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.

Katie Carmichael, English, published “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, with Aaron Dinkin; and “Yats No More:  Intergenerational Change and the Development of the ‘New’ New Orleans Vowel System,” Publication of the American Dialect Society 109.1 (2024):  62–87.

François Debrix, Political Science and ASPECT Core Faculty, published “The End of Neoliberalism?  Byung-Chul Han’s and Yoko Ogawa’s Rediscovery of Contemplation in Accelerated Times,” Results of Scholarly Work 5.1 (November 2024):  40–55.

The Virginia Tech Ethics Bowl Team competed in the Chesapeake Regional Ethics Bowl on December 7, 2024.  Hosted by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the event was a daylong competition for 16 teams of undergraduate students engaging in ethical analysis and debate.  The Virginia Tech team was undefeated (6-0) in its matches, winning the competition and earning a spot in the national competition in February.  The team consisted of:  Greyson Hunziker, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE); Gaurav Jones, Experimental Neuroscience; Jesse Macklin, Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience and Philosophy; Sam Peden, Philosophy, Mathematics, and Political Science; Sean Scott, Computer Science and Philosophy; and Alisha Waddell, PPE and Sociology.  The faculty coach for the team is Justin Horn, Philosophy.

Lillian Frost, Political Science, published “Citizenship in the Shadow of Law: Identifying the Origins, Effects, and Operation of Legal Ambiguity in Jordan,” Law & Society Review 58.4 (2024):  573–606, with Steven D. Schaaf.

Gregory Galford, Apparel, Housing, and Resource Management, published “Design and the Constitution of Semantic or Conceptual Meaning,” Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics 48.1 (Spring 2025):  86–96, with Jeremy Barris.

Jim Garrison, Professor Emeritus of Education, published the following:  “Potentiality and Actuality in Peirce and Dewey,” European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy 16.2 (2024):  218–38; “Where is Daisaku Ikeda Now?  Immortality in Philosophical Practice,” Philosophical Practice 19.3 (2024):  3389–97; “Refurbishing Learning Via Complexity Theory:  Buddhist Co-origination Meets Pragmatic Transactionalism,” Educational Philosophy and Theory 56.5 (2024):  420–28; “Poignant Experiences and the Nonteleological Teachable Moment, Éducation et didactique 18.33 (2024):  91–110, with Leif Östman and Katrien Van Poeck; and “Anthropocosmism:  An Eastern Humanist Approach to the Anthropocene,” Environmental Education Research 30.7 (2024):  1161–76.  In addition, Garrison was the subject of “Teaching as Art:  Love and Wisdom.  An Interview with American Professor in Philosophy of Education, Dr. Jim Garrison,” Teacher Development Research 8.2 (2024):  1–8; the interview by Huajun Zhang was published in Chinese.

The Colleges notes with deep sadness the death of Nikki Giovanni, University Distinguished Professor Emerita of English, on December 9, 2024.  An acclaimed poet, activist, and leader of the Black Arts Movement, Giovanni is known around the world for poetry, essays, and other writings that examine social issues and call for action.  The recipient of more than 30 honorary degrees, she published more than three dozen books for children and adults and won an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking for “Going to Mars:  The Nikki Giovanni Project.”  Along with the late Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger, she created the annual Giovanni-Steger Poetry Prize Award in 2006, which provides monetary prizes for undergraduate student poets.  In 2010 she and her wife Virginia Fowler, Professor Emerita of English, established the Fowler-Giovanni Fund, a legacy gift to support initiatives for visiting scholars and students in the Department of English.  A graduate of Fisk University, Giovanni joined the Virginia Tech community in 1987 and retired in 2022.  In 2023 she was the fifth recipient of Virginia Tech’s Ut Prosim Scholar Award.  Additional information can be found in the Virginia Tech In Memoriam, the New York Times obituary, and the Washington Post obituary; tributes submitted to honor Giovanni’s memory are posted here.

Fallon Graham, a doctoral student in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, received a Love of Learning Award from the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.  The $1,000 awards are designed to help fund post-baccalaureate professional development for active Phi Kappa Phi members, including graduate or professional studies, doctoral dissertations, continuing education, travel related to teaching and research, and career development.

Anthony Kwame Harrison, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Sociology, published “Scoring the Ethnographic Episode,” The Creative Ethnographer’s Notebook, ed. Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor and Kristina Jacobsen (New York, New York: Routledge, 2025), pp. 39–42.

Erin Hopkins, Apparel, Housing, and Resource Management, published “Housing Choice and the Importance of Ecological Sustainability:  Do Demographics Influence Sentiment?” in International Journal of Home Economics 17.1 (2024):  152–62.

Gerard Lawson, Professor of Counselor Education and Interim Director of the School of Education, was reappointed to the Virginia Board of Counseling by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.  Lawson previously served on the Board from 2021 until June 30, 2024.  The Board licenses, certifies, and registers individuals serving in the Commonwealth of Virginia in various counseling roles, including rehabilitation and substance abuse counselors, marriage and family therapists, and mental health professionals.

ASPECT doctoral student Jessica Long presented “Abuse and Hypocrisy:  What American #exvangelicals Are Saying in Their X Posts About #deconstruction” at the National Communication Association 2024 Annual Convention, which took place November 21–24, 2024,  in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Timothy Luke, University Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science, published “Climate Change Deniers versus Climate Change Decriers:  The Pragmatics of Climate Defense in the Age of Disinformation,” Fast Capitalism 21.1 (2024):  103–15.

Carol Mullen, Education, published “Harnessing Motivation, Self-efficacy, and Self-regulation:   Dale H. Schunk’s Enduring Influence,” Educational Psychology Review 36.4 (2024), Article 139, with Héfer Bembenutty et al.  Her individual contribution was the section titled “Bridging Mentoring and Self-Regulation Research.”  

