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Fall 2022

Dr. Jessica Jensen, Associate Professor of French, was the recipient of a $1,500 Indiana Language Roadmap Grant from the Center for the Study of Global Changes and the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University. It is intended for developing and implementing a statewide plan to strengthen world language learning, with collective input from stakeholders across business, education, health care, and government sectors. This project is supported through the Language Flagship, an initiative funded by the Department of Defense through their National Security Education Program and administered by the Institute for International Education.


Dr. Dave Black presented his documentary In Harmony鈥檚 Way: A Battle to Save a Bridge on October 18 to a meeting of the Southwestern Indiana Historical Society with a discussion following on the current state of the bridge and efforts to fund its revitalization. The documentary provides a history of the closed toll bridge in New Harmony and the efforts to find a solution for its long-term survival.


Criminal Justice faculty have been active in presenting at the American Society of Criminology in Atlanta, GA. Presentations included "Examining Attitudes Towards Police Reform and Use of Force through Public Opinion and Media Coverage" by Jason Callahan and Whitney Hayes (Virginia Tech), "Substance Use and Mental Health" by Laura Lutgen-Nieves, Caroline Jalain, and Taylor Petty, and "Gender and Trafficking Myth Acceptance: Making Child Sex Trafficking Case Decisions" by Taylor Petty, Richard Wiener (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), and Anna Pittman (91社区 student).


Dr. Oana Popescu Sandu has had two recent publications. The first is an article in an edited volume entitled (ed. Yana Hashamova, Oana Popescu Sandu and Sunnie Rucker-Chang; Liverpool University Press, 2022). The can be found in the include link. The second article appeared in Comparative Literary Studies and is titled 听鈥淣ew Cold War Nostalgia in Recent US Cultural Productions: Retro and Irony in the Transnational Postsocialist World.鈥 , 59 (3), 612-630. This article examines the intersection of nostalgia, irony, and retro in 鈥渘ew Cold War鈥 story lines that dominate two U.S. cultural productions鈥攖he feature film Creed II (2018) and the series Comrade Detective (2017).


Rosalie Moffett鈥檚 works 鈥Hawks鈥 and 鈥Hysterosalpingography鈥 have been nominated for a Pushcart Price by 30 Poems and the New England Review. The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year.


Casey Pycior鈥檚 work was recently showcased online by the South Dakota Review. They feature his essay 鈥Cahokia, Summer 2017,鈥 from whence this observation: 鈥91社区 10 times southwest through the haze, the Gateway Arch goose eggs on the horizon, the St. Louis skyline an uneven roll of dominoes ready to topple into the Mississippi River as it wends past. I pull out my cell phone to take a photo and undergo a brief but jarring realization that 1000 years of technological advancements separate the mound I鈥檓 standing on and the cell phone I old in my hand.


MT Hallock Morris judged the State 鈥淲e the People鈥 competition in Indianapolis. In this program, middle and high schools learn about the Constitution, prepare a written statement, and then participate in 鈥渉earings鈥 where they are questioned about their knowledge. The winner from each state goes on to the National Competition. It is an example of great outreach work by our faculty.


2022 National Student Electronic Media Convention

John Morris, Instructor of Radio/TV, and student, Tyler Huyser who, along with three other radio station workers, took third place in the Imaging category of the National Student Production Awards.

2022 National Student Electronic Media Convention

91社区 Instructor and current president of the event sponsoring organization, College Broadcasters Inc (CBI), John Morris addresses the crowd prior to the awards program.

2022 National Student Electronic Media Convention

John Morris, 91社区 Instructor of Radio/TV, discusses “play by play” reporting for sports broadcasts in a breakout session at the National Student Electronic Media Convention in Baltimore, Maryland.


secac 2022 Conference Program Cover. Light teal with blobs of color that appears to melt.Sara Christensen Blair, Professor of Art and Chair of the Art and Design Department, and colleagues represented the 91社区 Art and Design Department by presenting at the 78th Annual Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC) in Baltimore on October 26-29, 2022.

