Medaille College News

Dr. Matt Bowker

Dr. Matt Bowker’s book review, “The Need for Roots: a Review of Mark Bracher’s Radical Pedagogy,” was published in the December 2009 issue of Clio’s Psyche.

Bracher’s book argues that a psychodynamic understanding of identity structures and processes ought to be central to pedagogical strategy at all educational levels. Dr. Bowker’s article examines what may be gained and lost in the move away from more traditional approaches, while ultimately recommending Bracher’s work for its helpfulness in analyzing a widely misunderstood cause of educational failure.

He concurs that pedagogies that underestimate the importance of identity-integration or that are rooted in the identity-needs of institutions, administrators, or instructors, rather than those of students, can indeed sabotage meaningful learning. Dr. Bowker teaches in the interdisciplinary studies and humanities departments.

Dr. Ted Pelton’s novella, “Bartleby, the Sportscaster,” was reviewed by the Buffalo News ArtsBeat, following his reading at Medaille’s Write Thing Reading Series on January 28. Dr. Pelton is the founder and editor of Starcherone Books and professor of humanities at Medaille.

The Write Thing Reading Series at Medaille College continues on Thursday, February 11, 2010 with Lily Hoang at 7 p.m. in the Huber Hall Library at Medaille’s Buffalo Campus at Parkside and Rt. 198 in Buffalo.

Lily Hoang’s first book Parabola won the Chiasmus Press Un-Doing the Novel Contest in 2006. Her short novel Changing (Fairy Tale Review Press) received a PEN/Beyond Margins Award. She is also the author of the forthcoming novels The Evolutionary Revolution (Les Figues Press) and Invisible Women (StepSister Press), both due out in 2010. She is an Associate Editor of Starcherone Books.

The Write Thing Reading Series is the premiere visiting artist series among Buffalo’s educational institutions. Each semester, Medaille invites poets and fiction writers to campus for readings. Students at Medaille have the unique chance to meet up close and personal with Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award finalists, Guggenheim Fellowship recipients, and some of the most renowned international writers of today – as well as up-and-coming younger writers.

Dr. Richard Dulski, a senior adjunct in the Accelerated Learning Program atthe Amherst Campus, who has been teaching at Medaille since 1999 and is also coordinator for the Medaille Center for Leadership & Change MBA Business Initiatives, has been elected to the position of Vice President of the Big Train Operator (BTO) Garden Railway Club.

BTOC is an international organization focusing on the hobby of large scale (”G” or 1:22.5) indoor/outdoor model railroading and public education since 1967, with nearly 700 members throughout the world. As Dr. Dulski primarily instructs MBA courses in Global Business, Strategic Planning & Leadership, and the Integrative Research Capstone Course, this appointment furthers such professional activities, as well as both regional and local community involvement. Dr. Dulski is also a Past President of two local model train clubs, and currently an active participant, member and Board of Director.

Dr. Janet Gane, adjunct instructor in the Humanities Department, has been asked by McGraw-Hill Publishers to serve as a consultant and presenter for educators during 2010-11 academic year. Dr. Gane will conduct four webinars as well as serve as consultant for interactive and integrated learning in the humanities.

Student paintings from three sections of GEN 230: Creative Expression, taught by Mark Lavatelli, are available online at humanitiesdepartment.com.

Over 50 pieces are displayed, and show the result of the students’ study of the nature and history of art.

The Write Thing Reading Series at Medaille College continues on Thursday, January 28, 2010 with Ted Pelton at 7 p.m. in the Huber Hall Library at Medaille’s Buffalo Campus at Parkside and Rt. 198 in Buffalo.

In addition to being a professor in Medaille’s Humanities Department, Dr. Ted Pelton is the author of four books of fiction, most recently the novella, “Bartleby, the Sportscaster.” He has received both National Endowment for the Arts and Isherwood Fellowships for his fiction writing, and was selected as Best Fiction Writer in Western New York by Buffalo Spree magazine in 2006. His stories have been published in numerous venues, including Del Sol Review, Fiction International, Brooklyn Rail, and the anthologies The Art of Friction and Online Writing: The First Ten Years.

The Write Thing Reading Series is the premiere visiting artist series among Buffalo’s educational institutions. Each semester, Medaille invites poets and fiction writers to campus for readings. Students at Medaille have the unique chance to meet up close and personal with Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award finalists, Guggenheim Fellowship recipients, and some of the most renowned international writers of today – as well as up-and-coming younger writers.

The short story “Woodchuck vs. the Hank Williams Zombie,” written by Dr. Ted Pelton, professor of humanities, has been republished in Del Sol Review, the journal of WebdelSol.com.  The issue has been named after the story: “Woodchuck vs. the Hank Williams Zombie” issue.

The story previously appeared in Brooklyn Rail, where five previous stories from Dr. Pelton’s Woodchuck Stories series have appeared since 2007. The Buffalo News ArtsBeat also featured this story in November.

Dr. Alan Bigelow, professor of humanities, has a new digital story online at webyarns.com. “Archetypal Africa” takes a look at common objects in everyday life, and their symbolic resonance within myth and culture. The piece plays with fact and fiction as it leads the user toward an opportunity to define their own archetypal moment.

Dr. Robert Tian, associate professor of business administration, recently published his paper, “Xinjiang and the Greater Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation,” in the Journal of Applied Business and Economics. This paper is a follow up study about Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and its role in Central Asian regional economic development. Read the rest of this entry »