Dr. Terri Witek, English professor and director of the Sullivan Creative Writing Program at Stetson University, pictured far right, won the silver award in the Poetry category in the 2012 Florida Book Awards for her book

The Florida Book Awards is an annual awards program that recognizes, honors, and celebrates the best Florida literature and books about Florida published in the previous year. Begun in 2006, the Florida Book Awards is the most comprehensive state book awards program in the United States, and is the only one with a Spanish Language category. The successes and growth the Florida Book Awards have enjoyed in the last six years are testimony to the quality of authorship and the rich culture of books that exists and continues to prosper in Florida. Each year, winners receive either a gold, silver, or bronze medal within nine different literary categories: Children’s Literature, Florida Nonfiction, General Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Popular Fiction, Spanish Language, Visual Arts, and Young Adult Literature. For more information about the Florida Book Awards, go to http://floridabookawards.lib.fsu.edu/index.php.

“Terri Witek’s Exit Island is a book of voyages, both terrestrial and temporal—explorations mythical and poetic,” said author Barbara Hamby. “The reigning deities are Ariadne and Fernando Pessoa, and in verse lyrics and experimental. Witek creates a world filled with snake handlers, sea nymphs, sea chants, and mutinies…. Hold on, dear reader, this is a book like no other, a swirling microcosm of the tragic and playful, of betrayal and deep and abiding love.”

Exit Island also features images by visual artist and former Stetson professor Cyriaco Lopes, who now teaches at the City University of New York’s John Jay College.th snake handlers, sea nymphs, sea chants, and mutinies. Hold on, dear reader, this is a book like no other, a swirling microcosm Witek teaches poetry workshops and literature classes specializing in poetry at Stetson. She is the author of four other collections of poetry: The Shipwreck Dress (Orchises Press, 2008), Carnal World (Story Line Press, 2006), Fools and Crows (Orchises Press, 2003), and Courting Couples (winner of the 2000 Center for Book Arts Contest), as well as a scholarly book, Robert Lowell and LIFE STUDIES: Revising the Self (University of Missouri Press, 1993). She has published poems in Slate, The Hudson Review, The New Republic,The American Poetry Review, and other journals, and is the recipient of fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, Hawthornden International Writers’ Retreat and the state of Florida. Her poem It was a Pretty Good Book was recently featured on the Poetry Daily website.

More information about Exit Island and other books by Terri Witek can be found on her website at http://terriwitek.com/books/exit-island/.

Visiting Research Professor John Jett and his daughter Maya plant a tree on campus. Photo by Dr. Peter May.

As part of Earth Week on Stetson University’s DeLand campus, the university community will join 250 other universities across the country to screen a new documentary about our energy future. Switch will be shown at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 17, in the Rinker Auditorium, inside Lynn Business Center, 345 N. Woodland Blvd. The Stetson campus screening is co-sponsored by the Gillespie Museum of Minerals, the Department of Geography and Environmental Science and Students Advocating Sustainability at Stetson.

The documentary is part of the Geological Society of America’s Switch Energy: Awareness & Efficiency Program, (http://www.switchenergyproject.com/), a multi-pronged effort to build a global understanding of energy.

Switch explores leading energy sites, from coal to solar, oil to biofuel, most of them highly restricted and never before seen on film. Through interviews with international leaders of government, industry and academia, geologist Scott Tinker engages important questions about energy: Is fracking polluting water? How dangerous is nuclear? Will we run out of oil? Can we clean up coal? Will renewables power our future?

The documentary has won a number of awards, for its even-handed treatment of the topic as well as its production values. An informal discussion of the documentary will follow the screening, led by Stetson professors Tony Abbott, geography and environmental science; Tandy Grubbs, chemistry; Jim Buthman, visiting lecturer in political science; and Bekah Burket, representing Students Advocating Sustainability at Stetson.

This event is free and open to the community. For additional information, call or e-mail the Gillespie Museum (386.822.7330; gillespiemuseum@stetson.edu).

