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May 2024
NEXT ISSUE: September 2024
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM CAL 2024 HONORS AND AWARDS CEREMONY | |
Photos: (from top left clockwise) Jenna Pittman, winner of the CAL Outstanding Student Award; students processing into Doermann Theatre; and Autumn Vasquez receiving a medal for the Leadership and Engagement Award. | |
At the annual Honors and Awards Ceremony held May 3, the College of Arts and Letters honored those students who went above and beyond in their studies. To see the awards and the students who were honored, plus more photos, visit the online program for the ceremony. | | |
CAL FACULTY NAMED DISTINGUISHED LECTURERS | |
Of the the three University faculty members recently named Distinguished Lecturers, two are from the College of Arts and Letters. Sheri Benton and Michelle Davidson (Department of English Language and Literature) earned recognition and distinction for their commitment to advancing student learning and facilitating and supporting student success. Read more... | |
OUR AMAZING ARTS AND LETTERS STUDENTS | |
Student Named Puffin Writing Fellow
Autumn Vasquez, a May graduate with dual bachelor's degrees in English and Media Communication, as well as a dual minor in Spanish and Latin American and Latinx Studies, has been selected for the prestigious Puffin Student Writing Fellowship for spring, summer, and fall 2024. She is 1 of 10 applicants that were selected for this fellowship position out of the 300+ students who applied nationwide.
About the Puffin Fellowship...
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Presenting Research at Conference
Athena Mahmoudi (Department of Political Science and Public Administration, shown here with professor Joel Voss) was selected to present her undergraduate research project at the annual Midwest Political Science Association in Chicago, IL in April. Dr. Voss supervised the research. Athena also received an undergraduate summer research award for summer 2024.
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Top Student, Top Athlete
Krystal Clark (shown with CAL Dean Melissa Gregory) graduated this past weekend with a 4.0 G.P.A. and a B.A. degree in Media Communication. Not only is Clark a top student, she is also a top athlete. She has the 3rd-fastest time in the 800m in UToledo history and was on the relay team that won 1st Place in the 4000m distance medley at the 2024 Mid-American Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships. Clark also has been a three-time Academic All-MAC honoree including in 2024.
Read more about this native New Zealander...
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Photos: Olivia Collett and Bailey Binder; and the spring 2024 edition of GLASS HOUSE magazine. | |
Students' Work Uplifts Others
Four CAL students edited and designed the latest edition of GLASS HOUSE, a publication by People for Change and the UToledo Inside-Out Prison Exchange program. This edition invites reflection on the theme: “When Does Punishment End?”
UToledo students Maddie Stiegler and Victoria Auld (Law and Social Thought Program) edited the magazine and senior Olivia Collett and sophomore Bailey Binder (Department of Art) worked on the design.
GLASS HOUSE, Spring 2024
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World Languages and Cultures Students Present at Conferences, Win Scholarships
Maximilian Matolín, Middle East Studies major, was one of the awardees of the Spring 2024 Undergraduate Research Award for his research topic, "Yemen Civil War and Tareq Saleh: the Unknown Conflict."
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Max’s research will explore Yemen's internal political power scramble, which is often overlooked in academic research.
Olivia Zeisler, Multi-Age Education/French, was one of the two recipients of the Pre-Service Teacher Scholarship from the Ohio Foreign Language Association in March 2024. She is also the recipient of the department's 2024 Outstanding Student Award.
Lauren Hower, a double major in Spanish, and Computer Science and Engineering Technology, with a minor in Language and Linguistics, was awarded a scholarship from the 2024 Undergraduate Summer Research and Creative Activity Program for her research project titled "Linguistic Analysis of Spanish Tweets: Detecting Gender Identity and Misogyny."
Audrey Harrigan, an Asian Studies major and Japanese minor, received a scholarship from the 2024 First-Year Summer Research Experience Program for her research project, "Japanese Heritage Language Education in the Ohio Area."
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Malaak Alahmar, Athena Mahmoudi, Derek Klukzinsky*, Mina Youssef, Serkan Yapragigur, and Jaden Bollinger.
*Biology major active on the department's Model EU team.
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Model Students
Six students (Department of Political Science and Public Administration) participated in the Midwest Model European Union intercollegiate conference at Indiana University, Bloomington, representing Spain in April.
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Film/Video Students Raise Funds to Attend International Film Festival
Film/Video majors and students in Professor Holly Hey's Film Video Workshop course attended the closing weekend of the 2024 Cleveland International Film Festival in April.
Professor Hey and her students worked with the UToledo Foundation to raise over $3,500 for travel, lodging, meals, and tickets. Films from Ohio, as well as from all over the world, were screened with thousands in attendance at Cleveland's Playhouse Square.
Film Video major Casey McKeiver said about the trip, "It was a great way to get a first look at some amazing films from across the globe and a fantastic way to connect with my classmates, creating a community of people to work with on my future film projects."
