channel swimmer gertrude

A Record-Breaking Number of Faculty Members Hired: John Jay College Strategy for Growth Takes Shape
NEW YORK, Aug. 31 (AScribe Newswire) -- This fall, 52 professors will join the ranks of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice faculty. This unprecedented number of new full-time hires is a clear indicator that John Jay, with the support of Chancellor Matthew Goldstein of The City University of New York, is moving forward in its commitment to raise its academic profile and reaffirm its position as a leader in educating for justice.

According to President Travis, "This infusion of new faculty into 13 of our departments will allow us to simultaneously strengthen our traditional majors, expand our graduate programs and, in a particularly exciting development, design a range of new liberal arts and interdisciplinary majors that will attract and retain the very best students and faculty."

The increased faculty hiring is part of the college's strategic plan that includes the construction of a new $457 million building, new majors with English and History coming on line in Spring 2008 and an evolving educational construct based on a foundation 40-plus years in the making.

NEW FACULTY AT A GLANCE

The new faculty is a star-studded list of world-renowned criminologists, psychologists, scientists and other scholars from around the globe. Many are recognized for their leadership in the public sector as well as for their academic accomplishments. Among the many illustrious professors are (full list below):

Anthropology: Alexis Piquero, a presidential scholar and professor, received his doctorate in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland at College Park in 1996. Professor Piquero's research involves several longitudinal studies that examine the patterns of lifetime criminal activity, as well as the factors that account for changes in criminal activity. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles on issues related to criminal careers, life-course criminology, and quantitative methodology. In 2002, the Journal of Criminal Justice ranked him the #1 scholar in terms of scholarly productivity in criminology/criminal justice.

Psychology: Miriam K. Ehrensaft, an associate professor, earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1996. She comes to John Jay from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Division of Child Psychiatry, where she was an assistant professor. Professor Ehrensaft is the author of numerous book chapters on the intergenerational transmission of domestic violence, and familial and relationship predictors of psychological and physical aggression.

Public Management: Charles Jennings, an associate professor, earned his doctorate in City and Regional Planning in 1996 from Cornell University. He is also a John Jay College alumnus who received a Master of Science in Fire Protection Management in 1990. Professor Jennings comes to the College after having served as First Deputy Commissioner in the Department of Public Safety, White Plains, NY. Among his many publications are articles, book chapters and reports. His dissertation was entitled "Urban Residential Fires: An Empirical Analysis Using Building Stock and Socioeconomic Characteristics for Memphis, Tennessee."

Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration: Matti Jousten, a visiting presidential scholar, earned a Doctor of Laws from Helsinki University in 1987. He is the Director of International Affairs at the Ministry of Justice of Finland and has served as a member of the High-Level Group on Organized Crime established by the Council of the European Union. As a criminologist at the National Research Institute of Legal Policy in Finland, his research subjects included juvenile delinquency, violent crime, corruption and prosecutorial decision-making.

Sciences: Ekaterina A. Korobkova, an assistant professor, obtained a PhD in 2004 from the University of Chicago in Biophysical Chemistry. As a postdoctoral researcher there, she established a chemical proteomic method to trap and identify new DNA damage repair and sensory proteins in E. coli, human cells, and cancer cells.

ABOUT JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: An international leader in educating for justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York offers a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations. In teaching, scholarship and research, the College approaches justice as an applied art and science in service to society and as an ongoing conversation about fundamental human desires for fairness, equality and the rule of law. For more information, visit http://www.jjay.cuny.edu .

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CONTACTS: Chris Godek / Doreen Vinas, 212-237-8628/8645

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2007 NEW FALL FACULTY

African American Studies:

Kewulay H. Kamara, a lecturer, is pursuing a PhD in Economic Planning at The New School University. As a facilitator/trainer at Simon Weisenthal's New York Tolerance Center, he trains law enforcement professionals in community building.

Anthropology:

Alexis Piquero, a presidential scholar and professor, received his doctorate in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland at College Park in 1996. Before coming to John Jay, he was a faculty member at the University of Florida, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. He is the author of numerous articles on rehabilitation and juvenile offenders, the economic consequences of incarceration in New York City and an assessment of the perceived seriousness of white-collar and street crimes.

Art, Music & Philosophy:

Lisa E. Farrington, a professor, earned her doctorate in Art History at The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, in 1997. Prior to her joining the John Jay faculty, she was an associate professor at Parsons, the New School for Design, and had been Parsons School of Design, Paris, professor for On-site Museum Survey in Art and Architecture. She has authored books and articles on contemporary African-American women artists, story quilts, and the black female nude, in addition to serving as curator for shows at Parsons, John Jay and other colleges on these subjects.