Today, Friday, April 5, Stetson’s duPont-Ball Library will celebrate 125 years as a federal depository library. Everyone is invited to join in the festivities from 3-5 p.m.

The School of Music has many exceptional programs scheduled throughout the month of April. This upcoming week alone features a concert tonight, Friday evening, April 5, highlighting the works of Stetson’s student composers, and Stetson will host Saturday’s Percussive Arts Society Day of Percussion on April 6, followed up with a percussion ensembles concert next Saturday, April 13. The University Symphony Orchestra will perform next Friday evening, April 12. And, this Sunday, April 7, Piano Professor and Steinway Artist Michael Rickman will perform in a celebratory concert commemorating his 30^th anniversary at Stetson. Check out Stetson’s full cultural calendar for this semester here.

Sunday evening, April 7, everyone is invited to Movie Night at the Ballpark. Come join in the outdoors fun and bring a chair or blanket to claim your spot in the outfield at Melching Field at Conrad Park to watch the award-winning film, “Angels in the Outfield.” The event is free and open to the public; donations will be accepted and will go toward Stetson’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s (SAAC) Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society.

Speaking of films scheduled next week, “The Music Never Stopped” about the health/memory benefits of music therapy. Psychology professor Camille King and students, Susan Moore and Molly Moses, will answer questions about how the human brain responds to music therapy.

Students are reminded to register on Monday and Tuesday, April 8 and 9, for summer session and the fall semester.

Religious freedom is the topic of the Shurden Lectures, scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday, April 9-10. Brent Walker, special guest speaker, will speak on “First Principles: God-given, but government protected” on Tuesday. Wednesday’s lectures include “First Freedoms: Accommodate religion, but don’t advance it” at 3 p.m., and  ”Religion and Politics: How did we do in 2012?” at 5 p.m.  Everyone is welcome to attend free of charge.

Transaction Day, Thursday, April 11, is a day of engaged dialogue between students, faculty, staff, and community members on gender, gender roles and a full range of gender identity issues.

Taco Bar is open to students on Thursday, April 11 at 11 p.m. in the Commons. Support Zeta Tau Alpha’s Philanthropy Breast Cancer Education and Awareness. Catered by Moe’s.

Don’t forget to nominate your favorite professor for Stetson’s McEniry Teaching Award by going to the online nomination form. The deadline has been extended to April 11. This award will be presented at Commencement.

On Saturday, April 13, Stetson will welcome approximately 1,200 special guests, including 385 potential Hatters and their families to Hatter Saturday.

Earth Day at Stetson will be celebrated Saturday, April 20. Everyone is invited to the “Keeping it Green” Earth-friendly activities and environmental education for all ages planned for the day.

Be sure to check out all Stetson University events on the online calendar on Stetson Today. Keep up with all Hatter Athletic schedules at GOHATTERS.COM.

As its final Science Saturday program for this academic year, the green fair will bring together student organizations and programs from across the campus showcasing environmental initiatives and offering hands-on activities in the museum and on the grounds of the Rinker Environmental Learning Center.

Visitors can build a bird house with Stetson’s chapter of Habit for Humanity or a ladybug house in the Hatter Harvest community garden. Volunteers of the campus Longleaf Pine Restoration Project will offer a workshop on natural plant dyes; museum staffers and Students Advocating a Sustainable Stetson will direct a natural stone and recycled glass beading station. The Stetson HATS program, Stetson Recycling, and members of the honors program have designed a recycled art studio. SADD has arranged for a prescription drug collection and student representatives from the Conflict Free Resolution Initiative will feature a display on recycling electronics. Back by popular demand, members of Stetson Cycles will offer smoothies from their human-powered blender. Spencer Toby, Stetson Cycles, and Josiah Todd, Hatter Harvest, are pictured powering a blender on the Smoothie Bike.

The event is free and open to all.  The Gillespie Museum and Rinker Environmental Learning Center are located on the southeast corner of Stetson’s DeLand campus, 234 East Michigan Avenue.

For more information, call (386.822.7330) or e-mail the Gillespie Museum at gillespiemuseum@stetson.edu.

