Spring/Summer 2009 - College of Psychology and Liberal Arts

spring/summer2009Vol. XII,Issue 1• • • • • • • • • • • • The Newsletter of the Department of Humanities and CommunicationMusic Program Grows UnderDirection of Dynamic ProfessorTop: The jazz band ensemble is one of four that Florida Tech students can takefor credit. Photo by dominicphoto.com.Lower: The string ensemble readies for “Dante’s Dreaming.”Photo by dominicphoto.com.CommunicationProgram EvolvesSecond in atwo-part serieson the historicaldevelopment ofthe departmentPage 6In this issueCarol Shehadeh, 1995Graduate Student Earns “4 Under 40”...... 5New Book Has Reviewers Abuzz............... 9Jamie Younkin directs the wind ensemble. Photo by dominicphoto.com.hile only two years have passed since Jamie YounkinW took over the fledgling Florida Tech music program, thedynamic young professor has added six music ensembles, producedand directed musical extravaganzas each semester, and become anintegral part of the university’s faculty band, Twitchy.The six ensembles include four that can be taken for credit, including the windsand percussion ensemble, concert choir, string ensemble and jazz ensemble.Two non-credit groups are Latin percussion and Schola Cantorum (chant andRenaissance choir).The concert ensembles enjoyed two successful performances with “Thriller” onHalloween and “Dante’s Dreaming” in April. For the latter, Younkin expanded themusical showcase to include work from a variety of artistic talents on campus,including an art show, poetry readings, and, of course, musical performances fromFlorida Tech students, faculty and friends.The Jazz Ensemble and Latin Percussion gave their first performances to anenthusiastic audience in the Panthereum, Friday, April 24.The outstanding growth of the program is a testament to Younkin’s hard work anddedication. Visit our Web site for news about upcoming performances:http://cpla.fit.edu/hu-com.Textile Arts Center Opens....................... 11

New Faculty Bolster Teaching, Research, Service in the DepartmentJason HarrisJason M. Harris came to Florida Tech fromMichigan State University. He teaches compositionand other writing courses for thedepartment. A native of California, Harrisgraduated with honors from the University ofCalifornia in Santa Barbara with a bachelor’sdegree in literature. He went on to earn hismaster’s and Ph.D. in English literature fromthe University of Washington.Harris has an active scholarly agenda. Hehas published three books (two of whichwere collaborations) and has numerousother publications and conference papers.John LavelleJohn Lavelle joined Florida Tech in the fallas an assistant professor after completing hisPh.D. in Early American Literature at theUniversity of Louisiana at Lafayette. Lavellehas a master’s degree in English from StateUniversity of New York at Buffalo, as wellas a master’s in creative writing from theUniversity of Central Florida. He teachesbasic writing, composition and rhetoric, andwriting about literature.Lavelle previously taught at the Universityof Louisiana at Lafayette, Pima CountyCommunity College in Tucson, Ariz.,Valencia Community College, University ofCentral Florida and SUNY at Buffalo.JoAnn Parla-PalumboAssistant Professor JoAnn Parla-Palumbo,Ph.D., joined the department in August2008. She brings more than 35 years ofteaching and administrative experience tothe department.Parla-Palumbo began at Florida Tech teachingEnglish as a second language (ESL)as an adjunct instructor. She is currentlyteaching basic writing and composition andrhetoric, and with others in the departmentis actively seeking grants to expand thedepartment’s language program.Parla-Palumbo has expertise in literacy,English language and literature, linguistics,bilingual education, and Spanish languageand literature, among others. She has animpressive list of professional accomplishmentsthat include development of collegeHis recent projects include a chapter onthe folklore about the mysterious PauldingLight as part of an anthology on UpperMichigan folklore to be published by theUniversity of Wisconsin Press.Harris taught at the University ofWashington, the American River Collegeand Michigan State University before comingto Florida Tech.Together with John Lavelle, Harris is coadviserfor Florida Tech’s literary magazine,Kaleidoscope.Student Deborah Wong contributed to this profile.Lavelle has several creative and researchinterests. He is currently developing acollection of short stories based on theworking-class people of Buffalo, N.Y., andis revising a novel and writing another. Hisresearch includes a critical evaluation ofliterature and how it represents class andidentity. He actively presents his work atacademic conferences, and his short storieshave been published in a variety of literarypublications.Lavelle is making immediate contributionsto the department, including his newrole as co-adviser for the