Summer
2007
D
r. Francis J. Vasko, professor of mathematics, has been teaching at Kutztown University since September 1986.
In 1974, Dr. Vasko received his B.S. in mathematics education, graduating with highest
honors from Kutztown State. He then moved
on to Lehigh University where he eventually
received his Ph.D. in industrial engineering/
operations research. Before coming to teach
at Kutztown, and while studying for his
Ph.D., he worked as an employee in the Research Department at Bethlehem Steel solving
a variety of real-world applications in operations research. He then served as a consultant
to Bethlehem Steel Corporation from September 1986 thru March 2003.
In 2005, Dr. Vasko was awarded the C. R.
Chambliss Faculty Research Award. This
award is given to Kutztown University faculty who are conducting the highest level of
Dean’s Corner
research at the school. Over the last 20
years, Dr. Vasko has published 45 papers
which have been read and discussed
internationally. Besides publishing his
own papers, he has also acted as a referee for papers between authors divided
by continents, languages and seas.
In discussing his teaching and research,
Dr. Vasko stresses the words “practical”
and “holistic.” His experience at Bethlehem Steel gave him the unique opportunity to use mathematics to solve
real-world business problems. In effect, those
experiences have given him an invaluable
first-person perspective which he brings into
the classroom, validating and enhancing the
importance of his students’ projects and studies, thus allowing his students to understand
how math can be used and implemented in
the workplace and actual situations. His ex-
Dr. Bashar Hanna
On Saturday May 12, 2007, the largest graduating class
in the history of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
(CLAS) at Kutztown University earned their degrees. We
congratulate these 429 students who join the CLAS alumni/
ae family.
I am certain these newly conferred CLAS graduates will
make valuable contributions in their discipline of study and
society as a whole, whether entering the workforce, teaching or continuing their education.
I am also pleased to report that we are projecting more than
500 freshman to enroll in the CLAS in the fall. We look forward to welcoming these students to the CLAS family and
to our beautiful campus.
perience with Bethlehem Steel has also given
him valuable communication skills in dealing
with non-mathematicians. He brings this wisdom into the business math classes he teaches
at KU.
His current and future work includes both
undergraduate students as well as KU faculty
members from other departments. At the moment, he is working with undergraduates on
a project concerning Ant Colony Optimization, a controversial topic involving intense
statistical analysis using several computers
simultaneously. His current and future preoccupation is with DNA computing, a topic
which spans the globe, involving biophysics
and intense laboratory work.
The College of Liberal Arts
and Sciences Website can be
found at www. kutztown.edu/
academics/liberal_arts/index.
shtml
R
uthie Malenda graduated in May with a B.S. in physics degree.
Miss Malenda began her college career as a math major, a subject which she always liked, particularly because it provided her
a sense of certainty in what she was doing. Pondering the applicability
of the math she was learning, however; Miss Malenda became drawn
to physics by Dr. Paul V. Quinn who showed her how her ability and
knowledge in mathematics could be applied in a more useful, detailed
manner. She then submerged herself in physics research in order to
discover whether or not she liked it. She never looked back.
Miss Malenda is the author of a research paper on fission titled “Visualization of Dissociative Recombination of Electrons with C3H3+.” The
paper expounds on how she created a molecular dynamics computer
program to model the interaction of atoms in C3H3+, a molecular ion
which only exists on one of planet Jupiter’s moons.
Busy with her studies and research, Miss Malenda had little time for
hobbies. She was, however, the president of The Society of Physics Students at KU. During the spring semester, she led the society to Princeton University where they visited its Plasma Chambers, machines that
study the fission problems she addressed in her paper and research. She
found the visit to be a particularly stimulating experience.
Miss Malenda was involved in
Lehigh University’s REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates), a program sponsored
by the National Science Foundation and led by Dr. Peet Hickman of Lehigh University. She
presented her research paper to
the REU group at Lehigh, The Society of Physics Students at KU, as
well as the KU Board of Trustees.
Miss Malenda will attend graduate school at Lehigh University,
where she will enter a five-year program that will culminate with a doctoral degree in physics.
Her father, James W. Malenda, is a Kutztown University professor of
fine metals and jewelry making. Influenced in part by the time her father spent with her each summer with his profession, Miss Malenda
would eventually like to teach physics at the college level.
When They Are Not Teaching…
Ms. Jane Todd Cooper, Department of English,
as J.C.Todd, co-edited a special feature on
contemporary Slovenian poetry in translation
for The Drunken Boat (Fall/Winter).
