” which appeared in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine.
Walter Cummins, emeritus, English (Flor), and coauthor of books about Florham, was quoted in the October article “Two of America’s largest mansions are in NJ. See where they are today” on northjersey.com.
Mary Molloy, nursing (Metro), was quoted in the October article “The fastest-growing role in the U.S. is paying nurses $120K and up,” which was posted on fortune.com and published on Scrubs Magazine.
Peter Woolley, political science and founding director, public/global affairs, was quoted in the October article “Incumbent Democrat Josh Gottheimer stays center while facing Republican Frank Pallotta in New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District,” which appeared on CBS News, Bulletin Reporter, Times New Express, Newsbreak, New York Folk, Bestinau, UK Time News and WNEWS247.
Scott Behson, management (Metro), was interviewed on NJ Spotlight News on September 24, where he spoke about “Quiet Quitting” — what it is and how to combat the issues many workplaces face. He also was quoted in the following articles: “Tight labor market keeps employers in some states struggling to hire” (Augusta Free Press); and “States Where Employers Are Struggling the Most in Hiring” (Wallethub).
Amy Shlosberg, criminology and chair, criminology/criminal justice (Flor), was quoted in the article “‘Consumers Get Screwed’: Airbnb’s and Uber Background-Check Company Keeps Getting Sued,” which was posted on vice.com on October 11.
Daniel Cassino, government/politics and executive director, FDU Poll (Flor), was quoted in the following articles: “New Jersey Residents Say Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em in A.C.: A FDU poll says New Jerseyans are fine with the smoking status quo in Atlantic City” (njonlinegambling.com); “New Jersey: Poll shows residents oppose casino expansion; favor limiting smoking over a full ban” (yogonet.com); “Atlantic City Casino Smoking Favored by Most New Jerseyans – Poll” (casino.org); “Poll: New Jersey residents oppose more casinos” (washingtonexaminer.com and Pechanga.Net); “Smoking Allowed: NJ Residents Favor Cigs in Atlantic City Casinos, Poll Finds” (dailyvoice.com); “No More Casinos Say New Jersey Residents” (gloucestercitynews.net); “Not many in NJ want Murphy or Christie to run for president, poll finds” (njspotlightnews.org); “FDU Poll: New Jerseyans don’t want governors running for president” (insidernj.com); “Poll: Half of N.J. Dems Say Gov. Murphy Should Not Run for President” (newsmax.com); “Christie or Murphy for President? NJ Says Don’t Bother” (wpgtalkradio.com); “Chris Christie or Phil Murphy for president? N.J. ain’t feeling it, poll shows” and “Here’s the really tough choice facing N.J.’s newest Republican congressman” (nj.com); “Some Districts on a Knife-Edge, Others Seem Safe for Incumbents” (tapinfo.net); “Poll: New Jerseyans’ support for abortion rights may not help Democrats in midterms” (Politico Pro); “New Jersey plans constitutional amendment on abortion on 2023 ballot: Legislature heading toward vote this year to make abortion a constitutional right,” “New Jersey gives low grades to local media, new FDU poll shows: 41% of New Jerseyans say local media is doing a poor job” and “FDU Poll says fears over abortion might boost turnout, but not Democratic candidates: Fairleigh Dickinson University Poll says 51% of state say abortion should be legal no matter what, 37% want some restrictions” (newjerseyglobe.com); “Abortion could boost turnout in N.J. midterms but may not help Democrats, poll shows” (nj.com); “Women Have Swung Toward Democrats Since The Dobb Decision” (fivethirtyeight.com); and “2018 ‘blue wave’ Democrats face different challenges four years later,” “Tom Malinowski fights for his political life — again — against Tom Kean Jr.” and “New Jersey House incumbents hold stark cash leads” (New Jersey Monitor).
Tobin Anderson, head men’s basketball coach, athletics (Metro), was interviewed for the Mid-Major Madness Northeast Conference Twitter Space (time stamp 1:15:20). He also was quoted in the article “Mid-Major Madness NEC Twitter Space Preview: Rob Krimmel, Anthony Latina, Tobin Anderson: Nick Lorensen and co-host, Blue Ribbon’s Ryan Peters, talk with coaches from around the conference,” which was posted on midmajormadness.com on October 17.
Khyati Joshi, multicultural education (Metro), was quoted in the November nj.com article “N.J. Democrats call for Republicans to disavow extremism, citing two ‘highly troubling incidents.’”
In Memoriam
Neil Massoth, emeritus, psychology (Metro), died on October 13, 2022. He joined FDU in 1967 as assistant professor of psychology. He was promoted to associate professor in 1973 and to professor in 1976. He retired from the University in 2011. He is survived by his wife, Joyce; children, Craig Massoth and Penny Massoth Beckman and their families; and his sister, Joan Ann Massoth.