Academic News (News2Note)

News2Note, the academic newsletter of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, is published monthly during the academic year by Debra Stoudt, associate dean for policy and faculty affairs. Academic news can be submitted to her directly at dstoudt@vt.edu.

Ariel Ahram, Public and International Affairs, published “Iraq’s Long-Awaited Census Reveals a Demographic Gift” in Foreign Policy on December 23, 2024.

The New River Battalion, which includes Virginia Tech’s Army ROTC program as well as that of Radford University, was named the nation’s top ROTC program by the U.S. Department of Defense for the second year in a row; it is ranked No. 1 among 274 programs nationwide.  In addition, the New River Battalion and Virginia Tech, which was the host institution for the award, were recognized with the Department of Defense ROTC and Educational Institution Partnership Excellence Award for the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 academic years; the award is presented to outstanding ROTC units and host educational institutions from each military department and highlights outstanding performance, university support, and cadet achievements.  Virginia Tech is a one of six senior military colleges in the nation.  Colonel Nathan Surrey has served as Professor of Military Science and Army ROTC head at Virginia Tech since 2024.

Sweta Baniya, English, published “Transnational Feminist Rhetorical Solidarities in the Viral Circulations of the LasTesis and Jina Movements,” Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Feminist Rhetoric, ed. Jacqueline Rhodes and Suban Nur Cooley (New York, New York, and London, United Kingdom:  Routledge, 2025), pp. 7–17, with Mais T. Al-Khateeb, Rebecca Dingo, and Jennifer Nish.

Tim Becker, English, published “We Are What We Teach:  Writing Major Requirements Across Institutions,” Composition Studies 52.2 (Fall 2024):  14–28.  In addition, Becker was invited to design the issue’s cover.

Bonnie Billingsley, Education, published “Navigating the Complexities of School Leadership for Students With Disabilities,” Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 27.4 (2024):  122–33, with Kristabel Stark.

Aaron Brantly, Political Science, published Cybersecurity:  Politics, Governance, and Conflict in Cyberspace, 2^nd edition (Cambridge, United Kingdom, and Hoboken, New Jersey:  Polity Press, 2024) with Damien Van Puyvelde.

Katie Carmichael, English, published Language and Place (Cambridge, United Kingdom:  Cambridge University Press, 2025) with Paul E. Reed.  The book is available via open access through the TOME program with support from CLAHS funding.  In addition, she and coauthor Aaron Dinkin received the 2024 Roger W. Shuy Best Paper of the Year in American Speech Award for “When PALMs Are in Your THOUGHTs, You Head South:  New Orleans Low-Back Vowels and Diffusion from New York City,” American Speech 99.4 (2024):  385–409.

Elizabeth Creamer, Professor Emerita of Educational Research and Evaluation, published Visual Displays in Qualitative and Mixed Method Research:  A Comprehensive Guide (New York, New York:  Routledge, 2025).

François Debrix, Political Science and ASPECT Core Faculty, published “AI’s Perfect Crime,” Baudrillard Now 5.2 (December 2024):  6–26.

Planning, Governance, and Globalization doctoral student Miguel Diaz-Manrique and Public and International Affairs faculty member Dara Wald published “Motivating Conservation Action in the Upper Midwest:  Source Attention, Information Seeking and Sharing, and Farmers’ Land Management Decisions,” Conservation Science and Practice 7.1 (2025), Article e13287, with Laura Witzling and Jacqueline Comito.

Arnaz Dotivala, a doctoral student in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and a Career and Technical Education specialist for Loudon County Public Schools, was selected for the 2025 Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) National Leadership Fellowship Program.  The program provides year-long comprehensive leadership development opportunities for professionals in Career and Technical Education (CTE).  Additional information about Dotivala and the other 2025 fellows is available here.

Gary Downey, Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Science, Technology, and Society, published Engineers and the Two Taiwans:  The Abnormal Club (Cham, Switzerland:  SpringerNature, 2025) with Kuo-Hui Chang and Bono Po-Jen Shih.