As a culmination of the year’s work, the choir will be performing a variety of sacred and secular repertoire with the most recent material taken from their 2013 Spring Tour through the states of Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia.

The 90-minute program features music by composers including Palestrina, Mendelssohn, Copland, Whitacre and Russian choral master composers. The choir is conducted by Dr. Timothy Peter, director of choral activities, who is completing his first year in leading the Stetson University School of Music choral program.

General admission is $10; $8 for seniors; and $5 for area students. It is free to Stetson students, faculty and staff with ID, and for concert series card holders. For tickets and information, contact Stetson’s School of Music at (386) 822-8950, or www.stetson.edu/music. To see Stetson’s full cultural calendar, click here.

Michael Rickman, Steinway Artist and professor of piano, will celebrate his 30th anniversary at Stetson University at his celebratory recital Sunday, April 7, 3 p.m., in Lee Chapel.

Hailed by the New York Times, Daytona Beach News-Journal and newspapers around the globe for his brilliance on the piano, Dr. Michael Rickman, Steinway Artist and Professor of Piano, will celebrate 30 years teaching at Stetson University with a much anticipated recital on Sunday, April 7, at 3 p.m.

Upon entering his studio in Presser Hall at Stetson, one might feel slightly intimidated by the two grand pianos that sit side by side or the numerous diplomas and accolades that grace the walls. Instead you will find the presence of a worldly, knowledgeable man who is personable, well studied and a master of his instrument.

With roots in Asheville, N.C., he completed his degrees at Mars Hill College and the University of North Texas. The many influential teachers of his profession, of whom he speaks so highly, included the late Grace Potter Carroll, Richard Cass, Jack Roberts, and Karen Shaw.

Before beginning his current post at Stetson University in 1983, he served on the faculty of William Woods and Westminster Colleges in Fulton, Mo., and at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. It was at the suggestion of colleagues, Dr. and Mrs. Rich, who felt Rickman could make a substantial contribution to this private, central Florida university that he, with some trepidation, applied for the position at Stetson. It was during the interview phase, when he witnessed the level of student achievement and the professionalism of his future colleagues, that his decision came with ease.

Over the years, Rickman’s contributions to not only the University but also to his profession, have been more than substantial. In 1990 he received the Homer and Dolly Hand Award for Creative Activity and Research and, in 1995, was the recipient of the most prestigious faculty award granted by Stetson University, the William Hugh McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching. One of his most significant achievements came in 2009 when Rickman was named to the prestigious roster of Steinway artists, consisting of approximately only 1600 pianists worldwide.

With international performances in Latvia, Chile, Bolivia, Italy, Germany, Austria, Toronto, London, and Paris as well as in Miami, Palm Beach, Philadelphia, Louisville, Kansas City, Sacramento and at the Alice Tully, Bruno Walter and Carnegie Halls in New York, Rickman’s performances have received exceptional praise from audiences and the media worldwide. Rickman and his students have impressed audiences for the past seven years at the Orfeo (formerly Schlern) International Music Festival in Northern Italy.

As he approaches the milestone of teaching 30 years at Stetson, he is grateful for the many students whom he has seen excel and who have themselves created magnificent careers. His face lights up when he speaks about teaching Master Classes during which students and the general public witness Rickman’s teaching of other students. His passion for the piano, for music making and for the continued success of his beloved students is obvious.

With thoughts to the future, Rickman’s greatest desire is to see a first-class performing arts center on campus. He looks to the skills of the new dean of the School of Music to help develop this dream and envisions a time when students, alumni and members of the community will enjoy outstanding music in this new center.

As he approaches his milestone recital on Sunday, April 7, he is excited about the works he chose to include, which took great consideration. Rickman’s Faculty Recital, featuring his celebrated skills on the piano, will take place in Lee Chapel inside Elizabeth Hall at 3 p.m. on Stetson’s DeLand campus, 421 N. Woodland Blvd.

Tickets are free to the Stetson University community with ID, and concert series card holders. For more information, contact the School of Music at www.stetson.edu/music, or call the Ticket Office at (386) 822-8950.

