Faculty Accomplishments

Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Stacy-ann Robinson was part of the keynote panel at the 2023 New England Council of Latin American Studies Conference. The theme of the conference was "Bridging Knowledges, Technologies, and Cultures in Latin America and the Caribbean." Robinson spoke about the challenges of climate adaptation in the Caribbean alongside the promise of locally led adaptation in the region. The panel was moderated by Dr. Mimi Sheller, renowned dean of the Global School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Stacy-ann Robinson was an invited speaker at the inaugural Summit for Energy and Environment Solutions at Harvard. She spoke about the role and limits of the United Nations in delivering climate justice to the most vulnerable communities and countries. The summit was a gathering of practitioners, community stakeholders, and students interested in engaging with actionable solutions to the climate crisis and global energy transition. The conference took place over two days in November 2023, with multiple panels and receptions throughout.

Assistant Professor of Education Pei Pei Liu published an article in Science Scope titled "Hearing All Voices to Promote Learning Orientation and Effective Collaboration." This article was coauthored with two middle school science teachers as a practitioner-facing companion piece to a scholarly article by Liu published earlier this year in Cognition and Instruction on the relationship between mastery goal structures and student motivation in middle school science classrooms. In the Science Scope article, the teachers share practices they use early in the school year to cultivate a supportive classroom community that promotes motivation and collaborative learning.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Education Tatiana Geron published an article in the Harvard Educational Review titled "Ethical Decision-Making in the 'Crowded Classroom.'"  Geron used a case study to argue that "classroom 'crowdedness'—the spatial, temporal, and group dynamics of many students interacting in a shared space—shapes teachers’ every day ethical decision-making and should be essential to an ethical theory of teaching."

Robert A. Gastaldo, the Whipple-Coddington Professor of Geology, Emeritus, served as a scientific script advisor for the episode "Inferno" that is part of the Ancient Earth series recently produced by NOVA. In the episode's credits, he's listed as an academic advisor. The "Inferno" episode focuses on the end-Permian extinction crisis on land and its recovery in the Triassic, a topic Gastaldo has studied throughout his career.  The five-part series launched Oct. 4, 2023, and the "Inferno" episode airs October 25 on PBS.

Assistant Professor of History Danae Jacobson contributed to a recent exhibition at the New York Historical Society titled Acts of Faith: Religion and the American West. On Oct. 6, she was a panelist for the talk "Understanding Religious Liberty in a Diverse Nation" that  focused "on the fascinating 19th-century roots of America’s deep religious diversity," according to the society's website. Jacobson also wrote a chapter for the exhibition's catalogue, "Religion and Empire: Mythic Trails, Stolen Homelands, and Forced Migration in the Antebellum West (1840-1860)."

A new book by Visiting Assistant Professor of Government Tizoc Chavez has been named a co-winner of the American Political Science Association Foreign Policy Section's Best Book Award, which recognizes outstanding scholarly monographs related to foreign policy. His book, The Diplomatic Presidency: American Foreign Policy from FDR to George H.W. Bush (University Press of Kansas, 2022), was selected based on criteria such as importance of topic, novel theory, novel research, innovative research methods, effective execution of research methods, and overall excellence.

Assistant Professor of Art Amanda Lilleston and Torsten Brinkma '22 have works included in a new exhibition, In the Moment, at Cove Street Arts in Portland, Maine. "With a lively mix of contemporary artists, In The Moment captures meaningful relationships between seemingly disparate disciplines: art and sport," according to the gallery's website. Lilleston, who has three pieces in the show, creates artwork that depicts an evolving relationship with human anatomy, physiology, and ecology. Brinkema, who also has three pieces on display, is a sculptor and also creates with film and photography. The show runs October 12-December 2, 2023  

Printmaker and Assistant Professor of Art Amanda Lilleston has a show titled deep field at the Zillman Art Museum at the University of Maine in Bangor. Maine-based artist Lilleston "explores biological narratives through woodcut printing and collage in her exhibition deep field. The prints highlight the concept of transformation, depicted in burgeoning colors of flora," according to the museum's website. 

For the fall issue of the Maine Arts Journal, Professor of Art Véronique Plesch wrote the introduction as well as her "Art Historical Musings" column with an essay titled "Art Matter." Plesch also did an interview with photographer Rosamond Purcell and compiled and introduced texts by art critic Lucy Lippard on the notion of "Dematerialization in Art." Colby’s participation in this issue is larger than ever: alumni Jim Condron '92 and Duncan Hewitt ’71 and Colby’s new Assistant Professor of Digital Media Takahiro Suzuki contributed essays.