Sara Christensen Blair presented 鈥淭he Sweet and Subtle Smashing of the Status Quo 鈥 Not Just a Pile of Candy.鈥 Dr. Gregory Blair, Assistant Professor of Art and Design, presented 鈥淪treet Art and the Disruption of the Expected.鈥 Virginia Poston, Instructor in Art History, presented 鈥淭he Invisible Celts: A Neglected European Tradition.鈥 Chuck Armstrong, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, presented 鈥淧reparing Students to Flourish in a Digital World: The Importance of Learning to Code or Script.鈥 Nancy Raen-Mendez, Instructor in Art, presented 鈥淭he Unpainted.鈥 Robert Millard-Mendez, Professor of Art, presented 鈥淪pectacles of the Sublime: Monsters in Contemporary Sculpture.鈥澨

In addition to SECAC, art faculty have been involved in other venues. Dr. Greg Blair was invited to the Department of Art at Mississippi State University from Oct. 17-19 as a Visiting Artist/Scholar. During his visit, Dr. Blair led a student workshop at the Noxubee Wildlife Refuge on how to connect artistic practice to the experience of place. Likewise, Al Holen, as a result of her sabbatical work, had an article published in the Nov./Dec. issue of Pottery Making Illustrated, which is a partner magazine with Ceramics Monthly.听 The article, entitled 鈥淒ouble-Walled Chopstick Bowls,鈥 provides pictures and descriptions of several of Al鈥檚 works along with her clay/glaze recipe and a pictorial step-by-step process for creating the bowls.听 It features 鈥渉ow-to鈥 photos taken by recent alum R. Cole Collier.


Dr. Kristin LaFollette, Assistant Professor of English, gave a presentation entitled "Toward a Humanistic Approach in Medical Education鈥 at the 2022 Indiana College English Association (ICEA) Conference in Indianapolis. LaFollette was also voted in as secretary for the organization.


Jennifer Horn, Instructor of English, gave a presentation entitled " Folklore & FYE: Building Community through Created Traditions鈥 at the Annual Meeting of the American Folklore Society in Tulsa, OK.


Dr. David O鈥橬eil published two peer-reviewed articles: "Syntax, Prosody, and the Brut: Continuity in the Medieval English Alliterative Tradition." and "Social Integration and Campus Internationalization Through Performing Arts Volunteerism."


Dr. Elissa Mitchell, Associate Professor of Social Work, has four contributions in the new book,听Active Learning Lessons, Activities, and Assignments for the Modern Social Work Educator, coming out later this month (Routledge). The book includes example assignments and class activities. Elissa鈥檚 contributions focus on the teaching of Macro Practice (chapter 5 of the book).


Dr. Jane Weatherred, Assistant Professor of Advertising and Public Relations, along with coauthor Leigh Moscowitz from the University of Southern Carolina, recently published their study 鈥淓xemplification of child abduction in US news media: Testing media effects on parental perceptions and assessment of risk,鈥 which was published in the Journal of Experimental Criminology. The study uses a three-group experimental design to examine how news stories of child abduction affect parental concerns. Their findings suggest that watching news stories about abduction doesn鈥檛 lead people to report that the problem of child abduction is worsening. However, watching news stories about abduction does make people think that their communities are less safe and those who think that their communities are less safe are more likely to report worsening conditions of child abduction.


Drs. Hanka & Larowe in suit and tie on a red background. Text reads Election Reporting
Drs. Nick Larowe and Matt Hanka
provided pre-election and election night coverage on News 14 in Evansville, and other news outlets in the area.

