Summer Research and Presentations
Though most students and faculty were away from campus early June through mid-August, academic endeavors flourished. In fact, faculty engagement during the summer is a vital part of Principia’s academic program.
Six faculty members spanning four departments—English, Chemistry, Religion, and Sociology and Anthropology—presented papers at conferences on a range of topics from Wordsworth to community development. English professor Dr. Heidi Snow traveled to England for the Wordsworth Summer Conference to present a paper on The Excursion, one of Wordsworth’s long poems originally intended as part of a larger work. Sociology and Anthropology professor Dr. Jackie Burns presented the paper “Community-Based Research: A Promising Approach to Experiential Teaching and Community Development,” drawing on her research on the historic Hunterstown neighborhood in nearby Alton.
Other faculty dedicated a significant portion of the summer to writing. English professor Dinah Ryan completed a review forSculpture magazine about an exhibition by the acclaimed artist Magdelená Jetelová (pronounced “Yetelova”) at the Olomouc Museum of Modern Art in the Czech Republic, where Ryan has led several Principia abroads. Additionally, art history professor Dr. Margaret D’Evelyn wrote an article about sixteenth century Venetian architectural scholar Daniele Barbaro at the request of those planning a conference in Tours, France, in honor of Barbaro’s 500th birthday.
Professor John Williams, chair of the Political Science Department, saw an earlier writing project come to fruition this summer with the publication of “Real Oliver North Loses; Reel Bob Roberts Wins” in the compilation Hollywood Raises Political Consciousness: Political Messages in Feature Films. Williams also served on a panel this summer about international engagement in undergraduate education at the annual meeting of the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Montreal.
Dr. Scott Eckert’s co-authored paper on increasing nesting for leatherback turtles in Florida came out in Biological Conservation this summer. He also traveled to Aruba to teach a local sea turtle conservation group how to deploy satellite transmitters for a new multiyear research program about the impact of oil exploration on leatherback, green, hawksbill, and loggerhead sea turtles. In addition, Dr. Eckert spent six weeks continuing his leatherback conservation work in Trinidad. While there, he hosted a film crew from NHK (Japan’s national public broadcasting network) that was making a documentary on leatherback sea turtles.
Involving students in research and conferences
As part of their own ongoing scholarship, two faculty members engaged recent graduates and current students in conferences and research, including biology professor Dr. Greg Bruland. Bruland’s former advisee Nathan Boyer-Rechlin (C’14) presented his senior capstone on the effects of agricultural land use on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in southern Illinois headwater streams at the international Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting in Portland, Oregon.
Another student, sophomore Austin Moyle, worked as research assistant to chemistry professor Dr. Simon Hanson, who conducted a project on the nitrogen oxide interactions of a mercury absorbent used as an additive to coal in power plants.
Faculty travel
Art professor Duncan Martin (pictured above) continued his quest to paint in all of the country’s national parks. This summer he set up his easel in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, Badlands and Wind Cave National Parks in South Dakota, and Mesa Verde and Great Sand Dunes National Parks in Colorado.
Geology professor Dr. Janis Treworgy traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia, to view an exhibit on some of the best-preserved mammoths ever found—a topic of particular interest given Principia’s recent installation of its own mammoth exhibit. She also led a Principia Lifelong Learning program in the Rocky Mountains. The trip, which was sold out, explored both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
These are just a few examples of recent Principia faculty members’ work—endeavors that have a ripple effect far beyond individual accomplishments. As Dr. Joseph Ritter, dean of academics, points out, “Our dedicated faculty contribute to their academic fields and witness the resulting benefits for our students.”