Academics_Faculty-Presentations-and-Publications-min

Faculty Presentations and Publications

APRIL 2019

  • MFA Faculty Member Laure-Anne Bosselaar was installed on March 26 as Poet Laureate of Santa Barbara for the next two years, starting on the first day of April Poetry Month 2019.

  • Assistant Professor of English, Shelley Linso's short story, "The Doll Factory," has been accepted for publication in the fall issue of the Saranac Review.   http://saranacreview.com/

  • Melinda Ponder, Faculty Emerita of English, was on NPR’s “All Things Conisdered” as part of their American Anthem series on April 4 talking about Katherine Lee Bates.  The link is:   https://www.npr.org/2019/04/04/709531017/america-the-beautiful-american-anthem

  • Cindy Miller, Adjunct Professor of Sociology and Political Science, and her ukulele band The Unlikely Strummers were featured on Channel 5, April 2:  
    https://www.wcvb.com/article/play-along-with-these-unlikely-stories/27021184?fbclid=IwAR1arYGlTs_gZw1W3wkltMaEjb88XjltYktOwi3YXkdSNml9i32lZkvMmM0

  • Assistant Professor of Theatre, Deborah Kronenberg, is presenting an interactive workshop entitled Ensemble Culture: The power of open-minded, interdependent group genius working towards social justice for the Northeast Regional Association of Experiential Education Conference taking place April 12-14, 2019.

  • Professor of Early Childhood, Sandy McElroy served on the dissertation committee for Rebecca Putman at Regis College.   Rebecca's study was for the completion of her doctoral program in Higher Education Leadership. Her study was entitled, " Beyond the Classroom: An Exploration of student engagement in a campus child care center."  On April 10, 2019 Sandy is attending a meeting of Early Childhood Education Advocates from across the Commonwealth at Greenfield Community College.   Sandy is attending and speaking at the Massachusetts Association of College Teacher Educators conference in her role as President of the Massachusetts Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators on April 12, 2019.  The conference is entitled, The Making of a Teacher; Many participants, Shared.

  • Adjunct Professor of Dance, Sharon Montella, and her hip-hop troupe, Dangerous Brood, performed March 31, 2019 to an enthusiastic audience at Triskellion Arts at the Muriel Schulman Theater in NY as part of the WAXworks Showcase series. The series offers choreographers feedback from the audience to further the development of their work.

  • On April 4, MFA Program Director Meg Kearney delivered a presentation on YA verse novels at the Massachusetts Reading Association’s 50th Anniversary Conference in Quincy, MA.  On April 16 at 7:30 p.m., Meg will deliver the keynote at the Greater Boston Intercollegiate Undergraduate Poetry Festival, hosted by Boston College.

  • MFA Faculty member Sandra Scofield’s short-short story “Bloom” was published by story/south and can be read at  http://www.storysouth.com/2019/03/bloom.html 

  • Dean of the College and Associate Professor of Psychology, Diane Mello-Goldner, presented April 4th about the College’s Use of Aqua by Watermark to assess core competencies in the general education and programmatic curriculum at Pine Manor College, at the Watermark Engage 2019 conference, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA.

  • Associate Professor of Mathematics Rebecca Mitchell and Assistant Professor of Theatre Deborah Kronenberg's presentation, 1285 - (Whoosh!)^3: Building an Ensemble Culture for active learning and equity-building, was accepted for the Regional Conference of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in Boston, September 2019.

MARCH 2019

  • Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing, Shelley Linso's short-short, CRISPR-Cas9, was accepted for publication at Abstract Magazine, a publication "that engages with both the crises and joys of our shared human condition" and embraces "art that engages with the edge of now." www.abstractmagazinetv.com

  • Bill Stargard, Professor of Art History, edited and wrote the introduction for "Sacred Spaces and Spirituality in the Long 18th Century," in 1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era, volume 24 (2019): 289-351. Bill will also be presenting a paper, "Bernardo Vittone's Istruzione diverse and Savoyard Royal Policies," at the Society of Architectural Historians 2019 Annual International Conference in Providence, RI on 25 April 2019.

  • Kelly DeFao, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Political Science, attended a conference on “Redressing harm through Restorative Justice” presented by Harvard Law School on 2/5/19. The panel talk was entitled “Integrating RJ into the US Criminal Context.”

  • Lynne Love, Director of the Child Study Center and Acting Supervisor of the Early Childhood Practicum and Placement attended the conference, Beyond Words: Gender and the Aesthetics of Communication at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, on Friday, March 1.

  • Sharon Montella, Adjunct Professor of Dance, took 1st place for Women's Advanced Weapons and Empty Hand forms at the Triple Crown KRANE Tournament, Warwick, RI on March 2, 2019.

  • Dawn Mackiewicz, Assistant Professor of Business and Management, presented March 4th on “The benefits of considering a virtual veterans center” at the ACPA19 Convention in Boston.

  • English Faculty Emerita, Melinda Ponder, will be giving a talk on Sun., March 31, at 2 pm at the Wellesley Public Library, “The Town of Wellesley’s Roles in the Career of Katharine Lee Bates, Poet of “America the Beautiful.” Her talk will include a slideshow of vintage photographs

  • MFA Faculty member Dzvinia Orlowsky read on Sunday, March 3 at 1:00 p.m. as part of The Art of Words/Mike Amado Memorial Series. Plymouth Public Library. Dzvinia will also read on Friday, March 15 at 7:00 p.m. at the Lily Poetry Salon hosted by Solstice graduate Eileen Cleary, 9 Cottage Avenue, Needham Heights. Finally, Dzvinia will read on Saturday, March 30 at 2 p.m. as part of “Seasoned Voices: Women Poets Take Their Stand”. Celebrating Women’s History Month. Art Gallery, Brockton Public Library, 304 Main Street, Brockton. Free and open to the public.

  • English Faculty Emerita and MFA Faculty member Kathleen Aguero will read Tuesday, March 19, 7 p.m. at the Somerville Armory, Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA.

  • MFA Faculty member Laure-Anne Bosselaar’s has a new book titled, These Many Rooms. It is available from Four Way Books: https://fourwaybooks.com/site/rooms/.

  • MFA Faculty member Amy Hoffman’s essay, “The Quest for Identity,” is included in the anthology, In Search of Stonewall: The Riots at 50, the Gay & Lesbian Review at 25: Best Essays, 1994-2018, edited by Richard Schneider Jr. For more information, see https://glreview.org/glr-25th-anniversary-book/

FEBRUARY 2019

  • Assistant Professor of Foundational Learning and English Language Learners, Brendon Albertson, and Assistant Professor of English Hannah Baker-Siroty had a conference proposal accepted at the Massachusetts Conference for Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages (MATSOL) in Framingham on May 29. The title is "Applying Best Practices: Grammar Instruction in a Foundational Composition Course" and will discuss results on the effectiveness of the "Pizza & Punctuation" workshops last semester, and some grammar instruction strategies in EN100.

  • Adjunct Professor of Sociology, Cindy Miller, coordinated Film & History's annual conference on Citizenship and Sociopathy, in Madison, WI., and a Master Class on Media and History at the Centre National de l'Audiovisuel in Luxembourg. Cindy was also featured on the BBC's radio program The Food Chain in January, talking about the role of food in film. Cindy’s latest book, Elder Horror: Essays on Film's Frightening Images of Aging was just published, and her essay "The Aesthetics of Tits and Ass: Burlesque and the Culture Wars" was recently published in Peter Swirski's edited book: The Art of Artertainment: Nobrow, American Style. Cindy also gave a film screening talk on Katherine Bigelow's Near Dark at the Brattle Theatre in December.

  • Faculty Emerita, Melinda Ponder, gave a slideshow presentation December 17 on Katharine Lee Bates at the NewBridge on the Charles Retirement Community. On Jan. 17, she gave a slideshow talk on KLB to the Tides Club in Naples, Florida, and on Jan. 23, spoke at the Marco Island, Florida library. On Jan. 31, she spoke at the Newton Free Library, co-sponsored by Historic Newton.

  • Associate Professor of Mathematics, Rebecca Mitchell, submitted a proposal for a $67,000 Active Learning Center Grant from Steelcase, Inc. https://www.steelcase.com/discover/information/education/active-learning-center-grant/

  • Sandy McElroy, Professor of Early Childhood, has been selected for the Early Childhood Advisory Council, involved in the new Q.R.I.S. rating system and also for the Early Childhood Workforce Council, a group created by the legislature and Early Education and Care involved in discussions and recommendations to improve and enhance professional development for early childhood educator. Sandy also has become part of the Leadership Group of the Massachusetts Association of College Teacher Educators investigating the Massachusetts Educator Licensing exams and issues relating to teacher shortage and diversity in the field.

  • Dawn Mackiewicz, Assistant Professor of Business and Management, will be presenting in Las Vegas on February 8th on the transition of student veterans to the classroom for the NASPA Military Symposium.

  • Adjunct Professor of Dance, Sharon Montella, was inducted into the 'Action Martial Arts' Hall of Honors this weekend in Atlantic City, NJ.

  • Adjunct Professor of Religion, Marian Simion, gave a keynote speech, “Ritual and National Anniversary;” during an international scientific conference titled, The Idea of National Unity, Freedom of Conscience and Principles of Democratic Society, sponsored by the Romanian Parliament on November 16, 2018. On November 9, 2018, he also presented “Lackadaisical Adaptability Hypothesis: Religious Communication through Senses in the Age of Immersive Audiovisual;” during the 4th International Colloquium ComSymbol co-organized by Université Paul Valéry de Montpellier (France), and Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad (Romania). Marian also recently appeared on two Romanian TV educational programs: “Religion in a changing world” conversation with Marius Creța’s talk show In Search for Truth (broadcasted live on November 13, 2018) and “Academica” conversation with Emanuel Sălăgean on current social, political and ethical issues facing Romania (broadcasted live on November 14, 2018).

  • MFA Faculty member Iain Haley Pollock read on Saturday, February 2 as part of the Lily Poetry Salon, curated by recent graduate, Eileen Cleary. Iain also read with graduate Lisa Sullivan on Sunday, February 3 at the Plymouth Public Library. Iain will read on Sunday, February 17 at 5:00 p.m. as part of the Bloom Readings. The reading will take place in the Lounge at the Hudson View Gardens, Pinehurst Street & W. 183rd Street, New York, NY.

  • MFA Faculty member Dzvinia Orlowsky will read on Thursday, February 28 at 7:00 p.m. as part of Rozzie Reads Series, Roslindale House, 120 Poplar Street, sponsored by Friends of the Roslindale Library, Roslindale, Massachusetts. Free and open to the public.

  • MFA Faculty member Amy Hoffman’s essay, “The Quest for Identity,” is included in the anthology, In Search of Stonewall: The Riots at 50, the Gay & Lesbian Review at 25: Best Essays, 1994-2018, edited by Richard Schneider Jr. For more information, see https://glreview.org/glr-25th-anniversary-book/ 

  • On February 22, Solstice MFA Program Director Meg Kearney will be visiting Overlook Elementary School in Poughkeepsie, New York, where the student body has read her picture book, Trouper. On March 1, Meg will also visit the Assawompset School in Lakeville, MA, to talk about Trouper and poetry with second and third graders.

