Faculty Focus–March 20, 2023
Faculty members put their knowledge into action so students and others are able to benefit from it. Recently, faculty published research articles with colleagues and recent graduates, examined theatrical legacies in book chapters, and shared expert insight into current events as podcast guests.
Megan Carpenter
Assistant Professor of Psychology Megan Carpenter and Lauren Cahalan ’21 published an empirical article titled “Sexuality Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis of the Challenges and Changes Experienced by Sexuality Educators” in the American Journal of Sexuality Education.
Carpenter holds a, M.A. and Ph.D. in Social Psychology and a B.A. in psychology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her research investigates the impact of social power on sexual strategies used by women, as well as how social context relates to the development and expression of gender and sexuality norms. At St. Lawrence, she teached courses on introductory psychology, the psychology of human sexuality, and the psychology of gender.
Lauren Cahalan is a member of St. Lawrence’s Class of 2021 and majored in psychology.
Jeff Frank
Associate Professor of Education and Director of the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Assessment Education Jeff Frank joined the Philosophy of Education Society podcast to discuss learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Frank has taught a First-Year Seminar (FYS) titled What Does it Mean to be Educated and courses such as Contemporary Educational Policy, Teaching and Teachers, and American Philosophies of Education. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and education from Columbia University and a B.A. in philosophy from Middlebury College.
Caroline Breashears
Professor of English Caroline Breashers published a co-authored article with Daniel Klein of George Mason University titled "By the Same Author: Presenting Adam Smith’s Works as a Whole" in the journal, Economic Affairs.
Breashears holds a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia and specializes in eighteenth-century British literature. She was recently an Adam Smith Scholar at Liberty Fund, and her current research focuses on Adam Smith and literature. At St. Lawrence, she teaches courses on fairy tales, eighteenth-century British Literature, and Jane Austen.
Howard Eissenstat
Associate Professor of History Howard Eissenstat weighed in on the potential political fallout of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria as a guest on the Greek Current podcast.
He also published a section in an MEI special briefing about the Ukraine War and the Middle East.
Eissenstat’s recent work has focused increasingly on contemporary Turkish domestic and foreign policy, especially on issues of rule-of-law, minority rights, and the reshaping of political culture under the Justice and Development Party (AKP). At St. Lawrence, he teaches courses on Middle Eastern history and politics and in the First-Year Seminar (FYS). In addition to traditional academic work, Eissenstat served for over a decade as a Turkey Country Specialist for Amnesty International-USA. He has lectured at the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. military, and the Canadian Foreign Service Institute, as well as given testimony to the Canadian Senate and offered briefings to Congressional Committees.
Angie Sweigart-Gallagher
Associate Professor and Department Chair of Performance and Communication Arts Angie Sweigart-Gallagher published a book chapter on the “Theatrical Legacy of Lorraine Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun” in Critical Insights: A Raisin in the Sun, edited by Peter J. Bailey, Emeritus Professor of English, and published by Salem Press.
Sweigart-Gallagher is a theatre scholar and practitioner whose work in both domains often focuses on political theatre and performance. She also specializes in applied theatre as a teaching and learning tool. At St. Lawrence, Sweigart-Gallagher teaches beginning and advanced acting courses, as well as courses in Political Theatre and Performance, Drama for Teaching and Learning, Arts Administration & Marketing, and Theatre, Sustainability, and the Natural World.
Irma Hidayana
ANetwork-LUCE Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow of Asian Studies and Public Health Programs Irma Hidayana published a coauthored article, “"Marketing of commercial milk formula during COVID-19 in Indonesia," in the Maternal and Child Nutrition Journal. The publication, which focuses on the pressing public health issues during the pandemic in Indonesia, is partially funded by the UNICEF Indonesia country office and St. Lawrence.
Hidayana holds a Ph.D. in Health and Behavior from Columbia University’s Teachers College and an M.P.H. from Montclair State University. Her research focuses on the impact of the baby food industry on maternal and child health in Indonesia and some countries in Southeast Asia regions. She is currently working on collaborative research with sociologists, epidemiologists, and social activists in Indonesia and Singapore to examine COVID-19 and health equity in Indonesia.
Elisa Van Kirk
Visiting Assistant Professor of Education Elisa Van Kirk published peer reviewed article, “Title IX and its Impact on Opportunities for Women in NCAA Coaching and Administrative Leadership,” in the The Sports Journal. In the article, Van Kirk explores the ongoing impacts of Title IX in college athletics and ways in which the legislation has impacted women and leadership.
Van Kirk holds a doctorate of education in Organizational Leadership from Northeastern University and, after serving as head coach of the Saints softball team from 2012 to 2017, now teaches education courses and in the First-Year Program at St. Lawrence.
Alexander Stewart
Associate Professor of Geology Alexander K. Stewart’s research using tree-ring science techniques to date an excavated timber water main from street work in Turin, New York was featured in the "Lewis County Historical Society Journal."
Stewart has worked with students on numerous geologic research projects such as dating rockfall events in Alaska, leaf-wax work in the Adirondacks, glacier-lake sediments in the High Andes, and the impact of geomorphology on the Battle of Sackets Harbor. Stewart is retired from the U.S. Army and is a veteran of the Cold War and three foreign wars.
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