Kyoo Lee, an assistant professor, earned her PhD in Philosophy in 1995 from Warwick University, UK. Her specialization is in continental philosophy with a focus on phenomenology, deconstruction, and literary and visual aesthetics. Among her works in progress is a chapter for the book Race and Nationalism in the New "United America."

Tanya Rodriguez, an assistant professor, is pursuing a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Minnesota at Twin Cities. Her areas of expertise are philosophy and cultural diversity, the history of moral theory, moral psychology, environmental ethics, and early modern philosophy.

Jill Stauffer, an assistant professor, received her doctorate in 2003 from the University of California at Berkeley, Department of Rhetoric. Her dissertation is entitled "This Weakness is Needed: An Intervention in Social Contract Theory."

English:

Erica Burleigh, an assistant professor, earned a PhD in English and American Literature from Johns Hopkins University in 2005. Her dissertation is entitled "Intimacy and the Individual in Early National Writing."

JoEllen DeLucia, an assistant professor, is expected to complete a PhD in English from Indiana University in 2007. Her interest in eighteenth-century English feminism and the Bluestockings is reflected in her dissertation called "Tales of Other Times': Scotland's Past and Women's future in Eighteenth-Century British Writing." She is the winner of a Dissertation Fellowship from the Indiana University Center for Eighteenth-Century Studies and the Travelling Jam-Pot Award from the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies.

Margaret Ann Escher, a lecturer, received her PhD in comparative literature from New York University in 2007. As a lecturer at John Jay College, she has taught Classical Literature, Medieval and Early Modern Literature, American Literature, and an original experimental course called The Trickster in World Literature. Her dissertation was entitled "Configurations of Trickery in Boccaccio's Decameron, Marguerite de Navarre's Heptameron, Masuccio's Il Novellino, and Shakespeare's Othello."

Jeffrey Heiman, a lecturer, has taught at John Jay College since 1999. He has published travel essays, short stories and a novel chapter. He also served as a program coordinator for workshops held at Mt. Sinai Hospital for employees in re-engineered job categories.

Kimberly Helmer, an assistant professor, is expected to receive her doctorate in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching in 2007 from the University of Arizona. Her dissertation is entitled "Year One at City High School: An Ethnographic Study of Spanish Heritage-Language Instruction in an Innovative Charter School."

Veronica C. Hendrick, a lecturer, received her doctorate in English from The Graduate School and University Center, The City University of New York, in 1997. She was the recipient of John Jay College's Teaching Award in 2006 and the winner of a Consulate Fellowship this year. Among her publications are articles on the line drawn between servants and slaves.

Andrew J. Majeske, an associate professor, received his PhD in English Literature in 2003 from the University of California at Davis. His dissertation, "Equity in English Renaissance Literature: Thomas More's Utopia and Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queen," was published as a book in 2006. He is the author of numerous articles and book reviews.

Tim McCormack, an assistant professor, received his PhD in English from The Graduate School and University Center, The City University of New York in 2005. His dissertation, "Literacyscape: The History, Politics and Practice of Basic Writing," is an ethnographic study of a single Basic Writing classroom that connects the history of the subject to college admissions.

Jean Mills, an assistant professor, is expected to receive her PhD in English from The Graduate School and University Center, The City University of New York, in 2007. She has published articles on her specialty: Virginia Woolf, Gertrude Stein, and Women Writers of the 1920's and 1930's.

John Narkunas, an assistant professor, earned his PhD in Literature with a concentration in Critical and Cultural Studies in 2001 from the University of Pittsburgh. His dissertation is entitled "Flotsam and Jetsam in Global Capital Flows: Transcultural Interrogations of English in the US as Literature, Power, and Commodity."

Melinda Powers, an assistant professor, is pursuing a PhD in the Department of Theater and Performance Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles campus. Her interests are ancient theater and its reception, contemporary British and American theater, performance studies, historiography, theories of the body and gender. Under consideration by Theatre Journal is her article "Translating Euripides' Bakkhai on the Contemporary Stage."

Government:

Erin Ackerman, an assistant professor, is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. Her teaching interests include women, reproduction and American law, women and politics, and American constitutional law. She has published entries in "The Encyclopedia of American Civil Liberties," and "The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States."

