Rita Barrios, assistant professor of Computer & Information Systems, presented her paper, "It's my iPad! Protecting critical data on personal mobile devices in the medical setting," at the International Conference on Health Information Technology, Oct. 28 in Kalamazoo. 

Jocelyn Bennett Garraway, assistant professor of Counseling/Addiction Studies, was selected to serve on the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification Advisory Board. The group is responsible for revising the test for school counselors.  

Laurie Britt-Smith, assistant professor of English, gave the presentation, "Accessing literacies of faith and justice in a multi-cultural classroom," on June 29 as part of a symposium with scholars from other Jesuit institutions. She also  gave the presentation, "The Writing Center at the core of the core curriculum," at the 19th annual Bright Ideas Conference for the Michigan Writing Center Association, Oct. 22 in Saginaw.  

Claire Crabtree, professor of English, presented a paper in June on James Joyce and Irish American writer Alice McDermott at the Conference on British and American Studies in Timisoara, Romania, and a second paper on McDermott at the Conference on Gender Studies in a Global Context in Bucharest.  

Barry Dauphin, associate professor of Psychology, co-authored the poster presentation, "Video game use, attachment style, and self-esteem," and co-authored with Associate Professor of Psychology Judy McCown, the poster, "The development in clinical judgment in beginning graduate students."  Both posters were presented at the American Psychological Association Convention, Aug. 4-7 in Washington, D.C.  

Roy E. Finkenbine, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Education, presented the paper, "'I am doing tolerably well here': Jordan Anderson's personal 'Emancipation Diaspora' to Dayton," at the conference, "Ohio Goes to War!: The Sectional Crisis & the Fight for Freedom," Sept. 10 in Cleveland.  

John Freeman, professor of English, was invited to present the paper, "Where Shakespeare and Company got it wrong: A twenty-first century compositor reproofs the plays," Oct. 15 at the Conference of the Book in Toronto.  

Kathryn Gross, adjunct professor of History at UDM and a speech and debate coach at Loyola High School in Detroit, was awarded a Coach Workshop Scholarship by the National Forensic League to the Dartmouth Debate Institute. The scholarship, which covers tuition, room and board at Dartmouth, was awarded to 28 outstanding speech and debate coaches from across the country.  

Mary-Catherine Harrison, assistant professor of English, wrote the paper, "How narratives overcome empathic bias: Elizabeth Gaskell's empathy across social difference," published in June in Poetics Today: International Journal for Theory and Analysis of Literature and Communication.  

Jeff Ingalsbe, assistant professor of Computer & Information Systems, and five graduate students (Rosie Pugh, Sherria Garnett, Jared Colburn, Montrel Felix and Ramesh Hullathy) worked with Ford Motor Company employees throughout the month of October to develop three 30-minute presentations for Ford employees.  The presentations – "Cloud computing security for families," "Vehicle to vehicle communications security" and "Hot research topics in cyber security" – were recorded and distributed to Ford's employees around the world.

Justin Kelly, S.J., associate professor of Religious Studies, gave the lecture, "Literature, the Bible, and me: A personal journey," Sept. 23 at the New American Lyceum of Farmington, Mich.  

David Koukal, associate professor of Philosophy, presented his paper, "Body (Subject) Interruptus: A phenomenology of unwanted pregnancy," on June 2 to the Society for Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture at Saint Thomas University and the University of New Brunswick in Fredricton, Canada.

Lorri MacDonald, assistant professor of Education, wrote the article, "Strategies for working with international students," which was accepted for publication in The National Social Science Journal.  

Isaiah McKinnon, associate professor of Education, gave the keynote presentation at the 16th annual Governor's Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect on Oct. 21 in Grand Rapids. The event's title was "Calling Dads! The Importance of Fathers in Children's Lives." The topic of McKinnon's presentation was men "standing tall" for their children.  McKinnon also appeared on the WJBK-TV news program Let it Rip to discuss freedom of speech, Oct. 5, and the WWJ-TV program Street Beat, Sept. 11 to discuss "Bringing the Lessons Home," a program sponsored by the National Holocaust Museum. Watch the video.  Also, McKinnon was recently appointed the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Michigan Children, an organization committed to speaking out for the wellbeing of children and their families.  

Diane Robinson-Dunn, associate professor of History, wrote a new introduction to Lucie Duff Gordon's 1865 Letters from Egypt, which was published as part of Gorgias Press' "Cultures in Dialogue" series.  

Nicholas Rombes, professor of English, wrote a short profile of filmmakers Tao Lin and Megan Boyle, which was published in the summer print edition of Filmmaker Magazine, as well as online.  In addition, in August Rombes launched a year-long film criticism experiment, "The Blue Velvet Project," at Filmmaker Magazine online.  For a description of the project, see this Filmmaker article.  

Karen Selby, associate professor of Education, was elected co-president of Friends of Different Learners (FODL). FODL is an independent organization of parents, staff and community members dedicated to maximizing the potential of Birmingham Public School students with different abilities.  

Gregory Sumner, professor and chair of History, wrote the article, "Vonnegut's firefighters," published Sept. 11, 2011 on the website The New Inquiry. Read the article. Sumner also authored the new book, Unstuck in Time: A Journey Through Kurt Vonnegut's Life and Novels, which is being published in November by Seven Stories Press. The book is already generating attention from scholars and critics. Sumner will be doing book talks and signings in metropolitan Detroit, Indianapolis, New York City, and Philadelphia over the next few months. Vonnegut is best known for his widely-read and influential novel Slaughterhouse Five.  

Carol Weisfeld, professor of Psychology, was one of eight international co-authors on the paper, "Conflict in marriage: Universal findings and variations in five cultures," presented at the annual conference of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, last June in Montpelier, France.  

Michael J. Witkowski, associate professor of Criminal Justice, presented eight sessions during the 2011 National Gang Crime Research Center's International Gang Specialist Training Program, held in Chicago, Aug. 8-10.  Topics included radicalization of U.S. citizens, gang activities in the U.S. military, Canadian and U.S. border security issues and "sovereign citizens" movements. Witkowski also presented the paper, "Sovereign Citizens: An Emergent Law Enforcement Threat," at the annual meeting of the Midwest Criminal Justice Association (MCJA), Sept. 30 in Chicago. Also at the meeting, senior student Sierra Spaude presented the paper she entered into the MCJA Writing Competition, “Mara-Salvatrucha: The Perfect Storm Behind the Gang.”  

Faculty promotions and tenure

The following CLAE faculty members were promoted and/or granted tenure, effective Aug. 16:

David Koukal was promoted to professor of Philosophy.

Victoria Mantzopoulos was promoted to professor of Political Science.