Master of Arts Program News

Alumni News

Cathleen Rockwell, M.A. 2011, Literature & Writing Concentration
Since graduating from the Master of Arts Program in 2011, Cathleen Rockwell’s writing career has blossomed. She is now writing an online blog for Gainesville's edition of Italian Foods Examiner and Holiday Examiner. INsite Magazine hired her as a freelance writer to do theatre reviews and cover events such as the Epcot Food & Wine Festival and Universal Studios Mardi Gras Celebration. They have been so pleased with her work that they offered her the position of one of their staff writers as a movie columnist and film writer. She has also been given the opportunity to interview celebrities. She recently interviewed comedian Ron White in January. She also will be writing reviews for concerts like George Strait and Andrea Borcelli in February.

Rockwell will be the official media/press person for INsite Magazine at the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire in January and will be snapping pictures to go with the articles. Rockwell was also nominated to have her photo and bio in January's issue as a contributing journalist. She looks forward to this leading to full-time work as a writer.

Stephanie David, M.A. 2011, Creativity Studies
Ceremony to ground
and focus individual
and collective thinking,
responsibilities and
privileges.Stephanie David-Chapman began working on her final document, “Weaving Creativity, Culture and Indigenous Education,” with the question “How can teachers share ‘i ka olelo ke ola i ka olelo ka make?’ She loosely translates this to be “How can teachers share the life in literacy? How can teachers share the life in words and the death in words? In what ways could teachers have students taste the flavor of words and share the power and intimacy of text?”

Through an action research study with native Hawaiian middle and high school language arts students, Stephanie identified six recommendations on how to use creative teaching strategies to promote student motivation and self-actualization: set the foundation, discover student’s creative appetite, feed appetite, learn the internal library of your students, establish real and genuine relationship, and find a project with purpose and relevance. She applied these strategies to placed-based, project-based and culturally-focused education in Hawaiʻi, which allowed students to channel, direct and develop their own creativity. These creative teaching strategies resulted in an exciting increase in student performance, motivation, skill-building and relationship-building per the pre- and post-class assessments.

This school year Stephanie primarily works as a middle school project teacher. She uses her six recommendations to ground her interdisciplinary curriculum design. This year's project surrounds genealogy, relationship building and community service. Students will take part in a yearlong study of their genealogy, birth stories, and place of birth in order to envision their goals and sense of place for the future. Occasionally, she shares her action research project, findings and observations during school wide professional development and through indigenous education networks around Hawaii.

Amy Pizzuti-Brown, M.A. 2011, Health and Wellness Concentration
Amy Pizzuti-Brown works as a Lactation Consultant at the
Del Sol Medical Center, TX Like many woman before her, Amy Pizzuti-Brown’s interest and passion for breastfeeding began when she became a mother. It was only when she was expecting her first child and started reading the abundance of parenting literature did she realize how important breastfeeding is for the long term health of both children and mothers. However, to her surprise she discovered that breastfeeding is hard work, both time consuming and exhausting. It was certainly not the rosy picture of maternal happiness that she once envisioned. Out of this struggle grew her desire to become a support for women like herself and she proceeded to research the steps she would need to follow in order to become a lactation consultant. Ultimately, her search led her to Union Institute & University, which has one of the few programs for lactation consulting in the United States. UI&U set up affiliation agreements with local hospitals and breastfeeding programs for Amy to complete the required internship within her Master of Arts application courses. Amy describes her experience:

 “I found the M.A. Program exciting and challenging as I found my way around academia. At the completion of my program, I had interned at a hospital, a non-profit, and a city health department. I believe that it was due to the diversity of job experience in the program that qualified me to be considered for a position as perinatal educator and lactation consultant at Del Sol Medical Center. I am incredibly proud and very excited that my final document, 'Guilt, Breastfeeding and Health Behavior Change' was recommended for both publishing and presenting at an upcoming international conference on breastfeeding."

Amber Fellure, M.A. 2011, History & Culture Concentration
Amber Fellure and Ann Brown Research the "French 500" Amber Fellure strengthened ties with her grandmother, Ann Brown, during her archival research locating primary sources for her final document.  Their shared passion for genealogy made the discovery journey fun for both of them.  Fellure focused her study on the “French 500” who settled in her town, Gallipolis, Ohio.  These French aristocrats, fleeing from the French Revolution, purchased deeds to the area around Gallipolis from land speculators.  However, those that survived the shipwreck and other hardships to reach this promised land discovered their deeds were worthless.  Fellure dug into their original accounts of how they managed to survive on the Ohio frontier and created a fascinating final document.

