Arts and Sciences News & Events

See news and events in Merrimack College’s School of Arts and Sciences.

News

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By: Kara Haase
Merrimack College recently hosted an engaging panel discussion with three accomplished alumni from the Master of Public Administration and Affairs (MPAA) program.
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By: Michael Cronin
Andrew Cote, assistant professor of practice and assistant director of bands, also presented at this year’s National Association of Music Merchants Show in Anaheim, CA.
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By: Michael Cronin
Under Andrew Cote’s leadership, more student musicians are enrolled at Merrimack than ever before.
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By: Michael Cronin
The Revs. Terence Ayuk and Njuakom Romaric this fall will enroll in Merrimack’s Spiritual Direction graduate certificate program.
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By: Michael Cronin
Over the past seven years, Laura Kurdziel has worked to expand Merrimack’s Department of Psychology and its curriculum.

Notable & Quotable

Michael DeCesare,professor and chair of sociology, was quoted in a Feb. 7, 2018, Boston Globe story about the ongoing search for the next president of Harvard University. DeCesare, who chairs a committee on university governance at the American Association of University Professors, said the school ought to pick an academic, to send a message to faculty that their work is important. “For Harvard to kind of reaffirm the importance of an academically oriented president would go a long way,” he said.

Gretchen Grosky, adjunct lecturer in journalism and adviser to the student newspaper, The Beacon, completed two fellowships this summer — one at Columbia University’s Age Boom Academy, focusing on the international response to the aging workforce, and the other as a Journalists in Aging fellow at the Gerontological Society of America and New Media. As part of the latter fellowship, Grosky spent four days at the World Congress on Gerontology and Geriatrics in San Francisco, which attracted 6,500 experts in the field of aging from around the world. Grosky, who led a team of journalists in winning the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news, is a reporter at the Union Leader newspaper in New Hampshire, with a beat focused on the state’s rapidly aging population.

Fathers Stephen Curry and Richard Piatt spoke to the Eagle-Tribune about the burning of Cathedral of Notre Dame at the start of Holy Week. “She symbolized Paris, a symbol of grace, and hope, and comfort that both humbled and lifted up all those who approached her facade,” said Piatt. Curry said the cathedral “embodies centuries of devout Catholics’ faith, prayers, miracles, religious history, and spiritual inspiration.”

Professor Dan Herda published a research paper titled “Experienced, Anticipated, and Vicarious Discrimination” in the journal Social Currents.

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).

Mary McHugh,adjunct lecturer inpolitical science and director of the Stevens Service Learning Center, was quoted in an Oct. 20, 2017, Daily News of Newburyport, Massachusetts, story about the war chest Gov. Charlie Baker has amassed for a possiblereelection bid in 2018. “It’s hard to beat an incumbent,” she said. “Especially a popular one like Charlie Baker.”

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.

He Li, professor of political science, waspart of a panel on “Sino-Latin American Relations in the Era of Trump” on April 19, 2017, atCornell University. Sponsored by the university’s Latin American Studies Program and the SC Johnson College of Business’ Emerging Markets Institute, the panel explored the growing uncertaintyof multilateral relations amongthe United States, China, and Latin America since the election of President Donald Trump. Li is an expert on Chinese political thought and Sino-Latin American relations.

Dr. Emma Polyakov gave public lectures on her latest book, The Nun in the Synagogue: Judeocentric Catholicism in Israel, at Brandeis University and Boston College in the United States. Following these lectures, Dr. Polyakov was invited to speak about her book later this spring at Abo Akademi University and Helsinki University in Finland, and Lund University in Sweden.

Emma Duffy-Comparone, director of The Writers House, will publish her first book,Love Like That,a collection of short stories from Henry Holt & Co., in March 2021.

Events

Graduate Student Celebration

Graduate Student Celebration is an exciting event where prospective and accepted students can get a glimpse into becoming a warrior through information sessions, campus tours, and opportunities to connect with faculty, staff, and peers!

Arcidi Welcome Center