Dr. Dan Featherston, Department of English,
published the books: “Into the Earth,” Philadelphia: Quarry Press, 2005. “United States,”
Ithaca, NY: Factory School Press, 2005.
Dr. Michael Gabriel, Department of History,
published 13 entries in “The Encyclopedia of
the American Revolutionary War: A Political,
Social, and Military History,” ABC-Clio, 2006.
Dr. Curt Herr, Department of English, published
a critical edition of the 1799 Gothic novel “The
Horrors of Oakendale Abbey” by Mrs. Carver,
Zittaw Press, August 2006.
1970,” New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2005.
Dr. Eric Johnson, Department of History, published a review essay in the latest edition of the
journal Eighteenth Century Studies.
Dr. Marc Renzema, Department of Criminal
Justice and Social Work, published the article
“How to Use Electronic Monitoring Intelligently
in Pretrial Services” in The Journal of Offender Monitoring, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 4-6, 25-26,
2006.
Dr. Mahfuzul Khondaker, Department of Criminal Justice and Social Work, co-authored “Juvenile Delinquency Program Retention: Treatment or Treatment Provider” in Criminal Justice
Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime, Law and
Society, 19 (3), September 2006.
Dr. Jordan D. Marché II, Department of Physical Science, published the book “Theaters of
Time and Space: American Planetaria, 1930-
Dr. Glenn Richardson Jr., Department of Political Science, published a book review of “Campaigning for Hearts and Minds: How Emotional
Appeals in Political Ads Work,” by Ted Brader,
in Political Science Quarterly, 513-514, Fall
2006.
continued on back page
Middle States Decennial Review
Kutztown University is involved in its decennial reaccreditation process through the Middle States
Commission on Higher Education. There are six
regional accreditation commissions for higher
education in the United States (i.e., Middle States,
New England, North Central, Northwest, Southern,
and Western). The Middle States Commission on
Higher Education is the regional institutional accreditor for 522 colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the
U.S. Virgin Islands, and several overseas locations.
Kutztown was first accredited in 1944 as Kutztown
State Teachers College and was most recently reaffirmed by the commission through a Periodic
Review Report in November 2003.
In the 2005–2006 academic year, a 19-member
steering committee and 14 subcommittees, representing faculty, staff, and students, was formed
to gather data and answer 110 self-study research
questions related to 14 Middle States standards of
excellence. These committees are currently in the
process of preparing a comprehensive self-study
report not only for the Middle States evaluation
team but also for the entire campus community.
Dr. Arnold Speert, president of William Paterson
University and chair of the evaluation team, has
been invited to campus for a preliminary visit on
October 29–30, 2007. This will be followed by the
evaluation team visit on March 30–April 2, 2008.
For more information, please check the Kutztown
University Middle States website at www.kutztown.
edu/committees/middlestates or contact Dr. Carole V. Wells, chair, Middle States Steering Committee.
2007 LAS Graduation Awards
Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology
Honor Society Award • Robin R. Jones
Martin Luther King, Jr. History Award •
Jessica M. Clarke
Linda Oswald-Bogart Award • Amanda S.
Behney (Spanish), Anna Farrell (French)
Computer Science Award • Isaac Rieksts
Kappa Mu Epsilon Award in Mathematics •
John F. Hughes
David F. Hottenstein Award in Nursing •
John Kramer
Mathematics Student Teaching Award •
Jeffery M. Kerchner, Vi T. Nguyen
Charles H. Boehm Award Earth/Space Science/
Astronomy Award • Dana L. Gerhart
Department of Modern Language Studies
Award in French • Jaclyn M Yura, Kendra
L. A. Siwik
Pauline B. and John E. Simpson Earth Science
and Marine Science Graduation Award •
Timothy A. Jenesky
Department of Modern Language Studies
Award in Spanish • Jennifer N. Sease, Katie
L. Riedel
Roy W. Hamme Memorial Award in Physical
Sciences • Judy G. Cherian
Cyrus E. Beekey Award in Biology •
Renee E. Adam
Bradley Rahn Commencement Award •
Julie A. Renninger
Delta Kappa Gamma Ruth Bonner Award in
English/Communications • Dawn Burke
Emma S. Richards-Bausch Award in Literary
Criticism • Amanda Coleman
Newton and Edna Geiss Award in English •
Nicole Ciesla
Gill-Lauer-Sharp Psychology Award •
Lauren L. McLean
Outstanding English Majors Award • Alexandra
Cavallero, Amanda Coleman, Daniel Landis
C. Josephine Moyer Geography Award •
Devon B. Hain
Bright and Lucille Beck American History
Award • Marietta E. Dooley
Anthony J. Mazzaferri Award for Distinguished
Scholarship in History • John W. Shaffer
Academic Achievement Award Recipients – 2007
The award recipients photographed with Dr.