  • MFA Faculty member Sterling Watson gave three craft talks, a reading, and did six manuscript consultations at the just finished 2019 Writers in Paradise Conference. Sterling was awarded the MUSE Literary Arts Award recipient by the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance and will be celebrated at a ceremony on February 8. Read an article about the award here: https://stpetecatalyst.com/arts-alliance-names-writer-sterling-watson-a-muse-award-winner/

DECEMBER 2018

  • On Thursday, December 13 Assistant Professor of English Hannah Baker-Siroty will be a featured poet and workshop leader at MassPoetry’s Student Day of Poetry at Thayer Academy Middle School in Braintree, MA.

  • Christopher Rivera, Assistant Professor of English, and English Literature major student Simone (Wenbo) Huang, have been invited to participate in a conference-workshop titled “Literature and International Law at the Edge” to be held at New York University December 14-15, 2018.

  • On December 1, Sharon Montella, Adjunct Professor of Dance, and her hip hop crew, Dangerous Brood, performed her choreography in the Dance Complex Teaching Artist/Student Concert at Dance Complex in Cambridge. She also conducted an open rehearsal as part of the Central Square Business Association annual local merchant event Friday, November 30 also held at The Dance Complex. Dangerous Brood has been accepted to showcase at WAXworks in New York in March.

  • Kelly DeFao, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Political Science, attended the New England Faculty Development Consortium (NEFDC) conference entitled Challenges of 21st Century Education on November 9 at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.

  • On November 12, Assistant Professors of Business and Management, Joe Fargnoli and Raquel Lopez, took 27 students to the ICIC Capital Conference that included talks by entrepreneurs, a “kinder gentler shark tank” where three entrepreneurs made their pitch, and a discussion about entrepreneurship, business advice and accounting by Dawn Fotopolus, a renowned author and consultant. . They were guests of Steve Grossman, ICIC’s CEO who was a gracious host and recognized the PMC group during his opening remarks.

  • Associate Professor of Mathematics, Rebecca Mitchell, participated in the NE-IBL brainstorming workshop on November 10 at Westfield State University. She participated in a brainstorming sessions of ways to support the use of inquiry-based learning practices with professors around New England. She has agreed to co-organize a community of practice around IBL more generally.

  • At the American Chemical Society’s SERMACS October 31, 2018 Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, Professor of Chemsitry, Ujwala Panse, copresented the following with her colleague Vidyullata Waghulde from St. Louis Community College: Is It Possible to Submerge a Boat? - Teaching Average Density, and Buoyancy Concepts Using 3 D Printed Boats - A Guided Inquiry Approach; How Polar Fish Survive Subzero Seas: An Interdisciplinary Connection of Chemistry to Marine Biology; To Identify and Compare Microenvironment of Unknown Amino Acids Based on their Hydropathy Index, Isoelectric pH (pI), and pKa Values- An Investigative Approach.

  • In connection with her book, Katharine Lee Bates: From Sea to Shining Sea, Faculty Emerita Melinda Ponder has now given 56 talks and has six scheduled already for 2019. Her talk at the Massachusetts State House library for Veterans Day was a big success, and in attendance was PMC graduate Carlene Kirksey ’16 (English & SPS) who is working for the president of the Senate.

  • Solstice MFA Program Director Meg Kearney and Assistant Director Beth Little attended the National Council of Teachers of English Conference in Houston, Texas on November 15-18, 2018. Solstice had a booth at the Exhibition Booth at the Conference. Meg presented with Solstice graduate Melanie Meehan and educator-writer Stacey Shubitz in a workshop titled “Honor, Reflect, and Celebrate the Diversity of Your Classroom with Mentor Texts,” Friday, November 16. Also in attendance and giving presentations were Solstice faculty members Brendan Kiely and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich and Solstice writer-in-residence Renée Watson.

  • MFA Program Assistant Director and graduate Beth Little’s story “Where Did You Go?” has been accepted for publication in Hunger Mountain (The VCFA Journal for the Arts) spring 2019 issue.

  • MFA Faculty Member Dzvinia Orlowsky's sixth collection of poetry Bad Harvest is available now from Carnegie Mellon University Press. A Bad Harvest poetry book signing, reading, and celebration took place on Saturday, November 10 at the Lilypad, Inman Square, Cambridge. Dzvinia also read on November 14 as part of the Hasting Reading Room Series at the First Congregational Church. She also gave a reading on November 29 at Newtonville Books, Newton Centre

  • MFA Faculty member Anne-Marie Oomen, editor, launched a new anthology ELEMENTAL: A Collection of Michigan Nonfiction, (Wayne State University Press) on November 15 at Glen Arbor Art Center, Glen Arbor, Michigan, and December 1 at Horizon Books, Traverse City, Michigan. Anne-Marie and a selection of contributors read together.

  • MFA Faculty member Iain Haley Pollock participated in a Poetry Mini-festival on November 17 at Manhattanville College’s Barat House.

  • MFA Faculty member Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich presented at the all-day literary festival EpicFest at ImaginOn Library on November 3 in Charlotte, NC.

  • MFA Faculty member Laure-Anne Bosselaar will teach a workshop, interview Sharon Olds on stage, participate in a panel, and give a reading at the Palm Beach Poetry Festival from January 21-26, 2019.

  • On November 15, Dean of the College Diane Mello-Goldner participated in an Executive Leadership panel discussion on “Innovative and fiscally sound ways to enhance student, faculty, and administration success,” sponsored by Cannon Solutions and held at Babson College, Wellesley, MA.

NOVEMBER 2018

  • Cynthia Miller, Adjunct Professor of Sociology and Political Science, recently co-edited the volume, Terrifying Texts: Essays on Books of Good and Evil in Horror Cinema, published by McFarland. Cindy’s essay "Homo Machinus: Kubrick's two HALs and the evolution of monstrous machines" was published in Understanding Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey. Another essay "From the Human to the Divine: Nature in the Writing of the Tamil Poet-Saints" was published in Ecocritical Aesthetics: Language, Beauty, and the Environment. She had a paper accepted for Humour 2019: An Inclusive Interdisciplinary Conference, in Prague. Cindy also will give a talk on Near Dark at the Brattle Theatre in November as part of their Elements of Cinema program, and was just asked to give a talk on Buster Keaton's films for Public Domain Day at Suffolk Law School.

  • Adjunct Professor of Dance, Sharon Montella, participated on Saturday, October 20, with 15 members of her Kung Fu school, Pai Lum Northeast Dragons. They performed a demonstration for the Boston Peace Initiative on the Boston Commons. Sharon’s part in the presentation was the Double Plum Sword Form ( https://youtu.be/-7qi8vTygHk). Andrea Major School of Dance, who performs every year at Pine Manor, also presented.

  • Faculty Emerita, Melinda Ponder, will give an author talk, Celebrating the Armistice One Hundred Years Ago: Boston, the Yankee Division, and “America the Beautiful,” Wednesday, November 7, 2018—Noon to 1:00pm at the State Library of Massachusetts—Room 341, Massachusetts State House

  • On Friday, November 9, Assistant Professor of English, Hannah Baker-Siroty, and Dean of the College, Diane Mello-Goldner, will be co-presenting “Teaching Psychology through Young Adult Literature” at the Annual Meeting of the Northeast Conference for Teachers of Psychology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).

  • Dean of the College and Associate Professor of Psychology, Diane Mello-Goldner, who is the current President of the New England Psychological Association (NEPA), will give her Presidential address, “Dodging a Bludger: Sorting Out Psychology Through Harry Potter” at the NEPA Annual Meeting at WPI on Saturday, November 10.

  • Adjunct Professor of Communication/Photography, Belinda Soncini, has a photograph “Moved to act” in an exhibit at the Davis Orton Gallery in NY ( http://davisortongallery.com). The show is being curated by PMC alumna, Marky Kauffmann ’72.

  • Dawn Mackiewicz, Assistant Professor of Business and Management, will be presenting her doctoral dissertation findings at the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Conference in Boston in March 2019.

SEPTEMBER and OCTOBER 2018

  • Deborah Kronenberg, Assistant Professor of Theatre and Performing Arts, presented an interactive workshop "Help Ensemble Engulf Schools" at Performing the World conference in NYC on 9/23.

  • Robert Wickham, a Tufts University TEACRS Postdoctoral Scholar who taught at PMC during the Spring 2018 semester, recently published a manuscript: A. Pirone, J.M. Alexander, J.B. Koenig, D.R. Cook-Snyder, N. Shrestha, L. Eden, M.S. Palnati, R.J. Wickham, L. Reijmers, T. Beiderer, K.A. Miczek, C.G. Dulla, M.H. Jacob, Social stimulus causes aberrant activation of the medial prefrontal cortex in a mouse model with autism-like behaviors, Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience, Accepted 09/26/2018, pending publication date.

  • The summer/fall issue of The Southampton Review features MFA Program Director Meg Kearney’s poem “Sparrow.” Meg also will be participating in the James River Writers Conference, October 13 & 14th in Richmond, Virginia. Panels featuring Meg include “Publishing Poetry,” “Manipulating Time Using YA Novels as a Template,” and “What Makes a Story Timeless? Emotional Truth.” Meg will also be reading in the “Abuzz with Poetry” showcase on October 13 at 5:30 p.m. Visit www.jamesriverwriters.org for more info.

  • Dawn Mackiewicz, Assistant Professor of Business and Management, will present a roundtable discussion titled, “Student veterans' transition from combat to college and their view of support services” at the 2019 NASPA Symposium on Military-Connected Students to be held February 7-9, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

  • Solstice MFA Program Director Meg Kearney and Assistant Director Beth Little will attend the National Council of Teachers of English Conference in Houston, Texas on November 15-18, 2018. Meg Kearney will present with Solstice graduate Melanie Meehan in a workshop titled, “Honor, Reflect, and Celebrate the Diversity of Your Classroom with Mentor Texts.” It is scheduled for Friday, November 16, 2018. Also in attendance and giving presentations will be Solstice faculty members Brendan Kiely and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich and Solstice writer-in-residence Renée Watson.

  • Faculty Emerita and MFA Faculty member, Kathleen Aguero, will be leading ekphrastic writing activities Wednesdays Oct. 3-24, 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Claes Oldenburg exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston as part of their Poetry in the Galleries series. https://www.mfa.org/programs/series/poetry-in-the-galleries

  • New MFA faculty member Brendan Kiely’s article titled “The Girls Who Live in an All-Boys World” was published in The Atlantic on September 25, 2018. Read the article here: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/09/girls-who-live-all-boys-world/571273/

  • New MFA faculty member Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich recently published the picture book Someday Is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-Ins, the middle grade novel Naomis Too, and Above and Beyond: NASA's Journey To Tomorrow, a celebration of NASA's 60-year history.