Brian K. Arbour, an assistant professor, is expected to receive a doctorate in Government from the University of Texas at Austin in 2007. His dissertation, "Resume Politics: How Campaigns Use Background Appeals to Win Votes and Elections," reflects his interests in voter turnout, the use of candidates' records, and redistricting.

G. Roger McDonald, a lecturer, has been an adjunct lecturer at John Jay since 1988. He specializes in Constitutional law, American political thought, criminal justice, and the history of political philosophy, particularly Greek and early modern. Last year, John Jay honored him with Pi Sigma Alpha, Distinguished Teacher Award.

Andrew Sidman, an assistant professor, is expected to receive his PhD in Political Science in 2007 from Stony Brook University. His dissertation is entitled "Individual Heterogeneity in the Effects of Distributive Benefits on U.S. House Elections."

Joshua Wilson, an assistant professor, received his PhD in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from the University of California at Berkeley in 2006. His research interests include constitutional law and civil liberties, law, politics, and society, conservative interest group court activism and legal consciousness.

History:

Michael J. Pfeifer, an assistant professor, received a PhD in history in 1998 from the University of Iowa at Iowa City. His areas of interest are the cultural and social history of collective violence and criminal justice in the United States. He is the author of "Rough Justice: Lynching and American Society, 1874-1947."

Law, Police Science & Criminal Justice Administration:

David J. Caspi, an instructor, is pursuing his doctorate in Criminal Justice at John Jay College/The Graduate Center, The City University of New York. His research interests include the balance between anti-terrorism legislation and civil liberties, interrogations of suspected terrorists outside of the United States, and extremist ideology. A CUNY Research Grant supported his work on using network analysis to investigate hate crimes committed by white supremacists.

Katarzyna Celinska, an assistant professor, received a doctorate in Sociology from the University of Utah at Salt Lake City, in 2001. She has written articles and papers on her areas of interest, which include gun control, violence prevention, prisoner reentry, and the affect of imprisonment on offenders and their families.

Beverly D. Frazier, an assistant professor, received her PhD in Social Welfare at the University of Pennsylvania in 2007. Her interests include the efficacy of faith-based prisoner reentry programs, and how the nexus of race, poverty and religion converge on social welfare policy. She is the recipient of a research grant from Philadelphia's Office of the Mayor to assess the city's community capacity for prisoner reentry.

Matti Jousten, a visiting presidential scholar, earned a Doctor of Laws from Helsinki University in 1987. He is the Director of International Affairs at the Ministry of Justice of Finland and has served as a member of the High-Level Group on Organized Crime established by the Council of the European Union. As a criminologist at the National Research Institute of Legal Policy in Finland, his research subjects included juvenile delinquency, violent crime, corruption and prosecutorial decision-making.

Valerie West, an assistant professor, obtained her PhD in Sociology from New York University in 2006. A John Jay alumna, her research experience has included a study of what effect incarceration has on communities, and on the racial equity of the U.S. death penalty system.

Library:

Kathleen Collins, an assistant professor, received a master of science in Library and Information Science from Long Island University Palmer School in 2006. Her publications include reference book reviews for journals in the field, encyclopedia entries on media history, and a chapter, "Government Resources on the Web," in Guide to Grantseeking on the Web.

Mathematics:

Michael J. Puls, an assistant professor, obtained his doctorate in Mathematics from Virginia Polytechnic in 1995. Prior to coming to John Jay, he was a faculty member at Eastern Oregon University where Professor Puls was a three-time winner of their Faculty Scholars award.

Morton Swimmer, an associate professor, received his Doktor der Naturwissenschaften, the equivalent of a PhD, in 2005 from the University of Hamburg, Germany. His thesis is entitled "Malware Intrusion Detection." He is the author of a book chapter and numerous articles on computer security and virus detection systems.

Public Management:

Marie J. D'Agostino, an assistant professor, obtained her doctorate in Public Administration in 2006 from Rutgers University. Her research interests include volunteerism, non-profit management, service-learning and prisoner reentry. She is the author of numerous articles and a chapter in the book Measuring Government Performance, Public Sector Accountability and Public Participation.

Victor Herbert, a distinguished lecturer, holds an EdD from Nova-Southeastern University. He comes to John Jay after serving as Dean of Instruction for the Fire Department of New York City, and as superintendent of schools in Norwalk, CT, Phoenix, AZ, and for New York City high schools.

