UNIVERSITY NEWS
University News
DRUMMING UP SUPPORT
It t has been a jam-packed fall semester for the Incomparable Golden Rams Marching Band as they prepare to march in the 135th Rose Parade presented by Honda in Pasadena, CA, on Monday, January 1, 2024.
In September, the band celebrated “Rose Parade Weekend” by welcoming Tournament of Roses President Alex Aghajanian to campus. Aghajanian attended the band’s final rehearsal before the first home football game of the season and presented band members with official Rose Parade pins and posters. Representatives from the City of Philadelphia were also on hand to present Aghajanian with a special Liberty Bell gift. On Saturday, the band premiered its 2023 halftime show, “In Bloom,” with themes and music that tie to the band’s Rose Parade appearance, and Aghajanian a Tournament of Roses flag to President Christopher Fiorentino.
From Friday, October 6, through Sunday, October 8, the band hosted “Community Days” to rally helping hands to create the Philly-themed panels that will process with the band in the Rose Parade. Throughout the weekend, volunteers logged more than 500 hours using 27 gallons of glue, cranberry seed, black onion seed, white rice, Italian hot pepper flakes, and other all-natural materials specific to Rose Parade standards to create banners that depict Independence Hall, the Love statue, and the Liberty Bell.
Don’t miss the Incomparable Golden Rams on Friday, December 1, in the West Chester Christmas Parade. The band will debut their new uniforms and preview their Rose Parade performance!
It’s not too late to make a gift to the RamBand Road to the Roses ’24 initiative!
Dara Dirhan Named Outstanding Dietetic Educator by National and State Organizations
Dara Dirhan ’10, M’12, associate professor of nutrition and director of WCU’s Didactic Program in Dietetics, has been recognized by both the Nutrition and Dietetic Educators and Preceptors (NDEP) and the Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (PAND) as Outstanding Dietetic Educator.
"Receiving these awards on both the national and state levels has been a very humbling experience,” said Dirhan. “Each day, I make a concerted effort to be the best professor that I can be by employing the most effective teaching strategies and techniques, by putting my students’ needs first to help them to succeed, and by being a kind and approachable person whom students can turn to for guidance and advice. These awards give me confidence that my efforts are paying off.”
Dirhan’s research centers on best practices in teaching and learning pedagogy, including game-based learning, and studying student outcomes among undergraduate nutrition students. Her current research focuses on studying mindfulness in undergraduate nutrition students, intuitive eating, presence among educators, and advocating for the inclusion of nutrition as a general education course requirement in the undergraduate curriculum. Given the success and impact the introductory nutrition course has had in fulfilling the science general education requirement at WCU, she is surveying institutions across the country as to whether or not they offer nutrition courses in their general education curriculum.
Dirhan earned her doctorate in educational leadership and management with a concentration in higher education from Drexel University and became a full-time assistant professor at WCU in fall 2016.
NDEP, a unit of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, consists of more than 1,350 educator and preceptor members; its mission is to advocate for and empower educators and preceptors to lead the profession of nutrition and dietetics. The Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, an affiliate of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is the advocate of the dietetics profession serving the public through the promotion of optimal nutrition, health, and well-being with nearly 3,700 members throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
“These awards give me confidence that my efforts are paying off.”
- Dara Dirhan ’10, M’12, associate professor of nutrition and director of WCU’s Didactic
Program in Dietetics
WCU Recognized as One of the 50 Most Community-minded Employers in the Region
The University has been named a 2023 honoree of the Civic 50 Greater Philadelphia by Philadelphia Foundation in partnership with Points of Light and local partners. Modeled after Points of Light’s national program, the Civic 50 Greater Philadelphia provides a standard for corporate citizenship and showcases how employers use their time, skills, and resources to drive social impact in their communities and companies.
The Civic 50 honorees are both private and public companies and other employers operating in the Philadelphia region. They have been selected based on four dimensions of their community engagement programs:
- Investment of resources
- Integration across business functions
- Institutionalization through policies and system
- Impact measurement
Community engagement is integral to the University and is part of WCU’s strategic plan, Pathways to Student Success, which illustrates how the University aligns with the Civic 50 dimensions.
“Philadelphia Foundation is proud to recognize West Chester University’s outstanding civic engagement,” said Pedro Ramos, president and chief executive officer of Philadelphia Foundation. “All of the 2023 honorees have demonstrated great passion and dedication to making a meaningful impact in the local communities they serve. It is this type of commitment that resonates throughout the region and sets the standard for corporate stewardship.”
The Civic 50 Greater Philadelphia assessment is administered by True Impact, a company specializing in helping organizations maximize and measure their social and business value and consists of quantitative and multiple-choice questions that inform the scoring process.
(L to R) Pedro Ramos, president, Philadelphia Foundation; Helen Hammerschmidt, associate vice president for Communication, Operations, and Strategy, WCU Provost Office; Rita Patel-Eng, director, WCU Center for Civic Engagement and Social Impact; Diane Melley, executive director and senior advisor, Philadelphia Foundation; and Diane Quest, interim president and CEO, Points of Light Foundation.
WCU Named a Four-time HEED Award Recipient
For the fourth consecutive year, WCU earned the 2023 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. The HEED Award is the only national honor to recognize institutions of higher education for their outstanding commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
West Chester is one of only seven Pennsylvania colleges selected for this honor this year.
“The HEED Award demonstrates engagement in a wide array of best practices, in addition to innovation and a collective commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. This award is all about what we do, not just what we say,” said WCU Vice President for the Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Tracey Robinson. “Diversity is broadly defined and this award recognizes how the University goes the extra mile.”
WCU was selected for these initiatives:
- WCU’s Student Parent Task Force developed programming and plans in consultation with the statewide Pennsylvania Parent Pathways program to improve both recruitment and retention of pregnant and parenting students. Efforts focused on the identification of resources and systems to support parenting students; development of a listserv of 448 parenting students; and an educational series of six community-building events. The online resource repository is available 24/7.
- The Center for STEM Inclusion (CSI) in the College of the Sciences and Mathematics, established in 2021, works to increase access to STEM careers for a diverse body of students, with programming conducted by a large and enthusiastic faculty committee. CSI has four pillars: outreach, access, persistence, and career readiness. Each pillar represents a range of activities to support diverse STEM students and strengthen the STEM pipeline. The outreach pillar encompasses K-12 engagement and includes two one-day hands-on events: Super Science Saturday and the Science Saturday Expo. CSI was also recognized by INSIGHT Into Diversity with a separate honor: a 2023 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award.
- During the 2022-2023 academic year, WCU hosted workshops and programming on Antisemitism and Islamophobia, and funded an Innovation in Diversity and Inclusion Grant: WCU Interfaith, Meaning-Making, and Spirituality Project.
WCU is featured along with the 108 other recipients in the November/December 2023 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.
“We look for institutions where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being done every day across their campus,” noted Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.
Anthropologist Paul Stoller: Surrounded by the Spirits
This fall, the WCU Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology honored the life work of renowned Professor of Anthropology Paul Stoller, who lived with and studied the Songhay people of Niger, in the exhibit “Surrounded by the Spirits: Paul Stoller and the Songhay Journey Toward Wellbeing.” The exhibit, curated by students in Michael Di Giovine’s museum studies course, invites visitors to experience the culture of West Africa and gain profound insights into holistic healing practices that place humans in harmony with the social, natural, and spiritual worlds. It runs through December 1, 2023.
The center of the exhibition is a large mud spirit hut, a recreation of the spirit hut used by Stoller’s mentor, the possession priest Adamu Jenitongo. On the ceiling inside are illuminated constellations from the summer sky in Niger, evoking the cosmos and allowing visitors to contemplate their own wellbeing.
On the WCU faculty since 1980, Stoller plans to retire in 2024. In 2013, the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography selected him to receive the Anders Retzius Medal in Gold — anthropology’s highest honor and the field’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize — for his scientific contributions to anthropology. He is the author of 16 books and recipient of multiple awards and grants including a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Digital History Project
Gives Voice to Ukrainian Youth
Few understand the first-hand effects of war. WCU Professors of History Bob Kodosky and Janneken Smucker, both known for engaging students in dynamic projects that prompt introspective thinking, wanted their students to do more than just watch a plethora of news stories related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. To make a lasting impression, Kodosky and Smucker preferred that their history students learn directly from the authentic voices and experiences of students currently living in Ukraine. Kodosky and Smucker also wanted the experience to be immersive and collaborative; it was to take place in Saarbrücken, Germany.