literary magazineKaleidoscope with Jason Harris.and university curricula in undergraduateand graduate TESOL teacher educationprograms. She is a successful grant writerand has served as a field reader for theU.S. Department of Education and as anevaluator of programs in ESL and bilingualeducation.Parla-Palumbo earned a Ph.D. from theState University of New York at Buffalo,where she also earned a master’s degree inSpanish (Latin American literature) anda master of education degree focusing onforeign language education. She has taughtat the University of Central Florida, NiagaraUniversity, University of Buffalo andSUNY–Fredonia, where she retired fromthe School of Education.Wanfa ZhangWanfa Zhang joined the department in fall2008. He teaches courses in internationalrelations, political science and civilization.He also teaches the first Chinese languageand culture courses offered at Florida Tech.Zhang will complete his doctorate in internationalrelations at the University of Alabamathis summer. His dissertation is titled“Reexamination of Polarity and War, and anEmpirical Test of Mearsheimer’s ‘OffensiveRealism’ Theory.” He has a strong researchagenda, actively presenting his research atacademic conferences and has publishedseveral journal articles and book chapters.Zhang’s minor area of study is comparativepolitics and public administration. He hasexpertise in international relations theory,quantitative study of international conflictand political research methods. He hasfocused on American and Asian politics.Zhang has taught at the University ofAlabama and China Foreign AffairsUniversity in Beijing. He earned master’sdegrees from The University of Mississippiand Xi’an International Studies Universityin China, where his focus was British andAmerican studies.Cynthia CourbatCynthia Courbat joined the communicationfaculty as a visiting instructor this past year.She taught scientific and technical communication,public relations and journalism.Her classes have been involved in numerousevents on campus, covering stories andparticipating in events.Courbat has a master’s degree in publicrelations from Regent University in VirginiaBeach. She is currently working on a Ph.D.at Florida Atlantic University. Courbat hasworked as a journalist at Florida Today, theFlorida Times Union, the Gainesville Sunand several other newspapers throughoutthe Southeast.When not teaching, Courbat works for herown agency, Creative Concepts, which shefounded in 1982. The agency specializes ingrant-writing, event planning and multimediaconsulting services to nonprofit and faithbasedorganizations. Courbat also assistssmall businesses and nonprofit organizationswith disaster planning and has coordinatedsome local storm and fire relief efforts.• • • 3

Taylor, Perdigao Are PromotedIn March, humanities and communicationfaculty members Robert A. Taylor and LisaPerdigao were promoted. Both have strongresearch, teaching and service records asFlorida Tech faculty.Taylor, head of the Humanities andCommunication Department, was promotedto full professor. He joined the faculty in1999 and has served as the departmenthead for two years. Professor Taylor is aprolific historian, contributing regularly toacademic journals, and a preferred speakeron historical topics. He taught previously atIndian River Community College, Universityof Saint Francis, Florida Atlantic University,Florida State University and the Universityof South Alabama. Taylor’s research focuseson 19th- and 20th-century America, theAmerican South, Florida history, U.S. militaryhistory, the history of the space age and20th-century Europe. He earned his Ph.D.from Florida State University.Perdigao was promoted to associate professor.She teaches courses in composition,cultural studies, American literature andliterary theory, among others. Last yearshe was awarded Florida Tech’s prestigiousteaching award, and this year was honoredby Alpha Phi as Faculty of the Year. She hasan active scholarly agenda, with numerousRobert TaylorLisa Perdigaopublications, and regularly presents herwork at academic conferences. She hastaught at Boston College, NortheasternUniversity and Merrimack College.Perdigao earned her Ph.D. at NortheasternUniversity.Language ProfessorPeter-Otto Uhr RetiresPeter-Otto Uhr, assistant professor oflanguages, is retiring after eight years atFlorida Tech. Uhr has taught courses inFrench, German, Italian, civilization andopera at Florida Tech.Prior to joining the Humanities andCommunication Department, Uhr taughtat the University of Central Florida,Valencia Community College and BrevardCommunity College. In 2000, he directedthe UCF Summer Semester at theUniversity of Koblenz, Germany. RollinsCollege invited him to present a Survey ofGerman Cultural History, also in 2000.Uhr, a German citizen, earned his doctoratefrom the University of Florida’s departmentof Germanic and Slavic studies,where he also earned his master’s degree inGerman literature. He studied French as anundergraduate at the University of CentralFlorida, graduating summa cum laude.Uhr’s opera course was a popular offering.His wide range of language skills madehim an invaluable member of the humanitiesand communication faculty. A trueRenaissance man!In Memoriam:Mary B. MullinsBy Fontaine WallaceWith deep sadness,we mourn the loss ofour colleague, MaryB. Mullins, instructorin the Humanitiesand CommunicationDepartment. Sheserved in her presentcapacity as wellMary Mullinsas director of theAcademic Support Center for many years.Not only will Mary be remembered forher fine teaching ability, but also for herirrepressible personality. Her enthusiasmwas catching, and she often peppered herlectures with snippets of songs, famous playlines and her own adages.Righter of wrongs, Mary worked tirelesslywith the Senate Welfare Committee andother groups to expand benefits. She spearheadedthe formation of COM 0110 to easeunderprepared students to adjust to the rigorsof college-level composition and taughtspeech and drama with great fervor.Her boundless friendliness encompassedstudents, faculty and staff. Her wit oftensparkled in conversation. Dramatic, spontaneous,knowledgeable, patient, compassionate—MaryMullins exemplified what anoutstanding teacher should be. She was alsoour friend whom we will miss deeply.New GraduatesMaster of Science,Technical and ProfessionalCommunicationSara Fieberg, Alycia Johnson (fall graduate)Bachelor of Science, CommunicationShannon Adams (fall graduate), Shaun AlfBachelor of Arts, HumanitiesStephanie JoyAlumni NewsVincent Bisson, B.A.,Humanities, 2006Vincent Bisson is pursuing a master’s degreeat the University of Oregon. He is in aninterdisciplinary study program through theFolklore Department. He is studying threefields: folklore, film and history. Bissonwants to study how film affects our view ofhistoric and folkloric events.Samantha Nelson, B.S.,Communication, 2008Samantha Nelson is finishing her first year asa drama teacher at Cocoa High School.Do you have an update for TheCommunicator? Send your news tokkiser@fit.edu or fill out the form on theback page and mail it to us.4 • • •

Graduate Student Earns “4 Under 40” AwardRolanda Hatcher-Gallop is also the department’s Outstanding Graduate StudentRolanda Hatcher-Gallop, a student in the Florida Tech master’sprogram in technical and professional communication, was awardedone of the prestigious “4 Under 40” awards given by LEAD Brevardthis spring and was also named the Outstanding Graduate Studentfor humanities and communication at Florida Tech’s Spring HonorsConvocation.Hatcher-Gallop owns her own company,Rojé Communications, and volunteers fornumerous local charitable organizations.She plans to complete her master’s degreein December and is currently working onher thesis.The purpose of the “4 Under 40” awards isto celebrate the next generation of leadersin Brevard County and to honor thosewho made significant contributions to theoverall quality of life in our area. The fifthannual award ceremony recognized fouroutstanding Brevard County professionalswho are under age 40.Hatcher-Gallop was chosen from a fieldof 28 nominees. Winners of the award arechosen based on their communication skills,originality of approaches to strengtheningand transforming the community, knowledgeand understanding of how the communityworks, demonstration of leadership skills,social entrepreneurship, and tangibleimprovement in the lives of others.A previous winner, Natalie Sellers, directorof communications and service excellencefor Parrish Medical Center, is a 2003graduate of Florida Tech’s technical andprofessional communication master’sprogram, and Javier Molinares, a previousfinalist, is a current student in the graduateprogram and publisher of the bilingualnewspaper Al Dia Today.“These leaders from the technical andprofessional master’s degree programrepresent the very best about our students,”says Judy Strother, who chairs the graduateprogram. “Our students are involved in theirjobs and their communities, and many makecontributions above and beyond their peers.”Rolanda Hatcher-GallopNatalie Sellers andJavier Molinares atthe 2007 eventSenior Spotlights:Shaun AlfB.A. CommunicationShaun Alf earned his bachelor’s degree in communication thisspring. He was named the department’s outstanding undergraduatestudent in Florida Tech’s Spring Honors Convocation and is also adistinguished military honor graduate.Alf is in the fast-track graduate program and plans to complete hismaster’s degree in technical and professional communication in thenext academic year.Alf, who served in the Army ROTC, was commissioned as a SecondLieutenant in the U.S. Army in May. Prior to coming to FloridaTech, Alf served in the Army in Iraq in 2003 and 2004. He plans toattend the military intelligence basic officer course in February.Alf and his wife Heather have three children.Stephanie JoyB.A. HumanitiesStephanie Joy earned her bachelor’s degree in humanities this spring.She is currently the student services coordinator for the extendedstudies division of University College at Florida Tech. Joy has beenworking on her degree since 1990 and attended Georgia SouthernUniversity and Kennesaw State University before settling at FloridaTech.Joy’s capstone project, titled “Angels in Khaki: The evolutionarydepiction of war-time nursing in film, 1930–1945,” discussed howthe portrayal of nurses in film changed from the years before WorldWar II through the end of the war.After graduation, Joy will continue to work at Florida Tech. Shehopes to eventually begin work on a master’s degree. Joy resides inPalm Bay with her husband, Jason, and daughter, Sarah.• • • 5

Communication Program Evolves Over TimeExamining the Historical Development of the Humanities and Communication DepartmentBy Rolanda Hatcher-GallopAs a freelance technical editor, Anita Diane Bromberg knowshow to create content that grabs an audience.She’s quick to note that she perfected her writing skills whilea graduate student in Florida Tech’s technical and professionalcommunication program.“I learned so much from most of theclasses, especially how people think.You are also taught how to approach awritten document so that it’s readable andpeople who may not be as technical canunderstand it,” said Bromberg, a Cocoaresident who received her master’s degreein 1993.Back then, the master’s program was stillin its infancy. “It definitely was a growingprogram. But I felt it was something thatthe school in general needed,” she added.While not as old as some of the otherdepartments that have shared in FloridaTech’s 50-year history, the Humanitiesand Communication Department hascontributed to the university’s overallsuccess over the last three decades.The department has been groomingstudents for 21st century careers since thedawn of disposable cameras and CD-ROMs,emphasizing solid writing techniques,analytical skills, computer proficiency andintellectual openness—all essential tools inthe Information Age.“One thing with our department is we thinkof how we can tweak our majors to meetthe demand of employers and students,”said Assistant Professor Sharon Irvin, ahumanities and communication instructorat the university since 1970.“Our program is trying to make people readyfor almost anything,” she added.That includes a world increasinglydependent on all forms of communication.Indeed, the communications thrust of theprogram has grown tremendously since1978 when Dr. Joseph Carter became thenew head of the then humanistic studiesdepartment.He started the first communicationmajor three years later, accordingto Professor Gordon Patterson,university historian.“Dr. Carter said the departmentneeded to have an undergraduatemajor in technical communication.He also started the (Individualized)Learning Center,” said Irvin, addingthat it was around this time thatshe and Assistant Professor CarolShehadeh were hired as full-timeinstructors.To reinforce the buddingcommunication major, Carter alsosupported the campus chapter of theSociety for Technical Communication, oneof the premiere organizations for technicalcommunication.During the 1980s, the communicationprogram had more than 20 students andoffered five or six solid courses.“Back then, the course work was heavilytechnical, and we had solid students whocould handle upper-level math. But theyshied away from those heavier courses inthe 1990s. Now I think today the trend ismore visual,” Irvin said.It wasn’t until around 1990 that theprogram divided its focus into twoconcentrations: business communicationand technical communication.The Crawford Building, current home to the Department of Humanities andCommunication, is pictured here in 1984.Irvin said she was responsible for the latter,while Shehadeh handled the former.“We found that there were two kinds ofstudents in the program: those majoring intechnical communication who could handlethe science, math and computer courses,and those who couldn’t. That was thereason for the split,” she said.They were merged into one major duringthe mid-90s, Irvin added.Over the years, the communication programalso attracted professors with diverseprofessional backgrounds and teachinginterests.“For instance, Jane Tolbert taughtjournalism and Suzanne Laurion was inpublic relations. There was always someoneHumanities and Communication hascontributed to the university’s overallsuccess over the last three decades.6 • • •

