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Curry College faculty continuously demonstrate remarkable dedication and excellence in their craft, and are regularly published in academic journals, quoted as experts in the media, and applauded by peers at prestigious industry conferences. Their numerous accomplishments, ranging from research publications to notable awards and grants, not only enhance the reputation of the College, but also contribute significantly to their fields of expertise.
This past spring semester, the following faculty honors include:
Dr. Casey Burnett, associate professor, and Dr. Barbara Pinchera, professor, School of Nursing, were accepted to present a poster entitled, "Navigating the Nursing Incivility Epidemic: Understanding and Addressing Incivility in Higher Education” to the 8th Edition of Nursing World Conference in Baltimore in October 2024. Dr. Pinchera was also nominated for The Boston Globe's Salute for Nurses for 2024.
Dr. Laura Callis, associate professor, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, visited the Center for Mathematical Modeling Education Laboratory at the University of Chile in Santiago to give a talk on Teaching Mathematics in Inclusive Settings. Her chapter, “Integrating Social Justice Data and Scaffolded Writing with Universal Design Principles into Introductory Statistics,” was also accepted for publication in the book: Inclusive STEM: Transforming Disciplinary Writing Instruction for a Socially Just Future, which will be published this summer. Callis and Dr. Jen McNally were additionally awarded a three-year, $391,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study instructional practices and student conceptions in introductory statistics. As senior personnel on the NSF-funded Expanding and Assessing the Art and Practice of Statistical Thinking project, Dr. Callis facilitated a webinar on using student-collected data in statistics courses with over 80 attendees. Dr. Callis also presented at various locations, including the International Society for Design and Development in Education Conference at Boston University on Beginning Design and Assessment of Social Justice Statistics Materials for Introductory Statistics Courses using Simulation Based Inference, the New England Community for Mathematics Inquiry in Teaching conference on Integrating Social Justice Topics in Introductory Statistic, and Abington Public School's Innovation Day on Changing Expectations of College Students.
Jeffrey DiIuglio, senior lecturer, General Education, presented at the Curry Authors series on "Samuel Barber and James Agee: Knoxville, Summer of 1915 and the Importance of the Liberal Arts." He related the importance of the joining of literature and music in the work of authors James Agee and the composers Samuel Barber and Leonard Bernstein.
Dr. Laurie Fox, professor, Program for Advancement of Learning, published a review in the spring journal The Educational Therapist, 45(1), 22-23 of two related books – Essentials of Planning, Selecting, and Tailoring Interventions for Unique Learners by J.T. Mascolo, V.C. Alfonso, and D.P. Flanagan and Applying the Results of Neuropsychological and Psychological Assessments: A Manual for Teachers and Specialists by D.E. Burau and D.K. Reinstein.
Jerry Gibbs, professor, Communication, published, "Echos of my Father" in The Boston Globe Magazine.
Dr. Abby Hafer, senior lecturer, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, released an audiobook edition of her book, Not-So-Intelligent Designer: Why Evolution Explains the Human Body and Intelligent Design Does Not, which became Amazon’s #1 New Release in the Theism Religion category. Dr. Hafer also gave a legislative testimony to the Massachusetts Legislature’s Committee on Education at the Massachusetts State House in support of Bill H.491, a bill that requires that all science taught in public schools be based on peer-reviewed science. This bill was co-written by Dr. Hafer. She published four articles, including: “Alabama IVF ruling: Bad facts make bad law” and “City Council Decision Heard ‘Round the World” in Law360 Canada, “Love is love: Quiet victory may ignite nat’l movement to protect polyamorists” in OnlySky, “Protect Science Education in Massachusetts and Beyond” in Freethought Society Ezine, and article, “An Act relative to science curriculum standards” regarding Bill H.491 in the Massachusetts state legislature. She also appeared on the Eco-Logic radio program on WBAI, New York where she discussed the topic “Fascinating Animals” with hosts Ken Gale and Donna Stein. Dr. Hafer also spearheaded the selection of Dr. Michael Mann for Humanist of the Year Award from the American Humanist Society (AHA), and later presented him with the prestigious award at the AHA Annual Conference in Denver.
Dr. Emily Howe, assistant professor, Visual and Performing Arts, recently received grants from the Center for Khmer Studies (CKS) and the Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation to support ethnomusicological research projects in Cambodia and West Africa, respectively. This summer, Dr. Howe will utilize the CKS funding to conduct archival research in Phnom Penh for a research project related to music and postcolonial politics in Cambodia. In Summer 2025, the support of the Whiting Foundation will enable her to travel to Senegal, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria while pursuing a research project on music, memory, and ritual at sites commemorating the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Dr. Phil Hulbig, senior lecturer, Program for Advancement of Learning, published “Unifying Education as Problem Solving” in the International Journal of Social and Education Sciences. Additionally, he presented on his book, The Pedagogy of Self-Authorship at Lesley University's Community of Scholars conference in Cambridge.
Dr. Rebecca Kendall, Dr. Jennifer Balboni, Dr. Adam Stearn, Dr. Willie Bradley, and Dr. Stephanie Cappadona, from the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology, presented a roundtable discussion at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Annual Meeting in Chicago in March, titled, "Engaging Criminal Justice Practitioners in Higher Education during Turbulent Times: Bridging the Academic Divide."
