Zachariah Mampilly, assistant professor of political science, will participate in a Scholarly Residency at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center to complete his manuscript Rebel Rulers: Insurgent Government and Civilian Life During War.
Kathleen Man, assistant professor of film, has received a grant from the Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to support a seminar/screening program featuring filmmakers and film industry professionals.
Professor of biology John Long and Marianne Porter, faculty research associate, have received an award from the National Science Foundation for their project, “Computational and Experimental Biomechanics: Modeling the Non-linear Viscoelastic Behavior of the Vertebral Column of Swimming Elasmobranchs.”
Edward Pittman '82, associate dean of the college for campus life, was elected to the Executive Steering Board of the Consortium on High Achievement and Success (CHAS). The consortium is comprised of 35 selective liberal arts colleges dedicated to enhancing success for all students.
Seungsook Moon, professor of sociology, was invited to be one of four faculty mentors for the 2009 Korean Studies Dissertation Workshop, organized by the Social Science Research Council. She was also invited to give two lectures at the Fifth Annual Teach Korea Conference held by the East Rock Institute, Yale University.
Mia Mask, associate professor of film, published Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film (University of Illinois Press).
Sports information director Robin Deutsch earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Grant Burger Media Award for Division III women’s volleyball coverage in the New York Region for the second year in a row.
Lynn Owen, office specialist for Disability and Support Services and president of the LaGrange Historical Society, published LaGrange (Arcadia Publishing), a pictorial history of the town.
Jeffrey Schneider, associate professor of German studies, has received a second year of funding from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations for Vassar’s implementation of “Language in Motion,” a foreign language outreach program for area high schools.
Jodi Schwarz, assistant professor of biology, and David Esteban, assistant professor of biology, have both received Cofactor Classroom Genomics Awards from Cofactor Genomics for their projects, “Sequencing the Genome of the Anemone Host Aiptasia pallida” and “Metagenomics of the Winogradsky Column.”
Joseph Tanski, associate professor of chemistry, has received a $219,500 grant from the National Science Foundation for “Enhancing Enantioselectivity in Lewis Acid Catalysis through Multiple Asymmetric Induction.”
Nancy Ide, professor of computer science, received a supplement from the National Science Foundation to support undergraduate researchers in her project, “Sustainable Interoperability for Language Technology.”
The college’s newest endowed chairs are: Himadeep Muppidi, Associate Professor of Political Science on the Betty Goff Cook Cartwright Chair in International Studies; Eve D'Ambra, Professor of Art on the Agnes Rindge Claflin Chair in Art History; Mitchell Miller, Professor of Philosophy on the Dexter M. Ferry, Jr. Chair; Sarah Kozloff, Professor of Film on the William R. Kenan, Jr. Chair; Erica Crespi, Assistant Professor of Biology on the Mary Clark Rockefeller Chair in Environmental Studies; David Kennett, Professor of Economics on the Elizabeth Stillman Williams Chair in Economics; and John McCleary, Professor of Mathematics on the Elizabeth Stillman Williams Chair in Mathematics.
It takes a college
The Hardship Fund, established last spring to support community members facing economic hardship due to work reductions last summer, disbursed over $60,000 to applicants. Working closely with the Dutchess County Community Action Partnership (CAP), the committee worked to distribute funds to meet basic needs, and provided applicants with the opportunity to seek further support from the CAP’s resources. Committee members are: Rebecca Edwards, professor of history, Sam Speers, director of Religious and Spiritual Life, Tanhena Pacheco Dunn, assistant director of Human Resources, and Royce Drake '10.