During its November 2024 meeting the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors conferred the emeritus title on the following faculty members in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences:

Clair Apodaca, Associate Professor of Political Science, was recognized for her contributions to the understanding of global governance through her work on foreign aid, human rights, international debt, child hunger, and women’s rights in the Global South.  She is the author of more than 50 books – most recently Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy:  Prevarications and Evasions – articles, and reports.  A member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 2012, Apodaca taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses that placed a strong emphasis on political methodology and the politics of women’s rights, child malnutrition, and post-disaster societies.  She provided dedicated service on a variety of committees and as a mentor to graduate students.  Apodaca earned her bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University and her master’s degree and Ph.D. from Purdue University. 

Ed Falco, Professor of English, made a local, national, and international impact in the field of creative writing during his more than 40-year career at Virginia Tech.  He is the author of nine books, including novels – Transcendent Gardening in 2022 – short story collections, and poetry collections – X in the Tickseed in 2024.  He is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, among them a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction, a Virginia Commission for the Arts Fellowship, and the Robert Penn Warren Prize in Poetry, as well as the Excellence in Research and Creative Scholarship Award from the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences and the Albert L. Sturm Award for Faculty Excellence in the Creative Arts.  For more than a decade he served as the coordinator of the Visiting Writers Series.  Falco earned his bachelor’s degree from SUNY New Paltz and master’s degree from Syracuse University.

Ilja Luciak, Professor of Political Science, was recognized for his international engagement through work with DIAKONIA-Sweden, the European Commission, the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation.  He served as Principal Investigator on grants researching gender and politics, civil war, and post-conflict peacemaking in Central and Latin America.  During his 35 years as a member of the Virginia Tech community, Luciak authored or coauthored more than 40 refereed journal articles, books, book chapters, and reviews.  He also served as department chair from 2002-2010 and on numerous College and university committees and task forces.  Luciak earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa; he completed his law degree and postgraduate law work at the Universität Wien, Austria.

David Radcliffe, Professor of English, was honored for his impact on the fields of British Literature, especially of the 18^th century, and digital humanities.  He was the author of Edmund Spenser:  A Reception History and Forms of Reflection:  Genre and Culture in Meditational Writing as well as numerous articles, book chapters, and reviews.  He created and maintained several digital archives and editions, such as “Lord Byron and his Times,” “The Digital Index of Middle English Verse,” and “English Poetry, 1579–1830:  Spenser and the Tradition” and was Director of the Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities from 2007–2015.  During his 37-year tenure at Virginia Tech, he also served as Director of Graduate Study from 2001–2004.  Radcliffe earned his  bachelor’s and master’s degree as well as his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

Lucinda Roy, Alumni Distinguished Professor of English, authored multiple books, including novels – most recently Flying the Coop and The Freedom Race – poetry collections, a critically acclaimed memoir-critique, as well as numerous poems, stories, and essays in her more than 39 years at Virginia Tech.  She received numerous grants and was recognized with a variety of  awards, including the Eighth Mountain Poetry Prize, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Richmond.  Roy served as Chair of the Department of English as well as Co-Director of Creative Writing from 2002–2006 and as Associate Dean for Curriculum, Outreach, and Diversity from 1994–1996.  Roy earned her bachelor’s degree from King’s College London and her MFA degree from the University of Arkansas.