with a specialty who could teach sci techand business communication,” Irvin said.However, one of the most notableinstructors currently associated with thecommunication program actually startedwork in the university’s Language Institute.Judy Strother was in her late 20s whenshe started teaching Special English as aSecond Language Programs for Braziliansas an adjunct professor. She eventuallybecame an assistant professor of appliedlinguistics and served as assistant directorof the institute, which blended into thehumanities department in the mid-80s.“I don’t remember the transition beingterribly difficult. We all worked in concertto give students the best educationpossible,” Strother said.She started teaching in the communicationprogram shortly afterwards.Bromberg recalled being happy with allof the teachers in the program but saidStrother stood out.“I liked the way she taught; I liked theclasses she taught and how she conductedthose classes. She was always there when Ineeded some help,” Bromberg said.She added that Strother is “one of the twoteachers in my whole life who really had aprofound effect on me.”Strother and Howard Scheiber, a formerassociate professor of rhetoric andcommunication, went on to design anddirect the master of science program intechnical and professional communication.“Developing the program really was not along, drawn-out process. We just did it, wereally just did it,” Strother said.“We kind of marketed it pretty hard the firstcouple of years. Almost all of our studentsworked for high-tech companies in thearea,” she said.Scheiber and Strother were the only twoteachers in the program for its first coupleyears. A couple of adjunct professors cameon board as more courses were added.“Our focus at first was more science andtechnology-oriented. But because of thedemand from students, the focus shiftedmore toward marketing communication,such as marketing and public relations,”said Strother,program chair.Part of theshift wasattributed tothe change inthe high-techindustry. Bycompaniescutting theirbudgets fortechnical writers,the demand forless technicalcommunicationcourses increased.“Even now, thefocus leans more towardthe marketingcommunicationside,” Strothersaid, addingthat one ofthe program’sstrengths isthe ability toprovide essentialcommunicationfundamentals topeople from anybackground.“Several studentshave gone on to getdoctorates in economicsas well as positionsin communication,education, technologyand technicalcommunication,” sheadded.Jane Tolbert, 2005Irvin said it is very easy forsomeone to track the high points in thehistory of the communications divisionof the humanities and communicationdepartment.“From getting a communication majorto starting a graduate program incommunication, and even the consistenteffort to try to get good professors who’veworked in the field of communicationsto add their expertise, our department isfocused on educating students who willbe tomorrow’s leaders,” she said.Sharon Irvin, 1978Judy Strother, undated photoGordon Patterson, 1984Carol Shehadeh, 1995“Our department isfocused on educatingstudents who will betomorrow’s leaders.”• • • 7

Faculty News: Presentations and PublicationsAndrew Aberdein wrote “Mathematicalargumentation” (as editor, with Ian Dove), inFoundations of science 14(1–2), 2009, pp. 1–152.His piece, “Euler diagrams,” appeared in Thereasoner 3(2), 2009, p. 13. Aberdein also publishedseveral book chapters, including, “Logicfor dogs,” in What philosophy can tell you aboutyour dog, Steven D. Hales, ed. (Chicago: OpenCourt, 2008), pp. 167–181; “The companionsand Socrates: Is Inara a hetaera?” In InvestigatingFirefly and Serenity: Science fiction on the frontier,Rhonda V. Wilcox & Tanya Cochran, edd.(London: I. B. Tauris, 2008), pp. 63–75; and,“Biology: Classification systems,” in Scientificthought: In context, K. Lee Lerner & BrendaWilmoth Lerner, edd. (Farmington Hills, MI:Gale, 2008), Vol. 1, pp. 167–176.Aberdein also stayed busy with multiple presentations,including one titled “Mathematicalluck” at the Florida Philosophical AssociationConference in Daytona Beach in November, and“A shaggy dog story,” presented at the 2nd AnnualLighthearted Philosophers’ Society Meeting,St. Petersburg College, St. Petersburg, Fla., inOctober. He has three international presentationsslated for this summer.Judith Strother and Zohra Fazal, withgraduate student Melinda Millsap, authoredthe article, “Legal and Ethical Issues of theCorporate Blogosphere,” in IEEE Transactions onProfessional Communication, currently in press.Strother, Fazal and graduate studentsAlycia Johnson and Millsap wrote “Perilsand Pitfalls of the Corporate Blog: Legal andEthical Issues,” published in Proceedings: 2008IEEE International Professional CommunicationConference, Montreal, Canada. The four alsoauthored “Effects of Test Modality—Computerbasedversus Paper-and-Pencil—on Nonnatives’English Results,” in Proceedings (610): 2008IASTED Web-based Education Conference,Innsbruck, Austria, pp. 133-138.Fazal, Strother and Angela Tenga, withgraduate student Rolanda Hatcher-Gallop,published “Supporting Faculty Researchthrough Asynchronous Online Collaborationat Florida Institute of Technology’s Center forCommunication Excellence” in Proceedings: 2008IEEE International Professional