February Professional Notes
A round-up of awards, presentations, papers and the other professional achievements
of SLU faculty, staff and students.
FACULTY AND STAFF
Simone Bregni teaches a 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. Submitted photo
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.