MAY 2018

  • Assistant Professor of English, Hannah Baker-Siroty, had a poem about Shakelton’s voyage accepted to be read on May 10 as a part of the Improbable Places Poetry Tour (through Monserat College of Art) at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum. Hannah also attended the Massachusetts Poetry Festival the first weekend in May.

  • Joe Fargnoli, Assistant Professor of Business and Management, will attend the 2018 CFO Leadership Conference May 9-10.

  • Adjunct Professor of Biology Kelly Curtis, Professor of Biology Susan Bear, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Rebecca Mitchell, and Associate Professor of Biology Colleen Krieser attended the UNH Fostering Academic Success in STEM conference on Friday April 27th at University of New Hampshire and on Saturday April 28th, participated in the UNH STEM Pedagogy Institute. The team was accepted to participate in the Institute to work on a project aimed at improving quantitative reasoning skills in Biology students by focusing on Principles of Biology. During the institute, they developed a strategy for how to better build quantitative reasoning skills into the Principles of Biology labs and targeted several labs for revision to incorporate QR modules into the lab. They will continue to work on these changes this summer so that they can be implemented in the course next year.

  • Associate Professor of Biology, Colleen Krieser, will attend the Massachusetts Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) Regional Network Summer Meeting called "Off to a Good Start: Excellence in Teaching Introductory STEM courses" at Salem State University on June 15th.

APRIL 2018

  • On April 7, Adjunct Professor of Dance, Sharon Montella, competed in her first nationals tournament for NASKA, North American Sport Karate Assn - Ocean State Grand Nationals in Warwick, RI. She placed in two events: Traditional Black Belt forms and weapons (double sword). 
  • Karen Hussar, Assistant Professor of Psychology, recently served as a peer-reviewer for two journals: Child Development and Ecopsychology. She also was a guest lecturer at the class, Cognitive Development & Trust in Testimony at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

  • On April 13, 2018, Sandra McElroy, Professor of Early Childhood: Education, Health, and Leadership, presented at a Massachusetts Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators conference entitled: "Teachers on the Fontline: Advocating for Equity and Accountability.” Her presentation was related to early childhood advocacy and involvement in MAECTE.

  • Assistant Professor of English, Hannah Baker-Siroty, attended the 2018 Greater Boston Intercollegiate Poetry Festival at Boston College with PMC student Wendy Napoleon on April 18. Hannah is also reading at Fitchburg State next Thursday as a featured poet during their poetry month series.

  • MFA Faculty member and English Faculty Emerita Kathleen Aguero read on Thursday, April 5 at The Emily Dickinson Homestead, Amherst, MA as part of a book launch for Nasty Women Poets: An Unapologetic Anthology of Subversive Verse. Kathi also read on Saturday, April 7 at the Boston Public Library as part of the Boston National Poetry Month Festival. Kathi’s poems, “Self-Portrait as an Empty Boat,” “Self-Portrait as a Geranium,” and “Self-Portrait as a Sunrise,” have been published by the online review Mer Vox: http://halfshellpress.com/poetry/

  • MFA Director Meg Kearney’s poems “Looking for Eagles” and “Cuckoo on a Golden Anniversary” appear in the anthology Like Light: 25 Years of Poetry & Prose by Bright Hill Poets & Writers (Bright Hill Press; Bertha Rogers, editor). Meg presented “What a Three-Legged Dog Teaches About Poetry” (grades K-6) at the Mass Reading Association Annual Conference at the Boston Marriott Quincy, on Tuesday, April 10. Meg will present at the American Adoption Conference in New Mexico on April 20. She will talk about “Taking Control of our Adoption Stories” through the use of her teen verse-novel trilogy: The Secret of Me, The Girl in the Mirror, and When You Never Said Goodbye.

  • MFA Faculty member Anne-Marie Oomen and Linda Nemec Foster, launched a reading and signing tour for their new book The Lake Michigan Mermaid, April 10, at Schuler’s Books and Music, Grand Rapids, MI.

  • MFA Faculty member Amy Hoffman read on Wednesday, April 11, at Vanderbilt University. The reading is sponsored by the Women’s & Gender Studies Department.

  • MFA Faculty member Sandra Scofield read at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art in Wichita Falls, Texas on Thursday, April 19.

  • MFA Faculty member Laure-Anne Bosselaar’s 17 section poem “Rooms Remembered” was published in a chapbook by Sungold Editions.

  • MFA Faculty member Iain Haley Pollock's second collection of poetry, Ghost, Like a Place, is forthcoming from Alice James Press in September 2018. Iain also has joined Solstice Literary Magazine as poetry co-editor.

MARCH 2018

  • Assistant Professor of Business and Management, Dawn Mackiewicz, successfully defended her dissertation and will receive her Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership from Northeastern University this May.

  • Assistant Professor of Computer Studies, Barbara Schwartz, attended the NERCOMP conference at Holy Cross in Worcester: Moodle User Group, February 27. The meeting provided an “opportunity for anyone who uses, supports or administers Moodle to learn how colleagues at other institutions are taking advantage of the latest features of Moodle in a variety of environments and disciplines.”

  • Assistant Professor of English, Hannah Baker-Siroty, is one of the headliners for a poetry reading in April at Fitchburg State as part of a series focusing on LGBTQ civil rights exploration ( http://www.fitchburgstate.edu/news/lgbtq-civil-rights-exploration-continues-in-april/). Over spring break, Hannah also attended the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) College Composition Conference in Kansas City, MO, along with Shelley Linso, Assistant Professor of English.

  • Adjunct Professor of Dance, Sharon Montella, was part of a team of dancers, Dancers United, a newly formed professional dance company directed by Karm-Syndia (Karm Augustine ‘13) that took a First Place Trophy at the Chale Lakay Cultural Dance Competition in Florida, February 10. The team of eight dancers competed in the categories of Haitian Folkore and Hip Hop and included Karm-Syndia, Lindsey Vaughn ’11 and Sharon.

  • Sandra McElroy, Professor of Early Childhood, was selected by Cambridge University Press as a reviewer for a new text, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, 25 Foundational Works in Education, by Paul Kirschner, Distinguished Professor at the Open University of the Netherlands, and Carl Hendrick of Wellington College, UK.

  • Stephanie Stigliano, Adjunct Professor of Visual Arts, is exhibiting several prints in Impressions III at Gallery Blink, 1963 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington. Exhibition dates: April 13-May 6, 2018. Opening Celebration: Saturday, April 14, 5-8 pm. (www.galleryblink.com). Stephanie is also exhibiting artworks along with her husband C.A. Stigliano at The Gallery, 480 Main Street, Malden. Stephanie will have new oil paintings, watercolors and drawings on display. Exhibition dates: March 31-April 28, 2018. Artist Reception: Thursday, April 19, 7-9pm. (www.thegalleryinc.com)

  • MFA in Creative Writing Director Meg Kearney, and Assistant Director Beth Grosart Little, attended the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference in Tampa, Florida as a conference sponsor from March 7-10, 2018. Many events featured Solstice faculty (Renée Watson, Anne-Marie Oomen, Nicole Terez Dutton, Dzvinia Orlowsky, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Amy Hoffman, Randall Horton, Mike Steinberg) and alumni (Kim Suhr, Jacque Brown, Alejandro Ramirez, Annette Marquis, Maria Luisa Arroyo).

  • MFA Program Director Meg Kearney was featured on NHPR’s The Bookshelf. Listen to her interview here: http://nhpr.org/post/bookshelf-meg-kearneys-adoption-stories-real-and-imagined#stream/0

January and February 2018

MFA Faculty member, Renée Watson’s YA novel, Piecing Me Together, won this year’s Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizing African American authors and illustrators of outstanding books for children and young adults. The book also received a John Newbery Honor for outstanding contribution to children’s literature. Piecing Me Together also received the Josette Frank Award which honors a book of fiction of outstanding literary merit in which children or young people deal in a positive and realistic way with difficulties in their world and grow emotionally and morally. Renée will be visiting with and speaking to students in the Psychology of Adolescence and Fiction courses on March 29.

Cindy Miller, Adjunct Professor of Sociology, recently published two edited volumes: The American Civil War on Film and Television: Blue and Gray in Black and White and Color (Lexington, October) and Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema (Lexington, December). In November, she coordinated Film & History's annual conference, "Representations of Home: The Real and Imagined Spaces of Belonging," and gave a talk "I Like New York in June: Terrors of the City in The Fisher King." In January, Cindy advised a Master Class in Media and History at the Nat'l WWII Museum in New Orleans, and attended a one-day conference there on Propaganda in Media. She recently became an editorial board member for the Journal of Popular Culture, and served on their Brigman Graduate Student Article award committee. Cindy also just finished chairing the Peter C. Rollins Documentary Film Prize committee and served on the Ray and Pat Browne book prize committee for the National Popular Culture Association.

On January 29th, Sandra McElroy, Professor of Early Childhood, organized and presented at a meeting of the Massachusetts Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators, at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. The meeting concentrated on the importance of quality in all aspects of Early Childhood Educator preparation and how that is defined. It also addressed the importance of qualified and experienced supervisors and principals to support educators in the field. Continuing efforts to publish and spread information on these subjects, and about MAECTE, are ongoing. This includes a new website designed and launched by Dr. McElroy (www.maecte.org).

Rebecca Mitchell, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Kelly Curtis, Adjunct Professor of Biology, Susan Bear, Professor of Biology, and Colleen Krieser, Associate Professor of Biology applied and were accepted as a team to participate in the UNH STEM Pedagogy Institute on Saturday April 28th. The team will be developing a project focusing on QR in biology courses that they will then work on at PMC next year. They will also be attending the Fostering Academic Success in STEM conference on April 27th. Attendance and accommodations are covered by a conference grant.

Adjunct Professor of Visual Arts, Stephanie Stigliano's print is included in The Boston Printmakers 2017 North American Print Biennial at Lesley University College of Art and Design, Cambridge, MA. The exhibit is on display until March 2, 2018.

The faculty and staff writer’s group met for a winter retreat in Falmouth, MA January 8 – 9. In attendance were Rebecca Mitchell, Assistant Professor of Mathematics; Dawn Mackiewicz, Assistant Professor of Business and Management; Michele Ramirez, Professor of Psychology and Assistant Dean for Foundational Learning; and Staci Weber, Dean of Student Affairs.

MFA Program Director Meg Kearney took part in a conversation with writer Ben Ludwig on February 8 called “Taking Control of our Adoption Stories.” They talked about their personal connections with their adopted characters, and engaged in a discussion about empowering adopted and foster children to tell their own stories. The event, sponsored by Foster On, took place at Porter Square Books in Cambridge.

MFA Faculty member Sandra Scofield will be teaching a four-week workshop, “Aboutness, A Workshop for Novelists and Narrative Memoirists,” in Portland, Oregon. The event is sponsored by Mountain Writers and will occur on Thursday evenings, February 8, 15, 22, and March 1. For information see www.mountainwriters.org.