Election appearances include:

8/29 -

10/20 -


4 piece serving set: Two Cups, One server, Base Stoneware, underglaze, satin black and reticulating glazes 12鈥 x 10鈥 x 9鈥


Congratulations to Al Holen, Associate Professor of Ceramics, who received the Third Place Award for her 4-piece serving set, Bullseye Bourbon Server. This award comes from the Wichita National Ceramic Invitational Exhibition with this year鈥檚 Judge, Eddie Dominguez, Professor of Ceramic Arts at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln NE, selecting three entries out of 33 total participants from all around the Nation.听


Congratulations to Laura Lutgen-Nieves on her recent white paper published by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. The paper, entitled 鈥溾, examined the use of medication for the treatment of opioid use disorders in our jails.听 Her research finds that despite research indicating the efficacy of medications currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone) in treating opioid use disorder (OUD), opioid-related overdose deaths continue to rise each year and access to treatment remains impeded. This is particularly the case for justice-involved people, and especially for those who find themselves in America鈥檚 jails. Adoption of these medications for treatment has been slow within the criminal justice system. However, some states have begun making changes to the system in an effort to expand access to these medications for the treatment of OUD among justice-involved people. Her findings suggest that if policymakers and health care providers are truly interested in reducing recidivism and enhancing public safety, more deliberate movements need to be made in expanding treatment to people in jail and those being released.


Urska Dobersek and Srikanth Dandotkar have become certified Peer Reviewers for Quality Matters.听 Quality Matters is a national nonprofit dedicated to promoting and improving the quality of online education and student learning. As certified peer reviewers they are experts on research based pedagogy to improve the quality of online learning. Sri (and some other colleagues) have also recently published an article on 鈥淜nowing about Knowing鈥 in the Journal of . In this study, they examined the effectiveness of the reflective writing task as a means of changing how students think about what is known. The teaching method under investigation successfully improved students鈥 beliefs in a way that predicts student learning.


Eric Altheide鈥檚 work in audiobooks is really thriving.听 Over the last two years, he has recorded nearly including non-fiction, historical fiction, mysteries, romances (released under the pseudonym Grayson Owens) , short stories, thrillers and literary fiction. Upcoming work includes a mystery/thriller about an FBI detective tracking a serial killer, several non-fiction business titles and a non-fiction book about a man retracing the steps of John Muir鈥檚 walk from Louisville to Florida in the late 19th century and how much our environment has changed since then. He records this work from a home studio, which thanks to so much interest in his work,听 has been upgraded to a professional sound booth this summer. Congratulations Eric.



Congratulations to Dr. Anna Stroulia, Adjunct faculty member in Anthropology in the Department of World Languages and Cultures recently publish an article with colleges the .听 The article entitled, 鈥淔ishing, Weaving, Matting: Debating the Function of Notched Cobbles in Neolithic Greece鈥澨 addresses notched cobbles (stone piece with symmetric indentations).听 These artifacts are widespread, but rarely studied.听 Anna and her colleagues find that they were likely used in fishing and represent one of the rare components of fish capture technology preserved from Neolithic Greece.


Dr. Manuel Apodaca Valdez鈥檚 book was recently released by .听 It is entitled Cofrad铆as Afrohisp谩nicas: Celebraci贸n, resistencia furtiva y transformaci贸n cultural [Afro-Hispanic Confraternities: Celebration, Furtive Resistance and Cultural Transformation]. One Reviewer wrote, 鈥淭his encyclopedic study of organizations led and founded by Africans and their descendants in the broader Ibero-American world starts with the medieval origins of these groups and carries their stories through to the present day. A timely, sweeping book which synthesizes decades of vibrant scholarship on African diaspora lives, cultures, and beliefs, this engaging work brings together many strands in an expansive geographic overview ranging from Spain to Peru. Readers seeking insights on the complex mesh of African and Catholic spirituality and practices will consult this book for years to come. ~ Nicole Von Germeten, Oregon State University.鈥

Liberal Arts Achievements: 2021-2022

Help us congratulate our students, faculty, and alumni for their dedication and hard work! If you have an achievement you'd like to share, please .

