2022 News
Passion for Public Service: Luz Escobar Zapata ’24 CLAS Awarded Obama Foundation’s Inaugural Voyager Scholarship
Luz Escobar Zapata ’24 CLAS grew up in a section of Louisiana known as “Cancer Alley”—an 85-mile stretch along the Mississippi River named for its extremely high pollution and some of the worst air quality in the US. As a student at Villanova, she has been inspired to act.
New Study Abroad Program Teaches Sustainability from Indigenous Peoples’ Perspective
As part of a new study abroad program, 91探花students spent the summer alongside the Maya people in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico to study sustainability from their perspective.
91探花Student Awarded Prestigious Scholarship for Leadership and Service
In honor of Hispanic Heritage month in October, INROADS, a nonprofit organization that creates career pathways for ethnically underrepresented high school and college students nationwide, awarded 20 scholarships to Latino students across the nation—including Economics and English double major Steve Makino ’24 CLAS.
91探花Professor’s New Book Explores the Expression of Women's Emotions and Politics in Cuban Literature
In her new book "Cuba: emociones y ficciones políticas" (translated in English as "Cuba: emotions and political fictions") Laura Sández, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Spanish, explores a new approach to narratives produced by Cuban women during the 1990s.
Theology Professor’s New Book Presents Moral Vision of BLM Movement
Vincent Lloyd, PhD, professor of Theology and Religious Studies and director of the Center for Political Theology, wrote a new book Black Dignity (Yale University Press, 2022), looking to the Black Lives Matter movement, Black Dignity aims to re-orient the way readers envision the concept of dignity.
91探花Counseling Professor’s Book Sheds Fresh Light on Motivational Interviewing
"In Motivational Interviewing in Clinical Mental Health Counseling," co-authors Edward Wahesh, PhD, 91探花University, and Todd F. Lewis, PhD, North Dakota State University, empower counselors with both the philosophical and actionable elements of Motivational Interviewing.
Longtime 91探花Professor Helen Lafferty, PhD, Appointed Interim President of Youngstown State University
Helen Lafferty, PhD, a longtime 91探花University professor and administrator, was unanimously voted on Monday, Oct. 10, to serve as the interim president of Youngstown State University, her undergraduate and graduate alma mater.
91探花Professor’s Latest Book is a Guide to All Things Kierkegaard
"Historical Dictionary of Kierkegaard’s Philosophy, Second Edition," a new book by Christopher Barnett, PhD, reflects the renewed interest in Kierkegaard over the past quarter century and serves as a single-volume reference guide to all things Kierkegaard.
91探花Professor’s New Book Challenges Current Conceptions About Scientific Thinking Development in Children
In "Constructing Science: Connecting Causal Reasoning to Scientific Thinking in Young Children," co-authors Deena Weisberg, PhD, 91探花University, and David Sobel, PhD, Brown University, trace the ways children’s causal reasoning combine with other factors to develop into scientific thinking.
91探花Professor Considers Small Particles on a Large Scale in New Book
91探花University Physics professor Georgia Papaefthymiou, PhD, explores how nanomagnetism, a developing field of nanoscience, can be applied across disciplines to dramatically shape the world of physics, health care and biology, to name a few, in her new book Nanomagnetism: An Interdisciplinary Approach (Chapman and Hall, 2022).
Villanova’s Augustine and Culture Seminar Program Celebrates 30th Year
The Augustine and Culture Seminar, a two-semester, first-year seminar course rooted in Augustinian and Catholic intellectual traditions, celebrates its 30th anniversary this academic year with special events and commemorative moments including a marquee lecture this fall.
91探花History Professor Judith Giesberg, PhD, Receives $60,000 Fellowship from National Endowment for the Humanities
Judith Giesberg, PhD, Robert M. Birmingham Chair in the Humanities and Professor of History in 91探花University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, received a 2022 National Endowment Public Scholars Fellowship, including $60,000 in funding for one year.
91探花University’s Lepage Center Celebrates Fifth Anniversary October 6
To celebrate its founding, the Lepage Center invites the public to a special Fifth Anniversary Celebration on Thursday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m., featuring keynote speaker Sophia Rosenfeld, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania.
