Jason Miller (Ph.D. '04, English) has signed a book contract with the University of Florida Press to publish his manuscript Langston Hughes and American Lynching Culture. The manuscript is based on his dissertation about Hughes and Elizabeth Bishop, directed by Camille Roman (associate professor, English).
Jiayi Young (M.F.A. '98) has been accepted to present at the 2008 International Symposium of Electronic Arts (ISEA), taking place in Singapore this summer. ISEA prides itself as "the world's premier media arts event for the critical discussion and showcase of creative productions applying new technologies in interactive and digital media." Young was selected for one of the 25 artist presentations from hundreds of applicants from all over the world.
Lin Xu (M.F.A. '03) and Leslie Holt (M.F.A. '03) participated in Ensemble, a group presentation by artists using various media, including ceramics, sculpture, painting, and photography at phd gallery in St. Louis, Missouri. Xu's ceramics establish an invisible connection between objects and personal experience. Professor of fine arts at Canada's Brandon University, Xu uses clay in a sculptural form to express her personal artistic knowledge and experiences. The Mongolian-born Xu focuses on small-scale sculpture, exploring the soft qualities of clay. Holt's painting demonstrates the intersection of art, personal experience, and community. She teaches at Fontbonne University and St. Louis Community College. In May 2008, her solo exhibit Hello Masterpiece will be featured at phd gallery.
Dwayne Mack (Ph.D. '02, history), assistant professor of history and Carter G. Woodson Chair in African American History, has received tenure/promotion at Berea College, Berea, Kentucky.
Brenda Jackson-Abernathy (Ph.D. '02, history) learned that she passed the tenure/promotion test and will be an associate professor at Belmont University this August.
Sara Dant (Ph.D. '00, history) was awarded tenure this spring at Weber State University. She has an article, "Making Wilderness Work: Frank Church and the American Wilderness Movement," coming out in May in Pacific Historical Review 77(2). She was awarded the 2007–2008 Joy Hilliard Fellowship in Environmental History from the Denver Public Library, and she has a book contract to write The Environment in the American West for Harlan Davidson, Inc.
James Ross-Nazzal (Ph.D. '01, history) has published The U.S. Veto and the Polemics of the Question of Palestine in the United Nations Security Council, 1972–2007 (Edwin Mellen Press, 2008).
Matthew C. Godfrey's (Ph.D. '01, history) recent book Religion, Politics, and Sugar: The Mormon Church, the Federal Government, and the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company, 1907–1921 (Utah State University Press, 2007) won the Mormon History Association's Best New Book award for 2007.
Robert Lowery (B.A. '84, political science and communication) was named director of the newly created publications office at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. Lowery has more than 25 years experience in broadcasting, news reporting, and writing. He served as the university's media relations officer from 1994 to 2007.
BJ Oneal (Ph.D. '07, psychology) recently had his dissertation accepted for publication. "Initial Psychometric Properties of a Treatment Planning and Progress Inventory for Adolescents who Sexually Abuse is in press with Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment.
The Chronicle, College of Liberal Arts, Washington State University