Click here to enjoy the Schubert posthumous Sonata in A Major, one of the works Rickman plans to perform at his celebratory recital April 7. Rickman was also interviewed live on WSBB Radio on Tuesday, April 2, AM 1230 and AM 1490.

The Class of 2013 formed their class year in this photo taken at Orientation Day four years ago.

Happy Spring! The beginning of April at Stetson University traditionally means the time when Stetson students, especially seniors, are working hard to complete final projects as deadlines approach. The 2013 Showcase of research and creative arts, scheduled this year for April 16, will feature the greatest number of projects since the program debuted in 1999. To enable students to attend, classes will be cancelled that day, and everyone is encouraged to attend.

Hatter baseball and other sports are in full swing. All home games are included in the calendar below. Be sure to check out all Hatter sports at GOHATTERS.COM. For more of what’s happening in Hatter Country this week, check out the calendar below:

Music Concerts:

• University Chamber Orchestra – Tuesday, April 2, 7 p.m., Anthony Hose, conductor, Lifepoint Community Church, DeLand
• Music by Student Composers- 7:30 p.m., Lee Chapel

Friday, March 29

• GOOD FRIDAY – University Holiday
• Softball vs. Northern Kentucky- 1 p.m., Patricia Wilson Field
• Baseball vs. Kennesaw State- 6:30 p.m., Melching Field at Conrad Park

Saturday, March 30

• Habitat for Humanity Build- 8 a.m., Meet on CUB Steps
• Women’s Tennis vs. USC Upstate- 10 a.m., Mandy Stoll Tennis Center
• Softball vs. Northern Kentucky- Noon, Patricia Wilson Field
• Baseball vs. Kennesaw State- 1 p.m., Melching Field at Conrad Park
• Men’s Tennis vs. USC Upstate- 2 p.m., Mandy Stoll Tennis Center

Sunday, March 31

• Easter Sunday Chapel Service, 5:30 p.m., Lee Chapel
• Francophone Movie Night – The Silences of the Palace-6 p.m., Sampson 129

Monday, April 1

• Cardio Yoga- 12:15 p.m., Hollis Center Dance Studio
• PRIDE Week: Juicy Justine- 8 p.m., Stetson Room

Tuesday, April 2

• Gentle Yoga- 5 p.m., Nite Lights – Above the bookstore
• GPS: Guide for Proactive Success- 5:15 p.m., Sage 257
• Habitat for Humanity Meeting- 6:15 p.m., Hollis Center Classroom
• Catholic Campus Ministry Meeting- 8 p.m., 103 Allen Hall
• PRIDE Week: Juicy Justine- 8 p.m., Stetson Room

Wednesday, April 3

• #Politics: The Social Media Revolution in Putin’s Russia, 4 p.m., Rinker Aud., LBC
• Sand Volleyball vs. North Florida- 2 p.m., Sand Volleyball Courts
• APVMA – Representative from Ross University- 6:15 p.m., Sage 221
• Gays in the Military: Why the All-Volunteer Force- 7 p.m., Library 25L
• Stetson Speakers Bureau Meeting- 7 p.m., LBC 220
• Cheerleading Clinic- 7:45 p.m., Hollis Gym / Rinker Fieldhouse
• PRIDE Week: Prayers for Bobby- 8 p.m., Cross Cultural Center

Thursday, April 4

• DUI Promise-  4 p.m., Rinker Auditorium
• Screening of – Brother-  6 p.m., Russian Studies Center
• Trilogue of the Abrahamic Faith- 6:30 p.m., Allen Hall
• Tournees French Film Festival- 8 p.m., Rinker Environmental Learning Center
• Poetry at an Uncouth Hour- 9 p.m., Nite Lights
• PRIDE Week: Rocky Horror Picture Show- 11 p.m., Lee Chapel

Friday, April 5

• duPont-Ball Library Federal Depository 125th Anniversary -3 PM, Library (Main Floor)
• PRIDE Week: Gay Prom- 8 p.m., Allen Hall

