News & Events

Five faculty members were awarded tenure in January by President Christopher E. Hopey. They are:Jimmy Franco, assistant professor of chemistry;Brittnie Aiello, assistant professor of criminology;Sally Shockro, assistant professor of history;Susan Marine, associate professor and program director in the higher education master’s program; andSirkwoo Jin, assistant professor of management.

Research from sociology assistant professor Daniel Herda was recently publishedin the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. His research examines the discrimination experiences of young Muslim Americans in Southeastern Michigan and how these can alter their self-perceptions and opinions about theUnited States.

Psychology Department assistant professor Laura Kurdziel was recently featured by KABC-TV News in Los Angelesfor a story on the benefits of napping for children. When children don’t get a nap they need, it stresses their bodies and makes it harder to go to sleep at night, Kurdziel told the news outlet.

School of Health Sciences DeanKyle McInnis,Associate DeanKevin Finnand Assistant ProfessorZi Yanpublished an article,“Promoting Physical Activity and Science Learning in an Outdoor Education Program,”in the Jan. 5, 2018, issue of the Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance. In the article, theauthorsargue that Integrating physical activity and science learning in an outdoor education program addresses two challengeschildren face today: physical inactivity and poor science performance.

Ellen Longsworth, art history professor at Merrimack, has been elected president of the Society for Renaissance Art History.

Debra Michals, assistant professor and director of women’s and gender studies, was interviewed for a March 9, 2018, segment on WBUR radio about a new study that claims bones found on Nikumaroro Island in 1940 very likely belong to famed aviator Amelia Earhart, who disappeared over the Pacific in 1937 while attempting to circumnavigate the globe. Because the new study, by researcher Richard Jantz, relied on reinterpreting an original analysis of the bones more than four decades ago rather than the bones themselves, which long ago disappeared, Michals said his study is not likely to close the book on the case. “The mystique around the disappearance of Amelia Earhart will lead a lot of people to that conclusion — that without the real bones, how do we know?” she said.

Melissa Zimdars, assistant professor of communication, was interviewed by the grassroots media website Weave News for thefourthpartof its “Attack on Academia“series with academics who have endured sustained campaigns of threats and harassment from the alt-right. Zimdars made national headlineswhen a document she created to help her students practice analyzing the credibility of various websites claiming to share news went viral and incurred the wrath of far-right organizations and individuals.

Father Raymond Dlugos,O.S.A., vice president for mission and student affairs, delivered a lecture, “Feeding the Beast Who Is Feeding on You,” April 5, 2017, at St. Augustine Church in Andover, Massachusetts. Father Dlugos urged the young people in the audience to resist “the beast,” which he defined as the culture of instant gratification that pervades society today. “The beast wants us to spend money,” he said. “If you’re sad, buy something.” (Photo by Tim Jean/The Andover Townsman)

Merrimack Assistant Professor Dan Vlahos, a founding member of Design Museum Everywhere, has recently been selected to serve a three-year term on the Design Museum Council for the Design Museum Foundation.

William Wians, professor of philosophy, served as co-editor of two recent volumespublished by the scholarly publishing house Brill. They are“Reading Aristotle,” a collection of original essays on the ancient Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle (co-edited by Ron Polansky at Duquesne University), and “Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy,”volume 32 of a leading series in ancient philosophy (co-edited by GaryM. GurtleratBoston College).