Peter Schmitthenner, Associate Professor of Religion and Culture, was recognized for his contributions to academic scholarship on the history of South India.  He served the community of scholars with expertise on India and South Asia through his involvement in a number of organizations, including the American Institute for Indian Studies and the Council of International Educational Exchange.  Schmitthenner fostered student engagement with international issues by serving on the campus Fulbright Screening Committee and coordinating the Asian area studies minor.  He taught a variety of undergraduate courses in religion, culture, and history, and advised many ASPECT students on their doctoral dissertations.  Schmitthenner earned his bachelor’s degree from Clark University and his master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Joseph Eska, English, published “Digamma and Prestino and Related Matters” and “Script Transfer and Laryngeal Realism, and Script Reform:  On Plosive Phonology in Ancient Celtic Northern Italy,” both in Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 71 (2024), pp. 77–96 and 97–127, respectively; and “Graphemic Markedness and Celtiberian Plosive Phonology,” Proceedings of the 34th UCLA Indo-European Conference, ed. David Goldstein, Stefanie Jamison, and Anthony Yates (Bremen, Germany:  Helmut Buske Verlag, 2025), pp. 99–106.

Donna Fortune, Education, coedited Hollywood or History?  An Inquiry-Based Strategy for Using Film to Teach Salient Social Issues in Elementary Social Studies (Charlotte, North Carolina:  Informational Age Publishing, 2024) with Lisa K. Pennington et al.  Her individual contributions were “Standing Out:  How Our Exceptional Differences Make Us All Uniquely ‘Wonder’ful,” pp. 155–66, as well as “Do Something:  Activism Is for Everyone” with School of Education alumna Anna Kambach, pp. 212–21.

Matthew Gabriele, Religion and Culture, published Oathbreakers:  The War of Brothers That Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe (New York, New York:  Harper, 2024) with David M. Perry.

Bikrum Gill, Political Science and ASPECT Core Faculty, published The Political Ecology of Colonial Capitalism:  Race, Nature, and Accumulation (Manchester, United Kingdom:  Manchester University Press, 2024).

The College notes with sadness the death of Charles Goodsell, Professor Emeritus of Public Administration and Public Affairs, who served as the Director of the Center for Public Administration and Policy from 1986 to 1991.  He was recognized with election to the National Academy of Public Administration in 1994 and received the American Society for Public Administration’s Dwight Waldo Award for outstanding lifetime contributions to the literature of public administration in 2003.  A member of the Virginia Tech community for 24 years, Goodsell was honored with emeritus status from Virginia Tech in 2002.  Additional information can be found in the funeral home obituary and the Virginia Tech In memoriam.

James Hawdon, Sociology, coedited Research Handbook on Hate and Hate Crimes in Society (Cheltenham, United Kingdom, and Northampton, Massachusetts:  Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024) with Matthew Costello.  His individual contributions to the volume were:  “Hate and Hate Crimes in Society” with Costello, pp. 1–14, and “The State’s Role in Hate,  Understanding Hate Crime Throughout U.S. History,” pp. 320–43.  The volume also includes “Capturing Racial Threat:  Measuring Anti-Black Hate Crimes During Obama’s Presidential Ascent,” pp. 179–97, by Sociology doctoral student Jonathan Lloyd and Sociology faculty member Ashley Reichelmann.

Catalina Hernández-Cabal, Women’s and Gender Studies, coedited Experiments in Art Research:  How Do We Live Questions Through Art? (London, United Kingdom:  Taylor & Francis/Routledge, 2024) with Sarah Travis, Azlan Guttenberg Smith, and Jorge Lucero.  Her individual contributions to the volume were “Questions Through Art, Together:  An Introduction” with Travis, Smith, and Lucero, pp. 1–5, and “To Meet in Gesture:  A Place, a Dance, a Drawing, a Study,” pp. 125–31.

W. Wat Hopkins, Professor Emeritus of Communication, published Hate Speech Is Not Free:  The Case Against First Amendment Protection (Lanham, Maryland:  Rowman & Littlefield, 2024).

School of Education faculty member Marcus Johnson and Individual Interdisciplinary doctoral student Mackenzie Rose published “Polytrauma and Executive Functioning:  A Review of Cognitive Protective Mechanisms and Resilience,” European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation 9.1 (March 2025), Article 100503.