Ongoing exhibits:

• Digital Arts Senior Exhibition continues through April 5, Hand Art Center
• Oscar Bluemner’s Germany: Juxtaposing Jerichow – Hand Art Center. Runs through April 29.

by Shelby Scraper and the Stetson Today Team

Michael Gorham

The internet age presents serious challenges to authoritarian governments by democratizing political discourse. Citizens now have the means to speak directly to each other without the filter of the official media. To explore the impact of the new media on Russian public life, the Russian Studies Program at Stetson University will host a symposium, #Politics: The Social Media Revolution in Putin’s Russia on Wednesday, April 3, at 4 p.m. in the Rinker Auditorium of the Lynn Business Center, 345 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand. The speakers for the event are Professor Michael Gorham of the University of Florida and Professor Sarah Oates of the University of Maryland. Professor Eugene Huskey of Stetson will moderate the symposium.

Michael Gorham is associate professor of Russian Studies at the University of Florida and an associate editor of The Russian Review. Originally a specialist in language and politics in early 20th century Russia, he has worked in recent years on the media revolution in contemporary Russia. Among his recent articles is “Medvedev’s New Media Gambit: The Language of Power in 140 Characters or Less.”  He has just completed a book manuscript entitled In Newspeak’s Wake: Language, Culture, and Politics from Glasnost to Social Media.

Sarah Oates

Sarah Oates is professor and Senior Scholar in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. Before moving to Maryland in 2012, she had taught for many years in the Politics Department at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. A widely published scholar on democratization and communications, she serves as an expert for the European Commission’s Digital Futures project. Her latest book, Revolution Stalled: The Political Limits of the Internet in the Post-Soviet Sphere, will be published next month by Oxford University Press.

“Stetson teacher-scholars facilitate transformational learning in our students,” said Provost Elizabeth Paul, who made the announcement Wednesday, March 27. “They are themselves passionate lifelong learners who, through their scholarly, creative and professional engagement, make important contributions to the advancement of knowledge, disciplines and society. And they are leaders of the continual progress of Stetson University in realizing our important mission. Each and every one of these individuals exemplifies teacher-scholar excellence. I celebrate their accomplishments and thank them for their inspiration and impact.”

Cindy Bennington – Promotion to Professor of Biology

Bennington

Dr. Cindy Bennington has conducted ecological research in Alaska, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Florida.  At Stetson, she teaches courses on ecology and botany; she actively engages students in research on arctic and temperate plant species. Central Florida’s dry, sandy, nutrient-poor soils, coupled with a rich diversity of animal attackers, provide ample opportunities for her to pursue long-standing interests in plant adaptation to stressful environments.  She also regularly involves Stetson students in environmental service-learning projects both on and off campus.  Currently, she and Dr. Karen Cole, Director of the Gillespie Museum, are working to develop the Volusia Sandhill Teaching Landscape, a project adjacent to the Museum where visitors can learn about the longleaf pine ecosystem that historically dominated the sandhills of central Florida.

David Bjella – Promotion to Professor of Music

Bjella

A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Cellist David Bjella has had a multi-faceted career as a teacher, chamber musician, orchestral player, and soloist. He directs the Chamber Music program at Stetson and is Co-Principal in the IRIS Chamber Orchestra.  He is also a member of the Inman Piano Trio. One of the featured IRIS chamber musicians for the Naxos-released CD “Music of Stephen Hartke,” chosen by the New York Times as a “Top 10 Classical Recording of 2003,” Bjella has held appointments as Visiting Associate Professor of Cello at Florida State University and Professor of Cello at the University of Central Florida. He has also taught in the Valade Master Teacher program at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan.

