Heffner’s strategic management class worked with the board of Cobblestone Children’s Museum to fine-tune its business plan. The museum’s first traveling exhibit, “Amazing Magnets” will be on display at next weekend’s Multicultural Fair. The Free Lance Star reported on the museum at http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2011/032011/03282011/614961/index_html?page=1
Janet Cropp, assistant dean of advising services, served in March as a program proposal reader for the Advising and Adult Learners Commission for the 2011 National NACADA Conference. The conference will be held in Denver, Colorado in October, 2011.
Jason W. Davidson, associate professor of political science and international affairs, had the column “America’s Allies and Libya: Why Coalitions Make Sense” published March 30 in the Aspen Institute Italia’s foreign affairs journal.
Read the column at http://www.aspeninstitute.it/aspenia-online/article/america%E2%80%99s-allies-and-libya-why-coalitions-make-sense.
In addition, Davidson has the book ”America’s Allies and War: Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq” scheduled for release in April by Palgrave Macmillan.
Visit http://us.macmillan.com/americasalliesandwar to learn more about the book, which is especially relevant in light of the unrest and war in Libya.
The publisher’s summary says, “Why do Britain, France, and Italy provide or refuse military support for U.S.-led uses of force? This book provides a unique, multiple-case study analysis of transatlantic burden-sharing. Sixty original interviews with top policymakers and analysts provide insight into allies’ decisions regarding the Kosovo War (1999), Afghanistan (2001), and the Iraq War (2003). The cases show that neoclassical realist factors–alliance value, threat, prestige, and electoral politics–explain allies’ decisions better than constructivist factors–identity and norms. The book briefly covers additional cases (Vietnam, Lebanon, the Persian Gulf War, Somalia) and concludes with recommendations for increasing future allied military support.”
In Patricia A. Weitsman’s endorsement, the Ohio University political science professor writes, “Jason W. Davidson’s exceptional book is a must read for scholars and policy makers interested in knowing why states put troops in harm’s way for the benefit of their allies. Davidson’s masterful explanation of burden sharing is essential knowledge for students of history and politics, as well as decision makers crafting strategy for the future.”
Emile Lester, assistant professor of political science and international affairs, wrote a March 21 guest blog post for the Washington Post about whether religion can be taught in public schools. He finds hope for improving civil discourse on religion through an innovative course offered in the Modesto, Calif., public school system. Check out Lester’s blog post at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/political-bookworm/post/a-path-to-religion-in-the-classroom/2011/03/08/ABwNKy7_blog.html.
In addition, Lester has the forthcoming book “Teaching about Religions: A Democratic Approach for Public Schools,” which is due for release soon by the University of Michigan Press. Visit http://press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do;jsessionid=96706B2E5A1D7240FDFF52E73627E189?id=2180004 to learn more.
The publisher’s summary of Lester’s book says, “Frequent news stories about the debates waged between secularists and religious conservatives have convinced most Americans that public schools must choose between promoting respect for religious minorities and respecting the interests of conservative Christians. As a result, public schools fail to teach students about the meaning and value of protecting religious liberty and consequently perpetuate mistrust across the cultural divide, further empower extremists, and obscure the fact that most Americans of all religious backgrounds share a commitment to basic democratic principles.”
“In response, the public schools in the religiously diverse and divided community of Modesto, California, have introduced a widely acclaimed required world religions course. Drawing on groundbreaking research on the creation of and response to the Modesto course as well as on political philosophy, Emile Lester advocates a civic approach to teaching about religion in public schools that at once emphasizes respect for all views about religion and provides a special recognition of conservative Christian beliefs.”
Charles C. Haynes, the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center senior scholar, writes in an endorsement, “This provocative and timely book challenges Americans to rethink what it means to take democracy and religious freedom seriously in public education. Emile Lester takes the reader beyond culture war conflicts rooted in religious divisions and offers bold, new solutions for addressing our differences with fairness and robust toleration. Instead of battlegrounds, he argues, public schools can and should be places that include all voices in ways that prepare citizens to engage one another with civility and respect. “Teaching about Religions” is essential reading for all who care about the future of public schools—and the health of American democracy.”
Mindy Erchull, assistant professor of psychology, has received the 2011 Psi Chi Southeastern Regional Faculty Advisor Award for her active involvement as the university’s Psi Chi chapter advisor.
The award is presented annually to one Psi Chi faculty advisor per region who best demonstrates Psi Chi’s purpose of encouraging excellence in scholarship, particularly in psychology, and advancing the science of psychology. The Psi Chi Southeast region includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia and West Virginia. Erchull’s award was announced during UMW’s Psi Chi spring induction ceremony on March 10.
Since becoming the university’s Psi Chi advisor in 2006, Erchull has facilitated programs already in place and helped chapter officers to add more workshops to assist students in preparing for graduate school and job applications. In addition, she has traveled with past chapter presidents to national leadership conferences sponsored by Psi Chi, and the university chapter was under Erchull’s guidance when the group received a regional chapter award in spring 2010.
In addition to serving as the chapter’s advisor, Erchull has served as a faculty consultant to Psi Chi for three years, reviewing grant and award applications and serving as a reviewer for the “Psi Chi Student Research Journal.” In addition, Erchull has served as president of the campus Phi Beta Kappa chapter and has been a member or a convener of several Phi Beta Kappa committees.
In 2010, she received the Mary Roth Walsh Teaching the Psychology of Women Award at the American Psychological Association Convention. The award, sponsored by the Society for the Psychology of Women, recognizes a young faculty member who employs innovative methods to address issues of diversity in teaching the psychology of women.
Erchull, a member of the UMW faculty since 2005, received a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in social psychology from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Connecticut College. Her research focuses on such issues as objectification, feminism and psychological aspects of reproductive health.
She has been a reviewer for the Association for Women in Psychology, the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, and the American Psychological Association conference submissions and a reviewer for publications that include “Sex Roles,” “Women’s Studies” and “Health Care for Women International.” She is also a consulting editor for “Psychology of Women Quarterly.” Her own articles have appeared in “Psychology of Women Quarterly,” “Sex Roles” and “Health Psychology,” among other academic journals.
Erchull is co-chair of the Hyde Graduate Student Research Grants Committee for the Society for the Psychology of Women. Her professional memberships include the American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, Association for Women in Psychology, Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Virginia Academy of Academic Psychologists and the Virginia Psychological Association.
