For the Record, Friday, Dec. 1, 2023 | UDaily

For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Recent presentations, awards and publications include the following:

Presentations

On Sunday, Nov. 19, Margaret D. Stetz, Mae and Robert Carter Professor of Women’s Studies and professor of humanities, and Mark Samuels Lasner, Senior Research Fellow, University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press, were the invited online guests of Shayan Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn, the creator and host of “The Iconographer,” which focuses on art history. Their interview is a conversation occasioned by the exhibition that Stetz and Samuels Lasner have curated, Max Beerbohm: The Price of Celebrity (Oct. 20, 2023, to Jan. 28, 2024) for the New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. In it, they discuss not only the exhibition itself, but the importance in general of Max Beerbohm as a visual artist and writer.

Farley Grubb, professor of economics, presented his book, The Continental Dollar: How the American Revolution was Financed with Paper Money (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2023), in a session devoted to critically discussing his book at the Social Science History Association annual conference in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Nov. 18.

Jevonia Harris, educational software engineering team lead, and Erin Sicuranza, director, both of UDIT Academic Technology Services, presented at the AI Forum at Notre Dame on Nov. 14. This intimate gathering of higher education IT leaders focused on how IT organizations ought to approach the opportunities and challenges posed by AI, grounded in an understanding of how the technology affects teaching and learning, research, and administration on college campuses. Harris and Sicuranza showcased an ATS project, UD Study AiDE: Developing an Internal AI Model for Student Success, as part of the campus innovation use cases.

“We were proud to share the stage with colleagues from Michigan, Harvard, NYU and Arizona State — all recognized leaders in the AI in Higher Education space,” said Harris. “We presented a project in which we are creating a customized AI model based on UD course content, and our thoughtful, unique approach garnered a great deal of interest and enthusiasm from attendees.”

Rudi Matthee, John and Dorothy Munroe Distinguished Professor of History, attended the official opening of the Yarshater Center for the Study of Iranian Literary Traditions at the University of California at Los Angeles on Nov. 16. He did so in his capacity as the president of the Persian Heritage Foundation, which endowed the creation and operation of this academic center with a gift of $11 million.

In October, Sean O’Neill, policy scientist at the Institute for Public Administration (IPA), collaborated with the Sussex Housing Group to organize and lead a bus tour of three communities in Sussex County. The tour focused on communities working to improve affordable housing and community development issues. Attendees included elected officials, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) officials, representatives from central banks, and policy leaders from state government. The tour began in Georgetown, Delaware, at the First State Community Action Agency (FSCAA), where attendees learned of the purpose and mission of Sussex Housing Group, a housing advocacy group. Tour attendees later met with Laurel Town Manager Jamie Smith and the Laurel Redevelopment Corporation members to discuss the primary housing challenges that the town is currently facing. The overall purpose of the Laurel stop was to highlight the need for investment in western Sussex communities that have often been neglected. Attendees visited West Rehoboth to meet with West Side New Beginnings, where they learned about the neighborhood’s profound historical challenges in terms of socioeconomic barriers and newer challenges with gentrification. West Rehoboth is a primarily Black neighborhood with residents who have been a part of the community for decades and are now being forced out due to rising housing costs and the high demand for new home development in the area. The tour stop in West Rehoboth was led by Diaz Bonville, who led the group on a walking tour, showcasing the changes taking place and sharing an impressive mural that highlights the history and culture of the historic Black community in Rehoboth. Upon returning to Georgetown, attendees joined Bernice Edwards, executive director at FSCAA. Edwards discussed the work of FSCAA as the first and only community action agency in the state of Delaware since 1965. Some of FSCAA’s programs focus on addressing the root causes of poverty in the state, providing emergency services for clients in need, offering housing assistance, supporting community development assistance, and serving the Spanish-speaking population in areas such as Georgetown. The day ended with an optional walking tour of the Springboard Collaborative Pallet Village (TSC), led by its executive director and co-founder Judson Malone. TSC is a statewide Delaware nonprofit building dignified dwellings and communities that foster well-being for Delawareans in greatest need, while also connecting compromised populations with community resources to build a better life. The Institute for Public Administration is a research and public service center in the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration.

Awards

Victoria Daniels, ​chief supplier diversity officer, was named a recipient of the 2023 Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council (EMSDC) President Award. This award honors the individual who not only supports the mission of the EMSDC, but also serves as a strong supporter and advocate dedicated to diversity and inclusion and minority business enterprises and shown tremendous tenacity throughout the year. 

Ivan Sun, professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, recently received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University at Albany’s School of Criminal Justice. The school is home to one of the nation’s first criminal justice programs and is currently ranked in the top five for Ph.D. programs. Sun’s research interests include police attitudes and behavior, public assessments of legal authorities, and crime and justice in Asian societies. Sun has published more than 140 refereed journal articles, including over 90 pieces on mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. He received both his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University at Albany before arriving at UD in 2004. He is also a faculty member in UD’s Asian Studies program.

Publications

Fei Xie, Chaplin Tyler Professor of Finance in the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, had his research paper, “Directors: Older and Wiser, or Too Old to Govern” recently accepted by the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.

Heinz-Uwe Haus, professor of theater, published in the latest issue of COMENIUS – Journal of Euro-American Civilization, New York, 2023, Vol.10, Nr. 2 an article titled “Let Freedom Ring: Jazz during the Cold War.” The article describes how American Jazz gradually disseminated the American way of life into the hearts and minds of the people in the Soviet-controlled part of Europe after the Second World War. 

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