PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL REPORT - The University of Tampa

Beyond the lectern
Dr. James A. Beckman
16 UT JOURNAL
Professor Publishes Third
Book This Year After completing his juris doctor degree at
FACULTY to do ut.edu CALENDAR OF EVENTS
SEPTEMBER
Thursday, Sept. 28
Saunders Writing Center
25 th Anniversary
Vaughn Center Board
Room
3-6 p.m.
HONORS PROGRAM
SYMPOSIA
All are held in the
Macdonald-Kelce Library
in AV-2.
Wednesday, Sept. 20
Dr. Linda Musante
“Roots of Psychology:
Founding Mothers”
4 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 27
Dr. Raymond Papp
“Technology Innovations”
4 p.m.
@ OCTOBER
Wednesday, Oct. 4
Dr. Theoni Soublis-Smyth
“Who Is the No Child Left
Behind Act Leaving
Behind?”
4 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 12
Ms. Deborah L. Bauer
UT Honors Program
Alumna
“Placing Dervorgilla O’Neill
in Her Medieval Context:
The Transformation of
Undergraduate Research
into a Master’s Thesis”
4:15 p.m.
NOVEMBER
Thursday, Nov. 2
Dr. Catherine Chastain-
Elliott
A complete listing of University events
can be found at ut.edu
With the Aug. 7 release of Harper’s
Ferry, Dr. James Beckman realizes
something few of even the busiest
writers ever see: the publication of his third
book in a single year. Each, furthermore, is
published by a different company. It is his
fourth book overall.
“This is probably the only time in my career
that I’ll publish three books in one year,”
Beckman said.
Affirmative Action Now (Greenwood Press)
led the 2006 Beckman book parade in the
spring, followed by Comparative Legal
Approaches to Homeland Security and Terrorism
(Ashgate) and Harpers Ferry (Arcadia).
If Beckman, an associate professor of
law and justice who has been with the
University since 2000, seems to expound
upon disparate subjects, that may have
something to do with his background.
“Ridiculing Modern Art:
Cartoons Shaping Public
Opinion about Art and the
Art World”
4:15 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 9
Dr. Suzanne Collins
“Maintaining Patient Safety
in the Context of Medical
Errors”
4:15 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 13
Dr. Wasif Alam
“Cultural Sensitivity as It
Relates to Health Care”
4 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 16
Dr. James López
“Cultural Hybridity in Latin
America”
4:15 p.m.
Ohio State University, Beckman, who also
holds degrees from UT and Georgetown University,
served in the Army as an active-duty
judge advocate, serving on the staff of the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point and at the
Army Claims Service in Fort Meade, MD. After
an honorable discharge, he was an attorney for
the treasury department.
Researching American history is one of
Beckman’s favorite pastimes, and a 1997 visit
to Harpers Ferry, WV, struck such a deep chord
that he and his wife, Maria, awed by the beauty
and history of the town and a Civil War-era
home they happened upon there, bought the
home and moved in.
Three years later, Beckman accepted his
UT teaching position, but still spends considerable
time in Harpers Ferry, and has lectured
extensively about the town, as well as publishing
several articles on it. He also was selected
as an artist-in-residence for the National Park
Service (Harpers Ferry National Historical Park)
in 2001.
“I have been researching the history of the
town for years,” Beckman said, “and have been
collecting books, manuscripts and papers concerning
the town’s history for a decade—so
this project was merely a continuation of my
scholarly study of the town.”
Beckman said he collected hundreds of
books and articles about Harpers Ferry, reading
everything about it that he could find, then
re-read all the materials before writing the
book.
The result is the Harpers Ferry story told
through vintage postcard images, 191 in all,
most never published before and many very
rare. The text is comprised of anecdotes and
vignettes about the images. A substantial
portion of the book is devoted to America’s
most famous abolitionist, John Brown, and his
deadly raid that put the town’s name on the
national map forever.
Harpers Ferry is available in bookstores
or directly from Arcadia Publishing at
www.arcadiapublishing.com or (888) 313-
2665. UT