|
|
|
> MSU News
Thirteen members of MSU faculty receive sabbaticals
July 10, 2007 -- MSU News Service
Thirteen faculty members at Montana State University have been awarded sabbaticals for the 2007-08 academic year, according to MSU Provost David Dooley. Their projects, to be completed during the sabbaticals, range from the study of a protein found in the membrane of human white blood cells to research on commissioned portraits of Marie-Antoinette.
The 13 faculty members granted sabbaticals, their academic departments, term of the sabbaticals and proposed projects are:
Ann de Onis, education, will examine how traumatic events such as hurricanes, wars, or the loss of a parent, are treated in children's literature. Child trauma victims often use books to cope. de Onis will examine how books present such traumatic events and which events are missing from children's literature.
Dan Flory, history and philosophy, will be on sabbatical the entire school year to research and write four essays that will form the basis of a book focusing on empathy, race and the challenge to philosophize in film. The project grew out of his earlier work, "Philosophy, Black Film, Film Noir," which is being published by Penn State University Press.
Al Jesaitis, microbiology, will be on sabbatical fall semester to research a protein found in the membrane of human white blood cells, reestablish the strength of the Jesaitis research program, and design and test a new class that will train microbiology students in the basic methods used in research laboratories.
Billie Kerans, ecology, will be on sabbatical the entire school year to analyze and publish data about whirling disease in Montana, research host-parasite theory, develop a risk assessment tool for whirling disease of cutthroat trout in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and enhance her skills as an educator. She will collaborate with colleagues at MSU, the University of Vermont and Yellowstone National Park.
Todd Larkin, art history, will be on sabbatical the academic year to work on a book about the five portraits of Marie-Antoinette that she commissioned during her reign as queen of France, from 1774-1792. Larkin will argue that the portraits reflect Marie-Antoinette's intention to lend an enlightened face to an unwieldy political institution. Larkin contends by the outbreak of the French Revolution pamphleteers misunderstood Marie-Antoinette's intentions.
Rick Pope, ceramics, will be on sabbatical during fall 2007. Pope will be a visiting resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Helena and will work on his own ceramics during the sabbatical.
Michael Reidy, history and philosophy, will be on sabbatical the entire school year to research the history of British scientific mountaineering beyond the British Isles. His manuscript, tentatively called "At the Height of Empire: Practicing Science on Top of the World," will focus on the relationship between mountaineering and the advancement of science.
Robert Rydell, history and philosophy, will be on sabbatical during the spring semester to synthesize his nearly three decades of work investigating world's fairs. He will prepare a collection of his essays for publication as a book. He will also lay the groundwork for multiple exhibitions about world's fairs.
Kim Allen Scott, a professor and special collections librarian at MSU's Renne Library, will study the exploration, establishment and early development of the world's first two national parks: Australia's Royal National Park in 1879 and Yellowstone National Park in the United States in 1872.
Michael Sexson, English, will be on sabbatical for the academic year to work on a collection of essays about six plays by William Shakespeare. He will also work on a book of essays about the importance of storytelling.
Adina Smith, health and human development, will be on sabbatical fall semester to develop a research program at the MSU Human Development Clinic to enhance clinical instruction of counseling graduate students.
Craig Stewart, health and human development, will be on sabbatical fall semester to improve MSU's on-line coaching education curriculum by meeting with Montana coaches and examining hazing, sportsmanship and gamesmanship in Montana public school sports.
Cathy Zabinski, land resources and environmental sciences, will be on sabbatical during the academic year to research mycorrhizal fungi ecology at the Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive in Montpellier, France. Since the center uses a different set of research techniques than is generally used in the U.S., the sabbatical will expand her set of research tools for future work. Zabinski also plans to develop a long-term collaborative project with the French scientists and to work with restoration ecologists in southern Europe.
Pat Chansley, (406) 994-4373 or chansley@montana.edu
|
|
|
Email this article
