Arts and Sciences News & Events

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

News

 |
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.
 |
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.
 |
By: Michael Cronin
Under Andrew Cote’s leadership, more student musicians are enrolled at Merrimack than ever before.
 |
By: Michael Cronin
The Revs. Terence Ayuk and Njuakom Romaric this fall will enroll in Merrimack’s Spiritual Direction graduate certificate program.
 |
By: Michael Cronin
Over the past seven years, Laura Kurdziel has worked to expand Merrimack’s Department of Psychology and its curriculum.

Notable & Quotable

Debra Michals,assistant professor and director of women’s and gender studies, was quoted in a Feb. 2, 2018, Boston Heraldstory about inspiring places to visit during Black History Month, which is celebrated nationally in February. Michals suggested Harriet Tubman Historical Park, a national park in Upstate New York,which celebrates the famed leader of the Underground Railroad. “What makes her so incredibly striking is that she went back several times after her own escape to freedom to help others,” Michals said. “I don’t think most people today could comprehend what kind of inner fortitude and dedication to the larger cause of freedom that that must have taken.”

Laura Pruett, associate professor and chair of visual and performing arts, presented a research poster, “I Did It My Way: An Alternative Concept for Teaching American Music,” March 25, 2017, at the annual conference of the Society for American Musicin Montréal.

Sociology professor Michael DeCesare has published “Accrediting Commissions’ Standards on Faculty Governance” in the winter 2021 issue of Academe magazine.

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.”

The Business of Emotions in Modern History is a peer-reviewed book that features a range of essays that explore the intersection of business and emotions throughout history, which includes an original work authored by Dr. Debra Michals, assistant professor and director of women’s and gender studies.

Alison Russell, assistant professor of political science and international studies, was interviewed for the Center for International Maritime Security’s Sept. 6, 2017, “Sea Control” podcast, “Cyber Threats to Navies.” Russell saidthe rise of cyber capabilities, such as precision targeting and long-range attacks on systems, means that navies will be simultaneously more connected and more vulnerable at sea than ever before. “The modern Navy has so many capabilities that rely on cyberspace that it must not take access to cyberspace for granted,” she said. “As our ships grow smarter and we invest more and more in the high-end capabilities that allow this unprecedented array of actions, let us not forget to simultaneously ensure that the cyber-connected systems are protected so that our new technology can be used effectively when it’s called upon.”

Dr. Kevin McGravey, associate professor in the Department of political science and public policy, has published an article in the Ethics, Policy & Environment journal titled Between Neutrality and Action: State Speech and Climate Change.

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.

Michael Mascolo, professor of psychology and academic directorof the Compass program, gave a talk, “A Primer on Personal Construct Psychology,” and presented a paper, “The Failure of Objectivity: The Intersubjective Origins of Psychological Knowledge,” at the 45th International Congress of Personal Construct Psychology July 6-9, 2017, at Concordia University in Montréal. He also published several papers in 2017. They include “A Person Is Not an Object: Rethinking the Psychological Analysis of Persons” and “Understanding Personhood: Can We Get There From Here?”and “How Objectivity Undermines the Study of Personhood: Toward an Intersubjective Epistemology for Psychological Science,” all in New Ideas in Psychology.

Sociology assistant professorDaniel Herda,with coauthors John Hagan (Northwestern), Bill McCarthy (UC Davis), andAndrea Cann Chandrasekher (UC Davis) have published their article “Dual-Process Theory of Racial Isolation, Legal Cynicism, and Reported Crime” in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Events