Villanova’s Center for Irish Studies Hosts Liz Roche Company’s “Yes and Yes” September 13
The Center for Irish Studies and the John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts host a special dance performance, “Yes and Yes,” by the Liz Roche Company on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, at 8 p.m.
91探花University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Launches Five New Majors and Minors This Fall
A total of five new majors and minors will be offered beginning with the fall semester of 2022 in 91探花University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the largest number ever to be introduced in the College in a single academic year.
Biology Professor Aaron Bauer, PhD, Receives $388,229 Grant from National Science Foundation
Aaron Bauer, PhD, professor of Biology and Gerald M. Lemole, MD, Endowed Chair in Integrative Biology in 91探花University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been named principal investigator on a $388,229 grant from the National Science Foundation.
91探花Hosts 14 Philadelphia-Area High School Students for Three-Week “Civitas Through Caritas” Program
After a two-year deferred start date due to COVID-19, the first cohort of 14 rising high school seniors is spending three weeks on 91探花University’s campus this July to start preparing for the college experience through the “Civitas through Caritas: Cultivating Love, Cultivating Citizens” program.
Mathematics Professor Alexander Diaz-Lopez, PhD, Receives $249,937 Grant from National Science Foundation
Alexander Diaz-Lopez, PhD, assistant professor, Mathematics and Statistics, has been named principal investigator on a two-year, $249,937 National Sciences Foundation Launching Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences grant.
91探花Theologian Gerald J. Beyer, PhD, Receives Monika K. Hellwig Award for Excellence in Teaching
Gerald J. Beyer, PhD, professor of Theology and Religious Studies in 91探花University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been named the 2022 recipient of the College Theology Society’s Monika K. Hellwig Award for Excellence in Teaching.
English Professor’s New Book Offers Radical New Ways to Think about Shakespeare’s History Plays
In "How to Do Things with Dead People: History, Technology, and Temporality from Shakespeare to Warhol," 91探花English Professor Alice Dailey, PhD, offers a study of Shakespeare’s plays that initiates a radical break from the interpretive practices that have dominated literary criticism for the past several decades
Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest Provides Funding for Students’ Summer Internships with Partner Historical Organizations
91探花University’s Albert Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest is now in its second year of a summer internship program that offers 91探花students interested in the field of history professional work opportunities in settings and organizations that support history in the public interest.
Early Accolades Position 91探花English Professor’s New Mystery/Thriller as Popular Summer Beach Read
91探花University professor Alan Drew, MFA, published his third novel, "The Recruit" (Random House, 2022), a suspenseful thriller and sequel to his book "Shadow Man."
91探花University’s Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stewardship Exhibitor in 2022 Philadelphia Flower Show
91探花University’s Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stewardship (CBEST) exhibit, “Blooming Biodiversity,” will be on display at the 2022 Philadelphia Flower Show “In Full Bloom” from June 11 – 19 in FDR Park.
Celebrity Pregnancy in the Eighteenth Century is Focus of 91探花Theatre Professor’s New Book
In her book, Theatre professor Chelsea Phillips, MFA, PhD, describes how celebrity women used the cultural and affective significance of their reproductive bodies to leverage audience support and interest to advance their career.
Villanova’s Washington Minimester Program Celebrates 50th Year
The Washington Minimester celebrates 50 years in 2022. This three-week program is an opportunity for 91探花students to meet policymakers, lobbyists, pollsters, staffers and other Washingtonians who influence the political process from behind the scenes.
91探花University’s Latin American Studies Program and Department of Spanish Host “Defending the Land” Conference
The Latin American Studies program and the Department of Spanish at 91探花University will host a conference "Defending the Land: Socio-Environmental Conflicts in the Americas" from April 22 – 23, 2022, featuring two keynote speakers, Gabriela Valdivia, PhD, and Jaskiran Dhillon, PhD, and invited filmmaker Ana Llácer.