Charles Jennings, an associate professor, earned his doctorate in City and Regional Planning in 1996 from Cornell University. He is also a John Jay College alumnus who received a Master of Science in Fire Protection Management in 1990. Professor Jennings comes to the College after having served as First Deputy Commissioner in the Department of Public Safety, White Plains, NY. Among his many publications are articles, book chapters and reports. His dissertation was entitled "Urban Residential Fires: An Empirical Analysis Using Building Stock and Socioeconomic Characteristics for Memphis, Tennessee."

Randall LaSalle, an associate professor, earned a doctorate in Accounting in 1991 from Drexel University. He comes to John Jay from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. A Certified Public Accountant, he implemented West Chester's new MBA concentration in Technology and Electronic Commerce. He also developed one of the nation's first undergraduate courses in fraud examination.

Fred Palm, a lecturer, holds an MBA from Baruch College. He was a member of the multidisciplinary research team from John Jay that conducted the United Nations Crime Rate Data Study in 2005. In addition to teaching at the College since 1994, he has held many high-level positions within the Office of the New York City Comptroller throughout his 25-year career.

Puerto Rican/LAS:

Suzanne Oboler, a professor, received a PhD in Bilingual Education from New York University in 1991. Prior to coming to John Jay, she was a professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Professor Oboler is also the author of "Latinos and Citizenship: The Dilemma of Belonging."

Psychology:

Maureen Allwood, an assistant professor, earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology in 2005 from the University of Missouri at Columbia. Her doctoral dissertation is entitled "The Relations of Violence Exposure, Trauma Symptoms, and Aggressive Cognitions to Youth Violent Behavior." Prior to coming to John Jay, Professor Allwood served as a research clinician and diagnostic interviewer at Brown Medical School where she investigated the treatment of alcohol abuse, depression and suicide among adolescents, the war traumatization of children in Bosnia, and psychopathology in teenagers.

Joshua W. Clegg, an assistant professor, is expected to receive a doctorate in Social Psychology in 2007 from Clark University. He has authored and co-authored several articles on the concept of self-deception and on social awkwardness.

Shuki Cohen, an assistant professor, earned her PhD at New York University in Clinical Psychology in 2005. Her interests include mood disorders, autobiographical memory, cognitive bias and psycholinguistics. She has authored/ co-authored numerous articles on these topics. Her works in progress include the article "Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Early Psychosis: A Group Psychotherapy Treatment Protocol."

Miriam K. Ehrensaft, an associate professor, earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1996. She comes to John Jay from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Division of Child Psychiatry, where she was an assistant professor. Professor Ehrensaft is the author of numerous book chapters on the intergenerational transmission of domestic violence, and familial and relationship predictors of psychological and physical aggression.

Demis E. Glasford, an assistant professor, is expected to earn his PhD in Social Psychology in 2007 from the University of Connecticut. His interests include political empowerment, political participation, intergroup prejudice and conflict resolution. His dissertation is entitled "Intragroup Dissonance: Responses to Ingroup Violation of Personal Values."

Jillian Grose-Fifer, an assistant professor, earned her PhD in Vision Science from the University of Aston in Birmingham, UK in 1989. Specializing in neurophysiology, she has authored many articles on fetal development and sight.

Michael Lieppe, a professor, earned his doctorate from Ohio State University in 1979 in Social Psychology. Prior to joining John Jay, Professor Lieppe was a member of Saint Louis University's faculty. He is an editorial board member of a number of journals, including Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Law and Human Behavior, and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Attitudes and Social Cognition.

Daryl Wout, an assistant professor, earned his doctorate in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan in 2004. His research interests include stereotyping and prejudice, intergroup relations, and African American racial identity. He has authored numerous articles on these topics.

Sciences:

Ekaterina A. Korobkova, an assistant professor, obtained a PhD in 2004 from the University of Chicago in Biophysical Chemistry. As a postdoctoral researcher there, she established a chemical proteomic method to trap and identify new DNA damage repair and sensory proteins in E. coli, human cells, and cancer cells.

Sociology:

Amy Adamcyzk, an assistant professor, earned her doctorate in Sociology at Pennsylvania State University in 2005. Her interests in religion, deviance and crime, sociological theory and health have led to a number of articles oGertrude Ederle, who battled rip tides, cross currents, driving rain and mountainous seas to become the first woman to swim the English Channel and strike a blow for women's rights, has died.

Ederle died Sunday at the Christian Health Care Center in Wyckoff, N.J., about 25 miles northwest of New York City, said Martin Ward, whose wife is one of Ederle's 10 surviving nieces and nephews. She was 98.

