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Nova Southeastern University
Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences
3301 College Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314
Phone: 954-262-8408
Fax: 954-262-3930
www.undergrad.nova.edu
Highlight Reports for the NSU Board of Trustees
The Office of the Dean provides periodic reviews of college activities and initiatives. These Board Highlights are distributed to the Nova Southeastern University Board of Trustees, the College of Arts and Sciences Board of Advisers, and others in the community.
January 2008 | March 2008November 2006
Distinguished Speaker Spencer Wells
The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences at Nova Southeastern University presented “The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey,” an evening with National Geographic geneticist and anthropologist Spencer Wells, Ph.D., on October 26, 2006, in the Miniaci Center for the Performing Arts. Wells is project leader for the National Geographic Society’s Genographic Project, a sweeping five-year genetic study of human migration whose network of research laboratories collects and analyzes DNA from cultures across the globe. The project’s resulting genetic atlas is providing insight into the connection between modern humans and African ancestors living 60,000 years ago. In his talk, Wells discussed how the Genographic Project has linked geneticists, archaeologists, anthropologists, climatologists, and linguists for interdisciplinary research into the origins of human identity.
During the week of Spencer Well’s visit, the following complimentary programs took place. All were tied in with the college’s annual theme of “Identity.”
Jason Piccone, Ph.D., on “Social Construction of Identity”
George Wallace-Barnhill, Ph.D., on “Multiple-Personality Disorder”
Lena Hall, Ph.D., on “Ethnic Identity”
Page Jerzak, M.A., on “Gender and Sexual Identity”
Essoh Jean Mathieu Claude Essis, Ph.D., on “Cultural and Political Identity”
Mark Cavanaugh, Ph.D., on “Evolutionary Identity”
Gregory Van Dam, student, on “The Identity of Actors”
Community Partnership
The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Math, Science, and Technology will co-sponsor the Second Annual International Workshop on Matrix Analysis and Applications, December 15–17, 2006, on Nova Southeastern University’s main campus in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The College of Arts and Sciences is co-sponsoring the conference with the International Linear Algebra Society. This international workshop is designed to stimulate research and interaction for mathematicians and scientists in all aspects of linear algebra, matrix analysis, and their applications. Researchers will have the opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss recent developments in their fields. Key speaker will be Richard Brualdi, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Brualdi, a leading figure in the development of linear algebra for more than four decades, was recently awarded the Hans Schneider Prize, the highest award in linear algebra and matrix analysis. A special issue of the International Journal of Information & Systems Sciences, “Matrix Analysis and Applications,” will be devoted to the meeting. Editors for this issue include Fuzhen Zhang, Ph.D., professor in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Math, Science, and Technology.
Faculty Accomplishments
On October 14, 2006, Pioneer Voices of Zion Canyon, a new book by Eileen Smith-Cavros, Ph.D., debuted at Zion National Park in Utah. This volume is published by the Zion Natural History Association Press. Smith-Cavros, assistant professor in the Social and Behavioral Sciences division of the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, began this project with an exhibit at the Zion Natural History Museum when she was director of the park’s Field Institute. When she relocated to Nova Southeastern University in Florida to join the college faculty, Smith-Cavros expanded her research into a book of oral histories that cover life in the park from 1910-1940. Local photographer Michael Plyler, current director of the Zion Canyon Field Institute, contributed portraits of residents in and around the park for the book. Smith-Cavros will present this material on NSU’s main campus in a faculty lecture on February 13, 2007, titled “Pioneer Voices: Identity, Place and the Land of Zion."
The college celebrated National Chemistry Week from October 22 – 28 by teaching about chemistry in the home. The South Florida section of the American Chemical Society (SoFLACS) celebrated this year’s theme, “Your Home — It’s All Built on Chemistry,” through a day of workshops and seminars that explored the science of everyday life. This free program included activities aimed at the general public, as well as workshops for science teachers. The program was organized by Skip Pomeroy, Ph.D. and Vic Shanbhag, associate professors in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Math, Science, and Technology. Pomeroy is chair-elect and programming coordinator of SoFLACS.