Debbi Dinkins – Promotion to Professor and Associate Dean of the duPont-Ball Library

Dinkins

Debbi Dinkins, Associate Dean of the duPont-Ball Library, works closely with the Dean of the Library on administration and planning.  She is responsible for all aspects of Technical Services, including acquisitions, cataloging, periodicals, and computer systems.  Dinkins manages the library’s materials budgets and operating budgets.  She oversees the acquisition and cataloging of the library’s collections, which include over 300,000 volumes of books and bound periodicals, more than 70,000 electronic books, and access to over 64,000 electronic journals.  Management and maintenance of the 46 public computers in the library are also her responsibility. Dinkins’ research and professional interests include patron-driven acquisition of eBooks, library collection evaluation, and cataloging.  Her articles have been published in such journals as College and Research Libraries and The Journal of Academic Librarianship.

Tishia Dunham – Promotion to Associate Professor of Legal Skills

Dunham

Tishia Dunham teaches legal skills and is Director of Bar Preparation Services.  Prior to joining Stetson’s faculty, Professor Dunham practiced law in the areas of employment law, commercial litigation, and real property with an emphasis on community associations.  Dunham teaches and writes primarily in the area of state constitutional law. She is the co-author of Florida Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials (Carolina Academic Press, 2013).

Glen Epley – Awarded tenure as Professor of Teacher Education

Dr. Glen Epley has been a sportswriter for a metropolitan daily newspaper, a high school history teacher, a professor at three universities, a deputy superintendent of the Volusia County Schools, and an executive with Brown & Brown, Inc., one of the premier insurance brokerages in the nation and world.  Since joining Stetson, Dr. Epley teaches primarily in the graduate program for educators who are pursuing masters’ degrees in educational leadership.  His specialties are school law and school finance.  He also teaches a seminar on the legal rights of students in public schools.  Dr. Epley’s research focuses on constitutional jurisprudence as it affects public schools, and he has published in NASSP Bulletin, Phi Delta Kappan, Education Law Reporter, Kappa Delta Pi Record, and The Clearing House, among others.  He is a frequent presenter at national conferences on school law and school finance.  His current research project involves the legal concerns for school officials when they attempt to regulate student speech off school grounds on the internet and social media sites.

Eric Kurlander – Promoted to Professor of History

Kurlander

Dr. Eric Kurlander teaches classes on modern German, European, and world history. His recent book, Living with Hitler (Yale, 2009), examines the ways in which German liberals negotiated, resisted, and in some ways accommodated the Third Reich. He is also author of The Price of Exclusion: Ethnicity, National Identity, and the Decline of German Liberalism, 1898-1933 (Berghahn, 2006). His articles have appeared in Central European History, The Journal of Contemporary History, The Historian, and other journals.  Kurlander has held fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the German Historical Institute, and other granting agencies.  He is currently at work on two additional book projects:  a textbook co-authored with colleague Dr. Kimberly Reiter, The West in Question: Continuity and Change (Pearson-Longman), and Nazi Monsters:  A Supernatural History of the Third Reich (Yale trade division, forthcoming).

 Lance Long – Awarded programmatic tenure and promoted to Professor of Legal Skills

Long

Lance Long joined Stetson after having taught legal research and writing at J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, and at the University of Oregon School of Law. Before teaching, Professor Long practiced with Morrison & Foerster in Orange County, California and Hill, Johnson & Schmutz in Provo, Utah. His practice focuses on appellate and motion practice in the areas of intellectual property, contract, and construction law. Professor Long’s scholarship currently centers on empirical analyses of language patterns in appellate briefs and opinions. His two most recent articles, “Does the Readability of Your Brief Affect Your Chance of Winning on Appeal?” and “Clearly Using Intensifiers is Very Bad—Or Is It?” were published, respectively, in the Journal of Appellate Practice & Process and The Idaho Law Review.

Brigid Noonan – Promotion to Professor of Counselor Education 

Noonan

Dr. Brigid M. Noonan, Ph.D., LMHC, NCC, ACS, chairs the Department of Counselor Education.  She has more than 19 years of clinical experience working with a range of diverse clients, with a focus on addiction, eating disorders and depression, disability, career issues, and sexual identity.  Her research focuses on international counselor education, advocacy and social justice, working with families, and sexuality and spirituality.  Her recent articles have been published in such venues as International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling and Professional Issues in Counseling.  She is also co-author of a chapter in Handbook of Counselor Preparation:  Constructivist, Developmental, and Experiential Approaches (Sage, 2011).