Amber Fellure, J.D., is the assistant city prosecutor for Gallipolis.  After graduating from the M.A. Program, she began to teach history, law, and criminal justice classes at her local community college.

Dalene Fisher, M.A. 2011, Literature & Writing Concentration
Professor Fisher prepares to teach at Oklahoma
Wesleyan University While completing Teaching Writing I and her final document, Dalene Fisher lined up a job to teach three sections of Composition I at Oklahoma Wesleyan University upon graduating.  Dalene has five years of experience teaching high school English and maintains a blog, The Musty Study, to encourage the hesitant reader to discover the timely nature of the old classics in English literature.“UI&U has enabled me to reach my goal of teaching at the university level” explains Dalene. “From engaging in challenging writing exercises, I am able to empathize with my own students and have been truly stretched as a writing teacher.  I've shed tears of both sorrow and joy! I loved teaching high school, but I feel prepared now to move to a new level of instruction."

Jan Hurndon, M.A. 2011, History & Culture Concentration
Jan Hurndon started a blog as part of her Applications course to document her European travels that brought her up-close-and-personal with the subject of her research, French Gothic art and architecture. Hurndon’s primary focus has been on the use of light in the architecture.  She explains,

The builders of the great Gothic cathedrals sought to recapture the holy light of creation in a literal and figurative sense, to recreate the Heavenly Jerusalem for the earth-bound believer. The Gothic cathedral would also serve to illumine the mind and transport the spirit of the medieval pilgrim in a way that no physical structure before or since has been able to do. It is a seemingly immortal testimonial to faith, as imposing and inspirational in its quiet presence as it was nearly a millenium ago.

The Chartres workshop was led by leading French researchers and restoration archaeologists, and provided the inspiration for her own research. Hurndon’s final document for her MA degree was titled From Lux to Inluminare: Light as agent of enlightenment in the labyrinth and related elements of the French Gothic cathedral. She credit Union’s experiential and personalized approach with encouraging her to combine her interest in various disciplines – language, European history, her Christian faith, and Gothic architecture – into a culminating project that she found both academically challenging and personally enriching. Hurndon now teaches Western Art Appreciation on the college level and hopes to share that same cross-disciplinary focus and hands-on passion with her own students.

For more information about Hurndon’s travels, please visit her blog.

Jon Neal Wallace, M.A. 2008, Creativity Studies Concentration

Jon Neal Wallace’s final document, “Light from Design,” presents a concept for a new design principle for art entitled, “Directions,” that correlates art and physics. Wallace’s innovative design principle got him noticed by the international art community. Since graduating from the M.A. Online Program, his environmental and political art have been shown in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Miami, London, and Europe. His art was originally scheduled to be included in a show for Beijing, but some of the show’s controversial stance on communism was quickly vetoed by the Chinese government. Currently, his work is under consideration for an exhibit in Paris.

Wallace’s other passion is writing, which he is pursuing within an MFA program. He is presently working on a historical novel about the civil War, Ragman’s Roll. It involves the reader in the cause of freedom for everyone through the dedicated eyes of the narrator, Tom Jackson, friend of Gen. William H.L. Wallace whose heroic life he witnesses.

In addition to his art and writing career, Jon Wallace hopes to share his passion for these topics with his own students one day.

Elizabeth Jacquet, M.A. 2011, History & Culture Concentration
Elizabeth Jacquet focused her Final Document on the lesser-known civilization of the Etruscans, contemporaries of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Through careful examination of the artifacts these people left behind in burial chambers, Jacquet seeks to debunk the slanderous claims made by their Roman enemies.  One of the most fascinating aspects of the Etruscan culture that Jacquet reveals is the equity between men and women.  Iconography in the hand mirrors, for example, honors women as brides, wives, and mothers.  Some reflect men and women reading together or competing as equals in games.  One mirror shows a man and a woman playing a board game wherein the inscription reads “I’m going to beat you” above the woman, and “I do believe you are” carved above the man.  Based on this and other iconography, Jacquet asserts that the hand mirrors are “Not just a tool, but a gift for a bride and a dedication to the deceased. The uniquely Etruscan bronze hand mirror demonstrated the power and equality of Etruscan women."

