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.”

VPA Instructor Cristi Catt’s music group Telltale Crossing has released its debut album Door Ajar on all major music streaming platforms.

Anne Flaherty, associate professor of political science and public policy, presented her research at the APSA conference on Black Lives Matter and Indigenous Deaths in Custody in Australia and Canada. The presentation focused on the long history of indigenous peoples’ deaths in custody, challenges in the lack of coherent policy and resource responses and the potential for future changes in both countries.

Professor Dan Herda published a research paper titled “Experienced, Anticipated, and Vicarious Discrimination” in the journal Social Currents.

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.

Five faculty members were awarded tenure in January by President Christopher E. Hopey. They are:Jimmy Franco, assistant professor of chemistry;Brittnie Aiello, assistant professor of criminology;Sally Shockro, assistant professor of history;Susan Marine, associate professor and program director in the higher education master’s program; andSirkwoo Jin, assistant professor of management.

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.

Merrimack Assistant Professor Dan Vlahos, a founding member of Design Museum Everywhere, has recently been selected to serve a three-year term on the Design Museum Council for the Design Museum Foundation.

Michael DeCesare, professor and chair of sociology, delivered the keynote address April 27, 2017,at the State University of New York Voices Conference on Shared Governance in Suffern, New York. The conference examined the challenges facing governance leaders and members, and explore alternative solutions. DeCesare was also the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the Kentucky AAUP (American Association of University Professors) Conference on April 8 at the University of Louisville, where he delivered a talk titled “Threats to Traditional Academic Governance.” DeCesare was invited to speak at both conferences due to his work as the chair of AAUP’s National Committee on College University Governance.

Dr. He Li has contributed to a publication titled Security, Development, and Sustainability in Asia: A World Scientific Reference on Major Policy and Development Issues of 21st Century Asia, specifically featured in Volume 2: Geoeconomics, Innovation, and Development. Li’s chapter compares India and China in terms of their governance based on the World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators.