Faculty Focus–May 9, 2022
Faculty members put their knowledge into action so students and others are able to benefit from it. Recently, faculty published research articles with student co-authors and shared their novels and research findings during conferences and events around the globe.
Sarah Ashpole
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Sara Ashpole published a collaborative research article with Marissa Nati ’18 in The Canadian Field-Naturalist titled “Paedomorphic Blotched Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma mavortium melanostictum) in ovo counts, British Columbia, Canada."
Ashpole is the faculty director of St. Lawrence’s Sustainability Program and instructs a Sophomore Success Initiative seminar and First-Year Program seminar about the sustainability of Chocolate as part of the Chocolate Passport Project. As the Canadian co-chair for the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group and a member of the independent advisory panel for the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada Amphibian and Reptile Subcommittee, her research has informed international and national policy.
John Collins
Professor of Global Studies John Collins published an article examining the patterns of how Angela Davis’ activism has been covered by National Public Radio, in the journal Democratic Communiqué.
Collins is an original member of the global studies department at St. Lawrence. His course work focuses on themes of globalization, nationalism, colonialism, violence, memory, political activism, and media criticism. Among the courses he regularly teaches at St. Lawrence are Theories of Global Cultural Studies, Global Palestine, and Blogging the Globe: News Analysis and Investigative Journalism.
Rafael Castillo Bejarano
Visiting Assistant Professor of World Languages, Cultures, and Media and Co-Coordinator of the Caribbean, Latin American, and Latino Studies Rafael Castillo Bejarano presented his paper during the first Early Modern Hispanic Studies Symposium at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. The paper, “'Sino mostrar creído': Retórica de la sinceridad en la poesía del Conde de Villamediana," analyzes the "anti-rhetoric" used by Juan de Tassis y Peralta, Count of Villamediana to forge through his poetry the image of a sincere and authentic courtier according to the palatial codes of his time.
Castillo Bejarano’s research focuses on medieval and early modern Iberia, early modern subjectivity and transatlantic connections, 16th and 17th Hispanic poetry, theory of the lyric, relations between poetry and music, and courtly culture.
Ryan Deuel
Adjunct Instructor for the First-Year Program Ryan Deuel presented his papers, “The Cultivation of Care of the Self in International Education” and “International Higher Education in the Age of Global Reason: A Poststructural Perspective” during the 2022 American Educational Research Conference in San Diego, California.
Deuel’s research interests include international higher education discourse, policies, and practices. He has published his research in the journals Globalisation, Societies and Education; Higher Education Policy, and Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. Deuel holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University and an M.A. in history from Kent State University. He currently teaches in the First-Year Program and has taught courses as an adjunct instructor at St. Lawrence University in the Education, English, and PCA departments.
Alessandro Giardino
Professor and Co-Chair of World Languages, Cultures, and Media Alessandro gave a presentation to St. Lawrence students participating in the off-campus study Sorrento partner program about his new novel, “Sindrome di Caravaggio,” while traveling throughout Europe hosting signing events at libraries and museums including Feltrinelli and Mondadori, PAN (Museum of Contemporary Art in Naples), Libreria Calusca/City Lights, Lettere Caffè, and El Viajero Sedentario.
Giardino’s areas of expertise include the Baroque, Mediterranean Studies, Italian and French literature and art, and twentieth-century French philosophy and psychoanalysis. At St. Lawrence, he regularly teaches courses on French and Italian language and literature, and courses in Mediterranean studies.
Peter Pettengill
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Peter Pettengill published an article in the International Journal of Wilderness with Roisin Creedon-Carey ’24 and Sage Lalor ’24. The article, which discusses the importance of human connections to nature for well-being, includes the student co-authors' description of the transformative nature of the Adirondack Semester during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The article is under copyright and accessed by subscription only.
Pettengill has worked for the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management and conducted fieldwork in Acadia, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Zion National Parks. He holds a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont, an M.S. in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School, and a B.S. in Environmental & Resource Economics from the University of New Hampshire.
Melissane Schrems
Associate Professor of History and Coordinator of Native American Studies Melissane Schrems co-presented on the relationship between Native Americans, Black Americans, and colonists of New York State in the time before and after the American Revolution during the Humanities New York (HNY) “Land, Liberty, and Loss: Echoes of the American Revolution” virtual event.
Schrems' research interests include Native American, European and African diasporic, and settler-colonial American history. She has taught courses on Native American history, colonial British America, African American, and Adirondack history. Schrems is currently working on a piece for Humanities NY for its Land, Liberty and Loss Project and holds a doctorate in history from Boston University.
Michael Schuckers
Charles A. Dana Professor of Statistics and Director of the Peterson Quantitative Resource Center Michael Schuckers co-organized the 2022 Ottawa Hockey Analytics Conference with Shirley Mills of Carleton University, Meghan Chayka of Stathlete, and Alison Lukan of Seattle Kraken. The conference, which included talks and panels by leaders of hockey analytics, marked the released data for the Big Data Cup, which allows participants to analyze cutting-edge player tracking data from the 2022 Women's Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament and other recent international tournaments.
Throughout his career, Schuckers has received funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He has conducted sports analytics work for a Major League Baseball team, a National Hockey League team, and additional sports organizations. Schuckers is an author and co-editor of the Quantitative and Mathematics Support Centers: A Handbook for Directors of Quantitative and Mathematics Support Centers. Among the courses he regularly teaches at St. Lawrence are Applied Statistics, Probability, Mathematical Statistics, and Statistical Methods of Data Collection.
Dennis Simiyu
Visiting Professor of World Languages, Cultures, and Media Dennis Simiyu presented a research article during the ISLSP-CIBER International Symposium at the University of Chicago. His paper, “Theory and Practice: Introducing Computer-Assisted Foreign Language Teaching to Swahili Learning for Specific Purpose Class,” linked the historical approaches of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) to Padlet software in teaching and described the application of Padlet for Swahili for specific purpose (SSP) while emphasizing the need to teach LSP for study abroad.
Simiyu is an instructor of elementary Swahili at St. Lawrence. He holds a bachelor of education arts degree and a master of arts degree in Swahili Studies from Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Swahili Studies and has taught Swahili for eight years at the high school and university levels. Simiyu has published academic papers, is an ardent researcher in Swahili language, literature, and culture, and is an expert in translation.
St. Lawrence’s Faculty Focus is a new regular roundup that features noteworthy faculty news.
