February Professional Notes

A round-up of awards, presentations, papers and the other professional achievements of SLU faculty, staff and students. 

FACULTY AND STAFF

Workshops

Simone Bregni, Ph.D., associate professor of Italian in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, delivered the workshop, “(E-)Life is (not) Strange: Using Video Games in Foreign/Second Language Acquisition,” to an audience of professors, instructors and MA students in Spanish and English as a Second Language (ESL) at the New York University campus in Madrid. Bregni also delivered a presentation, “Assassin’s Creed Taught Me a Foreign Language: Video Games in Second/Foreign Language and Culture Acquisition,” to students and faculty at the SLU Madrid campus. Both the workshop and the presentation were created with the assistance of the Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning. Bregni, currently on sabbatical, is the 2018 recipient of the James H. Korn Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award.

Presentations and Lectures

Nancy Childrey, Ph.D., and Jennifer L. Koslovsky Masiulis, of Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology’s Academic Advising department, presented their research, data and strategies for working with students on academic probation at the National Academic Advising Association's (NACADA) annual conference on Oct. 13, 2017, in St. Louis. Their presentation session, “From AAA to World Series Champion: Winning Strategies for Working with Students on Academic Probation,” was presented to academic advisors from across the country and world. Presentation attendees were encouraged to rethink how they approach, communicate, assist and support students who are struggling academically and how changes to an academic advisor's practice can influence students' performance, persistence, and retention at their college or university.

Claudia Karagoz, Ph.D., of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, also delivered an invited lecture on world-renowned Italian photographer Letizia Battaglia at Bowdoin College, Maine, “Letizia Battaglia's Heroic Vision: Sicily, Mafia and Antimafia.”

Publications

Matt Krob, director of Design Services in University Marketing and Communications, wrote an article about the creation of Saint Louis University’s bicentennial logo for Designer, the flagship publication of the University & College Designers Association (UCDA).

Claudia Karagoz, Ph.D., of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, published a Review of Italy’s Other Women. Gender and Prostitution in Italian Cinema, 1940-1965, Danielle Hipkins (2016), in the Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies (JICMS), Vol. 6:2, 2018, pp. 272-274.

Awards and Fellowships

Kate Moran, Ph.D., assistant professor of American Studies, received a competitively awarded Newberry Short-Term Fellowship for research on a project, “The Imperial Church: U.S. Visions of Catholicism, Place, and Power, 1870–1920.”

Certifications

Fred Rottnek, M.D. MAHCM, a professor in family and community medicine, is now certified in addiction medicine. Addiction medicine was approved by the ACGME as a stand-alone specialty in 2017. After working for several years in correctional health care, homeless health care and in neighborhood health centers, Rottnek completed a Master of Arts in health care mission at Aquinas Institute of Theology. In 2008, Rottnek joined SLU’s Department of Family and Community Medicine, where he is a professor and director of Community Medicine. He teaches in the School of Medicine and the Interprofessional Education Program, directs the Rodney M. Coe Distinction in Community Service Program and mentors students in longitudinal community service.

He also serves on the Saint Louis Regional Health Commission as the chair of the Provider Services Advisory Board, as well as serving on the board of the Criminal Justice Ministry. Most recently he joined the Concordance Academy of Leadership as the Medical Consultant to build the health services model for reentering participants. Additionally, he acts as medical director for St. Louis Effort for AIDS.  He is currently working with colleagues in the SLU community and with national organizations to promote training and practice in addiction medicine.

STUDENTS

Presentations

Doctoral students Manu Engstler and Mary Maxfield of the Department of American Studies will present at “The Primary Source: An Interdisciplinary Conference on Memory and Identity,” at Fontbonne University in May.