Appointments
• President Barack Obama appointed former
Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), distinguished professor of governance and politics, as co-chair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. The board’s mission is to provide the president with an independent source on intelligence matters. Hagel will chair the board alongside former Sen. David Boren (D-Okla.) Obama said the co-chairs are “leading voices on intelligence and security issues, and they represent the bipartisan consensus for a strong and smart national security policy.”
Awards and Honors
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John Esposito, university professor and director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of St. Michael’s College’s Theology Convocation. St. Michael’s, part of the University of Toronto, selected Esposito for his “remarkable contributions to Islamic studies which, worldwide, have promoted a better understanding of political and religious Islam.” Esposito will receive the honorary degree on Nov. 14.
• The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Alpha Sigma Nu, the honor society of Jesuit colleges and universities, awarded physics professor
James Freericks its 2009 National Book Award in the sciences. Freericks’ winning book, “Transport in Multilayered Nanostructures: The Dynamical Mean-Field Theory Approach” (Imperial College Press, 2006) is described by the publisher as the first comprehensive text on dynamical mean-field theory.
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Arturo Valenzuela, on leave as director of the Center for Latin American Studies and professor of government, made Hispanic Business magazine’s 100 most influential Hispanics list for 2009. The magazine listed Valenzuela in its Washington, D.C. Power Brokers category. Valenzuela is awaiting a confirmation vote as United States assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs.
Books and Publications
• Assistant history professor
Micah Muscolino’s new book, “Fishing Wars and Environmental Change in Late Imperial and Modern China” (Harvard University Press, 2009) looks at damage to marine ecosystems from overfishing and pollution. Using the China’s Zhoushan Archipelago as context, Muscolino argues that contemporary environmental problems stems from how people have historically generated, perceived and responded to environmental change.
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Angelyn Mitchell, associate professor of English and director of African American studies, co-edited a new book called “The Cambridge Companion to African American Women’s Literature” (Cambridge University Press, 2009). The book includes 14 chapters on important female African American authors, including writers of the Harlem Renaissance, African American poets and African American-written children's books.