The Language Sciences Program, housed in the Department of English, was one of two units recognized with the 2024 University Department or Program Award.  The program, which includes coursework in English, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Philosophy, Psychology, and Theatre, was honored for its excellence in developing high-impact, accessible undergraduate research experiences, which was the theme of the 2024 award.  Beginning with 1000-level courses, students collect data for instructor-outlined studies, and in 2000-level classes students learn how to analyze existing data.  Upper-level courses include an exploration of existing peer-reviewed literature and independent research projects.  The program culminates in a capstone course in which students complete an independent research project, with the collaboration of statistics graduate students in a course designed to help the undergraduates analyze quantitative data.  Four students in the program have earned a Fralin Undergraduate Research Fellowship and the 2024 Dennis Dean Undergraduate Conference included 10 posters from Language Sciences students, making it the most represented program in the College.  The University Exemplary Department or Program Award has been given annually since 1994 to honor excellence in teaching and learning among academic units.  This year’s awards were presented at a reception on December 3, 2024.

Timothy Luke, University Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science, published “Developing a New Speech for Global Security:  Exploring the Rhetoric of Evil in the Bush Administration Response to 9.11.01,” Global Politics in the Information Age, ed. Mark J. Lacy and Peter Wilkin (Manchester, United Kingdom:  Manchester University Press, 2024), pp. 21–38; and “The 2024 Presidential Election:  The Triumph of ‘the Wily’ over ‘the Woke,’” Telos:  Critical Theory of the Contemporary 209 (Winter 2024):  141–44.

Savannah Mandel, a doctoral student in Science and Technology Studies, published Ground Control:  An Argument for the End of Human Space Exploration (Chicago, Illinois:  Chicago Review Press, 2024).

Maretta McDonald, Sociology, published The Sociology of Cardi B:  A Trap Feminist Approach (New York, New York:  Routledge, 2025) with Aaryn I. Green et al.

The College expresses its sorrow at the death of Jamie McElfresh, Business Manager in the Department of Sociology, on December 17, 2024.  McElfresh joined the Virginia Tech community in 2017; she served on Staff Senate and was a member of the Staff and Non-Student Wage Advocacy Committee.  Additional information is included in the funeral home obituary.

Heidi Anne Mesmer, Education, published Big Words for Young Readers:  Teaching Kids in Grades K to 5 to Decode – and Understand – Words With Multiple Syllables and Morphemes (New York, New York:  Scholastic Professional, 2024).

Marian Mollin, History, edited Breaking the Silence:  Uncovering the History of Sexual Violence at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Virginia:  Virginia Tech Publishing, 2024), a collection of essays that chart how Virginia Tech students have navigated a challenging sexual climate and culture from the mid-1960s onward.  The book features work by History majors (unless otherwise noted) in Mollin’s Spring 2023 research seminar.  2023 graduates who contributed to the volume were:  William Cardullo, “Crime and No Punishment:  The Brzonkala Case, Sexual Culture, and the Power of Male Athletics at Virginia Tech”; Kaylie Duty, “Cover Those Midsections:  The Struggle Over Bodies, Conduct, and Sexuality During the Long Sixties at Virginia Tech”; Jorge Gomez-Pedraza, “Techmen:  Protectors of What?”; Aaron Lowther, “Women’s Week:  Success or Failure?”; Kate Schiller, Political Science, “Women’s Agency in Virginia Tech’s Emerging Sexual Geography”; and Hannah Ziaii, History and Consumer Studies, “Who Holds the Power?  VT Greek Life’s Battle over Social Autonomy and Sexual Citizenship.”  Contributors who graduated in 2024 were:  Caitlyn Simson, Professional Technical Writing and Creative Writing, “A Ghost of a Problem:  What Goes on With Women in the Corps of Cadets?”; Amanda Talbott, History and Biochemistry, “Who Is the Victim?  Greek Life Sexual Culture: Changing the Narrative of Victimization in the 1980s to 1990s”; and Aidan Young, History and Political Science, “Virginia Tech Under Pressure.”  Current students who contributed were:  Madelyn Nogiec, History and European and Transatlantic Studies, “Partying Like It’s 1989:  The Culture of Status, Secrets, and Sex of Virginia Tech’s Greek Life”; and Kiera Schneiderman, Criminology and Political Science, “Conclusion:  Next Steps.”  Current Curriculum and Instruction master’s student Rosa Mata contributed “(Queer) Pride and Prejudice at Virginia Tech.”  The book is available online via Open Access/Virginia Tech Publishing here.

