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Here is a roundup of faculty and staff at Alvernia who have made a difference inside and outside of the classroom.

Janae Sholtz, Ph.D. 
Professor of Philosophy / Coordinator of Women’s Gender Studies

Sholtz completed a residency as a Fulbright Specialist collaborating with faculty from North-West University in South Africa from May 15 to June 15. The project advanced research on areas of social inequality, situated knowledge and experience, and access to technologies in the light of posthuman and postcolonial concerns. Collaborations included joint presentations, with the anticipation of publication on contemporary trends related to designated areas. Sholtz also presented as an invited speaker at the North Texas Philosophy Association in April as well as the International Deleuze Studies Conference in the Netherlands in July and published “Commentary on Buchanan’s Schizoanalysis: The Unfinished Project” in Lebenswelt: Aesthetics and Philosophy of Experience Journal in July.

Mary Ann Durant, DNP, MSN, RN, M.Ed. 
Associate Professor of Nursing

Durant represented the Sigma International Nursing Honor Society as president of Alvernia’s Upsilon Zeta Chapter in November during the 47th Biennial Convention in San Antonio, Texas. She also delivered a podium presentation at the 9th Annual Cultural Inclusion Institute Conference in San Antonio in April titled “A Joint Partnership Model: Academia, Healthcare Facilities, and Business Incubators: Engaging Innovative Recruiting and Retention Strategies for a Sustainable Workforce.”

Kris Lowrey, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Communication

Lowrey collaborated with Alvernia political science faculty Victoria Williams, Ph.D., and Nicholas Nicoletti, Ph.D., on a panel discussion titled “Ukrainian War: A One-Year Retrospective” during International Education Week. In addition, she was appointed to the board of directors for the Reading Film Office in December and volunteers with the Literacy Council of Reading-Berks as an ESL teacher.

Caroline Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.
Professor of Communication & Digital Media

Fitzpatrick served as a judge for the Critical Essay Convention Awards of the 2024 Centennial Convention, In Flux, of the Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society held in St. Louis. She also finished a two-year interim term on the executive board, bringing her 16-year tenure as an elected board member of the nonprofit organization to a close. She will continue to serve on the society’s Past Presidents’ Advisory Council.

Heather Keperling, Ed.D., RN 
Assistant Professor of Nursing

Keperling attended and presented at the 2024 International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses Annual Conference in Providence, R.I. The presentation was titled “Nursing Student Perceptions of Perseverance and Passion in Nursing Education.”

Colleen Rhoads, MSN, RN
Professional Specialist of Nursing

Heather Keperling, Ed.D., RN
Assistant Professor of Nursing

Cynthia Bickings, MSN, RN
Academic Clinical Coordinator, Professional Specialist, John and Karen Arnold School of Nursing

Keperling, Bickings and Rhoads published a teaching innovation in the peer-reviewed journal Nurse Educator. The article was entitled “Simulated End-of-Life Nursing Care Teaching: Clinical Simulation Investigation House.”

Joseph Mahoney, Ph.D.
Director, John R. Post School of Engineering

Mahoney published a peer-reviewed article in the open-access journal Sensors in January in collaboration with Matthew B. Rhudy and Allison R. Altman-Singles. The article, “Knee Angle Estimation with Dynamic Calibration Using Inertial Measurement Units for Running,” describes the researchers’ method for determining the knee angle of runners using small, unobtrusive, wearable devices (IMUs). Monitoring the knee angle – or other joint angles – can be important for training runners and predicting injury risk based on the range of motion.

Bongrae Seok, Ph.D. 
Professor of Philosophy

In the first half of 2024, Seok gave multiple academic presentations at prestigious international conferences. He presented “The World of Aesthetics and Beauty in the Eye of the Brain” at the 17th International Geo-aesthetics Conference (Towson University, Baltimore, March) and “Song Shi-Yeol’s Theory of Moral Mind and Its Implications on Ethics of Artificial Intelligence” at the 2024 International Conference on Confucian Humanism: Korean, Comparative, and Interdisciplinary Reflections (University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada, June). He also gave two presentations (“Xunzi’s Epistemology of the Heart-Mind and Fodorian System of Central Cognition” and “Dasan Jeong Yak-Yong’s Interpretation of Toegye’s and Yulgok’s Theories of Moral Emotions and Its Implications on Moral Psychology and Practical Ethics of Self-Cultivation”) at the Eastern APA (American Philosophical Association) conference (New York, January). In addition, he was interviewed by Gyosu Sinmun from the Korean Higher Education Newspaper regarding his recent publication on AI and Buddhism (“Future of Artificial Intelligence and the Buddha Algorithm” published in South Korea by Philosophic). He was invited to join several book projects on moral psychology of desire and boredom by Routledge and Oxford University Press. He is preparing a book chapter on the therapeutic effects of art and music (“Healing and Aesthetic Experience: Art, Music, and the Pandemic”) to be published by Springer.

Ana Ruiz, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology

Ruiz published a peer-reviewed article entitled “Service-learning: An Empirically Driven and Transformational Pedagogy to Develop Psychologically Literate Citizens for Contemporary Challenges” with Roger N. Reeb, Tia N. Turner, Robert G. Bringle and Patti H. Clayton in the journal Psychology Learning and Teaching.
Ruiz also received a Faculty Excellence Grant in the summer to prepare the conference presentation “Civic Identity: Why Is It Important, What Does It Mean, and How Might We Cultivate It?”

Thomas G. Porrazzo, Ph.D. 
Professor of Healthcare Science; Chair, Healthcare Science Department 

Dolores Bertoti, DPT, PT 
Professor of Physical Therapy  

Karen S. Thacker, Ph.D., RN 
Professor of Nursing  

Bertoti, Porrazzo and Thacker presented at the International Teaching Learning Cooperative’s Lilly Conference from May 20 to 22 in Austin, Texas. “Teaching Strategies for Shaping Professional Behaviors” described how professional behaviors and personal responsibility in students can be intentionally shaped to meet graduate school and healthcare workforce expectations. Several strategies were demonstrated, including observational modeling, intentional advisement, and the application of value-based problem-solving.