Spring/Summer 2022

Dr. Kristalyn Shefveland听won the Arthur W. Thompson Award from the Florida Historical Society (FHS) for her contributions to the special issue of the Florida Historical Quarterly (FHQ) journal titled, 鈥淚ndigenous Florida.鈥

Named in honor of the late Arthur W. Thompson, longtime University of Florida history professor and former editor of the Florida Historical Quarterly, this award recognizes the most outstanding article appearing in FHQ during the preceding publication year. Dr. Shefveland won for her contribution, "Remembering an Indigenous South: Regional Identity, Vero Beach, and Settler Tourism"


Dr. Melissa Stacer鈥檚听research, 鈥淪tudent perceptions of corrections: The influence of media and correctional facility tours,鈥 has recently been accepted for publication by the听Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Dr. Stacer is a Professor of Criminal Justice Studies and the Director of the Criminal Justice Graduate Program. Her current study, forthcoming publication, culminates the research of her previous studies examining the impact of jail and prison tours on undergraduate students.

Dr. Stacer鈥檚 research began in 2013, with data collection from 2013-2015, and has resulted in 4 journal articles and 8 presentations. Two 91社区 students,听Ryan Eagleson听and听Lydia Moll, worked alongside Dr. Stacer on this research and were co-authors on all the articles and presentations.听Dr. Monica Solinas-Saunders听of IU-Northwest was also a co-author on all four articles. Dr. Stacer鈥檚 previously published research articles are titled 鈥淓xploring the utility of correctional facility tours in undergraduate criminal justice education鈥 (2017,听Journal of Criminal Justice Education), 鈥淣ew opportunities or closing doors? How correctional facility tours impact students鈥 thoughts about careers鈥 (2019,听Journal of Criminal Justice Education), and 鈥淭he impact of correctional facility tours on student perceptions and realizations of the correctional environment: A research note鈥 (2020,听Journal of Criminal Justice Education).


Dr. Gregory Blair, Assistant Professor of Art and Design, wrote an essay, 鈥淧alimpsests of Identities: Material Voices at the InLiquid Gallery,鈥 for the Material Voices Exhibition at the InLiquid Gallery in Philadelphia, PA, available from October 27 to December 4, 2021. Dr. Blair also presented his paper 鈥淯sing the Body in Contemporary Art Practices鈥 on the Embodiment and the Politics of Intervention panel at the Midwest Art History Society Annual Conference in Houston TX on March 10-11, 2022.

Click听听to read Dr. Blair鈥檚 essay 鈥淧alimpsests of Identities: Material Voices at the InLiquid Gallery.鈥


Dr. Taylor Petty, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, presented at the American Psychology-Law Society conference in Denver, CO on March 17, 2022. Dr. Petty presented 鈥淭he Impact of Emotion Regulation in Child Sex Trafficking Cases.鈥


Dr. Caroline Jalain, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, participated in a roundtable called 鈥淭he Future of Veterans鈥 Courts in the U.S.鈥 at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Conference on March 16, 2022. Dr. Jalain鈥檚 central area of study is Veteran Treatment Courts. Recently, Dr. Jalain andDr. Melissa Stacer, Professor of Criminal Justice Studies and Director of the Criminal Justice Graduate Program, have started a new project that will evaluate how Veteran Treatment Courts have responded and adapted to COVID-19.


Dr. Kathy Elpers, Professor of Social Work, has been nominated by听Dr. Elissa Mitchell, Associate Professor of Social Work and Director of Center for Social Justice Education, for the Celebration of Leadership (COL) award, presented by Leadership听Everyone at the 27th听Annual Celebration of Leadership Event. Leadership Everyone is a non-profit organization committed to engaging, inspiring, and honoring diverse servant leaders to transform the community through vision, collaboration, volunteerism, engagement, and generosity. Dr. Elpers is being recognized for her 30 plus years as an educator, during which she has guided and mentored countless students.

Click听听to see Dr. Elpers nomination.听
Click听听to learn more about Leadership Everyone.


Meredith Hagerty, a double major in Communication Studies and Public Relations & Advertising, was recently awarded the Lois & Betsy Hamburg Scholarship for $5,000 from the Vanderburgh Community Foundation to further her studies here at 91社区.