Ederle was 20 when she made her historic swim on Aug. 6, 1926, navigating the choppy, treacherous channel under the constant threat of floating debris, poisonous jellyfish and sharks.

She left Cape Griz-Nez, France, at 7:05 a.m. and stumbled ashore at Kingsdown, England, 14 hours and 30 minutes later. Only five men had succeeded in swimming the channel before her, and she beat the record by more than two hours.

Because of the stormy weather, she had swum 35 miles in crossing the 21-mile-wide channel. Yet her time for the crossing stood for 24 years before it was broken in 1950 by Florence Chadwick, who negotiated 23 miles in 13 hours and 20 minutes.

"People said women couldn't swim the channel," Ederle Press in a 2001 interview marking the 75th anniversary of her feat. "I proved they could."

When she returned to America, there were celebrations, receptions and a roaring ticker-tape parade for her in New York. She met President Coolidge, was paid thousands to tour in vaudeville, played herself in a movie ("Swim, Girl, Swim") and had a song and a dance step named for her.

During some of the toughest moments during the swim, her trainer, fearful of her well-being, tried to get her to give up, "but I'd just look at him and say, `What for?"' Ederle recalled.

At the ticker-tape parade, the crowds shouted, "Hello, Miss What-For!"

"I thought it was marvelous, and I thought only Gertrude could have done it," another top swimmer from the era, Aileen Riggin Soule, said in a 1999 interview with The Associated Press. "She had the stubbornness."

Ederle was little affected by the fame that followed. She remained what one writer called, "an almost old-fashioned girl in a world of flappers." She eventually quit touring when the stress got too much.

Ederle was a champion swimmer before her Channel swim, holding a string of world records at various distances. At the 1924 Olympics in Paris, she was hobbled by the stress of travel and turned in a disappointing performance - by her standards - of one second-place finish, one third-place finish and a first on a relay team.

In 1925, she swam the 21 miles from the tip of Manhattan to Sandy Hook, N.J., in seven hours, 11.5 minutes, bettering the record held by men.

That same year, she made her first try at the English Channel, saying later that she failed only because a worried trainer grabbed her when she briefly began coughing. As soon as someone touched her, she was disqualified.

After giving up her personal appearance tour, Ederle fell down a flight of stairs in 1933, injuring her spine. Battling back, she returned to the spotlight at the 1939 World's Fair, swimming in a show at the famous Aquacade.

Her hearing hadn't been good since a childhood bout with the measles, and hours spent in the water aggravated the problem. By the 1940s, she was entirely deaf.

Out of the spotlight, she taught deaf children to swim - "since I can't hear either, they feel I'm one of them" - and participated in some business ventures. Giving few interviews, she lived quietly in the Queens borough for many years.

"I have no complaints," Ederle said in an interview in the 1950s. "I am comfortable and satisfied. I am not a person who reaches for the moon as long as I have the stars. God has been good to me."

n those topics. Some works in progress include papers on how personal religiosity affects abortion decisions, and the differences in health services availability between black and white churches.

David Green, an assistant professor, earned his PhD in Criminology from the University of Cambridge, Institute of Criminology/St. John's College, UK in 2006. His dissertation is entitled "The Politics of Tragedy: Child-on-Child Homicide and Political Culture." His research interests include crime and the media, sentencing, penology, and crime and political culture.

Anthony John Jefferson, a visiting presidential scholar, holds a Master of Arts in Cultural Studies by Thesis from Birmingham University, UK. He is currently working on a project that would revisit the concept of the criminal subject from several different dimensions, including a re-examination of the Freudian legacy from a psychosocial perspective. The work is a continuation of his study of the destructive desires of masculinity using the rise and fall of fighter Mike Tyson as a model.

Janice Johnson Dias, an assistant professor, earned her PhD in Sociology from Temple University in 2004. Her interests in urban poverty, race, class, gender and health disparities are reflected in a current project on how familial and socio-economic conditions influence children's weight and a mother's food choices.

Susan V. Opotow, a professor, obtained her PhD in Social and Organizational Psychology in 1987 from Columbia University. She is the associate editor of Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, and sits on the editorial board of Human Ecology Review. Prior to joining John Jay, she was an associate professor at the College of Public and Community Service, University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Nicole Leeper Piquero, an associate professor, received her PhD in Criminology in 2001 from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her dissertation is entitled "An Outcome Evaluation of the Maryland Hotspots Probation Program." She has authored/co-authored articles that explore white-collar crime, theft of intellectual property, and gender and juvenile delinquency.