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UToledo film student Sooraj Sivadev at the 2024 Cleveland International Film Festival. Photo by Film/Video major Ozzie Hall. | | |
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Solar Eclipse Flashback
Students in the UToledo Spatially Integrated Social Science (SISS) Ph.D. program led other students to study changes in the weather due to the solar eclipse. As part of a NASA funded project called GLOBE Mission EARTH, students encouraged people at UToledo's solar eclipse event to participate in the GLOBE Program's study of the solar eclipse. The data collected will be analyzed by high school interns this summer under the direction of the SISS students.
The Globe Program
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CAL FACULTY HONORED AT OFFICE OF COMPETITIVE FELLOWSHIPS AWARDS RECEPTION | |
Two CAL faculty who received fellowships were recognized at the 2024 Office of Competitive Fellowships Awards Reception. They are Jill Humphries (Africana Studies Program), a Fulbright Scholar, South Africa; and Arwa Hassan (Department of World Languages and Cultures), Fulbright Egyptian Student Program, Ph.D. Joint Supervision under Gaby Semaan. The reception honors faculty and students who were either recently nominated for or have received nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships. Learn more... |
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FACULTY RECEIVING TENURE AND PROMOTION | |
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Congratulations go out to those College of Arts and Letters faculty who received promotions and/or tenure. Barry Jackisch (Department of History) and Daniel McInnis (Department of Art) received tenure.
Faculty members who received tenure and promotion to associate professor are Shahna Arps (Department of Sociology and Anthropology), Joseph Gamble (Department of English Language and Literature), Cin Cin Tan (Department of Psychology), and Eric Zeigler (Department of Art).
The faculty members who achieved promotion to professor are Ammon Allred (Philosophy and Religious Studies Program), Matt Foss (Department of Theatre and Film), Sarah Francis (Department of Psychology, Jason Rose (Department of Psychology), and Stephen Sakowski (Department of Theatre and Film).
The following faculty were promoted to senior lecturer: Beth Anderson (Department of English Language and Literature); Jeanne Kusina (Women’s and Gender Studies); Deirdre Perlini (Department of English Language and Literature); and Thomas Zych (Department of Sociology and Anthropology).
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PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY RETIRES | | |
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CAL celebrates the retirement of Seamus Metress (Department of Sociology and Anthropology) after 54 years teaching anthropology at the University of Toledo. Dr. Metress, along with Robin Wells and Earl Prahl, founded the Anthropology department during the 1969-1970 academic year, when the department was housed in a metal structure, affectionately known as "the hut," originally located just west of Carlson library. | | |
While principally trained as a biological anthropologist with ample experience as an archaeologist and an engaged cultural anthropologist he would also go on to be a founding member of the Society for Medical Anthropology. | |
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His most renowned scholarly accomplishments, and the passions he so readily instills in his students, are those in the arena of political activism. His long history of engaged anthropology includes the civil rights movements of Northern Ireland, apartheid in South Africa, the rights of Indigenous peoples, labor issues and the environment.
"We celebrate his retirement and thank him for so many years of unabated service to his students at the University," says Thomas Zych (Department of Sociology and Anthropology).
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Dr. Metress with Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, a noted Irish civil rights leader and political activist. (1981) | |
CHAIR OF THEATRE AND FILM RETIRES | |
Photos from left: Holly in the 1990's with Nora Warejko (UToledo theatre alumna) and Pam Chabora, former UToledo acting teacher; scenes from the most recent shows for which Holly designed the costumes (clockwise)- "Blood at the Root," "The Diary of Anne Frank," and "Hamlet." Right corner: Holly Monsos. | |
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Holly Monsos (Department of Theatre and Film) is retiring from the University after 32 years. In addition to chairing the department for many years, she also taught costume design. Many UToledo productions over the years featured her costume designs.
Monsos first joined the UToledo faculty in 1991, served as Chair from 2005 - 2011, and spent 9 years as associate dean of the college before returning to the department as chair in 2020. Prior to coming to UToledo, she spent several years as a cutter/draper in professional theatre including extensive work with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, and the San Francisco Opera.
She has also designed for the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Toledo Opera, Toledo Repertoire Theatre, Montana Rep, Glacity Theatre Collective and Ms. Unseen Productions in New Zealand, among others
Holly is active regionally and nationally in her professional organization, the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), having served two terms as the Vice President for Members, Sections & Chapters in addition to holding several regional positions including Chair of the regional section, USITT/Ohio Valley.
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PUBLISHING AND CREATIVE WORK
Gaby Semaan and Arwa Noubi Hassan, a Fulbright scholar under the Fulbright co-Supervision Program for Egypt, (Department of World Languages and Cultures), co-conducted a workshop and presentation at the annual conference of the Ohio Foreign Language Association held at Otterbein University in March. The workshop title was "Gamification and Video Production: Transforming Language Learning." The other co-presentation was: "The Place of Intercultural Communication in World Language Classroom: Suggestions and Tips." Dr. Semaan also presented “To Adopt or to Resist: Is there a Place for Artificial Intelligence in Language Learning/Teaching Classrooms?” and “Safeguarding your Mental Health: Strategies and Evidence-Based Tips for Teachers’ Self-Care.”
