College Highlights_November 2007

Office of the Dean

Nova Southeastern University
Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences
3301 College Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314
Phone: 954-262-8408
Fax: 954-262-3930
www.undergrad.nova.edu

Highlight Reports for the NSU Board of Trustees

The Office of the Dean provides periodic reviews of college activities and initiatives. These Board Highlights are distributed to the Nova Southeastern University Board of Trustees, the College of Arts and Sciences Board of Advisers, and others in the community.

January 2008

The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences continues to expand academic program offerings and is committed to strengthening the quality of current programs. In addition, college faculty continue to offer campus and community access to critical programs, speakers, lectures, film series, and panels related to specific areas of expertise and larger issues of interest and concern in
society.
The following report highlights college developments and programs.

College News

In early December, Jason Rosenzweig, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences’ Division of Math, Science, and Technology, took a group of students to visit Watson Laboratories in Davie, Florida. The microbiology class of 36 students toured the branch facilities for this generic pharmaceutical company. Included in the itinerary were demonstrations
of both wet and dry production of tablets and caplets, followed by short presentations by several professional microbiologists and a chemical engineer.

The Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences presented its 6th Annual Advanced Practicum Symposium on Thursday, December 6, in the DeSantis Building. Michael D. Reiter, Ph.D., assistant director of the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, hosted the event, in which undergraduate students explored various specialty areas in the field of psychology. Students presented, as their final class projects, a 20-30 minute television show that they each produced about an area of psychology they focused on in their practicum sites. Presentations included:

“Trust in Relationships: Co-Preneurs” by Laxmi Lalwani
“Domestic Violence” by Samantha Domingo
“Autism and Adulthood” by Lindsey Gaines
“Conflict Mediation” by Dana Schaedel
“The Brief Therapy Institute: Live Supervision of Family Therapy” by Edita Kulichova.

The shows were designed to educate a general audience about their subjects. Each gave an overview of the topic, role-play demonstrations, and interviews with experts in that field. A question and answer session followed.
Joshua Feingold, Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Math, Science, and Technology, assembled an exhibit of student photography generated during his travel study class to the Galapagos Islands earlier in the year. This exhibit ran in the Second Floor Gallery at the Sherman Library during the month of December.

Theatre major Sammy Garcia, Jr., will study overseas for a year at the University of London, beginning in September, having been accepted into the master’s program in arts administration there.

Faculty Lecture Series

This lecture series explores the college faculty’s diverse areas of interest in the humanities, biology, physical science, and social and behavioral sciences.
Tim Dixon, J.D., associate professor in the Division of Humanities, discussed “Truth and Power
in Modern China” on Nov. 13 as part of the college’s Faculty Lecture Series. Dixon spoke of the
conflicts between China’s modernization and its communist history, as well as China’s growing
political and commercial influence around the globe.

Faculty Achievements:

Steven E. Alford, Ph.D., and Suzanne Ferriss, Ph.D., professors in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences’ Division of Humanities, have published a new book, Motorcycle (Reaktion Books, London; distributed in the United States by the University of Chicago Press). As editors of the International Journal of Motorcycle Studies (http://ijms.nova.edu), Alford and Ferriss have long been fascinated by the motorcycle as a modern object whose cultural significance is tied up with complex issues of history, technology, engineering, consumerism, psychology, design, aesthetics, gender and sexuality. Rather than provide simply an historical overview or technological analysis, the book considers the motorbike as a purpose-driven design object, an instrument of individuation and community, a pop culture icon, and an aesthetic object in its own right.

Thomas Fagan, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, recently published a book titled, Corrections, Mental Health, and Social Policy: International Perspectives. Both Fagan and his co-writer, Robert K. Ax, Ph.D., are psychologists with extensive correctional mental health experience and have served as practitioners and trainers at state and federal correctional institutions. The book was published by Charles Thomas, Publishers. This volume deals with correctional issues in today’s complex global society, incorporating ideas proposed by correctional mental health experts from several countries. These
authorities advocate for both conventional and nonconventional approaches to serving inmates with significant mental health challenges.

Suzanne Ferriss, Ph.D., professor in the Division of Humanities, has published a new book, coedited with Mallory Young, Ph.D., titled Chick Flicks: Contemporary Women at the Movies (Routledge, 2008). This volume considers the “chick flick” as part of a prominent popular cultural phenomenon that can be termed “chick culture.” Essays in this volume examine chick flicks through a variety of viewpoints, including film history, female sexuality, femininity, female friendship, age, race, ethnicity, class, consumerism, spectatorship, pleasure, and gender definition. These perspectives illuminate how popular films represent women, as well as how
culture speaks to and of women’s experience in ways that were shaped by—but often disavow— feminism. Contributors, in addition to the editors, include Kate Waites, Ph.D., also a professor in the Division of Humanities.

Matthew He, Ph.D., director and professor in the Division of Math, Science, and Technology, co-published “Harmony of Living Nature, Symmetries of Genetic System and Matrix Genetics” with Sergey Petoukhov in the International Journal of Integrative Biology. He, director of the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences’ Division of Math, Science, and Technology, was published online at http://ijib.classicrus.com, in volume 1, Issue 1.

Madhavi Menon, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences’ Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, published a paper titled, “The Developmental Costs of High Self-Esteem for Antisocial Children” in the November/December 2007 edition of Child Development. Child Development is the flagship journal of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD). Menon conducted two studies with preadolescent children, investigating the role of high self-esteem in justifying aggressive behavior and the avoidance of interacting with their mothers. Her research found that high self-esteem leads antisocial children to
rationalize their negative conduct by blaming it on others and by thinking it is rewarding and acceptable behavior.

On January 7, the local NBS television affiliate, WTVJ, interviewed Robin Sherman, Ph.D., assistant director of the Division of Math, Science, and Technology, on the issue of whether the theory of evolution should be taught in Florida public schools. Sherman advocated for understanding how biological sciences work as part of a process for upgrading Florida’s public school science education.

Performing Arts
The Division of Humanities presented The Women of Lockerbie, a drama inspired by actual events in the wake of the crash of Pan Am flight 103, was presented by the Division of Humanities on Nov. 9–17. This production was performed at the University Arts Center Black Box Theatre.

The Division of Humanities presented “PEACE: A Holiday Concert,” featuring the vocal and instrumental ensembles of the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Miniaci Performing Arts Center. The event was attended by approximately 400 people.