Carol Mullen, Education, published Equity in School Mentoring and Induction, SpringerBriefs in Education (Cham, Switzerland:  Springer Nature, 2025).  In addition, she published “Preparing High School Youth for 21st-Century Success,” VASCD (Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) Journal 21 (2024):  14–34, with Educational Leadership and Policy Studies alumnus James F. Nycum.

Corinne Noirot, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, coauthored an edition of the plays of the La Taille brothers, Jean de La Taille et Jacques de La Taille:  Théâtre complet (Paris, France:  Classiques Garnier, 2024) with François Lecercle et al.

Desirée Poets, Political Science and ASPECT Core Faculty, published Unsettling Brazil:  Urban Indigenous and Black Peoples’ Resistances to Dependent Settler Capitalism (Tuscaloosa, Alabama:  University of Alabama Press, 2024).

Undergraduates Christopher Porter, Tyler Ripley, and Anthony Salisbury coedited Politics, Propaganda, and Pop Culture, Virginia Tech Student Publications Series (Blacksburg, Virginia:  Virginia Tech Department of History and Virginia Tech Publishing, 2024) with executive editor Heather Gumbert, History.  The volume was a senior capstone book project that examines the role of television in projecting, shaping, and amplifying Cold War ideologies.  The book features work by History majors unless otherwise noted.  Contributions by students who graduated in 2023 were:  Jeremiah Albert, “Nuclear Screening:  A Look Into the Operation Tumbler-Snapper Television Broadcast”;  Joshua Buckingham, History and Political Science, “America Reconciles with Vietnam Veterans:  Changing Portrayals of Veterans in American Television Shows Under Reagan”; Chase Frazier, “Cold War Spy Television:  I Led 3 Lives and Communism”; Cathryn Jones, History and Professional and Technical Writing, “The Best Trash of the Lot:  Dallas, Melodrama, and 1980s America”; Christopher Porter, “Atomic Television in the 1950s”; Danielle Schumacher, History and Political Science, “Broadcasting War:  Vietnam in America”; Daniel Smith, “Civil Rights, NFL Television Culture and Integration”; and Jason Toy, “Bombs Over the Chess Board.”  Contributions by students who graduated in 2024 were:  Stratis Bohle, History and Political Science, “Crowning a Commonwealth”; Tyler Ripley, History and Philosophy, “For War and Peace:  Television in the Cold War”; and Anthony Salisbury, “Lascia o Coppia:  The Legacy of Fascism for Postwar Italian Television.”  In addition, current History master’s student Aaidin Finefield contributed “Who Has The Power?  The Unique Landscape of Children’s Television in the 1980s.”  The book is available online via Open Access/Virginia Tech Publishing here.

Caroline Sanner, Human Development and Family Science, coauthored What Works in Stepfamilies:  Creating and Maintaining Satisfying and Effective Relationships (New York, New York, and Oxon, United Kingdom:  Routledge, 2024) with Marilyn Coleman and Lawrence Ganong.

Ashley Shew, Science, Technology, and Society, published “Cyborg-Technology Relations,” Journal of Human-Technology Relations 2.1 (2024), with 2021 Science and Technology Studies alumnus Joshua Earle.

Nadine Sinno, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, published A War of Colors:  Graffiti and Street Art in Postwar Beirut (Austin, Texas:  University of Texas Press, 2024).

