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

Assistant professor of communication and media, Melissa “Mish” Zimdars, was featured on Newsy television to discuss how more news sites are sharing partisan messages while “masquerading” as local news sites.

Philosophy professor William Wians has published a second volume of essays titled “Logoi and Muthoi,” exploring interdisciplinary connections between ancient Greek philosophy and literature. The chapters examine philosophical problems of knowledge and ethics in ancient writers, including Homer, Hesiod, Sophocles, Euripides, the pre-Socratics, the Sophists, Plato, Aristotle, and Lucretius. It is available on Amazon.com

Nancy Wynn, associate professor of visual and performing arts, chaired a panel, “Using ‘The Flip’: Why Your Students Want to Hear From You Rather Than YouTube,” April 6, 2017, at the eighth annual Foundations in Art: Theory and Education conference in Kansas City, Missouri. The panel presented papers on ways to integrate technology to allow students to learn, engage and get feedback quickly outside of class.

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.

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 DeCesare, professor of sociology, spoke to the Arizona Republic about a plan to seat a student on the governing board of Maricopa Community College District. DeCesare, chair of the AAUP Committee on College and University Governance, which has raised concerns about board politics, said, “The board has taken some promising first steps, but (the committee) will continue to monitor the situation to ensure the faculty’s governance rights are fully restored at Maricopa.”

Dr. Melissa Zimdars, associate professor in the Department of Communication and media studies, recently published Medicalized Reality Weight-Loss Television and the Negotiation of Neoliberalism on My 600 Pound Life. Within the article, Zimdars considers how one of these shows, My 600 Pound Life (2012), negotiates and de-centers discourses of neoliberalism through medicalization and spectacle.

Assistant Professor of Creative Writing Emma Duffy-Comparone’s debut book “Love Like That” was named to Vogue magazine’s Best Books to Read in 2021 list. The book came out in March and includes nine short stories that all focus on women and relationships. Vanity Fair also included it on its Best Books to Buy for Valentine’s Day list in February.

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.

Anne Flaherty, associate professor of political science and public policy, presented her research at the APSA conference on Black Lives Matter and Indigenous Deaths in Custody in Australia and Canada. The presentation focused on the long history of indigenous peoples’ deaths in custody, challenges in the lack of coherent policy and resource responses and the potential for future changes in both countries.

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