Jason Palmer – Awarded programmatic tenure

Palmer

Jason Palmer joined Stetson after teaching legal writing and oral advocacy at George Washington University Law School. Most recently, he worked for the Department of State, representing the United States in international arbitration cases before the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal. He also spent four years in Switzerland working as a claims judge for the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts, adjudicating claims of victims of Nazi persecution; for the United Nations Compensation Commission, coordinating review of Palestinian claims against Iraq as a result of its invasion and occupation of Kuwait; and for the Europa Institute at the University of Zurich, creating and teaching a course for Swiss lawyers on U.S. legal writing. Before working in Switzerland and at the Department of State, Professor Palmer spent several years in private practice in Washington, D.C., focusing on commercial litigation and international arbitration.  He is author of numerous articles on international law, and he has served as editor of several legal journals.

Leila Roach – Awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Counselor Education

Roach

Dr. Leila Roach coordinates the Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling Program. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, an approved supervisor for Mental Health Counselors in the state of Florida and a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC). Dr. Roach has 22 years of experience counseling children, adolescents, adults, couples and families, including members of the Deaf community, in a variety of settings. She has advanced training in play therapy, couples counseling, and disaster mental health. Her research interests include wellness in counseling and counselor education, the personal and professional development of counseling students, and spirituality in counseling.

 Joshua Rust – Awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Philosophy

Rust

Dr. Joshua Rust is the author of two books, John Searle and the Construction of Social Reality (Continuum, 2005) and John Searle (Continuum, 2009). He is also a coauthor of several articles in empirical philosophy concerning the behavior of ethicists as compared to other academic professionals. On the lighter side, he has coauthored two essays (with Dr. Susan Pepper-Bates) at the intersection of popular culture and philosophy: one on True Blood and the other on Harry Potter. Areas of interest include metaphilosophy, explanation, social construction, and Wittgenstein. He is also interested in the history of 20th century analytic philosophy and ancient philosophy. Joshua is the secretary/treasurer for the Florida Philosophical Association, co-chair on the Values Steering Committee, and a member of the Social Justice Lecture Series Committee.

 Ranjini Thaver – Promoted to Professor of Economics 

Thaver

Dr. Ranjini Thaver, born in South Africa, completed her bachelor’s degree, with honors, in Economics at the University of Cape Town, and her master’s and doctoral degrees in Economics at the University of Notre Dame. She has taught at Stetson since 1992. She developed the first university-based microcredit program in the world, located in a poverty-stricken area in DeLand, and in Manio Village, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. She has partnered with local and national organizations to deliver economically empowering programs to the poor, such as personal finance education workshops, and volunteer income tax preparation (VITA). She is recipient of Stetson University’s McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching. She has presented her research at international, national, and local conferences, and at universities such as Cornell, Notre Dame, and Mary Washington College.

Chris Tobler – Awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Finance 

Tobler

Dr. Chris Tobler teaches both undergraduate and graduate level course in finance and in the Executive MBA and JD/BMA programs.  His teaching interests include investments, corporate finance and risk-management.  His scholarship focuses on derivatives, asset pricing, and the role of overvaluation in mergers and acquisitions. He has published in various journals including the Journal of Finance and Accountancy, Banking and Finance Review and the International Journal of Global Business and Economics.

Louis Virelli – Promoted to Professor of Law

Virelli

Louis Virelli teaches courses in administrative law, civil procedure, constitutional law, and federal pretrial practice. He co-coaches two of Stetson’s moot court teams and is faculty advisor to the Freethinkers Rhetoric Society and the Stetson chapter of the American Constitution Society.  Prior to joining Stetson, Professor Virelli served as a trial attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.  He also taught legal research and writing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, where he was named best oralist in the law school’s Keedy Cup moot court competition and served as articles editor on the Journal of Constitutional Law. Professor Virelli clerked for Judge Franklin S. Van Antwerpen of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Judge Leonard I. Garth of the Third Circuit.  He has written on constitutional interpretation, congressional power, the teaching of evolution in public schools, and the role of scientific information in the regulatory process. His articles have appeared in such journals as the Miami Law Review, the Northwestern University Law Review Colloquy, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, and the Administrative Law Review. 

