Salem State University faculty and staff are educators, scholars, and leaders in their respective fields. Following are highlights and accolades celebrating the outstanding research and creative activities conducted by Salem State faculty and staff in September 2024
Professor Lorri Krebs Featured on Canadian National News Regarding Post Wildfire Recovery, National Parks and Tourism Re-opening
Professor Krebs from the Department of Geography and Sustainability was interviewed by CBC (Edmonton, Canada) for her thoughts on sustainable tourism and resilience as Jasper National Park recovers from a devastating wildlife that swept through two months ago destroying much of the town and infrastructure in its path.
Geological Sciences Faculty presented their research at the GSA Annual Meeting
Dr. Erkan Toraman and Dr. Gavin Gleasman from SSU's Geological Sciences faculty showcased their latest research at the Geological Society of America's 2024 Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California. Dr. Toraman gave a presentation on a newly developed teaching module focused on subduction zone metamorphism, which he co-created with collaborators from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Gleasman presented two talks, one addressing the effects of Hurricane Ian on carbon dioxide flux in South Carolina and the other focusing on wildfires.
SSU to Swear In First Woman Police Chief
The first woman to lead public safety at Salem State University was ceremonially sworn in at a ceremony held on Sept. 24.
While she’s the first woman to occupy the role in the university’s history, she’s far from the first woman in her family to move through Salem State, she explained in her recent .
“I’m actually a fourth-generation graduate of Salem State – my great-grandmother, grandmother, mom, and now me,” Murphy said, recalling the time she spent as a child on campus. “As a child, I would come to Salem State’s athletic events and participate in various camps.”
- Chief Trish Murphy
Keene State, SSU Partner to Host Holocaust Archaeology Pioneer
Salem State University has partnered with Keene State College in New Hampshire to bring an internationally recognized Holocaust archaeologist to campus.
The two institutions have partnered to bring to the United States professor Caroline Sturdy Colls, a professor from United Kingdom’s University of Huddersfield and pioneer of a newly developed sub-discipline of archaeology focusing on Holocaust sites.
Faculty Recognized In Bulgaria For Teaching Theater as an Agent For Change
SALEM, MASS – Julie Kiernan, an associate professor of theater and speech communication, is being spotlighted in media abroad for her Fulbright work this past 2023-24 academic year.
Kiernan, alongside three other faculty on their own Fulbright journeys to different parts of the world, taught students at New Bulgarian University in Sofia, Bulgaria on how to use theater to offer commentary on societal issues.
Her work was featured by Fulbright Bulgaria.
Fossil Fuel Ties to Universities Exposed by Dr. Noel Healy and Team
Fossil fuel companies have infiltrated academia and higher education, threatening to bias research and undermine meaningful climate action, new research from six universities concludes.
The study uncovers hundreds of real or apparent conflicts of interest for various researchers and universities, with oil and gas companies and their representatives funding climate and energy research to the tune of tens to hundreds of millions of dollars per year, sitting on university governing boards, endowing academic posts, sponsoring scholarships, and lectures, advising curricula, and more.
Professor Joanna Gonsalves (psych) and Professor Emeritus Rich Levy (politics) Published a New Book on Organizing Against Campus Debt
Professors Gonsalves and Levy are members of the Coalition against Campus Debt which authored Lend and Rule: Fighting the Shadow Financialization of Public Universities. Lend and Rule, drawing on experiences and lessons from Salem State, exposes how campus debt, money campuses borrow for capital needs to compensate for shortfalls in state funding, is a primary driver of university austerity, miseducation, and the deepening of societal inequality and provides a toolbox for organizing against institutional debt.
Professor Steven Silvern Appointed to Editorial Board of Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences
Dr. Steven Silvern, professor in the Geography and Sustainability Department, has been appointed to the editorial board of the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. The Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences “offers a venue where relevant interdisciplinary research, practice and public policies can be recognized and evaluated.” The Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences is the official publication of the Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS).
Professor Tess Killpack Published in the Open Educational Resource 'Pathways to Accelerating Social Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in STEMM'
Professor Tess Killpack (biology) published "Learning Communities as a Driver for Humanizing STEM: Cultivating Authentic Conversations about Anti-Racism in Introductory Biology Pedagogy using Duoethnography." The collaborative publication will be a chapter in the Open Educational Resource 'Pathways to Accelerating Social Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in STEMM'
Amy Sprenkle (biology) is published in Frontiers in Education
Amy Sprenkle was published in Frontiers in Education. The article is an inclusive Research and Education Community (iREC) model to facilitate undergraduate science education reform