Media Coverage of Lafayette: Feb. 19, 2007

The following is a selection of recent media coverage of Lafayette:

National and International Media
Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Feb. 19; Invisible Hand Podcast, Feb. 3, Finacial Times (London), Oct. 2; Honolulu Advertiser, May 29
From Hire to Liar: The Role of Deception in the Workplace, the latest book by David Shulman, associate professor of anthropology and sociology, has received a number of positive reviews in major publications. The book, which analyzes the motives, tactics, rationalizations, and ethical ramifications of acting deceptively in the workplace, has been recently featured in the Miami Herald and the Chicago Tribune. Reviews of the work have previously appeared in The Invisible Hand Podcast (episode 46), the Honolulu Advertiser, and the Financial Times in London.

Shulman is the author of multiple publications including Talking Sociology.He has received numerous awards, fellowships, and grants, including a Marquis Distinguished Teaching Award, a MacArthur Summer Research Fellowship, funding from the Harvey Kapnick Fund, and a shared grant from the London Business School’s Center for Marketing. He often mentors students in their research projects and includes his research in his classes, such as a First-Year Seminar he taught last spring on the role deception plays in various parts of society.

Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 18
The latest exhibit at the Allentown Art Museum, Knights in Shining Armor, which is curated by Ida Sinkevic, associate professor of art, has received an excellent review in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Sinkevic has brought together over 150 objects from the Renaissance and Baroque periods including weapons, armor, paintings, prints, and textiles.

The exhibit will also serve as a learning experience for students in Sinkevic’s senior seminar course, “Knights in Shining Armor.” Throughout the semester, students will visit the exhibit and meet with the museum director, curators, and the exhibition preparator. Sinkevic often involves students in her research and serves as an adviser for their own research. She has mentored Stephanie Rosman ’06, who graduated with an A.B. with majors in art and government & law, and Daina White ’07 (Montvale, N.J.), an art major, in honors and independent research.

Spotlight on Students in Their Hometown Newspapers
Downingtown Ledger (Pa.), Feb. 8
For her honors thesis, Letitia Travaglini ’07, of Downingtown, Pa., is researching the effect of opponent gender on how people compete in a racing game. She is interested in seeing how people differ in how they rate their performance in the game based on whether they are competing against an opponent of the same gender or opposite gender. Travaglini is working under the supervision of John Shaw, associate professor and assistant head of psychology.

Livingston County News (N.Y.), Feb. 1
Meave Murphy ’08 of Wayland traveled to Spain through the Center for Cross Cultural Study this past fall semester. Because the Center for Cross Cultural Study has a strict Spanish-only language policy, all classes were conducted entirely in Spanish. Murphy took diverse courses such as art history, advanced everyday language usage, grammar, current events, and politics and economics of Spain. Murphy is a graduate of Wayland-Cohocton Central School.

Pocono Record (Pa.), Jan. 31
Lauren Blakeslee’08 of Saylorsburg traveled to Spain through the Center for Cross Cultural Study this past fall semester. Blakeslee left for Spain with the goal of improving her language skills. Having studied Spanish since she was 13, she knew that an extended stay abroad was the best way to attain proficiency. “Before leaving for Spain, I added Spanish as my second major along with English, and plan to continue developing my ability to speak the language,” she said. “It is a valuable skill, whether attending graduate school or entering the workforce after Lafayette.” Blakeslee admits she was apprehensive before leaving for Spain, but she is glad she took advantage of the opportunity to experience another culture. “Every student should take the opportunity to spend a semester abroad, or even a six-week interim trip to another country or part of the world,” she says.

Poughkeepsie Journal (N.Y.), Jan. 26
Lindsay Bryant ’07 of Clinton Corners, presented research at the annual joint meetings of the American Mathematical Society and Mathematical Association of America in New Orleans. Bryant, a mathematics major, collaborated with fellow student Jinjin Qian ’08 and Qin Lu, assistant professor of mathematics, on a project involving pricing convertible bonds using different models. Bryant and Qian gave a 25-minute talk on their work. “The conference was a great opportunity for me,” Bryant said. “I learned how to prepare for a presentation, remain calm while speaking in front of an audience and explain a project to an audience that may not be familiar with the topic.” Bryant, a graduate of Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie, is a member of the cross country and track teams at Lafayette.

Moscow/Hamlin Villager (Pa.), Jan. 24; Times-Tribune (Pa.), Jan. 9
Karolyn Kopcza ’07, of Moscow, in researching “the development of tolerance in alcohol-dependent humans to different drugs that are known or are believed to decrease alcohol intake.” To do this, the neuroscience major and Trustee Scholar is examining the effects of the drugs on fruit flies and is working under the guidance of Elaine Reynolds, associate professor of biology and co-chair of neuroscience.

Pocono Record (Pa.), Jan. 14
Sara I. Smith-Katz ’07decided to take college courses when she turned 40 because, as a savvy business woman, she felt that there was a little piece missing. She eventually found that piece as a student at Lafayette studying the book arts. Her artistic side, which had been put aside for work, blossomed in college. “I lose myself when painting, making pottery, sculpting, and printmaking. It’s this freedom from everything else I’m bound to,” she said. For one of her projects, she created the artist book “Ever Vigilant,” which examines the predator/prey connection. She hopes to take her stories and make them universal so all readers can learn from them. Smith-Katz said, “I want to teach and be an artist.”

Sunday Republican & Herald (Pa.), Jan. 7
Shane Clauser ’07, of Pottsville, investigated European colonialism and post-colonial theory to map the “origins” and effects of colonization, particularly within African and Caribbean cultures. Clauser, an English and government & law double major, did this through an EXCEL research project with Ian Smith, associate professor and associate head of English. The research will appear in the forthcoming Shakespeare Encyclopedia, edited by Patricia Barker of Stanford University.

Hillsborough Beacon (N.J.), Dec. 29; Manville News (N.J.), Dec. 28
Jenny Boyar ’08, daughter of Sandy and Paula Boyar of Hillsborough, was chosen to collaborate with the National Epilepsy Foundation of New Jersey on planning efforts for a new museum in Montgomery on the history of the illness upon completing intensive research on epilepsy. She researched representations of epilepsy in the texts of epileptic authors in an independent study guided by Paul Cefalu, associate professor of English.

North County News (N.Y.), Dec. 20
Yorktown Heights resident Joanna Morabito ’08, a 2004 graduate of Lakeland High School, knows what it is like to be under pressure, especially while studying some of the most pressurized minerals on the planet. Morabito is working with Guy Hovis, John Markle Professor of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, to study the thermal expansion of minerals beneath Earth’s surface. “This project shows that the extent to which thermal expansion occurs depends on a mineral’s chemical composition and structure,” said the geology major. Hovis said Morabito has the commitment and discipline necessary for complex and detailed research. “She has the temperament, good judgment, and care to have what it takes,” he said.