The M.A. degree from UI&U has not only enhanced Jacquet’s career as a history teacher, it has also given her the courage to start a high school summer program in France, called "L'Atelier au Chateau," with her husband. Although the curriculum emphasizes the fine-arts, creative and scholastic thinking are intertwined in each lesson.  “I believe that my work at Union has given me the edge to stand behind such scholastic and artistic pursuits, and to confidently represent our program as a professional and scholar,” explained Jacquet enthusiastically.  For more information, view their website at drawinginfrance.com.

Daniel Van Horn, M.A. 2011, History & Culture Concentration
Daniel Van Horn made an exciting historical discovery during his Applications course of a cache of original drawings and letters from the first official WWI artist commissioned by the U.S. government, J. Andre Smith. Not only did he focus his final document on J. Andre Smith’s role in the war, Van Horn’s find also resulted in his being asked to design a new, permanent exhibition at the Maitland Art Center in Florida.

Van Horn’s discovery showed the steadfast leadership of J. Andre Smith as he guided the “Art Squad” engaged to document the Great War. Smith operated under the belief that the Art Squad’s role was to faithfully create historical documentation of the war through their works of art. However, others felt the true purpose of the Art Squad was to roll out propaganda for use in the government’s ongoing struggle in the battle of public opinion. Smith’s perspective won out and, for the 8 months they were engaged before the end of WWI, the Art Squad’s drawings revealed the unsensational business side of war.
A House in Badonviller by J Andre Smith For example, Smith admired the soldiers’ complacency around death, and documented soldiers relaxing in the bombed building remains as if the war “was a thousand miles away and not just the other side of the next building."( J. André Smith, In France with the American Expeditionary Forces (New York: A. H. Hahlo, 1919), 59.)

The scope of this primary source is so vast that Daniel Van Horn was able to use only a small part of it for his final document, and is continuing his research into Andre Smith to develop a complete biography. Based on his serious academic scholarship and successful museum exhibit of the life and work of Smith, Van Horn has been approached about other research and book opportunities.

Aaron Moe, M.A. 2009, Literature & Writing Concentration
Aaron Moe has recently Aaron Moe, M.A. 2009, Literature and Writing Concentrationpublished "Chaos & the 'New' Nature Poem: A Look at E. E. Cummings' Poetry." CT Review 32.1 (2010): 11-24.  It is a continuation of the work he completed for his final document within the M.A. Program.

Moe is now pursuing his doctorate in English. He is currently exploring W. S. Merwin's poetry, specifically how Merwin's ecological anguish leads to an unprecedented poetics of humility.  Along with his literary research, he teaches composition courses for the university's undergraduate program.  He explains his composition philosophy as follows:

Indeed, rhetoric creates the backbone of my composition philosophy. Ethos, pathos, logos, kairos, and decorum. These words encapsulate ideas that guide the composing process, for they define some of the ways through which we persuade.  The composing process must include a rhetorical awareness of how the framing of language--whether its typeface, punctuation, paragraph breaks or facial gestures, intonations of voice, or bodily tilts--contributes to the Protean possibilities of meaning making.

For more information about Moe’s work, see his website: http://www.aaronmoe.com/.

David Gentilini, M.A. 2010, History &Culture Concentration
David Gentilini focused his studies at UI&U on how to create a relevant and accessible museum experience ̶ making the museum the "lung of a city." He continues his imaginative programming through his involvement in collaborating with five Columbus art galleries to produce On Display ’10 at Capital University Museum's Schumacher Gallery in Columbus, Ohio.  The five galleries that displayed at the museum each represented their own niche in the art world, so they are able to collaborate to draw attention to the collective galleries and Ohio artists in general.  The display was designed to introduce the general public to the galleries and spark further interest in art.  For more information, see Columbus City Scene Magazine ’s article: “Five Visions.” Hammond Harkins Galleries featured Aminah Robinson's work for On Display '10.