MFA Faculty member Dzvinia Orlowsky’s piece “Rolling” is one of 5 nominated by 100 Word Story for “Best Small Fictions 2018.” Dzvinia will read on Saturday, February 10 at 7:00 p.m. as part of a commemorative reading for Ukrainian poet and literary critic Bohdan Boychuk (1927-2017) at The Ukrainian Museum, New York City.

Faculty Emerita and MFA Faculty member Kathleen Aguero'spoem, “Praise for the Ill,” has been published in Ibbetson St. #42.

MFA Faculty members Kathleen Aguero and Dzvinia Orlowsky will read with Danielle LeGros Georges on Tuesday, February 13 at 7 p.m. as part of a reading by Solstice Literary Magazine editors at the Newton Free Library, Homer St., Newton, MA. Both also will read on Friday, February 23 at 7 p.m. as part of a reading from Nasty Women Poets: An Unapologetic Anthology of Subversive Verse at Porter Square Books in Porter Square, Cambridge, MA.

December 2017

 

Rebecca Mitchell,Ed.D., Assistant Professor of Mathematics, had a roundtable presentation titled, “The struggle is real: One professor’s attempt to adopt inquiry-based practices” accepted at the 17th Annual CCTL Conference on Teaching and Learning to be held January, 2018 at Niagara University.

Karen Hussar

Karen Hussar, Ed.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology, co-authored an article accepted for publication in the journal Ecopsychology: Hussar, K.M. & Harris, P.L. (in press). Vegetarian and non-vegetarian children’s judgments of harm to animals and humans. Ecopsychology. Karen also recently reviewed an article ("Children's Selective Trust in Promises") for the journal Child Development.

MFA Faculty member Amy Hoffman will read from her new novel, The Off Season, on Thursday, December 14 at 6:00 p.m. at the Jamaica Plain Library, 12 Sedgwick Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130; 617-524-2053. Also reading is Michelle Gabow, author of the short story collection God Is a Dog: Lost and Found in Paris.

An interview with MFA Program Director Meg Kearney, conducted by Ken Jones, will air on KBOO Radio’s “Between the Covers” on Monday, December 11, at 11 a.m. Pacific Time. Listen live at kboo.fm. The interview will be archived and available for download/streaming after its initial airing. For more info: https://kboo.fm/program/between-covers.

MFA Faculty member Dzvinia Orlowsky’s poem, “Fine,” and prose poem “Pleasure Pit” are featured in the current issue of Ploughshares.

Dean of the College, Diane Mello-Goldner, Ph.D., attended the 132nd NEASC Annual Meeting and Conference December 13-15, 2017 at Boston Marriott Copley Place.

November 2017

Shelley Linso

Shelley Linso, Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing, recently had her short story, "Standard Uniform," accepted by the Blue River Review, a non-profit literary magazine produced by Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.  It will be published this winter.  

Karen Hussar

Karen Hussar, Assistant Professor of Psychology, presented a poster titled “The Great Divide: Assessing Children’s Moral Judgment-Moral Action Gap regarding Environmental Issues” at the Society for the Study of Human Development in Providence, RI (October, 2017).

Sandra McElroy, Professor of Early Childhood, Health and Leadership, presented at the MACTE/COMTEC/MAECTE conference on October 27th at the College of the Holy Cross.  The conference title was Best Practices in Teacher Education: Enhancing Diversity in Teaching.   Dr. McElroy, as President of the Massachusetts Association for Early Childhood Teacher Education, welcomed conference participants at the general session and explained the work that MAECTE had accomplished this past year, and discussed future initiatives.  Dr. McElroy was also the Facilitator  of a session with Gregory Ross, Ebony Hutchinson and Laura McCullough from Millcreek Elementary School in Lexington, Kentucky entitled Retaining Teachers While Building  a Culture of Excellence in a High Minority/Low Socio-economic School.

LRC Director and Adjunct Professor of Mathematics, Jesse Boliver, attended the Association of Teachers of Math in New England (ATMNE) 2017 Common Sense Mathematics conference in Marlborough on November 2 and 3. He thoroughly enjoyed the conference and learned a lot that he looks forward to applying in his classes and the LRC.

Sara-Anne Beaulieu, LRC writing tutor and Adjunct Professor of College Composition, attended two Massachusetts Educators of English Language Learners conferences in the past month. The first was at Mass Bay Community College on Friday, October 27th and was entitled “Focus on ESL: Challenges & Changes in Higher Education.” At the conference she spoke with the keynote speaker, Sarang Sekhavat, Federal Policy Director of MIRA (the MA Immigration and Refugee Advocacy Coalition), about DACA, whom it will impact, and how. The second was at BU CELOP on Saturday, November 11th and was a Private Language Schools/IEP (Intensive English Programs) Conference.

Sharon Montella, Adjunct Professor of Dance, was inducted into World Martial Arts Federation Hall of Fame on November 5 and received the Female Black Belt of the Year award.  She also was the Gold medal winner for Advanced Women's Empty Hand Kung Fu, Silver for Weapons Forms and Bronze for Tai Chi at International Chinese Martial Arts Championship in Boston, on October 7.  Sharon's Hip Hop Company, 'Dangerous Brood' is performing as part of Dance Complex Teaching Artist Concert November 18 and 19.

LRC writing tutor Carol Berg’s poem “Self-Portrait in Seven Deadly Sins” was a finalist in Crab Creek Review’s 2017 Poetry Contest and her poem “Do Not Resuscitate” was the contest runner-up in Hospital Drive’s 2017 Poetry Contest.

MFA Faculty member Steve Huff's new collection of fiction, Blissful and Other Stories, is just out from Cosmographia Books. His new collection of poems, A Fire in the Hill, is due out in January.

MFA Faculty member Amy Hoffman will read on Thursday, November 9 as part of the Wellesley Centers for Women Lunchtime Seminar Series at Cheever House Library, Amy also will read with Program Director Meg Kearney and poet Nicholas Samaras on November 10, 2017, at 7:00 PM as part of the Chapter & Verse reading series at the Loring Greenough House, Jamaica Plain, MA.

MFA Faculty member Renée Watson will participate in multiple panels and book signings at the National Conference of Teachers of English. Renée will participate in an author visit at the Multnomah County Library in North Portland on November 8, 2017.  On Saturday, November 11, Renée will also participate in Wordstock: Portland Oregon’s Book Festival.  Finally, Renée will do a book talk and signing at Third Place Books (Seward Park) in Seattle on Monday, November 6.

October 2017

Hannah Baker-Siroty, Assistant Professor of English, had her poem “Beekeeper Outside Escanaba, Michigan” published in the anthology And Here 100 Years of Upper Peninsula Writing, 1917–2017, edited by Ronald Riekki.

Kelly DeFao, Assistant Professor of Sociology & Political Science, presented at the Global Youth Court Conference in Provincetown, MA held in September.

Ujwala Panse, Professor of Chemistry, completed a training class on 3-D Printing to be able to use the College’s new 3-D printer purchased with money from the Koch Healthcare & Biomedical Sciences Fund.

Karen Hussar, Assistant Professor of Psychology, and Michele Ramirez, Professor of Psychology, attended the Fall 2017 Fall New England Psychological Association (NEPA) Conference on October 21 along with eight PMC students.  Professor Hussar also presented two research posters co-authored by students Nerssie Charles, Michala Clea, Malaika Ducrepin, Brianna Gonsalves, Sherry Graves, Michelle Alexis, Rachel Julien, Melinda Lopes, Waagda Louis, & Kanishah St. Louis, with a third PMC poster co-authored by Lauradana Ducrepin, Mary Owen, & Brianna Smith.  During the conference, Diane Mello-Goldner, Dean of the College & Associate Professor of Psychology, was officially installed as the 2017 – 2018 President of NEPA.

Dawn Mackiewicz, Assistant Professor of Business and Management, will be attending the Massachusetts Women in Public Higher Education on October 27 in Devens, MA.

Nicole DeTore, Adjunct Professor of Psychology, presented a workshop about college mental health at the New England College Health Association Annual Meeting November 1-3 in Burlington, Vermont.

Sharon Montella, Adjunct Professor of Dance, took home the Gold Medal for Advanced Women's Open Hand, Silver Medal for Advanced Women's Short Weapons and a Bronze for Advanced Women's Tai Chi Open Style at the ICMAC Boston (International Chinese Martial Arts Championship), held at the Fore Kicks Sports Complex in Marlborough, MA on October 7, 2017.  

On Wednesday October 11, Adjunct Professor of Visual Arts Stephanie Stigliano, and her husband, Chuck, a sculpture professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design held an Artists Talk at PMC’s Hess Gallery related to their current show featuring prints and puppets subtitled, "A Work in Art and Life," which explores the evolving nature of artwork.

The Boston Globe recently reviewed the fiction debut novel of Amy Hoffman, MFA Faculty member (https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2017/10/19/first-novel-about-old-love/0me1hJBqCnOArNH61B3JiI/story.html)

MFA Faculty member Josh Neufeld has a new comics journalism piece in the fall issue of Columbia Journalism Review, part of a special issue devoted to the Trump presidency and the media.

MFA Faculty member Dzvinia Orlowsky’s piece “No Coming Back” has been accepted by the New Flash Fiction Review for their fall 2017 issue.

MFA Faculty member Renée Watson signed a 5-book contract with Bloomsbury for two young adult novels and three middle grade novels. The first of the forthcoming books will be published in January 2019.

MFA Faculty member Nicole Terez Dutton will be participating in the James River Writers Conference the on Octoberpl[; 14-15 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, 403 North 3rd Street, Richmond, VA. https://jamesriverwriters.org/2017-annual-writers-conference/

MFA Faculty members Josh Neufeld and Laura Williams McCaffrey, as well as MFA graduate Jonathan Todd, will be attending the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo (MICE), held at Boston;s Lesley University on October 21-22

MFA Faculty member Josh Neufeld will be a guest at Amadora BD (Festival Internacional de Banda Desenhada) in Portugal, to be held in late October-early November.

MFA Faculty member Anne-Marie Oomen will be a featured author at Lost Lake Writers Retreat, sponsored by Springfed Arts Inspiration Alcona, Alcona, MI, October 5-8.  For more information, check the website:https://www.inspirationalcona.org/2017/writing-events-folder/2017-lost-lake-writers-retreat

MFA Faculty member Sandra Scofield presented a workshop, “Aboutness,” for the Montana Book Festival in Missoula on September 27. The workshop draws from her forthcoming (December) craft book, The Last Draft.

Summer and September 2017

Sharon Montella, Adjunct Professor of Dance, competed at the International Chinese Martial Arts Championship kung fu tournament in Orlando, Florida July 1-2, 2017 and took home two medals -- the bronze medal for Advanced Women Open Hand Form and the Silver Medal for Advanced Women Tai Chi. Sharon also received the Improper Bostonian's "Boston's Best" Award for her Hip Hop Classes. Finally, Sharon spent time in NY this summer studying ballet, contemporary, West African dance and Graham technique.

Cindy Miller, Adjunct Professor of Sociology, attended and helped organize "Media and History: Crime, Violence, and Justice," the biennial conference of the International Association for Media and History in Paris, July 10-13. Cindy had two books recently published: Divine Horror: The Cinematic Battle Between the Sacred and the Diabolical (McFarland Publishing, July) and Urban Noir: New York and Los Angeles in Shadow and Light (Rowman & Littlefield Publishing, September). Finally, Cindy had an essay "Performing the Iconic West: Wild West Shows" published in A Fistful of Icons: Essays on Frontier Fixtures of the American West (Sue Matheson, ed., McFarland Publishing, June).

Stephanie Stigliano, Adjunct Professor of Visual Arts, is currently exhibiting at Cotuit Center for the Arts in Marking Time, 2017: Celebrating the 70th anniversary of The Boston Printmakers, August 5-September 16, 2017. Her print was part of The Boston Atheneum’s summer exhibit of New England on Paper: Contemporary Art in the Boston Athenaeum Prints and Photographs Collection. She is editor of The Boston Printmakers Quarterly. In the current issue, she documents the move of Eleanor Rubin’s American French Tool Press from her studio to the Pine Manor College Printmaking studio in Abercrombie (Living the Mission: Eleanor Rubin, by Stephanie Stigliano, Meet the Board, by Stephanie Stigliano, The Boston Printmakers Fall Quarterly, September 15, 2017). Please come and visit the beloved behemoth! This article can be found through the following link at http://www.bostonprintmakers.org/newsletters/

Professor Emerita Melinda Ponder launched her new book Katharine Lee Bates: From Sea to Shining Sea at PMC on Wednesday, September 6.

MFA faculty member Renée Watson will give a reading and a Q&A at the Baltimore Book Festival on Sunday, September 24. Renée is also presenting on a panel called, “Telling Her Own Story” at the Brooklyn Book Festival on September 17.

MFA Program Director Meg Kearney will be reading at the Best American Poetry Anthology Reading at The New School on September 28. Meg’s poem “Grackle” (originally published in the Massachusetts Review) has been chosen by Natasha Tretheway for the Best American Poetry 2017. The anthology comes out September 5, 2017.https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/114963

MFA faculty member Josh Neufeld has a new comics journalism piece in the fall issue of Columbia Journalism Review, part of a special issue devoted to the Trump presidency and the media.

MFA faculty member Dzvinia Orlowsky's poems “Invisible Departures”; “Boston Burning: Mission Hill, 1984”; “Our Names” were accepted by Ragazine for publication. Dzvinia along with poets Jeff Friedman, Peter Johnson, and Chard DeNiord will present a panel titled "Squaring the Circle: The Prose Poem" at the 2017 New Hampshire Poetry Fest on September 23, 2017, 9:15-10:30, Lowell Building, 88 Lowell Street.

Faculty Emerita and MFA faculty member Kathleen Aguero will read on Tuesday, September 19 at 5 p.m., in the Mass Poetry Unplugged Reading Series, at the Prudential Center, Boylston Plaza, 800 Boylston St. by the Tesla entrance, Boston, MA.

May 2017


Joe Fargnoli, Assistant Professor of Business & Management, and Ieshia Karasik, Director of Career Development, attended the HBX ConneXt at the Harvard Business School on May 6th. The event brought 400 past HBX participants to campus for a full day of case discussions, faculty sessions, networking, and career-related programming. Joe and Ieshia went away with a number of ideas and will be reviewing the event’s activities to see if there is a way to supplement PMC courses with HBX courses as a way to broaden the offerings in the Business and Management department and for our students.

Mark Rosenberg, Adjunct Professor of Communication, will be attending the 46th annual conference of The Israel Society for the Promotion of Classical Studies at Haifa University June 14 – 15, 2017.

MFA faculty member/Professsor Emerita Kathleen Aguero’s poem “City Women” has been accepted by Nasty Women Poets: An Unapologetic Anthology of Subversive Verse, to be published by Lost Horse Press in the fall of 2017. Kathi’s poem “Hard Work” has been accepted for publication in the 2018 Artists Datebook, published by Syracuse Cultural Workers. She also was a panelist on “Metaphor in Poetry: A Life Vest in a Time of Silence” on Saturday, May 6, 11 a.m., Hawthorne Hotel Library, Salem, MA as part of the Massachusetts Poetry Festival. http://www.masspoetry.org/2017-massachusetts-poetry-festival/

MFA faculty member Amy Hoffman spoke about Bad Attitude: A Lesbian Sex Magazine at The History Project, Boston, MA, on May 4 as part of the project's Out of the Archives series.

MFA faculty member Steven Huff's new collection of stories It Just So Happened will be published by Cosmographia Books in September.

MFA Program Director Meg Kearney gave a reading at Water Street Books on Thursday, May 4. Meg will also read and participate in a panel on writing for young people at the Millbrook Literary Festival on Saturday, May 20. For more information: https://millbrookliteraryfestival.org/

MFA faculty member Dzvinia Orlowsky’s new poetry collection, Bad Harvest, has been accepted by Carnegie Mellon University Press for publication in fall of 2018.

April 2017

William Stargard, Professor of Art History and Assistant Dean for Faculty Development and Teaching Excellence delivered a paper, "Networks of Charity in late 17th- and Early 18th-Century France and Italy," at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for 18th-Century Studies in Minneapolis, MN on Friday, March 31. Bill's paper was part of a roundtable discussion on "Networks and Empire."

Adjunct Professor of Anthropology and Sociology, Cindy Miller, presented a paper: "Some Assembly Required: The Do-It-Yourself Undead" at the annual meetings of the National Popular Culture Association (where she also chaired the Film and History area). Cindy also just submitted the manuscript for her second-to-next book, Urban Netherworlds: New York and Los Angeles in Noir Film (co-edited with James J. Ward). Her actual next book, “Divine Horror”, is due out in June. Cindy was just elected Vice President of Curriculum and Instruction for the Nat'l Popular Culture Association. Cindy also was interviewed by the BBC recently, and got about 60 seconds on airtime on their program "The Food Chain," talking about food and horror.

Assistant Professor of English, Hannah Baker-Siroty, read on April 1st at Barnes and Noble as part of a poetry month event with Mass Poetry. She will also be leading a workshop in the Student Day of Poetry part of the Massachusetts Poetry Festival on Friday May 5 and will be reading at RiverFest in Cambridge on June 3.

Associate Professor of Business, Steve Becker, had 108 new downloads in March 2017 across your 3 papers in DigitalCommons@UConn and ScholarsArchive@JWU. His current readership = 4621 total downloads.

Professor of English, Melinda Ponder’s biography of Katharine Lee Bates will be published in August. Melinda’s revised and updated website,www.melindaponder.com. She is setting up book talks throughout the country for next year, and her PMC book party will be Sept. 6, 6:30-8:30.

Adjunct Professor of Visual Arts, Stephanie Stigliano, currently has two art exhibitions: One New England on Paper: Contemporary Art in the Boston Athenæum’s Prints & Photographs Collections at the Boston Athenæum through September 3, 2017; and a printmaking exhibition at Gallery Blink, Lexington, MA through May 7, 2017.

Sarah Woolf, Director of the Annenberg Library, attended the annual Association of College & Research Libraries conference in Baltimore in April. This is a prestigious conference and Sarah brought back lots of ideas to incorporate into teaching and learning/information literacy and critical thinking both in the library and in future work with faculty.

MFA Faculty member Dzvinia Orlowsky read her poetry on Friday, April 21, 2:30-3:30, as part of the Lavender Ink/Dialogos Books Poetry Reading, New Orleans Poetry Festival 2017. Dzvinia’s poem, “Age of Osteo Colossus” has been accepted for publication by The Baffler; “Pleasure Pit” and “Fine Despite” have been accepted by Ploughshares; and “Ivan the Fly-Eater” and “Kalendar” have been accepted for publication by Cardinal Points.

MFA Faculty member Amy Hoffman will read from her memoir Lies About My Family and lead a discussion about Jewish family history at Temple Emeth in Brookline, Massachusetts, on Saturday, April 29, at 9:30 a.m., as part of the Emeth Reads series.

MFA Program Director Meg Kearney read from her new verse novel, When You Never Said Goodbye: An Adoptee’s Search for Her Birth Mother, at Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, NH, on Saturday, April 8.

Faculty Emerita and MFA Faculty member Kathleen Aguero’s poem is included in the anthology, Bared: Contemporary Poetry and Art on Bras and Breasts from Les Femmes Folles Books
http://www.lauramadelinewiseman.com/books/bared-contemporary-poetry-art-on-bras-breasts/

March 2017

 

Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Rebecca Mitchell, co-authored the manuscript entitled "The Design of Video-Based Professional Development: An Experiment Intended to Identify Effective Features" accepted for publication by the Journal of Teacher Education. Lead author is Mary Beisiegel and Heather Hill is also a co-author.

The Solstice Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing Program of Pine Manor College is pleased to announce the publication of Program Director Meg Kearney’s novel-in-verse for young adults, When You Never Said Goodbye: An Adoptee’s Search for her Birth Mother. It is available beginning March 21, 2017 (Persea Books, 2017). To hear the song Kearney co-wrote for the book and to view the book’s trailer, visit www.megkearney.com. Meg also presented at the Children’s Literature Festival at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, MO on March 19-21; did a school visit at the Gainesville R-5 School in Gainesville, MO on March 23 and on March 24 at the Barbara Blanchard Elementary School in Cape Girardeau, MO. Meg is also presenting at the MO Association of School Librarians’ Spring Conference on March 26-28 in St. Louis, MO where she will also be accepting the Show Me Readers Award for her picture Trouper. http://www.maslonline.org/?page=showme_readers

Adjunct Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, Cindy Miller’s latest edited volume What's Eating You? Food and Horror on Film was published by Bloomsbury Publishing. Cindy also gave a publishing workshop and spoke on two academic publishing panels - the former aimed at helping scholars turn their ideas into publishable projects, and the latter two focused on finding the right publication venue - at the Southwest Popular Culture Association conference, in Albuquerque, last month. (www.southwestpca.org). Cindy also had a new series that she edits for the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group launch in February. The series title is Teaching History With ... and is a series of practical guides for teachers in secondary schools and college who want to use film or other popular culture in the history classroom. The series launched with _Teaching History with Science Fiction_, _Teaching History with Musicals_, and _Teaching History with Newsreels and Public Service Shorts_.

MFA Faculty member Steve Huff's new collection of stories, It Just So Happened, will be published in the fall by Cosmographia Books.

On January 21, 2017, Professor of Early Childhood: Education, Health and Leadership, Sandy McElroy participated in a meeting/conference titled A Vision for the Future of Teaching and Learning in Massachusetts. This brought together state policy leaders, superintendents, leaders of teacher preparation programs, and classroom educators to discuss how we can develop a more coherent set of policies and practices to recruit, train, and support our educator workforce. Dr. Fernando Reimus, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell Chester, Representative Alice Peisch (Co-Chair of the House Joint Committee on Education), and Heather Pesky, Commissioner of Educator Quality, led discussions on the status of education in Massachusetts with the release of 2015 PISA test results. The group discussed the lessons learned from high-performing nations with educators who have visited Singapore, Finland and Shanghai. Sandy also participated on March 8th in a National Association for Education of the Young Child seminar and training, “Making and Tinkering with STEM: Solving Design Challenges with Young Children.” This involved implementing new approaches to teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

MFA Faculty member Amy Hoffman participated as a fellow at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts from March 6 through 19. Amy was recently elected to the VCCA Fellows Council.