Becky Watts – Awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies 

Watts

Dr. Rebecca Watts’ teaching and scholarship centers on the application of rhetorical theory and criticism to public culture, including Southern culture, political culture, and popular culture. She is interested in organizational crisis rhetoric as well as internet communication as a way of increasing participation in public culture (in everything from political culture to sports culture).  Her book, Contemporary Southern Identity: Community through Controversy (University Press of Mississippi, 2008), applies rhetorical theory and criticism to Southern culture specifically and public discourse in general.

John York – Awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Chemistry 

York

Dr. John York has expertise in inorganic, organometallic, and biological inorganic chemistry.  His research focuses on using transition metal compounds to perform important chemical transformations.  He is especially interested in understanding how copper can function in both biological and industrial systems to bind with important organic molecules like alkenes and thiophenes. In this research, Dr. York utilizes both synthetic chemistry and computational chemistry methods.  He is also active in the field of chemical education and develops innovative techniques and materials for teaching chemistry to undergraduate students.

Father Jack excites some, appalls others with his tale of his missionary experience in Uganda in “Dancing at Lughnasa,” presented at Stetson’s ‘Second Stage’ in the Museum of Florida Art, 600 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand. Clockwise from left: Allison Cooper, Ashley Johnson, Amie Vaughan, Kristina Ramos, Jacob Manos. Photo by Ken McCoy.

Stetson University finishes up its 107th season with Brian Friel’s Tony Award winning play, Dancing at Lughnasa. Dancing at Lughnasa is directed by Dr. Ken McCoy, professor of theatre arts at Stetson University, and will run from Thursday, April 18 through Sunday, April 21.

Dancing at Lughnasa focuses on five unmarried sisters living together in the Irish countryside in August 1936. The play is told from the point of view Michael Evans as he recounts the summer in his aunts’ cottage when he was seven years old.   The household is made up of the imperious teacher Kate, the irreverent Maggie, the serene and steady Agnes, the sweetly eccentric Rose, and finally, the romantic Chris and her seven-year-old son Michael, born to her out of wedlock. Their usual routines are disrupted first when Michael’s Uncle Jack returns from 25 years of missionary work as a Catholic priest in Africa, and further when Michael’s father Gerry arrives for a visit.

The August harvest festival, known as Lughnasa, provides the play’s backdrop and stirs up the conflict of pagan and Christian cultures. This happens not only between Kate’s strict interpretation of Catholicism and Irish folklore, but also in Father Jack’s mind as his years in Africa has caused him to merge his own religion with that of his African parishioners. One by one, the sisters submit to the lure of the earth, dancing like dervishes, remembering pilgrimages to past dances and their lost innocence. Michael is the silent witness who will tell their story in its context of personal, cultural, emotional, and economic change.

The ensemble cast of Dancing at Lughnasa includes Cassie Kris, Allison Cooper, Jacob Manos, Kristina Ramos, Alex Schelb, Robert Spellman, Amie Vaughan, Austin Scott, and Ashley Johnson.

Showtimes are 8 p.m., Thursday, April 18 through Saturday, April 20. The Sunday performance will be a matinee on April 21 at 3 p.m.

Admission for each performance is $12 for adults, and $10 for senior citizens and non-Stetson students. Stetson students, faculty, and staff presenting valid I.D. will be admitted free of charge.

Stetson Theatre Arts’ “Second Stage” Theatre is located in the Museum of Florida Art at 600 N. Woodland Blvd. Parking is free. Tickets will be available at the door, and can be purchased by either cash or check. Reserved tickets must be picked up 30 minutes prior to the start of each show.

For information or reservations, call Stetson Theatre’s “Second Stage” box office at (386) 822-8700 beginning April 8. All tickets can be purchased at the door by cash or check up to one hour prior to curtain of each performance.