Glenda Taylor, M.A. 2010, History & Culture Concentration
Eminent cultural historian Glenda Taylor describes herself as a “griotte,” a mistress of words and music. Her master's thesis was published in 2011 and is available through Amazon.com: The Jalimuso’s Drum: African American Female Entertainers as Cultural Historians/Griottes.  Using autobiographical lenses of African American celebrities, Taylor explores Civil and Human Rights Movements within twentieth century America through their diverse perspectives.

Other books she has written include Blind Light, The Secrets of Success: Quotations by African American Achievers, The Secrets of Success: The Black Man’s Perspective, and Truth Beyond Illusion: African-American Women 1860s-1950s. Glenda Taylor participates in the UI&U 2010 National Commencement ceremony

Melanie Diedrich, M.A. 2009, History & Culture Concentration
Melanie Diedrich in the lab Upon graduating from UI&U, Melanie Diedrich founded Archaeological Macroflora Identification (AMI), a subcontracting business serving archaeologists. She explains, “Macrofloral analysis from archaeological excavation is an important component of the overall analysis of a site.”  Diedrich has been hired for this specialized work by such organizations as the Washington State Department of Transportation, Drayton Archaeology Research, and Rain Shadow Research, Inc., and Cultural Resource Consultants, Inc.

Diedrich’s successful academic career at UI&U resulted in articles published in both the Journal of Wetland Archaeology and Archaeology in Washington Journal.  The articles Diedrich authored in Journal of Wetland Archaeology, Volume 9, focus on the site work she completed at Sunken Village Archaeology Site on Sauvie Island, Oregon, during her application courses.  Her thesis work, "Pacific Northwest Paleobotany: Native Seeds and the Creation of a Comparative Library," was published in Archaeology in Washington Journal and describes the importance of sampling for botanical material in Pacific Northwest Archaeology, her efforts to design a seed-key, and the digital photography of native seeds as a comparative library for research.

Kym Kennedy, M.A. 2010, Literature & Writing Concentration
Kym Kennedy (photo courtesy The World) While wrapping up her master's coursework at UI&U, Kennedy was offered a job teaching writing and composition at Southwestern Oregon Community College. She is also working on her Ph.D. in adult and postsecondary education. Kym's goal in earning a M.A. with a concentration in literature and writing was to “become the type of college professor that can transmit passion for literature to students and show them how literature and writing are relevant to their lives regardless of their majors.”

Faculty News

Karin Cadwell , Ph.D., Faculty, Health and Wellness Concentration


Baby in KMC Position
Doctors Nashwa Samra, Amal El Taweel and our own Professor Karin Cadwell recently published their research findings, “The Effect of Kangaroo Mother Care on the Duration of Phototherapy of Infants Re-admitted for Neonatal Jaundice,” in The Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine. Out of the 50 jaundiced infants studied at an oasis hospital in Egypt, those that received intermittent kangaroo mother care (KMC: held by their mother in skin-to-skin contact which allows on-demand breastfeeding, among other benefits) required significantly shorter periods of phototherapy to recover from jaundice. Although further research is recommended to confirm these results, the study indicates that KMC is a safe, effective treatment to reduce the duration of necessary phototherapy and frees up ICU resources for sicker infants.

Rudolph Ryser, Ph.D., Faculty, History and Culture Concentration
Professor Ryser’s Fulbright Scholar
Lecture Series, “México’s Food
Security and Civil Society
organizations, A global affair” at
Universidad Catolica in Puerto
Vallarta, Mexico Preventing Kyoto Protocol Burial

Professor Rudolph Ryser reported the content of an intervention to the Adhoc Working Group on the Kyoto Protocols (AWG-KP) summit in Durban, South Africa, in support of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC). His report stressed the urgency of strengthening the Kyoto Protocol and cutting greenhouse gas emissions to protect Indigenous Peoples, especially in Africa, who are already suffering from the impacts of climate change.

His report warned that pressures to weaken the Kyoto Protocols could result in at least 5 degrees warming, and could lead to the destruction of cultures and the ecocide of territories. The intervention called for the AWG-KP to incorporate safeguards for adaptation and mitigation measures that are negatively impacting Indigenous Peoples. The formation of such an Indigenous Peoples’ Expert Group under the Kyoto Protocol must include Indigenous Peoples to be certain their rights are protected: rights to lands, territories and resources, full and effective participation, as well as the right to free, prior and informed consent, in line with applicable universal human rights instruments, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Professor Ryser is currently lecturing in Mexico under a Fulbright Scholarship Grant regarding the application of traditional knowledge to food security adaptation strategies in response to the adverse effects of climate change.