In March 2022, the ETS Major Field Test assessed91社区 Sociology seniors听on their student learning in sociology. This standardized test ranked 91社区 sociology seniors collectively at the听top 22%听of all test takers who tested in the United States between 2012-2021. One 91社区 sociology student even scored in the听top 1% of the nation.听


Bonnie Rinks, Director of Field Education in Social Work,听Summer Wilderman, Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work, and听John Paulson, Associate Professor of Social Work, coauthored the article 鈥淩esponding to Behavioral Concerns in Field: A Team Approach鈥 and have been published in听The Field Editor, an online journal produced by the Simmons School of Social Work.


Dr. Kristin LaFollette, Assistant Professor of English, was recently asked to serve on the Board of Advisors at The Blood Project (TBP) by the Executive Director, a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School. TBP is a platform which educates on the vital role of blood in health and disease, by building bridges between the humanities, science, and patient care. Additionally, Dr. LaFollette was asked to contribute creative work to the humanities section of TBP鈥檚 website and, in February 2022, they published seven of her original poems (collectively called 鈥淚ntern Year鈥) about medicine and embodied experience.

To learn more about The Blood Project,听.

To view Dr. LaFollette鈥檚 collection of poems on the website,听.


Dr. Oana Popescu Sandu, Associate Professor of English and Chair of the English Department, and colleagues represented the 91社区 English Department by presenting鈥攂oth in person and virtually鈥攁t the Modern Language Association (MLA) Convention in Washington DC, the largest convention in the field of English, on January 6-9, 2022.

Dr. Oana Popescu Sandu听presented 鈥淢ore Languages, Fewer Borders: Translingual Poetry against Methodological Nationalism.鈥澨Dr. Susana Hoeness-Krupsaw, Associate Professor of English, presented 鈥淭he Power of Visual Language in Duffy and Jennings鈥檚 Adaptations of Octavia Butler鈥檚 Kindred and Parable of the Sower鈥 and 鈥淭his above All, to Refuse to Be a Victim.鈥澨Dr. Laura Soderberg, Assistant Professor of English, presented 鈥淩emaking Archives of Childhood: Surveillance, Documentation, and Memory in Native Children鈥檚 Literature.鈥澨Dr. Amy Montz, Associate Professor of English, participated as a panelist in the session: 鈥淭ranslating Worlds: Gendered Code- and Role-Switching during COVID.鈥

Click听听to learn more about the MLA.


Dr. Amy L. Montz, Associate Professor of English in 18th and 19th Century British Literature, recently was featured in an interview along with Dana E. Lawrence, titled听听The interview was published December 31, 2021 in the "Study and Scrutiny: Research on Young Adult Literature," a peer-reviewed journal that focuses on the scholarship of young adult literature.

Conducted by Terri Suico, an associate professor of education at Saint Mary's College, the interview discusses adaptation of young adult literature and research that Montz and Lawrence have done on the subject.


The College of Liberal Arts hosted their annual Spring Meeting in January 2022, continuing our tradition of听听who have gone above and beyond in their service to the College.

We are proud to announce the following:

  • Dr. Urska Dobersek,听Assistant Professor of Psychology, received the Outstanding Research and Creativity Award
  • Dr. Cacee Hoyer,听Assistant Professor of History, received the Outstanding Teaching Award
  • Dr. Wesley Durham,听Associate Professor of Communication Studies, received the Outstanding Service to the College of Liberal Arts Award
  • Dr. Susannah Hoeness-Krupsaw Associate听Professor of English, received the Distinguished Faculty Award

Jenn Horn, Instructor in English,听delivered her commencement speech to the听2021 College of Nursing and Health Professions graduates and 2021 Pott College of Science, Engineering and Education听graduates. See the video听. Skip ahead to see Mrs. Horn at 45:35.


Dr. Silvia Rode听delivered her commencement speech to the听2021 Romain College of Business graduates and 2021 Liberal Arts graduates. in the third of four graduation ceremonies for fall 2021. See the video听. Skip ahead to see Dr. Rhode at 48:50.

