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Villanova Student SHRM Chapter Wins Superior Merit Award For the fourteenth consecutive year, the Villanova University Student SHRM chapter was granted the Superior Merit Award from the National Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The Villanova SHRM chapter is part of an elite group of chapters across the nation which has been honored with this prestigious award. This distinction represents the culmination of a year’s worth of community involvement, service to the human resources field, and dedication to members of the chapter. In order to achieve the requirements set by the Superior Merit Award, members of the chapter were involved in events such as the monthly speaker series, the West Chester Rotary Club’s Annual Chili Cook-off, the Annual Holiday Toy Drive, the monthly chapter newsletter, and attending various human resource events in the greater Philadelphia area. The central purpose of the student SHRM chapter is to offer professional and personal development opportunities outside the classroom for graduate students in the graduate program. The chapter operates under the guidance of its advisors David Bush, Ph.D., program director, and Ginamarie Ligon, Ph.D., assistant professor. The chapter executive board is comprised of current students in the programs: Kevin Balkanloo, president, Jeanine DiDomenico, co-president, Courtney Costigan, treasurer, Rana Sachdev, director of Communications, and Emily Malinowski, director of Corporate Relations. The chapter held its 12th Annual Networking Reception at the Union Leagure in Philadelphia in April 2009. Over 175 human resource professionals were in attendance to network and listen to an engaging presentation given by Joseph Frick, the president and CEO of Independence Blue Cross. From left to right: Courtney Costigan, Ginamarie Ligon (faculty-advisor), Jeanine DiDomenico, Kevin Balkanloo, Rana Sachdev, and Emily Malinowski. From left to right: James Kane, Director of Continuing Studies at Villanova, and graduate asssitants Rana Sachdev and Kevin Balkanloo Education Honor Society Inducts New Members Kappa Delta Pi is an International Honor Society dedicated to scholarship and excellence in education. Xi Phi Chapter was installed by Leo Zuckowsky on April 27, 1978 at Villanova University. Membership in Kappa Delta Pi involves fostering the high ideals of the education profession by assuming trusteeship of a rich, professional legacy. Inductees agree to strive towards four ideals: fidelity to humanity, science, service, and toil. Graduate and undergraduate students who are working on programs in teaching, school counseling, and educational leadership and meet the appropriate criteria are eligible for membership.On April 1, 2009, forty-six graduate and undergraduate students were inducted as new members of Kappa Delta Pi. Deborah Schussler, Ph.D., who currently serves as the Xi Phi Chapter’s advisor, led the induction ceremony. Ray Heitzmann, Ph.D., offered an inspiring talk titled, “Be Ashamed to Die Until You Have Won Some Victory for Humanity.” 14 •
Psychology of Terrorism Colloquium Hosted at Villanova From left to right: Captain Andrew Clark, Dr. John Horgan, Dr. Ginamarie Ligon, and Captain Derek Ligon at the Psychology of Terrorism Colloquium. Villanova University’s Department of Psychology and Graduate Programs in Human Resources Development co-sponsored the Psychology of Terrorism Colloquium on November 20, 2008 in the CEER building on the Villanova campus. The featured speaker was John Horgan, Ph.D., director of International Center for Study of Terrorism at Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Horgan shared his latest research on how and why members disengage from terrorist organizations and the psychological aspects of such behavior. To a standing room only crowd of over 125 people, including faculty, students, military leaders, and business people from the Tri-State area, Dr. Horgan discussed his interview techniques of former members of terrorist organizations. His research in this area is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research and takes him to regions in the Middle East, Europe, the Americas and Asia where he has interviewed 29 former terrorists, 23 members of their families, and other supporters. As one of just a few psychologists studying this phenomenon, Dr. Horgan adds value to the field of terrorism research by applying psychological research methods, as well as theories and findings from the field of human resources, to understand disengagement from radical terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda, Shining Path (Peru) and Tamil Tigers (Sri Lanka). Prior to joining Penn State, he held faculty positions at St. Andrews of Scotland and University College of Cork, Ireland. Dr. Horgan has published extensively in the area of terrorism, including a recently published book, “Walking Away from Terrorism: Accounts of Disengagement from Radical and Extremist Movements” (NY and London: Routledge, 2008), and he holds editorial positions for the Journal of Terrorism and Political Violence, Terrorism Research, and Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. The colloquium was followed by a reception themed, “A Taste of Philly,” where the fare included foods and products produced in, or made famous by association with, Philadelphia. South Philly Italian Hoagies, tomato pie, Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cake, Herr’s Potato Chips, and Tastykakes. All products were purchased from local establishments to encourage the greater Philadelphia economy. At the reception, audience members were lined up to speak with Dr. Horgan, asking questions regarding career paths in the field of terrorism research, how he obtains his interview participants (i.e., terrorists and ex-terrorists from across the globe), and general methodology and research queries. Following are two frequently asked questions that we asked Dr. Horgan to answer for us: Villanova University: How did you get involved in this kind of research? Dr. Horgan: “I finished my undergraduate degree in psychology around the time of the first IRA ceasefire in 1996. The opportunities afforded to researchers by the peace process meant that it became possible to speak to former terrorists about their experiences—how they became involved, how they justified the atrocities perpetrated by their movement and so on. I had always been interested in how extreme behavior develops for the individual, and saw an opportunity for some valuable research. One of the most disturbing features of terrorist psychology is that despite the large scale consequences that terrorists do, those who become involved in terrorism are largely indistinguishable from the general population. They are impossible to pick out of a crowd and are not easy to profile. As a psychologist, I am interested in understanding what this means and what we can do about it.” VU: Why do former terrorists want to speak about their experiences? Dr. Horgan: “Terrorists crave attention. They are the only group of offenders that not only claim responsibility for what they have done, but are proud of it. They want to talk, they want to say how things are for them, and they want to take every opportunity to justify to the outside world what it is they do and why they do it. The role of the academic is to try to understand what terrorists say (and why), but also to ensure that they are not used as a propaganda tool at the same time. Interviewing people about their experiences of becoming involved in terrorism, and why they leave, offers a unique opportunity to also find out if there are ways of developing knowledge aimed at preventing people becoming involved in the first place.” • 15
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