Faculty and Staff Notes

Professor of Politics Stephen Crowley wrote an article titled “No Donald: The US Owes Ukraine, Not the Other Way Around” for The Nation. He was interviewed about Trump’s meeting with President Zelensky for the radio program Background Briefing.

Associate Professor of Sociology Alicia Smith-Tran published an article in Contexts with coauthors Sunny Hunt ’27, Dakota Wynn ’27, Izze Powell ’27, Charlie Kline ’25, and Jonah Covell ’24. Their article, "Seeing Tensions in Adulthood," is based on a photovoice research project they conducted during Winter Term 2024. 

Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Matt Elrod recently published an article, "A New Potential Atmospheric Accretion Mechanism: Acid-Catalyzed Hetero-Michael Addition Reactions," in ACS Earth and Space Chemistry. His coauthors are Becca Fenselau ’22, Ali Alotbi ’23, Caroline Lee ’24, Julia Cronin ’25, and Dan Hill ’21, as well as Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Jason Belitsky.

Professor of Ethnomusicology Emeritus Roderic Knight contributed a chapter, “Following in the Footsteps of Muria Music and Dance” to the book Music and Dance as Everyday South Asia, (Oxford U. Press, 2024), edited by Sarah Morelli and Zoe Sherinian ’84. The book also includes a chapter by Rolf Groesbeck ’79.

Associate Professor of Percussion Ross Karre served as video director for the world premiere of a new work by performance artist and theater-maker Autumn Knight, hosted by Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Will Parsons has been awarded an Organic Syntheses PUI Summer Research Grant. This award will contribute to support of student/faculty research in his laboratory over the next two summers.

Professor of Comparative American Studies Gina Pérez was interviewed by the Elyria Chronicle Telegram for a story about the response of faith communities the new immigration enforcement landscape in Lorain County. Pérez's opinion article “Building a Culture of Mercy, Not a Culture of Fear” was published by the Cleveland Plain Dealer on February 16, and she was featured in an NPR story about what it’s like to take sanctuary in a church. The Jesuit publication America Magazine published a review of her new book Sanctuary People: Faith-Based Organizing in Latina/o Communities (NYU Press, 2024).

Professor of Psychology and Environmental Studies Cindy Frantz was featured in a February episode of the podcast Climate Change and Happiness, which explores personal aspects of climate change. Frantz discussed her research on people's connectedness to nature and her work on how communities adapt to climate change.

Assistant Professor of Psychology Danielle Godon-Decoteau recently coauthored a study about how Asian Americans racially identify. Self-identification in an open-ended format generated responses beyond what check-box approaches tend to convey. The paper was published in the Asian American Journal of Psychology. 

Conservatory Library Head Kathy Abromeit publishes book, Music Information Literacy: Inclusion and Advocacy, with coeditor Dyani Sabin ’14. In the face of the last decade’s events and increased public awareness of issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), we in music libraries can do things to create the space in our teaching for optimal creativity and connection by and with our library users. Multi-author collection by activist librarians.