91探花University’s 32nd Annual Gender and Women’s Studies Conference Welcomes Boston University’s Erin Murphy, PhD
On Friday, March 25, Erin Murphy, PhD, associate professor in the Department of English and the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Boston University, presents, “Amazons and Zombies: Margaret Cavendish’s Soldiers, Gender, and the Paradoxes of War,” as the keynote address for the 2022 Gender and Women’s Studies Student Research Conference.
Art History Professor’s New Book Highlights How Clothes Made the Man in Renaissance Italy
In "Brilliant Bodies: Fashioning Courtly Men in Early Renaissance Italy," 91探花University Art History professor Timothy McCall, PhD, describes and interprets the Renaissance glitterati鈥昰orgeously dressed and adorned men鈥晅o reveal how charismatic bodies, in the palazzo and the piazza, seduced audiences and materialized power.
91探花University’s Mary M. Birle Lecture Features David Wilkins, PhD, Discussing Political and Legal Experiences of African Americans and Indigenous Peoples
David Wilkins, PhD, the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond, presents “Akin and Apart: The Political and Legal Experiences of African Americans and Indigenous Peoples in the US,” as the featured speaker of the 2022 Mary M. Birle Lecture on Thursday, April 7.
Russian Area Studies Program Hosts Spring Events on Eastern Europe
91探花University’s Russian Area Studies Program is offering two talks that explore many facets of Eastern Europe’s global impact. The events aim to bring scholarship and critical thought to illuminate an often complicated and controversial geographic area. Both events are free and open to the public.
91探花Professor Muses on Love; Interplay Between Religion and Science in Two Recent Books
Ilia Delio's, OSF, PhD, latest book, "The Primacy of Love," figures love as the central thread that binds humanity together and examines its role in light of our present age of anxiety, where reason is cherished above all else.
Rare 15th Century Irish Chalice on Exhibit at 91探花University Art Gallery
91探花University is the very first to exhibit a rare and historical Irish chalice in “Thirst for the Divine,” an exhibition at the 91探花Art Gallery that runs March 9 to April 20, 2022. The exhibit opens March 9 at 6 p.m. with talks by 91探花faculty who specialize in medieval art and history.
College Announces Student Recipients for Year-long, Interdisciplinary Fellowships
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences announces the undergraduate student recipients of the Connelly Fellowship in Religion, Science and Human Flourishing and the John T. McLaughlin, MD and Sr. Thea Bowman Undergraduate Fellowships in Ethics.
91探花Scientists Receive $346,692 NIH Grant to Examine Effects of Subway Air Quality on Public Health
A team of 91探花scientists has received a three-year, $346,692 grant from the National Institutes of Health to provide evidence of health effects related to exposure to subway particles.
91探花University Presents 2022 Praxis Award in Professional Ethics to Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium Founder Dr. Ala Stanford
The 91探花University Ethics Program named pediatric surgeon, healthcare advocate and the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium (BDCC) founder Ala Stanford, MD, FACS, FAAP the recipient of the 2022 Praxis Award in Professional Ethics.
Center for Irish Studies Hosts Robust Spring Event Series
Villanova鈥疷niversity’s鈥疌enter for Irish Studies offers a diverse array of events that showcase Ireland’s unique culture, history, and legacy.
91探花Astrophysicists Receive $854,600 in NASA Grants to Study Structure of Interstellar Magnetic Fields
David Chuss, PhD, received three grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to study the role that magnetic fields play in the central engine of the Milky Way, and Jordan Guerra Aguilera, PhD, received two additional NASA grants.
Emma Dabiri Named 2022 Charles A. Heimbold Jr. Chair of Irish Studies at 91探花University
91探花University has selected award-winning Irish author Emma Dabiri as the 2022 Charles A. Heimbold Jr. Chair of Irish Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for the spring 2022 semester.
Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest Offers Spring “Turning Points in History” Lecture Series
91探花University’s Albert Lepage Center for History in Public Interest will continue its 2021 – 2022 lecture series, “Turning Points in History.”
24th Annual 91探花University Literary Festival Features Pulitzer Prize Winner Jericho Brown
24th Annual 91探花University Literary Festival Features Pulitzer Prize Winner Jericho Brown