Judith McDaniel, Ph.D., Faculty, Literature and Writing Concentration
Judith McDaniel UI&U Professor Judith McDaniel will be presenting “The Challenges of Using Authentic Assessments in Online and Community-based Learning Contexts” at the 17th Annual Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning.  Teaming up with Jan Kempster, the dean of the Adult Degree Program at Prescott College, they will each present different possibilities for authentic assessment of programs that emphasize interactive, experiential learning.  McDaniel explains, “Both UI&U and Prescott College are founded on a belief that education is about the ability to think creatively and to interact with new knowledge as a way of incorporating knowledge into performance, so finding an authentic means of assessment has challenged the faculty.” 

Within their Applications course at UI&U, some students have chosen to design a course that demonstrates an ability to bring the theoretical learning into a practical application. Dr. McDaniel will demonstrate the design of the website where students create their courses and discuss the effectiveness of self and peer assessment in this context.

Loree Miltich , Ph.D., Faculty, History and Culture Concentration
The March 2011 Exhibit at the MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids, MN, featured Migration, a collaborative project by poets Loree Miltich and Susan Hawkinson, photographer Jackie Solem, and calligrapher Meridith Schifsky.  Jackie Solem exhibited photographs from her travels that she explains changed her as she experienced diverse cultures of the world. Loree and Susan wrote in response to the photographs using a form that Loree calls “double-voiced” poetry. With Susan’s voice in the left column and Loree’s in the right column, the poem is also intended to be read line by line across the page to offer greater possibility. Follow this link to experience the poem.

Karin Cadwell , Ph.D., Faculty, Health and Wellness Concentration
M.A. online faculty, Dr Karin Cadwell, had the opportunity to spend time with the Surgeon General on January 20, 2011 during the announcement of The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding.

Surgeon General Regina Benjamin announced 20 key actions to improve support for breastfeeding nationally. For more information visit: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/breastfeeding/index.html.

Dr. Karin Cadwell works nationally and international to improve maternity practices and increase breastfeeding rate through education, research, collaboration and competency based lactation education through the Healthy Children Project. As faculty for the MA online in Health and Wellness and the BS in MCH Lactation Consulting at Union Institute and University, Dr. Cadwell works with students during their academic journey through their undergraduate and graduate programs. Dr. Cadwell is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN).
L to R: HC faculty Barbara O'Connor, UI&U & HC faculty Dr. Lois Arnold,
The Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin, UI&U & HC faculty Cindy Turner-Maffei,
Baby-Friendly USA Trish McEnroe, and UI&U and HC faculty Dr. Karin Cadwell

Asghar Zomorrodian, Ph.D., Faculty, Leadership, Public Policy and Social Issues Concentration
Due to his expertise in areas of public administration and management, on July 14th Asghar Zomorrodian was appointed by The Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES), to the 2010-11 Peer Review Committee for the Fulbright Specialist Program. With his selection, he joins the ranks of distinguished scholars and professionals worldwide who are leaders in the educational, political, and social lives of their countries. Dr. Zomorrodian has also been appointed as a member of the International Scientific Committee of Academic Public Administrative Studies Archive (APAS).  APAS is designated to collect, archive, and disseminate scientific papers focused on public administration.

In 2010, Dr. Zomorrodian acted as track chair for Emerging Trends in Management: Creativity and Innovation for the 17th Annual Conference of American Society of Business  & Behavioral Sciences (ASBBS).  Dr. Zomorrodian’s paper, Program Evaluation: Its Significance and Priority for Shaping and Modification of Public Policies: A Comparative Analysis, co-authored with Lucia Matei of Romania, was selected as the best paper by a track chair of the ASBBS . Dr. Z (center) with Romanian scholars

Woden Teachout, Ph.D., Faculty, History and Culture/Literature and Writing Concentrations
Imagining America Among Pulitzer Prize-winning historians and other eminent speakers chosen for the First Wednesdays Humanity Lecture Series in Vermont, Woden Teachout presented Imagining America to a packed house.  Using famous drawings, photographs and literature, Teachout led the audience through unfolding conceptualizations of America across four centuries.  The country has been represented as a dangerous wilderness; through Norman Rockwell’s famous paintings of freedom of speech, of worship, from want, from fear; and, in a recent Egyptian cartoon, as an oversize Uncle Sam lolling on a recliner.  Teachout emphasized the fact that America looks very different depending upon who does the imagining.  Her speech drew on Benedict Anderson’s famous idea of the nation as an “imagined community” to question the very idea of America.  She challenges us to actively choose how we imagine America and shape that vision into being.
The most recent publication of Dr. Teachout, Capture the Flag: A Political History of American Patriotism, has been reviewed by many national publications, including The Wall Street Journal.  Read an interview with Dr. Woden in the @UI&U Newsletter.

Dorothy Firman, Ed.D., Faculty, Psychology Concentration

Due to her expertise in transpersonal psychology, Professor Dorothy Firman was invited to blog for Psychology Today. Among other timely topics, she has written about “saying yes to the call of Self” to become “part of the solution to whatever problems we are faced with individually and globally.”

As tragic events unfold domestically and internationally, we are reminded to say “yes” to responsibility, to learning life’s lessons and to change. We learn to say “yes” to hope that give us the possibility of being a better nation and united people. For more sage advice, readLiving a Life of Purpose: Spirituality in Real Time.

Patricia Monaghan's, Ph.D., Faculty, History and Culture/Literature and Writing Concentrations
 Patricia Monaghan's book of poems, "The Grace of Ancient Land," has been published by the Voices from the American Land project, established to "revive and amplify a dominant tradition in American letters  — the poetry of place, whether urban, rural, or wild."  Monaghan's book portrays the little-known Driftless Area of Wisconsin, named for its lack of glacial soil or "drift" and the only area of the Midwest that has been untouched by glaciation for the last half-million years.  Of the book, editor Renny Golden said, "Her work falls in the tradition of Aldo Leopold’s “land ethic.” Yet it is a subversive moral vision in the tradition of Eavan Boland’s ethic of “powerful ordinariness.” Monaghan thus genders her land ethic. Monaghan does not mythologize the land but embodies its beauty and bounty in the luminous ordinary of planting, canning, the fleeting presence of deer and hawk. She implicitly links seasonal change to the cycle of birth and death. When she sees the hawk circling for field mice, she reminds us of the mortal path we trod and bids us to pay attention to what grace offers: the quickening unbidden moment."  More information at www.voicesfromtheamericanland.org.

Anna Blair, Ph.D., Faculty, Health and Wellness Concentration
Dr. Blair on a dolphin rescue Dr. Blair spoke on a cruise to Grand Cayman on May 17-21, presenting “Research Updates in Breastfeeding and Human Lactation.” At the end of August, she is lecturing on a cruise to Alaska on “Continuity of Care in Breastfeeding: Finding the Path to Best Practice.”  

In addition to her responsibilities as M.A. faculty and advisor and chair of the UI&U's B.S. in maternal child health, Dr. Blair performs clinical work at Healthy Children’s center on the cape. She also routinely volunteers for dolphin rescue at Cape Cod.

Leslie Korn, Ph.D., Faculty, Health and Wellness Concentration
Dr. Korn served as a post-doctoral Fulbright scholar in Mexico for 2009-2010. She was awarded a joint grant from the U.S. State Department and COMEXUS to continue her research with indigenous women on traditional medicine in rural west Mexico. Dr. Korn has published two books this year, the bi-lingual Medicinal Plants of the Jungle/Plantas Medicinales de la Selva, and Preventing and Treating Diabetes, Naturally, the Native Way, with co-author Dr. Rudolph Ryser.  Medicinal Plants of the Jungle educates the reader about both indigenous and biomedical science of 11 of the most important healing plants chosen by the women of Yelapa, Mexico.  This book is a product of the women’s community medicine project.

Student News

Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg, History & Culture Concentration

Through the Master of Arts Program, Rachel continues to hone her research and understanding of autism. She currently publishes a blog, Journeys with Autism, in which she writes about ethics, disability rights, and the autism spectrum. She also manages the site Autism and Empathy, which "exists to undo the myths about autism and empathy that have stigmatized autistic people for so long." It features writing by autistic individuals, by autism parents and family members, by autism professionals, and by others who understand that autistic people, all along the spectrum, can experience the world in highly empathetic and sensitive ways. Rachel is working to raise awareness in both the popular culture and the scientific community of the gifts, strengths, and needs of autistic individuals and to dispel damaging myths about autism. Rachel’s website was recently cited in a research paper critiquing the mirror-neuron theory of autism and supporting new research showing that autistic people can be hyper-empathic.