Rhetoric and Writing major Temitope Ojedele-Adejumo, Political Science and Technical and Scientific Communication major Hailey Richards, and Assistant Professor of English Julie Gerdes presented “A Qualitative Case Study of Unvaccinated Blood Conflict in Clinical Contexts” with Heidi Lawrence and Katy Morejon Portillo at the 2024 Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens Infectious Disease Research Symposium, which took place October 11, 2024, at The Inn at Virginia Tech.  Additional information about Richards’ involvement with the research project is available here.

ASPECT doctoral student Rebekah Mui Pei Ern presented “Fellowship of His Suffering:  An Anabaptist Exploration of Cruciform Ecclesiology in Light of Gendered and Sexual Violence” at the American Academy of Religion 2024 Annual Meeting, which took place November 23–26, 2024, in San Diego, California.

ASPECT Visiting Graduate Researcher João Peleja published “Platform Work and Marx’s Theory of Value:  A Literature Review,” Sociologia del Lavoro 169 (2024):  99–113, with Laura Gontijo. 

Joel Peters was appointed Director of the School of Public and International Affairs.  Based in Arlington, Peters is a Professor of Government and International Affairs; he joined the Virginia Tech community in 2006.  His research specialties include global security, conflict resolution, Israeli political and foreign policy, and the Arab-Israeli peace process.  Previously, he held positions at the University of Reading and at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; he also served as a research fellow at Chatham House, a research institute in London.  Peters earned his bachelor’s degree from the London School of Economics and his Ph.D. from the University of Oxford.

Department of Sociology faculty members Duane Gill and Liesel Ritchie coedited the Encyclopedia of Technological Hazards and Disasters in the Social Sciences (Cheltenham, United Kingdom:  Edward Elgar, 2024), with Nnenia A. Campbell.  Together they contributed:  “Conservation of Resources Theory,” “Corrosive Community,” “Etiology,” “Exxon Valdez Oil Spill,” “M/V Selendang Ayu Shipwreck and Oil Spill,” “Secondary Trauma,” and “Techna Hazards and Disasters,” pp. 159–65, 173–79, 247–53, 259–70, 432–37, 569–71, and 632–35, respectively.   Gill’s individual contributions were:  “Introduction to Encyclopedia of Technological Hazards and Disasters in the Social Sciences,” “Buffalo Creek, WV:  Dam Collapse and Flood (USA),” “Dam Failures with Floods as Techna Disasters,” “Darvaza Gas Crater (Turkmenistan),” “Impact of Event Scale,” “Livingston, Louisiana, Train Derailment (USA),” “Renewable Resource Community,” and “Structural Ritualization Theory” with Kevin Johnson and J. David Knottnerus,” pp. 1–3, 64–71, 180–87, 188–90, 374–79, 410–13, 543–48, and 612–16,  respectively.  Those of Ritchie were:  “Community Capitals and Technological Hazards and Disasters” with Adam M. Straub, “Litigation and Compensation Psychosocial Outcomes,” “Ontological Security and Technological Hazards and Disasters,” “Primary Responsible Party” with Sociology doctoral student Erin Boyle and Sociology alumna Victoria Thompson, “Recreancy in Technological Hazards and Disasters,” “Social Capital and Technological Hazards and Disasters” with Boyle, Sociology doctoral student Makenna Clark, and Straub, and “Tennessee Valley Authority Kingston Fossil Plant Coal Ash Spill (USA)” with Sociology alumna Kathryn Hamilton, pp. 143–51, 406–09, 472–79, 513–18, 529–35, 582–91, and 647–50, respectively.  In addition, Boyle contributed “Grassy Narrows Mercury Poisoning (Canada)” as well as “Times Beach, Missouri:  Dioxin Contamination (USA)” with Hamilton and Thompson, pp. 291–94 and 685–88, respectively; and Sociology doctoral student Nicole Zdrojewski contributed “Superstorm Sandy (USA),” pp. 622–31.

The State of the College 2024 event, which recognized outstanding accomplishments of faculty and staff and served as a welcome to new faculty, took place October 24, 2024.  Dean Laura Belmonte delivered remarks at the fourth annual gathering, which also featured the following speakers:  Cana Itchuaqiyaq, English, who discussed plans for a Center for Equitable Research in the Arctic; Rishi Jaitly, Center for Humanities, who talked about the Institute for Leadership in Technology; Savannah Mandel, a Science and Technology Studies doctoral student, who described her research on human space exploration; Michael Moehler, Political Science and Director of the Kellogg Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics; Paul Quigley, James I. Robertson, Jr., Associate Professor of Civil War Studies in the Department of History, Director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies, and Director of the Center for Humanities, who commented on humanities initiatives; Emily Satterwhite, Religion and Culture, Edward S. Diggs Professor in Humanities, and Director of the Appalachian Studies program, who described the Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia project, which she codirects; Brett Shadle, History, who offered remarks on initiatives of the Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies, of which he serves as Associate Director of Outreach; and Yannis Stivachtis, Political Science and Director of the Center for European and Transatlantic Studies.  The event concluded with a video of Beyond Boundaries Scholar Rabihah Waheed, a junior Political Science major, and Julie Byrd, a 1995 VT English and History alumna and Beyond Boundaries Scholars donor, who serves as Waheed’s mentor.

Jenna Zan, English, published “Collective Rewor(l)ding in the Wreckage of Hauntings and Haunting Situations,” The Routledge Handbook of Rhetoric and Power, ed. Nathan Crick (New York, New York:  Routledge, 2025), pp. 293–310, with Romeo Garcia et al.

2024

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