Department of Sociology faculty members James Hawdon and Donna Sedgwick coedited Perceptions of a Pandemic:  A Cross-Continental Comparison of Citizen Perceptions, Attitudes, and Behaviors During COVID-19 (Leeds, United Kingdom:  Emerald Publishing, 2025) with C. Cozette Comer and Pekka Räsänen.  Hawdon and Sedgwick’s contributions to the volume were:  “Perceptions of a Pandemic:  The Impact of COVID-19 on American and Finnish Societies” and “A Look Ahead:  How to Better Handle the Next Pandemic and Other Crises” with Comer and Räsänen, pp. 3–14 and 171–82, respectively, and “The Pandemic’s Effects in Finland and the United States:  The Long-term Consequences of Early Perceptions and Behaviors,” pp. 143–70.  Hawdon’s individual contributions were “Planned Behaviorial Changes to Mitigate COVID-19’s Effects” and “COVID-19 and the Flames of Hate,” pp. 15–28 and 85–106, respectively.  Those of Sedgwick were “Coping, Well-being, and COVID-19” and “Compliance with Protective Health Behaviors During COVID-19:  Variations Over Time and by Country,” pp. 107–24 and 125–42, respectively.

Gerard Toal, Public and International Affairs, published Oceans Rise Empires Fall:  Why Geopolitics Hastens Climate Catastrophe (New York, New York:  Oxford University Press, 2024).  In addition, he published “Exposure to Violence and Attitudes Toward War and Peace in Ukraine,” Peace and Conflict:  Journal of Peace Psychology 30.2 (2024):  252–67, with Karina V. Korostelina and Michael M. Sweigart.

Vinodh Venkatesh, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, was selected as the Spring 2025 Scholar-in-Residence at The Humanities Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.  The residency takes place from February 1 to May 1, and the scholar-in-residence leads three 90-minute sessions of a monthly discussion-based workshop on his or her current research project(s).  In addition, the scholar presents a 45-minute public talk delivered to a Texas Tech and community audience in April 2025. 

Planning, Governance, and Globalization doctoral student Nada al-Wadi completed the program in artificial intelligence policy offered by the Center for AI and Digital Policy, a top Washington think tank, in December 2024.  The program was part of her dissertation work on cyber policy in the Arab Gulf states.

Dara Wald, Public and International Affairs, published “Community Perceptions of Invasive Species and Environmental Management in a U.S. Island Territory,” Conservation Biology 38.6 (2024), Article e14394, with Ann Marie Gawel and Haldre S. Rogers.  In addition, she is the Virginia Tech Principal Investigator on a $4,999,387 Conservation Innovation Grant led by Texas A&M Principal Investigator Joseph Burke.  The five-year grant, which runs through the USDA National Resources Conservation Service and officially started on October 1, 2024, is for a project titled “Soil Health Demonstrations to Increase Regenerative Agricultural Intensification in Southern High Plains.”

Brandi Watkins, Communication, coedited Digital Public Relations and Marketing Communication Trends in Africa (New York, New York:  Routledge, 2024) with Anne W. Njathi.  Her individual contributions to the volume were:  “Africa:  An Introduction to a Growing Digital Market” and “Trends in Public Relations and Marketing Research in Africa” with Njathi, pp. 1–11 and 193–204, respectively, and “The State of Public Relations Research in Africa,” pp. 12–28.

Matthew Wisnioski, Science, Technology, and Society, was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation for his project titled “The Magic School Bus and the Reanimation of American Science.”  Wisnioski is the Principal Investigator for the two-year grant, which totals almost $150,000 for Virginia Tech; he is collaborating with Michael Meindl, Radford University.  The project explores the history of “The Magic School Bus” and seeks to understand how multimedia, educational entertainment experiments transformed American science education.  Additional information about “The Magic School Bus” and Wisnioski’s project is available here.

Matthew Zimmerman, Communication, published Introduction to Sports Journalism (Champaign, Illinois:  Human Kinetics, 2025) with Lauren Burch and Brian Moritz.

2025

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