Adjunct Instructor of Dance, Sharon Montella, has been nominated by Sifu Woody Bernier for induction into to the World Martial Arts Federation Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place May 6, 2017 in Marlborough, MA. Sharon also recently recorded some vocals for Indie Folk artist Jobe Freeman's most recent CD entitled 'The Medallion Sessions v. 1).

 

February, 2017

Jennifer Jean, Adjunct Professor of English: Creative Writing and Literature, presented at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference in Washington, DC in early February. Jennifer participated as part of the Mom Egg Review (MER), a literary journal about motherhood. MER “supports the work of mother writers and promotes motherhood as subject matter for artistic expression through publications, performances, workshops, and online at www.momeggreview.com.”

MFA Faculty member Amy Hoffman's novel The Off Season has been accepted for publication by the University of Wisconsin Press and will come out in Fall 2017.

Knowing Knott: Essays on an American Poet, edited by MFA faculty member Steve Huff, with essays by Tom Lux, Michael Waters, Stephen Dobyns, Star Black, Timothy Liu, and many others, appeared February 1 from Tiger Bark Press.

MFA Program Director Meg Kearney’s novel-in-verse, When You Never Said Goodbye, the third and final book in the young-adult Lizzie McLane trilogy, comes out at the end of February 2017 (Persea Books). Meg had her first book signing for this book Feb. 9 at the AWP Conference in Washington, DC (see photo below).  For more information, visit www.megkearney.com. Meg is also the feature at Plymouth State University’s Eagle Pond Authors Series, Silver Center for the Arts, on Thursday, February 16!

MFA Faculty member Robert Lopez’s third novel, All Back Full, a novel in three acts, came out on February 14. More information: http://www.dzancbooks.org/our-books/all-back-full-by-robert-lopez (Dzanc books)

MFA Faculty member Renée Watson’s novel Piecing Me Together came out on February 14, 2017 (Bloomsbury). For more information, visit: http://www.reneewatson.net/books-draft/

MFA Faculty member and undergraduate Faculty Emerita Kathleen Aguero took part in a panel on writing and the writing process on Friday, February 17 at Schroon Lake Central School, Schroon Lake, NY. Kathi also read on Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. as part of a reading from Nancy Drew Anthology: Writing and Art Featuring Everybody’s Favorite Female Sleuth, at Porter Sq. Books, Cambridge, MA http://www.portersquarebooks.com/event/2017-02

 

January, 2017

Sharon Montella, Adjunct Professor of Dance, placed in four events at the World Martial Arts Federation tournament in November, on both the karate and Kung fu sides. One was a first place tie for advanced Kung Fu forms. The others were second place for KF weapons forms and second and third place for advanced karate weapons and empty hand forms.

Cindy Miller, Adjunct Professor of Sociology, co-facilitated a Master Class on media and history at Northumbria University in the UK right before the semester started; and has also recently submitted the manuscript for her latest edited volume: Divine Horror: The Cinematic Battle Between the Sacred and the Supernatural.

Five PMC faculty and staff met four times during Fall 2016 for a writer's workshop. At each meeting, a different member of the writer's group received feedback on a piece of writing distributed prior to the meeting. The writing shared included articles for publication, a paper for a conference presentation, and a teaching philosophy. The first meeting of the Spring 2017 semester was held on Friday, January 20. On January 6 - 7, Rebecca Mitchell, Karen Hussar, Anne Alexander, and Staci Weber met in Newport for a PMC writing retreat. Friday night was spent writing and taking time to get to know each other. The next day involved more writing. Overall the retreat was a time of productivity and collegiality. The next retreat will be scheduled after Commencement.

 

November and December 2016

Kathleen Aguero, Faculty Emerita and MFA Faculty member will conduct a Creative Writing for Caregivers Workshop at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston on November 16. Kathi’s poem, “Larkspur Lane,” appears in the recent anthology from Silver Birch Press, Nancy Drew Anthology: Writing and Art Featuring Everybody’s Favorite Female Sleuth.

MFA Faculty member Josh Neufeld had his comics story, “Costumed Chaos in Times Square,” published on The Nib.  He will be presenting and discussing some of his work on Saturday, November 13, 2016, at the Jewish Comic-Con, Congregation Kol Israel, Brooklyn, NY. Josh also was recently hired as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the MFA English Dept. for Spring 2017 at CUNY Queens College in Flushing, New York. In addition, he has been teaching since September 2016 in the Illustration/Cartooning Dept. at the School of Visual Arts, New York City.

Kelly DeFao, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Political Science, attended the New England Faculty Development Consortium (NEFDC): Civic Engagement & Service-Learning Conference on November 18 at the College of the Holy Cross. Kelly also attended the Criminal Record Sealing Continuing Legal Education seminar sponsored by the Mass. Bar Association in Boston on October 27.


Devon Govoni, Adjunct Professor of Psychology and Visual Arts, had some of her artwork published in Current Masters V. 2 published on Jul 3, 2016 (https://issuu.com/despina2/docs/current_masters_2_by_world_wide_art). Devon also has an art show opening in New York City on December 17th.

Ieshia Karasik, Career Services Director, was accepted into PMC’s Solstice MFA in Creative Writing Program and was awarded the The Jacqueline Woodson Fellowship for a Young People’s Writer of African or Caribbean Decent.

MFA Director Meg Kearney’s poem “Grackle” appears in the fall issue of the Massachusetts Review. Also, her piece of writerly advice, “Brush Up on those Formal Tools,” is included in The Crafty Poet II, edited by Diane Lockward and just out from Terrapin Press.

Dean of the College Diane Mello-Goldener, Diane Mello-Goldner, recently completed a training session on “Four Leadership Practices for Current or Aspiring Deans” sponsored by Academic Impressions.

 

October 2016

Ujwala Panse, Professor of Chemistry, presented two papers at the fall conference of the American Chemical Society, October 5 – 7 in Binghamton, NY. The two papers, which were co-authored with Vidyullata Waghulde, were titled, “To Incorporate Interdisciplinary Approach and Research-Based Learning in an Undergraduate Curriculum” and “Inquiry Based Learning in an Organic Chemistry Undergraduate Curriculum.”

Karen Hussar, Assistant Professor of Psychology, presented a poster titled “Cashing in: The impact of a token economy on college students’ class attendance” on October 14 at the 22nd annual meting of the Northeast Conference for Teachers of Psychology (NECTOP).

Bill Vogele, Professor of Political Science, and two of his Spring 2016 Community Based Research Practicum students, Liz Anderson ’17 and Ashley Piermarini ’16, presented the class’ research project at the Fall 2016 meeting of the New England Psychological Association (NEPA) at Assumption College on October 15.

Bill Stargard, Professor of Art History and Assistant Dean for Faculty Development and Teaching Excellence, had his paper, "Networks of Charity in Late Seventeenth- and Early Eighteenth-Century France and Italy," accepted for a panel session at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Eighteenth Century Studies in Minneapolis in March 2017.

Michele Ramirez, Professor of Psychology and Assistant Dean for Foundational Learning, was elected to the Steering Committee (the Board) of the New England Psychological Association.

In her role as co-president of the Massachusetts Association of Early Childhood Educators, Sandy McElroy, Professor of Early Childhood, will be making a presentation at the Fall conference of the Massachusetts Association of College Teacher Educators on Advocacy for Early Childhood Programs and Education. This conference will take place at Holy Cross College in Worcester on October 28, 2016.

Cindy Miller, Adjunct Professor of Anthropology and Sociology, has a new book, Silence of the Lambs: Critical Essays on Clarice, a Cannibal, and a Nice Chianti will be out this coming week. This week, Cindy is also coordinating the Film & History's annual conference (in Milwaukee), and will be giving a talk, "Playing God: Frankenhooker, Rock ‘n’ Roll Frankenstein, and Other Creation Stories." She also had an essay, “The Fantastic Frontier: Sixguns and Spectacle in the Hybrid Western, " published in Lee Broughton's book Critical Perspectives on the Western: From A Fistful of Dollars to Django Unchained (Rowman & Littlefield).

 

Rebecca Mitchell, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, will have her research presented at the Proceedings of the 38th Annual Conference of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education to be held in Tucson, Arizona from November 3 – 6. The title of the presentation, which will be published in the peer-reviewed conference proceedings, is “Exploring conditions of video-based professional development: Teachers’ conversations about and reflections on instruction.”

MFA Director Meg Kearney’s poem “Grackle” appears in the fall issue of the Massachusetts Review. Also, her piece of writerly advice, “Brush Up on those Formal Tools,” is included in The Crafty Poet II, edited by Diane Lockward and just out from Terrapin Press. She also will read as part of the Jerome Stern Distinguished Writers Series, curated by Florida State University’s Creative Writing Program in Tallahassee, on Tuesday, November 15, 8 p.m. at The Warehouse, 706 W. Gaines Street.

MFA Faculty member Laure-Anne Bosselaar will give a Master Class on Oct 28th, 29th and 30th at POETS HOUSE, 10 River Terrace, New York, NY 10282. For the daily schedule, go to: http://poetshouse.org/programs-and-events/workshops-master-classes-and-residencies/master-class-laure-anne-bosselaar.

MFA Faculty member Anne-Marie Oomen served as writer-in-residence for the Trueblood Performing Arts Center on Washington Island, WI, October 16-22, and will teach a two-day life writing class there on October 21-22. http://www.truebloodpac.com/. She will also serve as writer-in-residence at WriteOn Door County, WI, October 23-30, and will teach an Ekphrastic writing class there on October 29 http://writeondoorcounty.org/events/2016-10/.

 

September 2016

Colleen Krieser, Associate Professor of Biology, was funded by a TEACRS grant for eight weeks during the summer to work in a research lab at Tufts. She worked in the lab of Dr. Peter Juo to develop new lab techniques and a new lab module that will be piloted in the genetics course offered this fall.

A group from Pine Manor will be presenting a panel session titled “Assessing Core Competencies in the General Education Curriculum at Pine Manor College” at the 2016 NEEAN Fall Forum on November 4th at The College of the Holy Cross. Authors of the presentation include: Diane Mello-Goldner, Ph.D., Dean of the College, Associate Professor of Psychology; Eileen McLaughlin, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Communication; Michele Ramirez, Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Foundational Learning, Professor of Psychology; William Stargard, Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Faculty Development and Teaching Excellence Professor of Art History; Staci Weber, ABD, Dean of Student Affairs; & Melissa Yoffe, MSW, Associate Dean for Academic Services.

