Faculty Accomplishments

Elizabeth D. Leonard, the John J. and Cornelia V. Gibson Professor of History, has won the Thomas D. Clark Medallion Award for her most recent book, Slaves, Slaveholders, and a Kentucky Community’s Struggle toward Freedom, published by the University Press of Kentucky (UPK).  “Much of what we know about Kentucky history and culture rests on works published by UPK, and Professor Leonard’s book adds greatly to this tradition,” said Stan Macdonald, board president of the Thomas D. Clark Foundation, a nonprofit supporting the University Press of Kentucky. “After reviewing several top UPK books published in 2019, a committee of the foundation chose Dr. Leonard’s book because of its high standards for research and writing exemplified by the award’s namesake, the late, distinguished historian Thomas D. Clark.” The Clark Foundation gives this annual award to a University Press of Kentucky publication that accentuates Kentucky's history and culture.  “I am grateful to be recognized once again for the quality of my scholarship and to have the opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way to my field,” Leonard said. “The book was a particularly challenging one to write, given the disparity in the types of sources available for the different groups of people involved—simply put: lots of sources for Whites, scant sources for Blacks.  “But the story means so much to me, having lived in ‘Holt World’ as a historian for such a long time and having come to know these historical individuals almost as distant friends. I particularly value the recognition the award represents of my efforts to bring the stories of Sandy Holt and the other brave Black men, who fought for freedom in the 118th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment, to light, and to show that it is possible, with persistence, to do so.”  Leonard will give a lecture about her book Sept. 17 at the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Ky.  To read more about Leonard’s book, visit Colby Magazine.   

Jim Fleming, the Charles A. Dana Professor of Science, Technology, and Society, will be the keynote speaker July 10 in Montreal at the 100th anniversary meeting of the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science. His topic is "One Hundred Years of Research Challenges and Accomplishments." According to the organizers, "the meeting will look back at the remarkable advances that have taken place in the atmospheric sciences over the last century, consider current outstanding questions, and look forward to possible future developments."

Waterville's Alfond Youth Center honored Gail Carlson with its Romeo and Martha Paganucci Volunteerism Award at the center's Annual Appeal event June 12. Carlson, assistant professor of environmental studies, was given the award for her "great work in coordinating volunteer services for our youth in the Growing Dome and beyond." Carlson was instrumental in starting Colby students volunteering in the AYC greenhouse, but she acknowledges that the award also goes to students who gave their time and passion as part of the "Food For Thought" civic engagement project, led by Julia Nelson '19 and Bronya Lechtman '20.

In the days leading up to the 75th anniversary of D-Day, a 2004 article by James Fleming, the Charles A. Dana Professor of Science, Technology, and Society, saw an uptick in page views. Fleming's article, "Sverre Petterssen and the contentious (and momentous) weather forecasts for D-Day," saw a 97-percent increase in page views, according to academia.edu.  

Assistant Professor of Biology Josh Martin coauthored the paper "Predatory behavior changes with satiety or increased insulin levels in the praying mantis (Tenodera sinensis)" published June 3 in the Journal of Experimental Biology. The paper discusses how animal behavior is controlled "by a combination of external stimuli and an animal's internal state," the abstract says. The authors describe how "sensory responsiveness and motor activity of a praying mantis (Tenodera sinensis) are changed as the insect feeds, leading to an altered hunting strategy. We further show that these changes can be induced by injection of insulin, which likely functions as a metabotropic indicator." To learn more about Martin's work, read the Colby Magazine story From Bugs to Robotics.

Associate Professor of Music Natalie Zelensky has a new book out. Performing Tsarist Russia in New York: Music, Émigrés, and the American Imagination (Indiana University Press, 2019) offers a "rare look at the musical life of Russia abroad as it unfolded in New York City" by examining "the popular music culture of the post-Bolshevik Russian emigration and the impact made by this group on American culture and politics," according to Indiana University Press. Zelensky, an ethnomusicologist, conducts research on the popular musical cultures of the Russian diaspora in the United States.

Professor of Art Véronique Plesch was active off campus during the spring semester. On Feb. 15 she was the organizer, chair, and respondent of the session “Beyond the Mirror: Specularity and Its Uses” at the 107th CAA Annual Conference in New York City. And in April she was invited to conduct a review of Trinity College's Art History Program, which she undertook April 4-5.

Professor of Art Véronique Plesch delivered a public lecture at Bates College May 15. Her lecture, “’Desiring Italy’ and Taking Her Home,” took place in the context of the short-term course "Desiring Italy," taught by Rebecca Corrie, the Phillips Professor of Art and Visual Culture.

Professor of Psychology Martha Arterberry was profiled by the psychology journal Infant Behavior & Development, at which she serves as editor-in-chief. The profile shows how her path from undergraduate work at Pomona College, to an exchange program at Swarthmore College, to graduate work at the University of Minnesota kept her research focused on infant perception. Arterberry finds "working with babies and trying to figure out what they can see and what they know a really fascinating puzzle, and she enjoyed the questions, methods and new discoveries," the article reports. Arterberry is the journal's second female editor-in-chief and is moving the journal forward in several ways, including a renewed focus on special issues, introducing new formats for articles, and ensuring the journal "stays with its history and remains interdisciplinary and international." A supportive, nurturing approach is essential. “My hope is that people come away from their engagement with the journal feeling it had been worth their time, even if they don’t get the acceptance,” she told the journal.    

Christian A. Johnson Professor of Liberal Integrated Study Joe Reisert just completed his term as president of the New England Political Science Association by chairing the group's 2019 annual meeting in Portland. Political scientists have gathered annually under the NEPSA banner since 1949, and this year's NEPSA gathering broke the association's record for attendance and conference papers. Longtime members of the NEPSA report that two presidents, Reisert and Cal Mackenzie—the Goldfarb Family Distinguished Professor of American Government, emeritus, who was president in 1987-88—have had more of a positive impact on the development of the association than have any of the other 70 or so leaders. Reisert, as longtime treasurer, then vice president, president-elect, and president, has shepherded the steady growth that this year's gathering exemplified.