News & Events

Mary McHugh, director of the Stevens Service Learning Center and an adjunct lecturer of political science, was quoted in a May 4, 2017, Salem (Mass.) News story about Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s reelection prospects in 2018. “It’s hard to beat an incumbent, especially a popular one,” McHugh said. “And Massachusetts voters seem to like the checks and balances of having a Republican governor and Democratic Legislature.”

Assistant professor of communication and media, Melissa “Mish” Zimdars, was featured on Newsy television to discuss how more news sites are sharing partisan messages while “masquerading” as local news sites.

Sociology Associate Professor Daniel Herda published an article on Immigration Innumeracy in Canada in the journal Migration Letters.

Mary McHugh,adjunct lecturer inpolitical science and director of the Stevens Service Learning Center, was quoted in an Oct. 20, 2017, Daily News of Newburyport, Massachusetts, story about the war chest Gov. Charlie Baker has amassed for a possiblereelection bid in 2018. “It’s hard to beat an incumbent,” she said. “Especially a popular one like Charlie Baker.”

Charlotte Berkes, associate professor of biology, and Jimmy Franco, department chair and associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, recently co-authored a journal publication titled Kinase Inhibitor Library Screening Identifies the Cancer Therapeutic Sorafenib and Structurally Similar Compounds as Strong Inhibitors of the Fungal Pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum, describing the discovery of novel antifungal molecules to combat Histoplasma capsulatum, a neglected fungal pathogen. Several former Merrimack College undergraduates contributed to this research.

Dr. Alison Russell, chair and associate professor of the political science and public policy department and director of the international studies program, has been invited as one of two academics to speak at The Return of Naval Combat conference in Paris on Jan. 18. Russell’s career and research are heavily focused on naval strategy, cyber security, cyber strategy and United States naval strategy where it intersects with technology.

Michael Mascolo, professor of psychology and academic director of the Compass program, published an opinion column, “Time to Listen to Each Other on the Issue of Guns,” in the Nov. 17, 2017, Salem (Mass.) News. In the article, Mascolo urges advocates on both sides of the gun-control debate to open a genuine dialogue in which they listen to each other with empathy and compassion. “Only when each side feels that their concerns have been heard and respected can there be any chance that both can join forces to find new ways to address old and lingering problems,” he wrote.

Eight faculty members from four schools at Merrimack attended the Association for Interdisciplinary Studies conference in Amsterdam last semester. They include associate professors Luis Saenz de Viguera Erkiago and Cinzia DiGiulio of the World Languages and Cultural Studies Department, Civil Engineering Department assistant professor Cynthia Carlson, visiting associate professor Ellen Fitzpatrick, Women and Gender Studies Department professor Simona Sharoni, Graduate Education Department associate professor Susan Marine, Accounting and Finance Department associate professor Ana Silva, and Education Department assistant professor Laura Hsu.

Sociology assistant professorDaniel Herda,with coauthors John Hagan (Northwestern), Bill McCarthy (UC Davis), andAndrea Cann Chandrasekher (UC Davis) have published their article “Dual-Process Theory of Racial Isolation, Legal Cynicism, and Reported Crime” in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Assistant professor of communication and media Melissa “Mish” Zimdars, author of “Watching Our Weights: The Contradictions of Televising Fatness in the ‘Obesity Epidemic,’” was quoted in a Los Angeles Times article March 24, 2020 discussing the portrayal of fat women on television.