Professional notes
Dr. Michael Andregg, Justice and Peace Studies Department, received a Golden Candle Award at the 2006 IOP conference Jan. 16-19 in Tyson's Corner, Va. IOP is an acronym for "information operations, open source intelligence and peacekeeping intelligence." The conference was sponsored by Open Source Solutions Inc., a network of intelligence professionals based in Virginia.
The award is given to a few individuals or institutions annually for "bringing light to dark corners of the intelligence community."
Andregg, an adjunct faculty member who is also a member of the Twin Cities-based Center for the Study of Intelligence and Wisdom, has been organizing international conferences and writing on intelligence issues for many years, including articles on mental illness among spies and organizational problems in the U.S. intelligence community.
Also receiving a Golden Candle this year was the general in charge of United Nations peacekeeping operations in the Congo, and the head of Scotland Yard's national high-tech crime unit.
Dr. Michael Hennessey, School of Engineering, is the author of an article, "Visualization of the Motion of a Unicycle on a Sphere," published in the January issue of a refereed journal, International Journal of Modelling and Simulation. The article enhances understanding of the kinematics of multi-wheeled vehicles traversing irregular terrain and was funded through a RAG grant. Several St. Thomas students were involved with this effort: seven students in the Engineering Graphics class, who created the signature figure using SolidWorks, and Rob Roberts '04 through his Center for Applied Mathematics summer project.
Father Jan Michael Joncas, Catholic Studies and Theology departments, is the author of "Singing During Communion: The Contemporary Roman Rite," published in the January issue of the journal Assembly, Vol. 32, No. 1, pages 5-8.
His article, "Les bénédictions nuptiales dans le Rituel du mariage de 1991," published in the French liturgical journal La Maison-Dieu, No. 244 (2005: 4), pages 19-44.
Dr. Shersten Johnson, Music Department, has been awarded the Westrup Prize for her article "Britten's Musical Syllables." The prize was presented by the Music & Letters (Oxford University Press) editorial board for most distinguished contribution to the journal in 2005.
Dr. Meg Wilkes Karraker, Sociology and Criminal Justice Department, gave a presentation, "Sharing Local Knowledge in Global Contexts: Teaching About Systems of Domination and Privilege," at the annual conference on Interdisciplinary Qualitative Studies last month in Athens, Ga.
Dr. Ellen Kennedy, Service-Learning, is the author of an article, "Bar and Bat Mitzvah: Rites of Affirmation and integration, published in Rituals and Patterns in Children's Lives, edited by K.M. Jackson and published by University of Wisconsin Press. The article addresses the role of this ritual in socializing young Jewish children to academic achievement and religious participation in their communities. Kennedy also has been selected as a Fulbright senior specialist for the next five years. She will have the opportunity to work with institutions around the world as a short-term adviser for curriculum and program development on an "as-needed" basis.
T. Dean Maines, College of Business, and Arnie Weimerskirch, School of Engineering, gave a presentation, "Corporate social Responsibility: A 21st Century Imperative," at the Nov. 30 meeting of the German American Club in Stuttgart, Germany. Maines and Weimerskirch provided an overview of the Self-Assessment and Improvement Process (SAIP), a model for assessing and enhancing corporate conscience, developed at the University of St. Thomas by a group of business executives and scholars, including Dr. Kenneth Goodpaster, Koch Chair in Business Ethics. They also met with Sister Helen Alford, O.P., dean of the social science faculty at Rome's Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), to discuss the incorporation of SAIP into her university's curriculum. They also met with Italian business consultants who are interested in applying the process within their practice.
Dr. Deborah Organ, St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, presented a paper, "I am Ready to Step Out of My Shame: Women and Preaching in the Highlands of Chiapas," to the Academy of Homiletics Dec. 1 in Williamsburg, Va.
Dr. Buffy Smith, Sociology and Criminal Justice Department, is the author of an article, "The Great Hope of Academic Mentor Programs: The Unfulfilled Promise," published in African American Research Perspectives, Vol. 11, No. 1, pages 169-181.
Dr. David Welch, Graduate School of Professional Psychology, became president on Jan. 1 of the American Board of Counseling Psychology. The board's primary responsibility is the development and administration of the national examination for those counseling psychologists seeing recognition as board-certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). Welch's term lasts until Dec. 31.