CommunicationConference, Montreal, Canada.Jason Harris presented “The Smile of Oblivion:The Clown and Puppet as a Fantastic Figureof Madness, Death, and Diabolism in theWritings of Thomas Ligotti” at the MidwestPopular Culture Association/American CultureAssociation Conference in October.John Lavelle had his short story, “Dragon Flies,”published in January in Stone Canoe, the literarymagazine of Syracuse University. Another shortstory, “Living in the Past,” in the anthology Ofa Certain Age is in press. Lavelle also delivereda paper at the PCA/ACA Conference in NewOrleans in March titled “An Alternate Concept ofthe Study of Class in Literature.”Gordon Patterson made multiple presentationsthis past year, including “A History of MosquitoControl in Florida,” for a Dodd Short Courseon Mosquito Control, Ocala, Fla., in January.He was also the keynote speaker to the ArmedForces Pest Management Board at Walter ReedMedical Research Center, Washington, D.C., inFebruary. In April, Patterson presented a paper,“Mosquito Control Research in the 1950’s inCalifornia and Florida: A Comparison,” at theAnnual Meeting of the American MosquitoControl Association in New Orleans. In June hewill be the Dean’s Distinguished Lecturer at theSchool of Environmental and Biological Sciences,Rutgers University, with the talk, “Waging Waron the Insect Menace: Rutgers and the GreatAmerican Mosquito Crusade.” See page 9 foran article on Patterson’s recently publishedbook, The Mosquito Crusades: A History of theAmerican Anti-Mosquito Movement from the ReedCommission to the First Earth Day.Lisa Perdigao, who was recently promoted toassociate professor, received the Alpha Phi Awardfor Faculty of the Year. This spring she presentedthe paper “‘By the cold reflections of the dead’: ARemembrance of Poets Passed,” at the NortheastModern Language Association convention inBoston where she also organized and chaired twopanels, “The ‘Breaking of Style’ in PostmodernAmerican Poetry” and “Narratives of Passingin Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Literature.”She attended the Modern Language Associationconvention in the winter as a member of theDelegate Assembly and just completed a threeyearterm as the NeMLA Women’s CaucusRepresentative. She is also a member of the association’snewly formed Diversity Committee.Department Head Robert Taylor has been busyagain this year. As the Vero Beach Book Center’s“Favorite Historian,” Taylor just completed his15th year hosting the center’s monthly HistoryForum. This year he discussed books such asHitler’s Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe,by Mark Mazower, and The Ascent of Money: AFinancial History of the World, by Niall Ferguson.Taylor, a popular speaker, was also tapped toaddress the Satellite Beach Library’s special event“Celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Birthof Abraham Lincoln.” Taylor discussed Lincolnthe person and the statesman and how he wouldrelate to 21st Century Floridians in his talk,“Abraham Lincoln: A man of his time, A man forall times.” Taylor also published a book reviewin the Journal of Southern History, in February,reviewing the book Wade Hampton III, by RobertK. Ackerman.Angela Tenga presented her paper “Late MiddleEnglish Romance & Emergent Gameplay” atthe New College Conference on Medieval andRenaissance Studies. She also presented “VideoGames and the New Producer-Consumer ofInteractive Media” at the South Atlantic ModernLanguage Association in November.In November, visiting faculty member CynthiaCourbat took a research trip to Galveston, Texas,where she met with government officials, mediaoutlets, faith-based organizations and stormvictims. She is studying best practices in disasterresponse and presented her findings at a nationalmedia conference in Nashville in February.In May, Jamie Younkin presented a papertitled “An unlikely gathering: the other author inBiblioteca Ambrosiana P165 sup.” at the 44thInternational Congress on Medieval Studies in asession sponsored by the Ambrosiana Foundation.The conference was in Kalamazzoo, Mich. Shewill travel to Amsterdam in July to present apaper at the International Musicological SocietyCongress on unusual chant notation in liturgicalOffices for St Ursula. The paper is titled“Sounding Saint Ursula: Why Ursula’s OfficesLook Different.”Heidi Hatfield Edwards published a studyin Journalism & Communication Monographs inwhich she investigated the audience interpretationof a corporate sponsored extreme fundraisingevent to raise money for breast cancer. Thearticle, “An audience interpretation of corporatecommunication in a cause-related corporateoutreach event: The Avon Breast Cancer 3-DayWalk” was co-authored with Peggy J. Kreshel.10 • • •

