 | | News and Events from the College of Liberal Arts | Spring 2024 |
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 | | A Message from the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts Bryan Zygmont, Ph.D. |
Dear College of Liberal Arts Family,
The late twentieth-century philosopher Ferris Bueller said it well; “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
So it was with this academic year. It seems that only yesterday we were welcoming in a wonderful class of first-year students. And then I woke the next day—seemingly—and we were celebrating the Class of 2024. But the great part of this academic year was that there were plenty of opportunities to stop, look around, and observe some of the wonderful things that have happened at the Mount.
Read Dr. Zygmont's full message.
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 | | New Theology Professors Share Their Talents and Passions | | The theology department has added two professors in two years, and both are enriching Mount St. Mary’s with their talents. Roberto de la Noval, Ph.D., who joined the Mount in the fall of 2022, began hosting discussions and developing new theology courses before the end of his first year. De la Noval’s longtime friend and University of Notre Dame classmate, Taylor Nutter, Ph.D., began teaching a year after de la Noval, in the fall of 2023. |
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 | | Mount St. Mary’s Announces First Ascent: A Pre-College Summer Program | | This June, Mount St. Mary’s University will hold First Ascent, a summer program open to rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors. The weeklong residential program will help introduce high schoolers to campus life and education at a small, Catholic liberal arts university. First Ascent will consist of morning courses taught by faculty in the fields of literature, theology, art, history and philosophy, and afternoon activities such as a hiking tour of the campus’ sacred spaces, an interactive program on living out Pope Francis’ economic principles in the modern world, and an ice cream-making chemistry workshop. Each evening will offer chances to socialize with fellow participants and explore the local area through events like movie nights, Bible studies and concerts. |
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 | | Called to Serve: Rother Immersion Trip to Camden | | While many Mount students went home for spring break, some joined the Center for Service to help communities across the region. Cheyenne McGowan, C’24, who is a sociology and peace, conflict, and social justice double major and political science minor, as well as the president of the Sociology Club, spent her break volunteering her talents at the Romero Center in Camden, New Jersey. |
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 | | Winter Break Worldwide! | | The World Language and Philosophy departments are nestled right next to one another on the third floor of Bradley Hall. This leads to collaborations, like the Andalusian Experience, a two-week study abroad trip to Andalucía, a region in southern Spain. Associate Professor of Philosophy Mike Miller, Ph.D., organized the trip, with an itinerary designed by Associate Professor of Spanish Diana Rodriguez-Lozano, Ph.D. |
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 | | Accounting Major Counts Beats | | Sophomore Sage Brown is studying accounting with a minor in criminal justice to set her up to be a forensic accountant. But when she isn’t thinking about busting down doors to see who is cooking the books, she loves to unwind by listening to and playing music. “A lot of people think of music as an extracurricular. Not me. I build the rest of my schedule around band!” she confessed. |
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 | | Sean Lewis Chosen as Director of the Honors Program | | Associate Professor of English Sarah Scott, Ph.D., is passing the directorship of the Honors Program to fellow Associate Professor of English Sean Lewis, Ph.D. From his first years at the Mount, Lewis has mentored students on many projects, including several Honors projects, in his diverse specialties ranging from medieval literature to modern film analyses. Students laud Lewis for his engaging pedagogy that breathes life into literature that many students often have never even heard of. He noted that he hopes his passion will ignite excitement in Honors students as they research and learn. |
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 | | WMTB Faculty Advisor Writes Children’s Book | | Randy Gray, who has taught journalism and served as faculty advisor to the university’s WMTB FM radio station for more than two decades, has written The Adventures of Brooks and Rip, a youth fiction book for children between the ages of 9 and 14. The 94-page book was illustrated by Ellen Salvatore, a 2020 graduate of the Mount and Frederick-based floral designer. |
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 | | Four CLA Faculty Appointed to Named Professorships | | Mount St. Mary’s University in the Fall 2023 semester appointed four College of Liberal Arts professors to named professorships. Associate Professor of English Jack Dudley, Ph.D., was named to the Delaplaine Professorship; Assistant Professor of Theology Roberto de la Noval, Ph.D., was appointed to the Tinder Professorship; the John L. Morrison Distinguished Professorship was bestowed upon Professor and English Department Chair Indrani Mitra, Ph.D.; and Professor of Theology David McCarthy, Ph.D., was appointed to the Knott Endowed Professorship. Learn more about the faculty members and the named professorships. |
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 | | Use of AI in Healthcare | | A solemn opening prayer by Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of Mission Initiatives Layton Field, Ph.D., began the 2024 Spring Ducharme Lecture on March 13. Paul Scherz, Ph.D., associate professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia, delivered the talk, which tackled the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. |
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 | | Three Mount Students Win Four Spots in National Writing Competition | | Three Mount St. Mary's University seniors took four different places in the Delta Epsilon Sigma (DES) Fall 2023 writing contest. Erin Daly, C’24, earned first place in the critical/analytical essay category and won second place for poetry. Claire Doll, C’24, placed second for short fiction, while Michael Murphy, C’24, took first place in scholarly research. Learn more about the students and their work. |
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| Support the College of Liberal Arts Dean’s Fund for Excellence | | Please consider contributing to the College of Liberal Arts Dean’s Fund for Excellence. This fund supports Mount students, faculty and programs when other means are unavailable. Funds are used as seed money for student research and travel, faculty research and grant requests, small equipment and supplies, and other activities supporting the success of our students and faculty. Click on the button below and select “Dean’s Fund for Excellence – College of Liberal Arts” as the specific academic fund. Thank you for your support! |
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