Kasumi Yamazaki (Department of World Languages & Cultures) recently published a bibliographic entry titled: "Computer-Assisted Language Learning" by Oxford Bibliographies. It provides a comprehensive list of research studies that provide a brief history as well as a general understanding of the field.
Three Department of Geography and Planning faculty (Beth Schlemper, Esther Amoako, and Patrick Lawrence) and eight students recently gave research presentations at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers in Honolulu, HI. Undergraduate geography major and Salford Exchange Student, Jacob Davinson also participated as member of the East Lakes Division team competing in the World Geography Bowl event at the meeting.
An Chung Cheng (Department of World Languages and Cultures) presented her work, "LCTL Teacher Transformation: An STARTALK Experience," at the Conference of the National Council on the Teaching of Less Commonly Taught Languages in Chicago, IL, in April.
Dr. Cheng, PI/Program Director of the STARTALK-UToledo SPARKLE Program, also led a twelve-week online teacher training session this spring. The training is part of a $220,000 grant from the NSA for Arabic, Korean, and Japanese teachers of K-16 schools and community-based heritage language programs.
Seventy teachers across the USA were selected to participate in the online professional development. Gaby Semaan (Department of World Languages and Cultures) led the Arabic group, while Dr. Cheng led the Chinese group. They will work with 40 selected teachers for an intensive summer workshop in July at the UToledo campus.
Joseph Gamble (Department of English Language and Literature) led a seminar, "Trans/Philologies," at the Shakespeare Association of America conference in Portland, Oregon, in April.
Sheri Benton (Department of English Language and Literature) gave a presentation, "Remodeling Assessment: Non-Traditional Grading and Grade Center Transformations," at the annual meeting of the College English Association of Ohio in Columbus in April.
Jami Taylor (Department of Political Science and Public Administration) was awarded a Research Award and Fellowship Program for her new public opinion research project.
Dustin Pearson and Tim Geiger (Department of English Language and Literature) were featured in Metroparks Toledo's #5Poets5Parks event to celebrate National Poetry Month.
For a complete list of recent CAL news and achievements, visit our website.
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13 ABC: Making Theater More Inclusive
Rebecca Monteleone (Disability Studies Program) talks about a new class offering called Disability and Theatre: Applying Theory to Practice, and the importance of diversifying art.
13 ABC: Making Theater More Inclusive
Student and community actors, including some with intellectual and developmental disabilities, performed "The Audition" on Thursday, April 25, at the UToledo Center for Performing Arts. Actor Ana Pacheco discusses her experience.
The Blade: Students Take Lead on Accessible Musical Production
UToledo undergraduates Karson Palmer (English and Theatre double major), Lydia Babcock (English) and Lindsay Hinds (social studies) discuss their work on the student-led original musical "The Haunting of Spoon River," which opened Friday, April 26, at UToledo's Center for Performing Arts.
WTOL 11: UToledo Hosts ‘The Audition’
The original play, which opened Thursday, April 25, featured UToledo students and community members, some of whom have intellectual or developmental disabilities.
The Blade: Boomer Activity Challenges Ageist Attitudes Depicting Mental, Physical Declines
Patricia Case (Department of Sociology and Anthropology) talks about the importance of reframing society’s view on aging.
WTOL 11: UToledo Piano Professor's Last Concert
Michael Boyd, a Distinguished University Professor who is retiring at the end of the semester after 36 years with the UToledo Department of Music, presented a final piano concert Sunday, April 21.
The Blade: A Creative Quartet: Emerging Artists Go On Display at 20 North
Vince Livecchi, a UToledo undergraduate studying visual arts and media communication, discusses his macro photography work as one of four emerging artists featured in the new exhibit ARToledo at 20 North Gallery in Toledo.
The Blade: UToledo Professor to Put on Piano Recital
Michael Boyd, Distinguished University Professor (Department of Music), presented a final piano concert Sunday, April 21.
NBC Today: Are Mermaids Real? The History and Myths Behind Mermaid Culture
Daniel Compora (Department of English Language and Literature) discusses the early history of mermaid legends and the renewed popularity of the mythical creatures.
WTOL 11: UToledo Plans to Merge Colleges
The University of Toledo will merge the College of Nursing with the College of Health and Human Services, and the Judith Herb College of Education with the College of Arts and Letters by the start of the 2025-26 academic year.
WTOL 11: Is Trump Getting Special Treatment?
Sam Nelson (Department of Political Science and Public Administration) discusses former President Donald Trump being held in contempt of court in his ongoing criminal trial.
For more faculty media appearances, visit our website.
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