Karen Hussar, Assistant Professor of Psychology, presented her research titled, “Can a Picture Book Teach a Thousand Words? Examining Picture Books as a Means to Teach Humane Education to Preschool Children,” in June, 2016 at the Annual Meeting of the Jean Piaget Society, Chicago, IL.

Ieshia Karasik, Career Development Director, attended the 2016 NCDA Global Career Development Conference, June 30-July 2 in Chicago, Illinois. The conference theme was, Fostering Well-Being Through Meaningful Work.

Meg Kearney, Solstice MFA in Creative Writing Director, Director delivered the keynote address at the Kentucky Association of School Librarians’ Conference at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, KY, on Saturday, September 4. Meg’s picture book Trouper is winner of last year’s Kentucky Bluegrass Award.

Laura Williams McCaffrey,Solstice MFA Faculty member, is the new Fiction Editor at YARN.

Diane Mello-Goldner, Dean of the College and Associate Professor of Psychology, was elected President of the New England Psychological Association. She will serve as President-Elect beginning October 2016 and will begin as President of NEPA in October 2017.

Cindy Miller, Adjunct Professor of Anthropology and Sociology gave a talk at the International Vampire Film and Arts Festival in Transylvania over the summer. In September, Cindy also gave a talk in Big Sky, Montana, at the Western Literature Association conference. Her latest edited collection, The Laughing Dead, was released over the summer. Cindy’s essay "Disney's Japan" appeared in Doug Brode's new book Debating Disney, and a second essay "'In God's Good Time': 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Cold War Culture" appeared in Doug Brode's new book It's the Disney Version!

Sharon Montella, Adjunct Professor of Dance, competed in the World Martial Arts Karate/Kung Fu Tournament on June 11 and won First Place in an Advanced Weapons Forms Division. Sharon holds black belts in kung fu and tai chi in both White Dragon Fist Kung Fu and Black Dragon Five Elements Forms. She currently teaches Kung Fu and Tai Chi at Amigos Cambridgeport Community Afterschool Program and has taught Self Defense and the Moving Art of Kung Fu at Pine Manor College and Milton Academy Afterschool Program.

Josh Neufeld, MFA Faculty member, attended the Brooklyn Book Festival in Brooklyn, NY, on Sunday, September 18. Josh co-lead a workshop on Flash Fiction inspired by comics and moderated a panel on comics inspired by conflict zones.

Dzvinia Orlowsky,Solstice MFA Faculty member, participated in a reading with poets Kelle Groom and Dan Tobin and others for Plume Literary Magazine at the Cambridge Public Library on Thursday September 22.

Melinda Ponder, Professor of English, Prepared the manuscript of her book, KATHARINE LEE BATES: FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA, for publication. Her book will be published by the Windy City Publishers in the spring of 2017. In May, 2016 she gave a talk on “Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Main Currents of the 19th Century Literary World” at the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow House, and in June, 2016 presented on “The Wellesley College Roots of Katharine Lee Bates: Poet of ‘America the Beautiful’ and Social Activist” at Wellesley College.

Stephanie Mahan Stigliano, Adjunct Professor of Visual Arts, worked with printmakers from the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Art and The Boston Printmakers to produce a portfolio of prints in Krakow, Poland during June. In July, she exhibited at Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA in Inspired Views. This fall her work will be a part of Pictures at an Exhibition Reframed, in Malden, MA and 2016, A State of Mind at Lamont Gallery in Exeter, NH.

Renée Watson, Solstice MFA Faculty member, has launched a nonprofit to honor the legacy of Harlem Renaissance poet, Langston Hughes. I, Too, Art Collective will lease and renovate the brownstone where Langston Hughes lived and created. The non-profit will also provide poetry and writing workshops for youth and community members.

Solstice MFA Faculty members Jedediah Berry, Iain Haley Pollock, and Laura Williams McCaffrey are the 2016-2017 guest editors for Hunger Mountain 21: Masked/Unmasked.

On June 13th 2016, Sandra McElroy attended conference entitled,"Opening Pathways: Strengthening Opportunities for Early Educators Who Are English Language Learners".  The conference was sponsered by the CAYL Institute, the Masschusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advisory Council, and Wheelock College.

 

May 2016


MFA Associate Director Tanya Whiton gave a reading with poet Kevin McLellan on Monday, May 2 at LFK in Portland, ME.

On May 24th 2016, Sandra McElroy attended a conference and annual dialogue at Wheelock College, "Children as the Focus: Promotion Quality in Early Education and Care"


MFA Program Director Meg Kearney presented at the Dutchess County School Librarians Association annual gathering, Friday, May 20

MFA Faculty member Dzvinia Orlowsky and poet co-translator Jeff Friedman are featured in an interview about their NEA award-winning translation project in the current issue of Solstice Literary Magazine. Dzvinia’s translation from Ukrainian of Natalka Bilotserkivets’ poem “We Will Not Die in Paris” is featured in a bilingual interview conducted by Andrew Singer for Trafika Europe Radio.

Stephanie Stigliano, adjunct VA professor, exhibited in The 4th National Monotype/Monoprint Juried Exhibition at the Attleboro Museum in Attleboro, MA. This summer she will travel to Krakow, Poland and work with the printmakers of Jan Matejko Academy of Art to create a portfolio of prints.

 

April 2016

At the Spring conference of the Massachusetts Association of College Teacher Educators on April 18th, Professor of Education Sandra McElroy was the facilitator of a session entitled, “Strategies for Meeting Diverse Needs: Incorporating Inclusive Practices Throughout Teacher Preparation Programs.” Nathan Jones, From Boston University and Chris Panarese from UMass Dartmouth also participated.Dr. McElroy also has been selected to be on the Advisory Board for Bright Horizon's of Massachusetts.

Assistant Professor of Computer Studies, Barbara Schwartz, attended a workshop on Moodle and its features.


Professor of English, Melinda M. Ponder, presented at The Boston Browning Society on the topic of The Wellesley College Browning Collection and Katharine Lee Bates on April 13.


Faculty members Dzvinia Orlowsky and Kathleen Aguero presented Verse and Diverse Walk Into a Bar: A Conversation With Solstice’s Editors on Diversity, Saturday, April 30 2016, at the Hawthorne Library in the Hawthorne Hotel, Salem, MA as part of the Massachusetts Poetry Festival.

Faculty member, Kathleen Aguero’s poem “Self-Portrait as the Two of Swords,” was published in Stone Canoe: A Journal of Arts, Literature and Social Commentary, Number 10

Program Director Meg Kearney’s poem “Ibis” was published in the spring 2016 issue of The New Ohio Review, issue 19.

MFA Faculty member Laura Williams McCaffrey’s short story “Crow’s Face,” was recently published by YA Review.

 

March 2016

Adjunct Professor of Art History, L’Merchie Frazier, was one of three winners of Boston’s new artist-in-residence program (Boston AIR). L’Mechie, will receive a stipend as part of a six-month residency to develop projects while embedded with various city departments. She will work with the Office of Women’s Advancement and Office of Recovery Services to develop a multidisciplinary fiber-art project that explores substance abuse among area women. L’Merchie was recently highlighted in a Boston Globe article about the program (https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2016/02/18/artists-partner-with-boston-police-other-city-departments/QMqDkAdAMTGiVbkZgjk9aK/story.html).

MFA Faculty member Laura Williams McCaffrey’s third young-adult novel, Marked, was recently published by Clarion Books.

MFA Faculty member Josh Neufeld is the co-editor (alongside his wife, fiction writer Sari Wilson) of Flashed: Sudden Stories in Comics and Prose, recently published by Pressgang.

MFA Program Director Meg Kearney has two poems, “Woodpecker” and “Owl,” in the most recent issue of Poetry East.

MFA Faculty member Sandra Scofield’s short-short story, “Life Cooking,” has been recently published in “The Examined Life: A Literary Journal of the Carver College of Medicine” issue 4.2. Her short-short story “The Sinkhole” has been accepted by Narrative Magazine for future publication as a Story of the Week.

 

February 2016

Associate Professor of Business and Management, Stephen Becker’s review of the manuscript, "A psychological approach to understanding student learning difficulty for improving student success" was published in the journal Psychological Reports.

MFA Faculty member Laura Williams McCaffrey’s third young-adult novel, Marked, will be published by Clarion Books on February 16.

Faculty member Josh Neufeld is the co-editor (alongside his wife, fiction writer Sari Wilson) of Flashed: Sudden Stories in Comics and Prose, due out in February 2016 from Pressgang. Josh also wrote the forward to Creating Comics as Journalism, Memoir & Nonfiction, by Randy Duncan, Michael Ray Taylor, and David Stoddard. He also adapted journalist Alia Malek’s story of Syrian refugees traveling from Turkey to Sweden into comics form for the story “The Road to Germany: $2400,” for Foreign Policy magazine. His nonfiction comics story, “A Scanner Constantly,” written by Adam Bessie, will be published by Pacific Standard in February.

English Faculty Emerita and MFA Faculty member Kathleen Aguero has two essays, “In a Different Light,” and “The Things I Swallow,” published in the spring 2016 issue of The Tower.

MFA Faculty member Iain Haley Pollock’s poem “Brewerytown,” was recently featured on the Academy of American Poets “Poem-A-Day” digital poetry series.

 

January 2016

Professor of Political Science, Bill Vogele, has been invited to participate in V-Dem, an international project to develop nuanced indicators of the Varieties of Democracy. Bill is participating as a country expert on El Salvador, based on his work on democratic transitions in that country as well as his work on various peace and conflict projects.  For more information about the project, go to http://kellogg.nd.edu/projects/vdem/

Adjunct Professor of Visual Arts, Stephanie Mahan Stigliano, recently exhibited two prints in The North American Print Boston Printmakers Biennial at Lesley University, Cambridge, MA.   A diverse coalition of DC-area universities and arts and literary organizations will present Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here DC 2016, a book arts and cultural festival January through March 2016, throughout the Washington, DC, area. Stigliano’s book and print will be on display at McLean Project for the Arts, Northern Virginia Community College, McLean, VA. Major exhibitions, programs, and events will commemorate the 2007 bombing of Baghdad’s historic bookselling street, celebrate the free exchange of ideas and knowledge, and stand in solidarity with the people of Iraq.  Stephanie also contributed the article “Printmaking as a Teaching Tool,” as the first in a series inviting teachers to share their classroom experiences, to be published in the Boston Printmakers Quarterly e-Newsletter, Spring, 2016.

English Faculty Emerita and MFA Faculty member Kathleen Aguero’s poem, “My Hour in Miss Dickinson’s Room” has been published in A Mighty Room: A Collection of Poems Written in Emily Dickinson’s Bedroom. Her essay, “Shopping,” has been published in the winter 2015 issue of Solstice: A Magazine of Diverse Voices. Her two essays, “In a Different Light,” and “The Things I Swallow,” will be published in the spring 2016 issue of The Tower. http://towerjournal.com/spring_2016/essays/index.php

MFA Faculty member Renée Watson recently sold a middle grade novel, Betty, to Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers. She is co-writing the book with Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz.

MFA Faculty member Anne-Marie Oomen’s new play, Firearms Tutorial, has been selected for a one-week script development program and staged reading in the Blank Theater Company's Living Room Series.