To find out more about Rachel’s experiences and advocacy in autism, be sure to read her latest book, Blazing My Trail: Living and Thriving with Autism, published in September of 2011.

Michael Horowitz, Leadership, Public Policy and Social Issues Concentration

Green “McMansion” versus Sustainable Design

In preparation for his final document, Michael Horowitz is questioning the manner in which homes are being rated by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), and other internationally-recognized green building certification systems. Can they truly be rating sustainable building and development practices when the size of the building in relation to the number of occupants does not seem to be a significant part of their calculations? Horowitz explains the problem, “Overall, size is one of the most significant contributing factors to the resource efficiency, and therefore the environmental impact of a home. In short, it is possible to save more energy by reductions in size, than by increases in the quality of energy efficient construction.” Horowitz will be using sustainability as a lens through which to view policy, leadership, design and management as they relate to green building. Through his research he intends to highlight how the current green building certification systems contains a socioeconomic bias towards larger homes with “nifty green features,” AKA "Green McMansions.” He plans to propose alternative ways of measurement that take sustainability into account.

Kyle Patrick Williams, Leadership, Public Policy, and Social Issues Concentration

Americorps VISTA Leader for the Kentucky
Campus Compact Project

Kyle Williams is currently serving as the AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) Leader for the Kentucky Campus Compact project at Northern Kentucky University, where he has integrated his Master’s research into his role. William’s research study, “Strengthening Citizenship through Service Learning in Kentucky Higher Education,” will poll student attitudes about citizenship and service learning and determine how programs designed to strengthen citizenship through service learning could be integrated into course curriculum. The population for the online study will be post-secondary students at member institutions of the Kentucky Campus Compact, which are colleges and universities seeking to connect with their surrounding communities. Williams hopes to propose a program design that can be replicated at other universities across the U.S. by AmeriCorps VISTA members.

Shirley Rossi-Rivera, History & Culture Concentration

Shirley Rossi-Rivera Eleanor of Aquitaine Shirley Rossi-Rivera recently returned from the 46th Annual Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, MI.  New to the field, she found the 3000 plus attendees quite daunting; however, she encourages anyone interested in attending a conference in their field to “go for it.” “It can be intimidating at first,” she explains, “but you have to remember that you are among like-minds who offer a wealth of information."

Shirley’s favorite part of the conference was being able to attend presentations by some well-known Crusades scholars whose work she has read and cited. One such presentation was given by Dr. Carole Hillenbrand, an extremely well respected historian. She reports, “When Dr. Hillenbrand spoke you could have heard a pin drop. The reverence she was paid was mind-boggling."

Although Shirley’s own research into Christian and Muslim women and the Crusades only began a year ago, she discovered that her focus is unique.  In fact, her topic has attracted serious attention from a well-known publisher who proposed a contract to publish her manuscript when it is finished.  Not knowing how seriously to take such offers, she sought the advice of UI&U faculty. The advice given to her was to read Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction and Get it Published by Alfred Fortunato.  While she is not quite ready to tackle a manuscript, we look forward to hearing more about her book in the future .

Colleen Kappeler, Literature & Writing Concentration

Already an experienced editor, Kappeler assisted one of her local writers in self-publishing a book through Kindle Direct Publishing and CreateSpace for her Applications course. Kappeler found the text to be inspiring and well-deserving of the extra effort to get it out in the public eye. Print and Kindle versions of the book, LOL by Patty Dunn Merletti, are now available on Amazon.com.  Along the way, Kappeler learned helpful tips for successfully navigating the self-publishing market.  She recommends starting with Kindle Direct Publishing and, when sales warrant hard copies for book signings, etc., to develop the print version in CreateSpace. Once the book is written, the hardest part is designing the cover because you have to make the front, spine, and back cover all in one document.  Therefore, you may prefer to work with an experienced graphic designer for that step.  After the book is published to Kindle, she suggests pricing it low (under $5) and generating a strong “buzz” through genre-specific chat boards.  The more feedback on your book, the higher it comes up in searches on your topic.

