Faculty members put their knowledge into action so students and others are able to benefit from it. Recently, faculty have won fellowships, gave presentations at the national meetings, published articles, and more.
Robin Rhodes
Director of ESOL and Multilingual Student Academic Support Robin Rhodes, along with her team, have a forthcoming chapter in EFL Writing Teacher Education and Professional Development: Voices from Under-represented Contexts. The book is slated for release in April 2024. Rhodes’ chapter is titled: “Land of a Thousand Hills: English Writing Education and Teacher Professional Development.” The chapter explores the complex sociolinguistic landscape in Rwanda through English writing instruction and teacher professional development. The edited volume amplifies the voices of EFL writing educators from under-represented countries giving invaluable insights into fostering effective writing pedagogies in diverse linguistic contexts.
Rhodes’ research specializes in linguistically and culturally sustaining English pedagogy, teacher training and English instruction abroad, along with language and education in Kenya and Rwanda.
Atal Ahmadzai
Visiting Assistant Professor of International Relations Atal Ahmadzai has published an article, “The Role of Water Governance in Pakistan’s Water Crisis. "He discusses recent developments regarding India's commissioning of the Shahpur Kandi barrage that has halted the flow of the Ravi River into Pakistan, causing the latter to strongly denounce this move as "water terrorism" He also asserts that India's actions will further securitize water governance in Pakistan, thereby worsening the country's already critical water crisis.
Ahmadzai’s research focuses on water governance, transboundary water conflicts, hydro-politics, and water scarcity in South Asia. His publications are in the areas of human development, global governance, and terrorism. He holds regional expertise in South, Central, and Western Asia.
Patti Frazer Lock
Professor of Mathematics Patti Frazer Lock recently gave three presentations at the National Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Francisco. Lock gave a presentation on “Using Intro Stats, and the GAISE Report, as a Vehicle to Recruit a Diverse Population of Mathematics Students” in a session on finding ways to recruit, retain, and support a more diverse population of mathematics students. In addition, Lock gave an invited presentation on “Speaking Up. And Having Fun” in a storytelling session titled “Inspiring Stories: How an Academic Rejection Led to Something Amazing.” Lock also introduced the speaker for the keynote address of the 2024 Award Winner of the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics.
Lock’s research is on mathematics and statistics education with a focus on network theory. Some of Lock’s work includes her co-authorship of Statistics: Unlocking the Power of Data by Lock, Lock, Lock, Lock, and Lock. She is also a co-author with Deb Hughes-Hallett’s Calculus Consortium of texts in calculus, multivariable calculus, applied calculus, pre-calculus, and college algebra. She has chaired the Special Interests Group of the Mathematical Association of America (SIGMAA) on Statistics Education, has served on the American Statistical Association – Mathematical Association of America (ASA-MAA) Joint Committee on Statistics Education, served on the Committee on the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics of the MAA, and chaired the Applied Data Analysis course report committee for the MAA Curriculum Guide. Lock is currently co-chairing the committee to revise the College Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) report for the ASA. She has won numerous teaching and presentation awards.
Joseph Asumah Braimah
Assistant Professor of Public Health Joseph Asumah Braimah has been awarded a Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) & Place Fellowship. The SDOH & Place Fellowship program aims to support public health, geography, and health equity leaders learn how to develop a social determinants of health place-based visualization. Through the fellowship, Braimah seeks to develop a story map of the social determinants of older people's health in St. Lawrence County.
Braimah is a health geographer with an interdisciplinary research interest that focuses broadly on the health and well-being of marginalized and structurally exposed populations in the global north and global south. He draws on multiple research methodologies and theoretical perspectives in his research projects. His work largely revolves around Aging and Health, Global Health, Social Determinants of Health, Community Health Systems, and Community-based Participatory Research.
James Sieja
Assistant Professor of Government James Sieja recently published a peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Law and Courts, the flagship journal of the American Political Science Association's Law and Courts Section. The article,"Quality in Measurement Matters: Adjusted American Bar Association Ratings and Circuit Court Confirmation Hearing Word Choice," discusses a new way to measure a judicial nominee's qualifications. Sieja goes on to test this utility of the new measure by replicating a previous study but drawing different substantive conclusions.
Sieja’s research interests center on Judicial Politics, specifically the United States Federal Court System, and the selection, nomination, and confirmation process for lower court judges. At St. Lawrence, he regularly teaches introductory classes in American government, American legal systems, the presidency, and constitutional law.
Mark Holland
Assistant Professor of Geology Mark Holland, along with a collaborative team of researchers from Boise State University, the University of California in Berkley and Santa Barbara, the University of New Mexico, and California Tech published a paper in the journal Geology, a high impact publication in the field of geosciences. Geology has been the Web of Science's #1 ranked geology journal for 16 years in a row.
Holland’s paper, "High-precision U-Pb geochronology links magmatism in the Southwestern Laurentia large igneous province and Midcontinent Rift," provided more accurate and precise ages on a suite of roughly 1.1 billion-year-old volcanic rocks exposed across the southwestern United States— including in Grand Canyon, Arizona. Holland and his team showed that voluminous magmatism occurred in two distinct and short-lived pulses (approximately 250,000 years), rather than over the course of ~20 million years as previously thought. Dating rocks of this type has been a persistent challenge in geoscience, and this study is an important contribution that highlights recent advances in geochronologic methods.
Gisele El Khoury
Director of the Language Resource Center in the World Languages, Cultures, and Media Department Gisele El Khoury, authored an article, "Assessing Arabic Proverb Translation Accuracy: A Comparative Study of ChatGPT and Google Translate with Pedagogical Applications." This study was featured in the Free Language Technology Magazine (FLTMAG), an online publication under the International Association for Language Learning Technology (IALLT) dedicated to the advancements in foreign language technology.
El Khoury's research explores the comparative accuracy of ChatGPT and Google Translate when translating Arabic proverbs. Her study clarifies the nuances and challenges of Arabic translation and provides pedagogical insights for language instructors and learners.
Aileen O’Donoghue
Henry Priest Professor of Physics Aileen O’Donoghue was recently featured by NNY360 Water Town Daily Times as an expert in an article, “Comet Could Be a Spectacular Guest at April 8 Eclipse.”
O’Donoghue, shared that she recently learned of a comet’s potential to be viewable during the April 8, 2024, total eclipse by reading an Astronomy magazine article.
“The comet is certainly out there and could add to an already spectacular event,” O’Donoghue said. “We usually can’t see comets that close to the sun because of the glare of its light. I hope it turns out to be spectacular.”
Bill Short
Staff Member of the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) Bill Short was recently featured on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” aired locally on North Country Public Radio, as an expert in the article, “Yet another FAFSA problem: Many noncitizens can't fill it out.”
This article delves into the challenges faced by students in accessing federal financial aid for college due to errors in the FAFSA system, particularly impacting those with parents lacking Social Security numbers. It emphasizes concerns raised by St. Lawrence University expert Bill Short regarding the risks of potential workarounds like emailing sensitive documents. Short's insights highlight the broader frustrations experienced by students and their families during delays in resolving these issues, highlighting the urgent need for solutions to ensure equitable access to higher education.
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St. Lawrence’s Faculty Focus is a regular roundup of noteworthy faculty news.