Dr. Ann Leonard-Zabel, professor, Psychology, delivered a live virtual keynote address at the International Public Health Conference held Singapore, “Unlocking the mysteries: Exploring the impact of long COVID (PASC) on youth through innovative school neuropsychological assessment strategies.” Dr. Leonard-Zabel was awarded a Certificate of Recognition for a “Phenomenal and Worthy Keynote Presentation,” and was invited as a keynote presenter at the upcoming 2025, 4th Edition of the International Public Health Conference in Singapore. She also presented at the United States School Neuropsychology Institute on “Neuropsychology of Autism Spectrum Disorder” and “Ethics and Legal Issues in School Neuropsychology and Neuropsychology of Emotional Disturbance.” Dr. Leonard-Zabel additionally invited five students to attend “Treating the Addictions” conference at Harvard Medical School CEP held in Boston in March, all of whom successfully completed the program and received a Certificate of Completion.
Dr. Amy Leshinsky, assistant professor, Department of Education and Public Health, published “Authorship and Influence in the Critical Reception of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus” in Critical Insights: Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus by Salem Press. Dr. Leshinsky serves on the editorial board for The Routledge Handbook of The Sociopolitical Context of Language Learning and The Routledge Handbook of Endangered and Minority Languages with editor Chris Shei from Swansea University. Additionally, Dr. Leshinsky’s work, “Transitional Supports for Individuals with Disabilities Entering Higher Education” was presented at the Council for Exceptional Children Conference in San Antonio, Texas in March. Her work “The Value of Community Based Learning in First Year Writing Seminars” was presented in Boston at the Northeast Modern Language Association. Dr. Leshinsky continues to conduct research and is in the process of conducting research on book censorship as well as Artificial Intelligence.
Dr. Jen McNally, professor, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, presented on inclusive practices in the discourse-based mathematics classroom at Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District’s EdCamp professional development day. During the Spring semester, she also served as an Expanding and Assessing the Art and Practice of Statistics (EAPOST) mentor to four instructors (high school through postsecondary) who learned about, implemented, reflected on, and participated on a panel discussion about high-quality instructional materials for introductory statistics. To launch the program, she presented “Direct Experiences with Student Activities for Learning Statistical Concepts: Confidence Intervals” to an audience of 75 statistics educators. The selected mentees participated in that presentation and then were mentored to implement the same activity with their students and reflect on the experience. Dr. Jen McNally and Dr. Laura Callis will present “Promising Instructional Practices to Support Student Learning in Introductory Statistics” at the 2024 Electronic Conference on Teaching Statistics (eCOTS) in June. McNally also earned the Curry College Faculty Excellence and Achievement Award at the annual Faculty retreat.
Dr. Edward Modestino, senior lecturer, Psychology, appeared in numerous publications, including an editorial titled “Have We Placed the Cart Before the Horse by Using Alpha-2 Agonists to Treat Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria in ADHD?” a case study, “Hemiplegic migraines exacerbated using an injectable GLP-1 agonist for weight loss, “Identification of stress-induced epigenetic methylation onto dopamine D2 gene and neurological and behavioral consequences”, and "Is there a natural, non-addictive, and non-anti-reward, safe, gene-based solution to treat Reward Deficiency Syndrome KB220 variants vs. GLP-1 analogs?” In January 2024, he opened his own lab, The Brain & Behavior Laboratory, and has two Curry faculty members working with him there–Dr. Elizabeth Carey and Dr. Robert Polewan. Dr. Modestino also obtained various licenses and certifications, including a Licensed Mental Health Counselor license, a National Certified Counselor designation, an ADHD-PT (ADHD-Practitioner) certification and designation, and became Board Certified by the National Board of Certified Counselors.
Dr. Nicole Parsons, assistant professor and co-director, Program for Advancement of Learning, delivered a keynote speech at the University of Ohio's Symposium on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Through her story, she weaved together narratives of empowerment, vulnerability, and resilience, enlightening the audience with the exploration of teaching with empathy and providing support for adult learners, veterans, parenting students, and those with neurological differences.
Dr. Kara Provost, professor, Writing Program and Coordinator of the Writing Center, had a micro-memoir piece titled "Vegetarian Hell" accepted for publication in the online journal Five Minutes. Dr. Provost, alongside Curry Writing Program faculty Dr. Kelly Wheeler and Kellie Cannon, led a presentation and discussion at the University of Connecticut's Annual Conference on the Teaching of Writing at UCONN-Storrs in April. The presentation "Considering Counterstories in First-Year Writing" focused on sharing pedagogical approaches, texts, and assignments used in first-year writing courses at Curry to help students explore relationships between literacy and power.
Dr. Ishani Tewari, chair and associate professor, School of Business and Computer Science, presented at the 50th Annual Eastern Economic Association Conference in Boston. Her presentation was titled, "Does Better Corporate Governance Improve Bankruptcy Outcomes? Evidence from India’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016."
Dr. Coleen Toronto, professor, and Dr. Maureen Hillier, senior lecturer, School of Nursing, are in the early stages of publication for: Bringing Historical Nurses to Life Using AI.
Evelyn Ugwu-George, information literacy and assessment librarian, Levin Library, wrote an article entitled “Re-imagining Information Literacy Curricular Integration: A Faculty Information Literacy Fellows collaboration Program.” The paper was presented at the LOEX Information Literacy Conference in Naperville, Illinois.