News & Events

Mish Zimdars, associate professor of communication and media, has recently published a chapter in The Social Media Debate: Unpacking the Social, Psychological, and Cultural Effects of Social Media that focuses on how political disinformation masquerades as local news online and across social media.

Lisa Perks and Jacob Turner, both associate professors of communication and media, have hadamanuscript about their experiences working with undergraduate students working on scholarly research projects accepted by the peer-reviewed journal Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research.

Michael Stroud, associate professor of psychology, has been named an Apple Distinguished Educator for 2017. The honor recognizes K-12 and higher-education pioneers who are using a variety of Apple products to transform teaching and learning in powerful ways. Apple educators work with each other — and with Apple — to bring innovative ideas to classrooms, advise Apple on integrating technology into learning environments and share their expertise with other educators and policymakers.

Michael Mascolo, professor of psychology and academic director of the Compass program, published an opinion column, “Time to Listen to Each Other on the Issue of Guns,” in the Nov. 17, 2017, Salem (Mass.) News. In the article, Mascolo urges advocates on both sides of the gun-control debate to open a genuine dialogue in which they listen to each other with empathy and compassion. “Only when each side feels that their concerns have been heard and respected can there be any chance that both can join forces to find new ways to address old and lingering problems,” he wrote.

Joseph Vogel, assistant professor of English, published an article, “The Confessions of Quentin Tarantino: Whitewashing Slave Rebellion in ‘Django Unchained,’” in the March 2018 issue of the Journal of American Culture.

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.

Andrew Tollison, assistant professor of communication, gave a talk July 20, 2017, to the Newburyport Parkinson’s Support Group on the emotional impact of difficult medical diagnoses. Tollison emphasized the role of communication in dealing with illness, and the importance of disclosure with friends and relatives. The talk was held at the Newburyport, Massachusetts, Senior Center.

Director of Campus Music Activities Hugh Hinton is the winner of the 2021 Choir Master Prize in choral conducting. This award is given each year to the person who earns the top score in the National Choir Master certification examination.

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.

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