Julie-Marie Bristol, Literature & Writing Concentration
 Formerly a part of the Scandinavian empire, the Shetland Islands were pledged to Scotland in 1469 as part of a marriage arrangement involving Princess Margaret of Norway. Though now part of the Scottish realm and culture, Shetland maintained strong political and commercial links with Norway for some time, and the resulting blend of culture, traditions, and language resulted in the unique Shetland regional identity that remains more than 500 years later. This distinctive heritage is epitomized in the beautiful dialect, poetry, and strong oral traditions so characteristic of the Shetland Islands. It is this rich Shetlandic history that Julie Bristol has tried to convey as part of her Applications course, included as part of a presentation she created complete with interviews conducted with several Shetland poets, readings by two Shetland poets, and readings of her own poems that are written in the Shetland dialect.

Here is an excerpt from one of her poems to give you a feel for the melodious vernacular:


Ma dowter’s i ma airms
wi a glim apö her ee
Harken, mither! she sudden cries –
A trow is whit I’ll be.
Strampin aa owre Shetlan
birlin and rowlin da kames,
flinging da wadder aa roon aboot,
rummelin aabody’s hames;
makin da boanniest pictures
wi da lichts dat are held nort by

Stacy Freeman, Literature & Writing Concentration
For her Applications course, Stacy Freeman chose to write a complex novella: Crescendo Rising. It is told from the perspective of Johnny Taylor, a twenty-something writer, as he attempts to unravel the mystery surrounding his mother’s suicide that he witnessed as a child.   The story is rich in overlapping themes.  It discusses love, deceit, manipulation, the validity of memory, and, most importantly, the nature of sacrifice.  The text also examines the result of that sacrifice on both the person who is sacrificing and on the person who is to benefit from the sacrifice.

The M.A. Program has allowed Freeman a safe environment to hone her craft.  As she explains, “I’m generally not this scatterbrained, but something happened this semester, something that has happened before, but that I never fully realized until now. When working on my own creative pieces, I don’t slide into them.  I crash head-long, ripping and tearing all the way to bottom.  Writing Crescendo Rising was, for me, in some ways like putting raw emotion on a page."

She looks forward to building on the important work completed this term to fleshing out the novella to a full-fledged novel in upcoming terms.

Tori Ledue, History & Culture Concentration
Tori poses with her honorary
membership to Preservation
Action in the atrium of the
National Building Museum During her Master of Arts Applications course at UI&U, Tori Ledue was chosen to intern at the historic preservation lobby organization, Preservation Action, in Washington D.C. She was thrilled to assist with a new task force that included members from all the various federal agencies for preservation, including the National Park Service, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the United Council of State Historic Preservation Officers, and the United States office of the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). Here were her heroes – leaders and scholars of the historical preservation world that she’d been reading about and quoting in papers the previous term – now joining together to influence national policy on historical preservations. Tori explains, “"it was an interesting experience to learn about the intricacies of legislation; it is an ever-evolving and very involved process which a dedicated group of people pay close attention to in order to maintain the preservation resources that benefit the needs of many communities across the country."

Preservation Action’s headquarters were inside the inspiring National Building Museum with its 75-foot marble columns.  As the host location of numerous Presidential Inaugural Balls in the past, it has played a very important role in Washington, D.C.’s social and political spheres.

The internship included coordinating a national fundraising campaign that culminated in a silent and live auction at the National Trust for Historic Preservation annual conference. Through her untiring efforts, Tori managed to gather truly unique and interesting items from historical organizations across the country. The auction was a great success and raised an amount much larger than initially expected.

James Hull, History & Culture Concentration
PID Clinic in Haiti, watch video here Student James Hull, History & Culture Concentration, started Partners In Development, Inc. (PID) with his wife Gale Hull to lead the poorest of the poor in developing countries towards a healthier, economically viable lifestyle.  PID helps communities achieve self-sufficiency through child sponsorships, small business loans, housing opportunities and medical care. The current focuses of PID are relief efforts from the disastrous earthquakes in Haiti and Guatemala and ongoing development programs in those countries.  To find out more about the comprehensive work of PID, see: www.pidonline.org.