Joining forces this spring with faculty colleagues at Saarland University in Germany, Ukrainian Catholic University, and Temple University, Kodosky and Smucker established an “international summer school” as a collaborative class designed to initiate a powerful exchange between youth from Ukraine, Germany/Europe and the U.S. While in Germany for one week in April during a class entitled “Witnessing and Documenting Wartime Experiences: The Current Russian War in Ukraine, Historical Perspectives, and Global Alliances,” students from both West Chester and Saarland universities met with 10 students from Ukraine to listen, talk, and understand.
“We want to bring students of the Great Region (SaarLorLux+) together with students from Mykolaiv and Lviv, Ukraine, and West Chester University to have them engage in a serious dialogue about lives during wartimes in borderlands,” reads a course statement of purpose written by faculty to student participants. “In doing comparative and practical work in Border Studies and digital history, we hope that you will learn from each other.”
While the summer school class has since ended, critical post-work is now being finished —digital storytelling projects involving one-on-one interviews with the Ukrainian youth. Thanks to the narratives-in-the-making, the voices of these survivors will hopefully serve as important lessons learned for many years to come.
FOREST FEST
Celebrating 50 Years of the Gordon Natural Area
Inclement weather did not dampen the spirits of University and community members who celebrated the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the Robert B. Gordon Natural Area for Environmental Studies (GNA) with a Forest Fest on September 23. Sykes Student Union Ballrooms buzzed with family-friendly demonstrations and activities from WCU student organizations, departments, and offices plus Temple University’s Integrative Ecology Lab. Partners including the West Chester Green Team, Stroud Water Research Center, Goose Creek Alliance, Penn State Master Gardeners of Chester County, and others brought exhibits and environmental enthusiasm.
Also participating were members of the Delaware Tribe of Indians, who consulted on the Lenape language on new signage highlighting the Lenape Tribe’s relationship with the land that is now part of the GNA. Professor of Anthropology Heather Wholey was instrumental in bringing them to the event and bringing awareness to the pre-colonial cultures that existed here long before the University was established.
The GNA is the site for hundreds of hours of research by WCU faculty and students including studies on natural succession, emerald ash borers, and invasive plant management.
WCU Biology Professor Jessica Schedlbauer, who chaired the Forest Fest committee, is one of many WCU faculty who use the GNA as a living laboratory. One of her research areas is carbon storage and cycling in forest ecosystems. Her work engages undergraduate students in addressing issues of climate change, land-use change, and ecosystem management.
Of West Chester University’s 406 acres, the GNA comprises more than 126 acres of preserved forest and open space on South Campus used for environmental studies, reflection, and recreation. On the heels of the first Earth Day in 1970, the GNA was protected from development in 1971 and officially dedicated in 1973. It has been designated a Wild Plant Sanctuary by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
(L to R) Chief of the Delaware Tribe of Indians Brad Kills Crow, WCU President Christopher Fiorentino, Delaware tribe of Indians representative Jeremy Johnson
Susan Fiorentino ’86
It takes all of us to advance, empower, and support women leaders so all workplaces can thrive.
The Fund for Women and Girls Honors Susan Fiorentino ’86 with Woman of Distinction Award
WCU Professor of Management Susan Fiorentino ’86, J.D., was recently honored and celebrated by The Fund for Women and Girls for her work as a lawyer, professor, researcher, speaker, and more. During its seventh annual Champions of Change Breakfast held this fall, The Fund presented Fiorentino with the Gladys Black “Woman of Distinction” Award. The highly respected award is named in memory of Gladys Black, a long-time advocate of The Fund and a renowned supporter of women and girls in Chester County.
“We are so excited to have someone as accomplished at supporting women in the workplace as Susan as our awardee,” said Kim Andrews, executive director of The Fund. “The Fund celebrates not just the extraordinary achievements of individuals, corporations, and nonprofits advancing women in the workplace, but the unstoppable spirit that drives them to break barriers and champion change.”
With expertise in the area of employment and labor law, Fiorentino has conducted extensive research on legal issues pertaining to women in the workplace, including pay equity and sexual harassment.
