People & Places Header

People & Places: December 2019

Laura Branby, Creek Connections Pittsburgh field educator, was recently interviewed by Josh Raulerson from the Pennsylvania Environmental Council for their Pennsylvania Legacies Podcast. Laura talked all about Allegheny College’s Creek Connections program. Take a listen!


Visiting Assistant Professor of Geology Matt Carter presented a talk entitled “How image logs can help interpret the subsurface: an example from an enhanced geothermal system” to the Northern Alleghenies Geological Society in Ebensburg, Pa., on Nov. 20.



Brian M. Harward
, Robert G. Seddig Chair in Political Science, has published “The Presidency in Times of Crisis and Disaster” with ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Press. The book examines how America’s presidents have responded to major tests of their leadership and approached their role and responsibilities in times of national crisis. Its premise is that the power any particular president can muster is contingent. It is contested by political opponents and separated powers, and is conditioned by precedent, contemporary contexts, and the person holding the office. Exploring key events, crises, and disasters through the lens of presidential responsiveness, this text reveals not only the larger historical context but also the authority of presidents in meeting the “felt necessities of the time,” deepening readers’ understanding of those touchstone events.


Amelia Finaret, assistant professor of global health studies, and Shanna Kirschner, associate professor of political science, presented co-authored research, “Conflict and Health: Building on the Role of Infrastructure,” at the Annual Meeting of the Peace Science Society in November.


Matt Mitchell, visiting assistant professor of philosophy and religious studies, presented a paper and organized a panel (entitled “Power, Gender, Place”) at the annual American Academy of Religion national conference in San Diego in November. His paper (entitled “Mutually Empowering”) was on displays of religious icons within the women’s quarters of the shogun’s castle in early modern Japan and the ways that these displays were places where both the women of the inner quarters and the priests/nuns could gain political and religious power.


Adrienne Krone, assistant professor of religious studies, presented two papers at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting in San Diego. In the first paper, “Cultivation through Collaboration and Conservation,” she examined gender and power dynamics in the Jewish Community Farming Movement. In the second, “Roots in the Past, Seeds for the Future,” she discussed a revived historical Jewish Community Farm in New Jersey focused on seed development for climate change.



Learning Specialist/TESOL Instructor Jennifer Franz and Associate Professor of English and Director of Writing Alexis Hart, along with GLCA colleagues from Wooster and DePauw, facilitated a faculty development workshop focused on Teaching Writing to Multilingual Students in a Small Liberal Arts Setting held at Wooster November 1–3. Franz led a workshop on Essay Structure and Thesis Development, while Alexis led a workshop on Instructor and Peer Feedback. Support for the workshop was provided by the Great Lakes Colleges Association as part of its Global Crossroads Initiative, made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Pictured from left to right are Tamara Stasik (DePauw), Lynn Ishikawa (DePauw), Carla Reyes (Wooster), Jennifer Franz (Allegheny), Alexis Hart (Allegheny), Paul Matsuda (Keynote Speaker), and Linda Weaver (Wooster).


Twelve Allegheny College students have been awarded a total of $37,000 in funding through the prestigious Gilman International Scholarship program to help pay for their study away experiences in 2020. It is the largest number of Gilman recipients in one year in Allegheny’s history.

The students who received the awards include Cesar BautistaPrecious Taylor-FordeInez GilsonMarkeyda Jones, Sebastian McRae, Alyssa Mendez, Emma Norton, Jessie Nunoo, Maryan Osman, Kathryn Phillippe, Jasmine Ramirez-Soto, and Christina Winbigler. Learn more about the recipients here.