Although the International Journal of Motorcycle Studies, hosted by NSU, is only in its second year, already sees a lot of traffic. In August 2006, the online journal received nearly 23,000 hits from more than 11,000 visitors. “I’d say these are enviable numbers for an academic journal,” says Suzanne Ferriss, Ph.D., the journal’s managing editor and professor in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Humanities, “especially in comparison to the relatively small number of subscribers to the average print journal.” Readers have visited from around the globe, with close to 67 percent from the United States, 10 percent from the United Kingdom, and five percent from Canada. The International Journal of Motorcycle Studies (IJMS) is the first and only peer-reviewed journal devoted to the study of motorcycling culture. It is dedicated to discussion of motorcycling culture in all of its forms — from the experience of riding and racing to the history of the machine, the riders and design, and to the images of motorcycling and motorcyclists in film, advertising and literature. The journal is published in March, July, and November. Steven Alford, Ph.D., also a professor in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Humanities, serves on the journal’s editorial board. Alford and Ferriss are currently completing Motorbike, a book on the motorcycle as a design object, to be published by Reaktion Books, London.
Faculty Lecture Series
Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences continues its Faculty Lecture Series with four talks during the fall and six during the winter semester. The series explores the college faculty’s diverse areas of interest in the humanities, biology, physical science, and social and behavioral sciences.
Theatre Productions
Political hostages, terrorists, and others directly affected by such acts were portrayed in Two Rooms, a play by Lee Blessing. The Promethean Theatre, the professional theater company in residence at the Farquhar College of Arts & Sciences, presented this challenging play from October 20 -November 5, 2006 at the Mailman Auditorium on the second floor of the Mailman-Hollywood Building. Blessing wrote Two Rooms in the late 1980s, yet it remains topical as a love story set against the sense of futility and despair felt by people of goodwill who deal with those that commit barbarous political acts. This production, directed by Margaret M. Ledford, featured Jeffrey Bower, Ken Clement, Nicole Mitchell, and Jennifer Toohey. The Promethean Theatre (TPT) seeks daring and creative approaches to classical pieces as well as contemporary and new works that engage the imagination and inspire passionate discourse among its artists and the audience.
Student Services
The Office of Academic Services has been offering a series of workshops in October and November that help students master the process of writing academic papers. Workshops have covered organization and planning of a paper and overviews of two documentation standards commonly used in academic research: American Psychological Association (APA) and Modern Language Association (MLA).
All workshops, open to any NSU student, have been held at the Office of Academic Services in Parker Building Suite 100.
Farquhar Forum
The fall 2006 issue of the Farquhar Forum is being prepared for a November publication. As a publication dedicated primarily to informing College of Arts and Sciences alumni about accomplishments by members of the college community and the institution as a whole, The Forum demonstrates the diversity and depth of the educational experience that all members of the college community – students, faculty, and staff – experience.
Lifelong Learning Institute
The Lifelong Learning Institute had a full October schedule - programs included American history, politics, African-American studies, art, classical music, and foreign film, among many others. The Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI) is a department of the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences whose mission is to create opportunities for lifestyle enrichment, health, and wellness for older adults. Among the programs offered in October were an afternoon with John P. Contini, author of Danger Road: A True Crime Story of Murder and Redemption. Other programs included:
Other College News
On October 27, 2006 the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), presented a workshop in the Alvin Sherman Library to help researchers tap into its vast resources. One of the driving forces in genomics, nationally and internationally, the NCBI collects molecular biology and genome data and develops computer software tools to understand and utilize that data. This lecture and hands-on workshop was designed for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, principal investigators, postdoctoral fellows, and other scientific staff who work with 3D structural data or who want to incorporate such data into their research. Topics included GenBank, Entrez, BLAST, and other important databases and search engines, as well as related genomic data resources.