Adjunct Professor of Sociology, Cindy Miller, recently attended a one-day conference in Los Angeles, sponsored by the International Association for Media and History, and also served as a mentor/facilitator for their Master Class for graduate students.  Her works, "Disney's Japan" and “In God’s Good Time:” 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Cold War Culture" are both appearing in a two-volume set on Disney, edited by Douglas, in March.  Cindy’s latest book, The Laughing Dead: The Horror-Comedy Film from Bride of Frankenstein to Zombieland is due out in late March/early April.

 

December 2015

Adjunct Professor of Art History L’Merchie Frazier’s art work, "Quilted Chronicles: Targeted Populations," was featured at UMass Boston's Harbor Gallery from October 26 through November 25. The works in "Quilted Chronicles: Targeted Populations" are fiber and mixed media works that comprise a body of images. The exhibit utilizes these art images as documents to capture individual and public memory that is not only particular to African Americans, hemispherically American and universally global community memory.  The “Historic Chronicles” series highlights stories of 19th century activism in America that continue to challenge our notions of the black experience, while the “Target” series invites the viewer to use this backdrop of history as a foundation to contemplate current questions of social justice in the urban “now” environment and analogous communities.

Adjunct Professor of Sociology, Cynthia Miller, coordinated the Film & History Annual Conference in Madison, WI, in early November.  Cindy gave a workshop on scholarly publishing as part of the program.

Assistant Professor of English, Anne Alexander chairing a session at Boston University’s Conference on Language Development 40, in mid-November.

The Early Childhood: Education, Health & Leadership Department hosted the MAECTE meeting at Pine Manor College in early November.   Education Professor Sandra McElroy is co-president of this state wide organization.  Adjunct Professor of Education Gina Tzizik was also a speaker at the conference.

MFA Faculty member Anne-Marie Oomen will be reading and signing books on Saturday, December 5 between 1:00–4:00 p.m. at the Traverse Area District Library for the Authors’ Meet and Greet on Traverse Area District Library, 610 Woodmere Ave, Traverse City, MI. She will also be participating in “Poetry of the Back Forty” at the National Writers Series Book Expo on Saturday, December 19 from 12:00–5:00 p.m. at Inside Out Gallery, 229 Garland St, Traverse City, MI.

Sterling Watson

MFA Faculty member Sterling Watson will be reading on Tuesday, December 15 at 7 p.m. at the Studio at 620, 620 First Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL.

MFA Faculty member Josh Neufeld will present his work on Wednesday, December 16 at 6:30 p.m. as part of the Hangin’ with Hang Dai Editions event at the Society of Illustrators, 128 E. 63rd St., New York City.  Josh (and co-reporter/co-wrter Michael Keller) also recently finished a follow-up nonfiction comics story to Terms of Service: Understanding Our Role in the World of Big Data, to be published by Al Jazeera America in early December 2015. This nonfiction graphic novella was awarded a 2015 EPPY for Best Innovation Project on a Website.  In addition, Neufeld’s nonfiction comics story, “A Scanner Constantly,” written by Adam Bessie, will be published by Pacific Standard in early 2016.

Faculty Emerita and MFA Faculty member Kathleen Aguero’s poem, “Night Beckons,” has been published in Ibbotson Street #38.

 

 

November 2015

MFA Faculty Member Venise Berry is co-editor of an anthology, Black Culture and Experience: Contemporary Issues, published with Peter Lang in October 2015.

 

Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Rebecca Mitchell, recently had an article titled “Examining the use of a structured observation protocol to support pre-service teacher noticing” published in the Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education.

Stephanie Stigliano, Adjunct Professor of Visual Arts, gave a gallery talk November 5 at Curry College about an exhibition of twenty-five prints that she curated titled ABSENCE & PRESENCE II:  A Printmaking Response to the Bombing of Al-Mutanabbi Street.  Stephanie also is on the Board of The Boston Printmakers and is the editor of Member News and the Quarterly e-Newsletter.

Ujwala Panse, Professor of Chemistry co-authored two abstracts accepted at the conference of The American Chemical Society November 5-7.  The titles were “Application of Thermodynamics For a Mechanism of Binding of Ions to a Cell Membrane,” Ujwala Panse and Vidyullata Waghulde, Ph.D.  Professor, St. Louis Community College, Meramec, St   Louis, MO;  “Teaching Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions of Alkyl/Aryl Halides using Inquisitive Approach,” Vidyullata Waghulde and Ujwala Panse.

Faculty Emerita and MFA Faculty member Kathleen Aguero had a reading at Gallery in Cambridge, MA on November 14.  Kathi also was a moderator and presenter on the panel “Self-Care for Writing Workshop Leaders” on November 6, at PEN New England’s Writing and Trauma Summit, at Regis College. She also taught a workshop in “Creative Writing for Caregivers” on November 9 at The 9th Annual Caregivers Conference, Courtyard Marriot, Grappone Conference Center, Concord, NH.

MFA Associate Director Tanya Whiton will be teaching a seminar, “Indie Publishing 101: What Writers Need to Know About Turning an Idea into a Book,” as part of Aside Vol, 5: A Citizen’s Forum on Literary Particulars, Saturday, November 14 from  1-3 p.m. at the Albert Brenner Glickman Library, Portland, ME.

Sterling Watson

MFA Faculty member Sterling Watson recently presented at the Tampa Bay Times Reading Festival, and he will join fellow authors Jeff Lindsay, Heather Graham, & James O. Born for “It’s a Crime: New Novels,” at the Miami Book Festival, Saturday, November 21.

 

October 2015

Faculty Emerita and MFA Faculty member Kathleen Aguero will be reading on Tuesday, October 20 at 4 p.m. at Newbury Court, 80 Deaconess Road, Concord, MA. Kathi will also be leading a seminar, “Creative Writing for Caregivers,” on Sunday, October 25 from 2–4:30 p.m. at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, 42 Brattle St., Cambridge, MA.

Karen Hussar, Assistant Professor of Psychology, presented a paper on “Understanding Children’s Evaluations of Attacks against Animals as Compared to Humans” at the October annual conference of the New England Psychological Association at Fitchburg State University on October 10, 2015.

MFA Faculty member Laura Williams McCaffrey’s “265 Days of Furie — Part I: Summer” was named a finalist for the 2015 Katherine Paterson Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing, which is sponsored by Hunger Mountain: The VCFA Journal for the Arts.

Michele Ramirez, Professor of Psychology, presented four posters at the annual conference of the New England Psychological Association at Fitchburg State University on October 10, 2015. The research was co-authored by the students in the Spring 2015 Community Based Research Practicum class.

MFA Faculty member Sandra Scofield’s latest book, Mysteries of Love and Grief: Reflections on a Plainswoman’s Life, is now available from Texas Tech University Press.

Bill Stargard chaired a Panel titled, “Urban Ceremonies in the Long Eighteenth Century” at a meeting of the Northeast Chapter of the American Society of Eighteenth Century Studies, at Trinity College, Hartford, CT on October 9, 2015.

MFA Associate Director Tanya Whiton will be teaching a seminar, “Indie Publishing 101: What Writers Need to Know About Turning an Idea into a Book,” as part of the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance annual Harvest Writing Retreat, on Saturday, October 24 at The Colony Hotel, Kennebunkport, ME


 

September 2015

Kathleen Aguero, Professor Emerita, Adjunct Professor of English and MFA Faculty Member, gave a reading on Thursday, September 24 at the Chatham Public Library, Chatham, MA.

Anne Alexander, Assistant Professor of Enhanced Foundational Program and English: Literature and Writing, attended a conference on social justice for Boston-area educators.

Venise Berry, MFA Faculty member, now has her memoir, "Driven", represented by Nadeen Gayle of the Serendipity Literary Agency in New York.

Lisa Breger, Assistant Professor of English: Literature and Writing, had her poem, "Time Under a Bridge," published in Hunger Mountain and was a runner-up for the Ruth Stone Poetry Prize.

Meg Kearney, MFA Program Director, had her poem “Scarlet Tanager, 1893” published in the summer issue of The Kenyon Review. Meg also participated and led the poetry workshops at Writers in the Round, a retreat for poets and songwriters, September 10–13 in Star Island, NH.

Cindy Miller, Adjunct Professor of Anthropology and Sociology, had her co-edited volume Horrors of War: The Undead on the Battlefield published this summer by Rowman & Littlefield. Cindy had several articles published as well: “Twilight Heroes: Old Age and Unfinished Business in Four ‘Heartland’ Films.” in Aging Heroes. Ed. Norma Jones. Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group; “Holodeck History: Past, Present, and Future on The Final Frontier” in The Star TrekUniverse: Franchising the Final Frontier.Ed. Doug Brode, Rowman & LittlefieldPublishing Group; and "Marketing, Monsters, and Music: Teensploitation Horror Films" inThe Journal of American Culture, 38:2, 130-141. Cindy was also elected to the Board of Directors of the National Popular Culture/American Culture Association.


Sharon Montella, Adjunct Professor of Dance, completed Horton Pedagogy Intermediate/Advanced Level at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in July 2015. The Horton Pedagogy is a weeklong dance teacher's workshop consisting of six hours per day of intensive training and pedagogical study in Horton dance technique. One of the most highly respected systems of dance training in the world, Horton Technique emphasizes both fluidity and athleticism in movement. The codified fortifications, preludes and movement studies are danced to both percussive and lyrical compositions. Horton stood firm on the premise that his technique could be accomplished by all dancers and did not depend on any one, specific, structural body type. Pine Manor students are eagerly learningthe techniques'challenging and dynamic movements combinations in Sharon’s Multicultural Dance Class this semester. In June and July, Sharon also had the opportunity to teach hip-hop to various groups of Taiwanese English Language students at Tufts University.

Dzvinia Orlowsky, MFA Faculty Member, and her colleague Jeff Friedman, were awarded a 2016 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Translation Fellowship for their translations of poems by Polish poet Mieczslaw Jastrun. Their translations of Jastrun’s book, Memorials: A Selection, was published by Dialogos Press in 2014.

Ujwala Panse, Professor of Chemistry, attended The American Chemical Society's International Conference in Boston where she learned about Green Chemistry resources that will be used in chemistry labs this year. In addition, she learned about a number of chemistry databases that will be introduced to students as the lab called Computers in Chemistry.

Melinda Ponder, Professor of English, has completed a biography, KATHARINE LEE BATES: FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA, of the poet of "America the Beautiful." The book was finished after many years of work, some funded by the the Lindsey and Wean Sabbatical fellowships. The book has been sent to an interested editor at the University Presses of New England. The book's website is "www.MelindaPonder.com."

Barbara Schwartz, Assistant Professor of Computer Studies and Instructional Technology Specialist, attended Cengage's Learning Computing Conference in Phoenix, AZ, this past spring. There were over 500 attendees, keynote addresses, and break out sessions with topics ranging from Microsoft's new products, eportfolios, interactive apps, best practices in higher education, networking with higher ed colleagues.