Bashar Hanna and President Cevallos (left to
right): Chantel K. White – Copper Medal, Social
Work and Psychology; Molly L. Sweitzer – Gold
Medal, Fine Arts and Biology; Sarah A. Brandon
– Silver Medal, Psychology; Timothy A. Jenesky
– Gold Medal, Geology; Patricia A. Yetter – Copper
Medal, Marine Science/Biology.
October 20 Family Day
October 27 Homecoming
November 3 Scholarship Ball
March 30–April 2, 2008 Middle States Evaluation Team visit
When They Are Not Teaching…
Dr. Jennifer Schlegel, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, co-authored “A Local
Community’s Response to Hate,” a chapter
in “Woven with Words: A Collection of African
American History in Berks County, Pennsylvania,” published by Penn State Berks, Reading,
2006.
Dr. Kim Shively, Department of Anthropology
and Sociology, published:
• a review essay, “Looking for Identity in the
Muslim World,” in the September 2006 issue of American Anthropologist 108 (3):
537-542.
• “Religious Bodies and the Secular State: The Merve Kavakçı Affair” (Journal of Middle Eastern Women’s Studies, Fall)
• A book review on “Living Islam: Women,
Religion and the Politicization of Culture
in Turkey” by Ayse Saktanber (Middle East
Studies Association Bulletin, December
2005)
Dr. Edward Simpson, Department of Physical
Sciences, co-authored the following articles:
• “Neoarchean (c. 2.58) Halite cast: Implications for palaeoceanic chemistry” (Journal
of the Geological Society of London, Vol.
162, No. 5, pp. 789-799).
• “A new window into early life: Microbial
mats in Earth’s oldest siliciclastic tidal flats
(3.2 Ga Moodies Group, South Africa),”
Geology, Vol. 34, pp. 253-256.
• “Depositional facies of the tetrapod footprint assemblage from the Mississippian
Mauch Chunk Formation, Schuylkill Coun-
ty, Pennsylvania” (Geological Society of
America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 38,
No 2, pp. 64-65).
• “Tetrapod footprint assemblage of the
Mississippian Mauch Chunk Formation,
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania” (Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 38, No 2, p. 64).
• “Palaeosauropus primaevus: Dusting off
old Mississippian footprint” (Geological
Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 38, No 2, p. 65).
Enlightenment England,” in The Age of Johnson: A Scholarly Annual, Vol. 17 (2006): 43137.
Dr. Paul A. Washington, Department of Physical Sciences, published “Evidence for multiple
episodes of thrusting in the central Champlain
Valley of Vermont,” in Northeastern Geology
and Environmental Science, Vol. 28.
Dr. Marie Squerciati, Department of English,
published a concert production of Mozart’s
“Abduction from the Seraglio,” and presented
a script which was performed by actor Michael York at the Cincinnati May Festival, May
2006.
Dr. Sarah Tindall and Dr. Edward Simpson,
both of the Department of Physical Sciences,
co-authored:
• “Effects of local faulting on sedimentation
of the Late Cretaceous upper and capping sandstone members of the Wahweap
Formation, Kaibab uplift, Utah” (Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 38, No. 6, pp. 33-34).
• “Timing of Late Cretaceous fault-fold interactions, East Kaibab monocline, Utah:
Implications for the onset of Laramide deformation” (Geological Society of America
Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 38, No. 6, p.
38).
Dr. Sarah Tindall, Department of Physical Sciences, received an American Chemical Society – Petroleum Research Fund grant for
$49,964.
Dr. Raymond D. Tumbleson, Department of
English, published a review essay on Ronald
Paulson, “Hogarth’s Harbor: Sacred Parody in
Political Science major Jennifer
Conley was the senior class speaker
at Commencement ceremonies on
May 12.
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
PO BOX 730
Kutztown, PA 19530
Dr. Robert S. Ryan, Department of Psychology,
published the peer-reviewed journal article: “A
hands-on exercise improves understanding of
the standard error of the mean,” Teaching of
Psychology, Vol 33, No. 3, pp. 180-183, June
2006.
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