Southwestern has awarded $114,004 in funds for 2011-2012 that will enable faculty members to travel to conferences or conduct research that will enhance their teaching and further their academic careers. A total of 44 faculty members received funding for their proposals.

  • Bob Bednar, associate professor of communication studies, received $1,865 to write the last chapter of his book titled Road Scars: Trauma, Memory and Automobility.
  • Athletic trainers Miguel Benavides, Shawna Loberg and Abigail Petrecca each received $1,200 to attend the National Athletic Trainers Association meeting in New Orleans in June.
  • Shana Bernstein, assistant professor of history, received $3,000 for a research project on racial and ethnic policies in California and Texas from 1910-1975.
  • Erika Berroth, associate professor of German, received $3,500 to attend a conference in England and conduct research in Germany.
  • Laura Senio-Blair, associate professor of Spanish, received $1,129 to attend conferences in Barcelona and Seattle. 
  • Romi Burks, associate professor of biology, received $4,300 to accompany three Southwestern students on a research trip to Brazil or Uruguay over Winter Break in 2011.
  • Melissa Byrnes, assistant professor of history, received $4,653 to spend six weeks in France conducting research for a book on the integration of North African migrants.
  • Reggie Byron, assistant professor of sociology, received $2,097 for a research project on the relationship between pregnancy and job discrimination.
  • Angeles Rodriguez Cadena, assistant professor of Spanish, received $510 for membership fees for three professional organizations.
  • Music Professors Bruce Cain and David Asbury received $7,800 to create and record eight new works for guitar and voice.
  • Eileen Cleere, professor of English, received $2,302 to attend the 2011 North American Victorian Studies Association Conference.
  • Sergio Costola, associate professor of theatre, received $1,080 to produce an original full-length opera about Hypatia of Alexandria. The opera will premiere in Bulgaria in spring 2012.
  • Elaine Craddock, professor of religion, received $6,077 for a six-week research trip to India.   
  • Steven Davidson, professor of history, received $1,377 to support research on the changing nature of kingship in China following the fall of the Han dynasty.
  • Carlos De Oro, assistant professor of Spanish, received $2,000 to present a paper at a conference in Colombia in August.
  • Abigail Dings, assistant professor of Spanish, received $1,200 to give a presentation at the 2012 American Association for Applied Linguistics Conference in Boston.
  • Alisa Gaunder, associate professor of political science, received $3,715 to conduct research on the different roles of conservative women in Japan and Germany.
  • Fay Guarraci, assistant professor of psychology, received $2,865 to continue her research on how drugs of abuse interact with sexual motivation and to attend the 2011 meeting of the Endocrine Society in Boston.   
  • Jason Hoogerhyde, assistant professor of music, received $4,500 to attend the College Music Society’s international conference in South Korea this summer at which a new piano trio he wrote will be premiered. Kiyoshi Tamagawa, professor of music, received $4,000 to travel to Korea to perform the piece.
  • Thomas Howe, professor of art history, received $2,500 for travel to the Stabiae archaeological site in Italy.
  • Julia Johnson, assistant professor of communication studies, received $1,200 to attend the National Leadership Forum sponsored by the Office of Women in Higher Education this summer.
  • Alison Kafer, assistant professor of feminist studies, received $1,500 to attend the Society for Disability Studies Conference in San Jose, Calif., this summer.
  • Michael Kamen, associate professor of education, received $2,500 to give a presentation at the International Society for Cultural Activity Research’s 2011 meeting in Rome.
  • Shannon Mariotti, assistant professor of political science, received $3,353 to support her research on the politics of 19th century transcendentalism and to give a presentation at the American Political Science Association conference in September.
  • Francis Mathieu, assistant professor of French, received $2,000 to travel to France to conduct research at the French National Library in Paris. 
  • Thom McClendon, professor of history, received $1,077 to work on a book he is compiling titled The South Africa Reader.
  • Aaron Prevots, associate professor of French, received $4,115 to travel to Paris to conduct research for a book on French writer Jacques Reda.
  • Carl Robertson, associate professor of Chinese, received $2,815 to travel to North Carolina to conduct research for a book on criticism of the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West.
  • Katy Ross, assistant professor of Spanish, received $2,025 to attend the Asociacion de Literatura y Cultura Femenina Hispanica Conference in Spain in October.
  • Eileen Meyer Russell, associate professor of music, received $2,250 for a CD project.
  • Michael Saenger, associate professor of English, received $1,615 to help produce a collection of essays on interlinguicity and internationality in the English Renaissance.
  • Glenn Schwab, head athletic trainer, received $1,070 to attend the Southwest Athletic Trainers Association Clinical Symposium in Houston in July.
  • Rebecca Sheller, associate professor of biology, received $3,615 to continue her research on breast cancer. 
  • Bob Snyder, professor of political science, received $550 to attend a conference at George Washington University in June on how faculty members can make their academic work relevant to policymakers.
  • Dustin Tahmahkera, assistant professor of communication studies, received $3,228 to attend the American Studies Association Conference in Baltimore in October and to support research for his book titled Tribal Televisions: Decolonized Viewing, Sitcoms and Indigeneity.
  • Max Taub, associate professor of biology, received $1,615 for research on the effects of global change on plant chemistry.
  • Davi Thornton, assistant professor of communication studies, received $3,703 to to attend two conferences and conduct research on James Meredith’s 1966-1967 March Across Mississippi.
  • Maria Todd, associate professor of biology, received $2,000 for research on breast cancer cells that express abnormally high levels of claudin-3 protein.
  • Star Varner, professor of art, received $2,200 to create two new prints and to attend a workshop in San Francisco.
  • Mary Visser, professor of art, received $7,500 to conduct research in Paris on the new field of cybersculpture.