Student volunteers are being recruited to help with health care outreach at events organized by Mark Jaffe, D.P.M., assistant professor in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Math, Science and Technology. These health care outreach opportunities, performed under the auspices of the NSU Health Professions Division’s Senior Services Team, provide hands-on experience for College of Arts and Sciences students interested in careers in health sciences. At the 3rd Annual Cooper City Church of God Health Fair Saturday, October 21, 2006, volunteers helped with lower extremity screenings and shadowed medical professionals. At a Diabetes Disease Management event for the 7th Avenue Clinic, affiliated with the North Broward Hospital District, on October 24, 2006, volunteers worked in two-hour shifts to provide diabetes foot screenings. Student volunteers attended a one-hour workshop prior to the event on the basics of evaluating lower extremities in the diabetic population.
Four classic films, each illustrating iconic American characters facing memorable challenges, are being made available for free viewing thanks to the American Studies program in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities division. Each film will be followed by a Q&A period with Frank Casale, Ph.D., assistant professor of humanities. First up was The Maltese Falcon, featuring Humphrey Bogart’s classic performance as a self-serving private detective trying to unravel a mystery involving an exotic cast of suspects. A classic of film noir in its own right, this film’s fascination with the effect of legendary treasures and the Knights Templar on the modern world could be considered a predecessor to The DaVinci Code.
The Maltese Falcon was shown Wednesday, October 25, 2006 in Mailman Room 308. Other films upcoming in this series include The Big Lebowski, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and Apocalypse Now.
Student Film Makers are being recruited to enter the First NSU Student Film Festival. Chetachi Egwu, Ph.D., and Weylin Sternglanz. Ph.D., of the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences faculty, are inviting undergraduate students to work together in crews of four to seven members each to create a 3-5 minute film. These films can utilize a narrative, documentary, or avant-garde format, but all films will relate to the 2006-2007 college theme of “Identity.” The college will provide equipment and three workshops to help student groups make their films. Each crew will attend three workshops before filming and editing: (1) Camera, lighting, and sound equipment; (2) Writing a script and directing actors; and (3) Editing a film. In April 2007, all completed films will be shown at the Farquhar College Student Film Festival, which will take place in conjunction with the Undergraduate Student Symposium.
James E. Doan, Ph.D., humanities professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, has made a generous donation to support the college’s international studies major. The Stolzenberg-Doan Family Endowment is named for Doan’s grandparents, Helen M. Stolzenberg (1909-1999) and Joseph J. Stolzenberg (1911-1977, and his mother Marilyn J. Doan (1932-1981). The endowment provides for the Stolzenberg-Doan Lecture Series and the Stolzenberg-Doan Scholarship to help students study abroad. Intended to further the development of opportunities for the international studies major, this endowment honors its namesakes’ commitment to furthering knowledge of the languages, history and cultures of other nations. 60 percent of the endowment is designated for a lecture series on international studies, and 40 percent for scholarships to students wishing to study abroad during the summer. The international studies major is designed for students who wish to pursue an interdisciplinary approach to the global environment and who wish to gain a deeper understanding of a particular region outside of the United States.
The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences will highlight the college’s study abroad program in the Study Abroad Showcase at noon, Thursday, November 30 in the Parker Building, room 146. In this showcase, students will share their experiences of the richness of their international educational experiences. Students who study abroad may be eligible down the road for a scholarship to support their further study abroad goals. The Farquhar College sponsors academic programs to a variety of countries and regions, including Greece, Italy, Eastern Europe, Ireland, the Great Barrier Reef, Peru, Ecuador, and the Galapagos Islands. Past expeditions have visited Chile, Costa Rica, Malaysia, and China.
To support the efforts of talented students in theatre or music, the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences is offering a new talent-based Performing Arts Grant. Students pursuing a theatre major at NSU, and musicians participating in the Orchestra or Pep Band, may apply for this grant, which is awarded on a yearly basis. This grant is available to current undergraduate students, incoming freshmen, and transfer students. Auditions will coincide with Campus Visit Days – December 16, 2006, January 20, 2007, February 17, 2007 and March 17, 2007 – to accommodate students applying to NSU.
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