Notables

Dereck Daschke, chair and associate professor of philosophy and religion, had his book, “City of Ruins: Mourning Jerusalem through Jewish Apocalypse,” published this month by Brill. The book is based on his 2000 Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Chicago Divinity School and is a reading of Jewish apocalyptic texts through the Freudian theory of mourning and melancholia.

Regina Loehr, a senior classics student, won first prize in Latin Prose Composition and third prize in Advanced Greek Translation in the Maurine Dallas Watkins Contests, a national Classics competition. These results were announced April 10 at the annual Eta Sigma Phi Convention in Blacksburg, Va. Eta Sigma Phi is a National Classics Honor Society.  Loehr also won second prize in Intermediate Latin Translation in the same competition in 2008. David Giovagnoli, a sophomore classics and English student, was elected president, or megas prytanis, of Eta Sigma Phi. His one-year term began immediately; he will be required to represent Eta Sigma Phi at various Classics conferences throughout the year.

Elaine McDuff, associate professor of sociology, organized and served as convener for one session and as discussant for another session at the Midwest Sociological Society meeting March 30-April 3 in Chicago. The sessions were titled “Women and Religion” and “Classroom Exercises and the Development of Critical Thinking.” Sociology majors participating in the meeting included Chermaine Jennings, Kathrine Olsen-Flaate, Zakery Palmer, Brandon Pollard and Anubia Stephens.

Sara E. Orel, professor of art history, will be the Truman faculty member teaching in the Missouri in London Program in the fall of 2010. While in London, she will be presenting her research on the site of the Gebel el-Haridi at the Third British Egyptology Conference and giving invited lectures at the University of Bristol and to several local Egyptological organizations.

Lynn Rose, professor of history, has received a Fulbright Senior Lecturer Fellowship at the University of Rostock, Germany, for the 2010-2011 academic year. This is a joint invitation from The Institute of British and American Studies and the Department of Special Education. Rose will teach disability studies courses at all levels, from introductory to graduate, and will work with German and European Union scholars of disability studies, as well as visiting scholars from the U.S. and Canada, to offer workshops and seminars. Steven Reschly, professor and chair of history, will undertake work on his sabbatical projects while affiliated with the University of Rostock.

Kelsey Shields, a junior music major, is a winner in the 2010 International Trumpet Guild Scholarship contest. This competition includes trumpet players from all over the world who send in a recording of a required solo with piano accompaniment and a very challenging technical etude. Shields will be honored at the 2010 ITG Conference in Sydney, Australia, where she will also perform alongside professional trumpet players and university professors from dozens of countries.

French students Jessica Rideout, Catherine Bauer, Misty Lipp and Hannah Wetzel gave the first oral paper session entirely in French at the Student Research Conference at Truman April 13. Their studies were on the work of French/Francophone Women historical figures and writers: Holocaust (Shoah) Autobiographer Charlotte Delbo; French Carribean writer Maryse Condé; Québécois novelist Gabrielle Roy; and French medievalist author Marie de France.

Junior computer science majors Michael Price, Michael Rodriguez, Michael Solomon and coach Bob Matthews, assistant professor of computer science, traveled to the CCSC Regional Programming Contest at Park University in Parkville, Mo., April 12. The students successfully solved three out of six programming problems (tying with the first and second place teams in the number of problems solved), and were awarded third place out of 17 teams. The students each received a prize of $30.