Fall 2021

Home and Away: Lived Experience in Performative Narratives,听edited by听Dr. Leigh Anne Howard, was published听by Routledge.听By combining aesthetic expression and inquiry with critical听reflection, the听contributors听in this volume use a variety of听narrative strategies鈥攁utoethnography, mystoriography,听creative cartography, the lyric essay, fictocriticism, collage,听the screenplay, and poetics鈥攖o position place as the听starting point for the aesthetic impulse. The anthology听showcases the power and potential of performative writing听to illustrate the ways we interact with and in place; provides听examples of the ways one can express lived experience; and听demonstrates the ways discourses overlap while extending听our understanding of identity and place, whether one is听home or away. Although the chapters are fixed by their听literary form in this volume, many of chapters are best听realized in a performance or shared publicly via an oral听tradition.


Dr. Denise Lynn, Professor of History, Director of Gender Studies and Director of the Africana Studies Program, recently had her piece "" published in听The Washington Post. Lynn's piece was included in the "Made By History" section, a section dedicated to offering historians the opportunity to provide听"historical analyses to situate the events making headlines in their larger historical context."


Dr. Stephanie Young,听Associate Professor of Communication Studies, received the Undergraduate Mentor Award from the Kentucky Communication Association. This award is given for outstanding support of undergraduate scholarship and participation. It recognizes the important role faculty members play in supporting undergraduates鈥 academic, personal and professional growth through meaningful interactions related to academic advising, research and creative endeavors. Nominees will have a consistent record of successful outcomes with students such as advising student groups; coordinating presentations at professional conferences; including students in publications; and guidance for academic progress and admission to graduate/professional school, etc. Faculty members will also exemplify a high level of integrity and maintain active and continued mentorship as students move through their academic and professional careers.


Dr. Erin E. Gilles, Assistant Professor of Advertising & Public Relations, received the Harlan Hamm Award for Service to the Organization from the Kentucky Communication Association. Named for Harlan Hamm of Morehead State University, this award is given to a member with sustained service to KCA above and beyond what was expected of her or him.


Distinguished Professor Award 

Dr. Silvia Rode, Professor of German and Assistant Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, was named the 2020 91社区 Distinguished Professor. Rode joined the 91社区 faculty in 2007 as an Associate Professor of German and Chair of Modern and Classical Languages. During her time at 91社区, she has led in the development of new certificates and the Master of Arts in Second Language Acquisition and Culture. The Distinguished Professor Award was established in 1983 and is 91社区’s highest award given in recognition of significant achievement in teaching, scholarship and service. As a recipient, Rode will receive a $7,000 stipend plus a $3,000 faculty development grant underwritten by generous donors to the 91社区 Foundation.

Lee Cooper Core Curriculum Teaching Award

Jenn Horn, Instructor in English, was awarded the 2020 H. Lee Cooper Core Curriculum Teaching Award. Horn, who serves as the First Year Experience Liaison for the College of Liberal Arts as well as a mentor for Living Learning Communities, is also the 2021 recipient of the College of Liberal Arts Excellence in Teaching Award. The H. Lee Cooper Core Curriculum Teaching Award was established in 2000 and honors a 91社区 faculty member whose work in University Core Courses (UCC) has been especially creative and successful in furthering UCC goals. As a recipient, Horn will receive a $4,000 stipend and a $2,000 faculty development grant underwritten by longtime and generous University friends, Ann and H. Lee Cooper III. 

91社区 Foundation Outstanding Teaching Award by New Faculty

Dr. Srikanth Dandotkar, Assistant Professor of Psychology, was awarded the 2020 91社区 Foundation Outstanding Teaching Award by New Faculty. Dandotkar joined 91社区 in 2016 and is being recognized for his ability to both teach and assist students throughout the transition to online courses caused by the pandemic, as well as his service as a mentor for a number of his students with Endeavor Research Grants.

Dr. Kristin LaFollette's听poem "[Portrait of a] Young Woman's Doppelg盲nger" was nominated for the Best of the Net Anthology by Rogue Agent.听

Dr. LaFollette's听co-edited collection Queer Approaches: Emotion, Expression, and Communication was released by听Information Age Publishing in Fall 2020.

Dr. Kristin LaFollette's听two scholarly articles that will be published during the Fall 2021 semester. 鈥淒ada and Surrealism听in the Composition Classroom: A Transgenre Approach to Basic Writing Pedagogy" is forthcoming in the听Journal of Basic Writing and "Constellating Arts-Based and Queer Approaches: Transgenre Composing听in/as Writing Studies Pedagogy" is forthcoming in the Journal of Multimodal Rhetorics.

Dr. Kristin LaFollette's听full-length poetry collection, Hematology, was selected as the winner of the 2021 Harbor Editions听Laureate Prize. The book will be published by Harbor Editions in November 2021.


Dr. Oana Armeanu, Chair of Political Science and Associate Professor of Political Science in the Political Science, Public Administration and Philosophy Department, participated in the international conference "," hosted by the Danubius University in Galati, Romania with a group of 91社区 students in September 2021.


John Sibley Williams鈥檚 poem 鈥淭he Dead Just Need to be Seen. Not Forgiven.鈥 (originally published in the fall 2019 issue ofSouthern Indiana Review) has been selected for the prestigious annual听Best American Poetry听anthology. "The 2021 edition of the leading collection of contemporary American poetry is guest edited by the former US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, providing renewed proof that this is 鈥渁 鈥榖est鈥 anthology that really lives up to its title鈥 (Chicago Tribune).


Dr. Sally Vogl-Bauer鈥檚听Communicating Ethically in Our Everyday Lives听was published in July.听Communicating Ethically in Our Everyday Lives听provides readers with opportunities to pause and reflect on what it means to engage in ethical communication with others. It defines and explains the relationship between ethics, ethical communication, and ethical interpersonal communication and ultimately helps the reader to identify ethical interpersonal communication in people鈥檚 verbal and nonverbal messages. Published by Kendall Hunt Publishing.


The second scholarly book,Rhetorical Narratology听(University of Nebraska Press, 1999) by听Michael Kearns,听Professor Emeritus of English,听is being听translated into Chinese for a new series in narrative theory, to be published by Shanghai Foreign听Language Education Press. The translator, Huaiyu Luo, will also be publishing an interview with Kearns about the book; in a Chinese journal, the title of which translates into English as Narrative Studies.


Dr. Kristin LaFollette, Assistant Professor of听,听was selected as the winner of the Harbor Editions Laureate Prize. Her full-length poetry manuscript,听Hematology, was听chosen by Missouri Poet Laureate, Karen Craigo. The prize includes publication of her manuscript by Harbor Editions.听As a collection,听Hematology听is at the intersection of medicine and the humanities. With a focus on bodies, genetics, and trauma, the poems outline family relationships and experiences with illness, recovery, and grief.

"In this collection, there is close attention to the literal body and its blood鈥攕o much blood, plus bone and flesh and bruise and nerve and spine. Right alongside it, though, is the figurative body, which can 'glide like songs from a mouth,' or which is 'honeycomb / & milkweed, then a stack of white plates / with blue borders.' This is a lush, embodied collection with the capacity to surprise and astonish readers. I'm excited to recommend it." - Karen Craigo, MO Poet Laureate


Dr. Laura Soderberg, Assistant Professor of听, has a forthcoming book,听Vicious Infants: Dangerous Childhoods in Antebellum U.S. Literature.

Vicious Infants听offers a counterhistory of literary childhood as both perceived social threat and site of resistance, revealing that many children were not only cut off from family and society, they were also preemptively excluded from the rewards of citizenship and adulthood. Turning to prison documents, medical journals, overlooked periodical fiction, and literary works from William Apess, Harriet Wilson, Herman Melville, Susan Paul, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, Laura Soderberg recovers alternate narratives of childhood and provides an important window into the cultural links between race, reproduction, and childhood in the antebellum period.

The book can be purchased from the University of Massachusetts Press听.