Textile Arts Center OpensDedication Ceremony Set for August 28Florida Tech will celebrate the opening ofthe Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts witha dedication ceremony on Friday, Aug. 28,from 6–8 p.m. This exciting addition tocampus opens its doors to the public onSaturday, Aug. 29, at 10 a.m.The Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts is theonly textiles museum in the state of Florida.Dedicated to furthering the understandingof cultural and creative achievements inthe textile and finer arts, the center willpreserve, maintain, display and interpret aninternational collection of textiles throughpublic exhibitions and educational programs.The opening exhibit, Coat Couture:Inspiration to Creation, will featurethe fantastic creations of the museum’sbenefactor, Ruth E. Funk, along with aselection of international textiles from thepermanent collection. Funk is a FloridaTech trustee, former art educator, life-longartist and collector.Curated by Carla Funk (no relation) andThea Rusch, Coat Couture positions RuthFunk’s wearable art in the context of globalArtist’s rendering of the new Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts which opens in August.textile arts. African mud cloth, Chineseembroidery, Panamanian molas and Asianikats are featured as the inspiration for hercontemporary wearable art designs.Designed by Holeman Suman Architects,the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts is atwo-story building with 3,000 square feet ofexhibit space.Coat Couture: Inspiration to Creation willbe on through Dec. 12, 2009. The centerwill be open Tuesday through Saturday from10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. Formore information, visit http://textiles.fit.eduCalendar of EventsHumanities Lecture Series 2009All events are in the Hartley Room, Denius Student Center at 7 p.m.and are free and open to the public.Thursday, September 17Fighting the Insect Menace:A Historian and the Great American Mosquito CrusadeGordon Patterson, Ph.D.Florida Tech Professor Gordon Patterson is the past chair of the social sciencessection of the Florida Academy of Sciences, a former director of the FloridaHistorical Society, former director of the Humanities Council and past board ofadvisers to Florida Defenders of the Environment. In the spring of 2009, RutgersUniversity Press published Dr. Patterson’s new book, The Mosquito Crusades: AHistory of the American Anti-Mosquito Movement.Thursday, October 22Tick or Treat? Class Conflict and Cattle Tick EradicationClaire Strom, Ph.D.Rapetti-Trunzo Chair of History, Rollins CollegeThursday, November 5Why Go to the Moon: The Many Faces of Lunar PolicyRoger D. Launius, Ph.D.Senior Curator, Division of Space HistoryNational Air and Space MuseumWhat is it about the moon that captures the fancy of humankind? A silverydisk hanging in the night sky, it conjures up images of romance and magic. Dr.Launius, who served as chief historian for NASA from 1990 to 2002, discussesthe illustrious history of the moon as a target for human exploration andeventual settlement. Dr. Launius’ numerous publications include Robots in Space:Technology, Evolution, and Interplanetary Travel (Johns Hopkins University Press,2008) and Space Stations: Base Camps to the Stars (Smithsonian Books, 2003).Claire Strom is the editor of Agricultural History (University of California Press).She is the author of several books addressing various aspects of America’s ruralpast. Dr. Strom’s most recent book, Making Catfish Bait of Government Boys: CattleTick Eradication and the Transformation of the Yeoman South, will be released inAugust 2009 by the University of Georgia Press.• • • 11

Send Your News!Name_________________________________________Major_______________________ Class of_____________Job Title_______________________________________Employer______________________________________Please share your personal and/or professional accomplishmentswith us:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Please return this form to the address below.Yes! I want to join the Humanities Circle:Name_________________________________________Address________________________________________City_ __________________________________________State_ _________________________ ZIP_____________Phone_________________________________________E-mail_ ________________________________________Humanities Circle Membership Classificationo Scholar ($25–$100) o Fellow ($125–$400)o Laureate ($425–$725) o Dean’s Circle ($750–$1,000)I would like to donate in support of theo Humanities Lecture Series o Textiles Programo Foreign Film Series o Music Program o OtherAmount enclosed $_ _____________________________o My check is enclosed (Payable to Florida Institute of Technology)q Please charge my credit cardq Visa q MasterCard q Discover q AmExCard Number_ __________________________________Expiration Date_____________ Security Code_ ________Signature_ _____________________________________Please return this form to the address below.SC-328-509Department of Humanities and Communication150 W. University Blvd.Melbourne, FL 32901-6975