Fiorentino helped launch the University’s master of science in human resource management program, which has experienced tremendous growth since its inception in 2016. She teaches courses related to human resource management, such as employment and labor law, employee relations, and issues of employee health in the workplace. Prior to her transition to academia, she was a full-time attorney with a practice in employment and labor law, where she represented both employers and employees in personnel matters. She maintains a limited law practice, providing employment and labor law counseling to clients. She is also actively engaged in the human resource community and serves as faculty advisor to WCU’s student HR Association.
“I am deeply honored to be recognized by such an esteemed organization as The Fund for Women and Girls and to be included among such an extraordinary group of Champions of Change awardees,” said Fiorentino. “It takes all of us to advance, empower, and support women leaders so all workplaces can thrive.”
Fiorentino is also a staunch advocate and supporter of student success in her active role as the First Lady of West Chester University.
In addition, The Fund also recognized Countryside Consulting, Inc. as a Champions of Change Corporate Awardee, as well as Chester County OIC as a WSFS Nonprofit Workforce Development Awardee.
My Ukraine
WCU’s Department of Art + Design is hosting “My Ukraine” through December 9, 2023 in Baker Gallery. Also acting as a fundraiser for You Are The Angel, a New York-based non-profit that provides support for the victims of the war in Ukraine, My Ukraine includes selections from the art collection of Ukrainian curator and former WCU Professor Igor Roussanoff. The exhibit is presented in conjunction with the Dept. of Theatre & Dance’s production of the U.S. premiere of Me, War and Toy Grenade, which ran November 16 – 19. In a series of vignettes, Ukrainian playwright Nina Zakhozhenko spotlights how the people of Ukraine are coping during this time of war. Pictured L-R: Associate Professor of Art Andrew Snyder, Professor Emeritus of Art John Baker ’74, Professor Daria Nikitina, Carnegie Mellon University’s Susan Tsu, exhibit curator and former WCU Professor Igor Roussanoff, WCU President Chris Fiorentino, and William Patterson University President Richard Helldobler.
Research and Grant
Funding Updates
HEATHER WHOLEY, professor and chair of anthropology and sociology: Tribal Specialist Program development and archaeological monitoring; National Park Services (NPS), $240,465
This partnership between the National Park Foundation (NPF), NPS, and WCU will provide archeological co-training with Tribal Historic Preservation Officers and the NPS Northeast Archaeological Resource Program to youth tribal members, enabling them to participate in archeological monitoring on Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) projects occurring on their ancestral homelands. The training supports resource stewardship practices on park lands and provides job-training and career development opportunities
BRANDON MITCHELL, professor of physics: National Science Foundation (NSF) ExpandQISE, $797,576
Classical information technologies use optical interconnects to relay information between different media platforms. These interconnects relay digital ones and zeros as pulses with light on and off, respectively. For classical technologies, it is not necessary to precisely control how many photons are emitted or detected, only to be able to distinguish bright from dark. Quantum information technologies require quantum interconnects that can transmit single pairs of entangled photons, which is much more challenging, and requires a source of single photons. This project investigates Er-doped GaAs devices with the ultimate aim of developing an electrically pumped singlephoton device.
MAHRUKH AZAM, professor and chair of chemistry: Keystone LSAMP, NSF $804,108
WCU is one of four PASSHE institutions funded through the NSF-Keystone Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program for $3.5 million, with the sub-award to WCU for $804,108. The ultimate outcome of this award is to actively recruit and retain the STEM graduates from marginalized populations. Keystone scholars will be provided with opportunities to increase their success as a STEM major, link STEM research and curriculum with aspects of social justice (STEMJ) and increase their STEM identity. Strategies include a summer bridge program, research, mentoring, and Alliance-specific curriculum and co-curricular activities.
$240,465
NATIONAL PARK SERVICES
$797,576
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION EXPANDQISE
$804,108
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
KEYSTONE LOUIS STOKES ALLIANCES
FOR MINORITY PARTICIPATION
More from the Fall/Winter 2023 Issue
Drumming Up Support
It has been a jam-packed fall semester for the Incomparable Golden Rams Marching Band
News
News
Stacking Up
WCU achieves notable rankings in U.S. News
Profiles
Donors:
Michele & Eric Goodwin
Supplying tools for success
Alumni:
Tracy ’91 & Mark Sammarone ’84
A lifestyle of community involvement
Student:
Madison Richter
Sails into Study Abroad