TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 1 African and African American Studies 5 Anthropology 14 Art 16 Biology 31 Chemistry 50 Child Advocacy Studies Minor 64 College of Arts and Sciences Education Program (CASEP) 70 Communication, Media and Theatre 80 Computer Science* Earth Science* Economics 95 English 100 English Language Program 147 Geography and Environmental Studies 149 Global Studies 161 History 167 Justice Studies 175 Latino and Latin American Studies 180 Linguistics 184 Mathematics 192 Mathematics Development 201 Music and Dance 218 Philosophy 231 Physics 241 Political Science 247 Psychology and Gerontology MA Program 258 Social Work 279 Sociology 291 Student Center for Science Engagement (SCSE) 307 Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language 315 Women’s and Gender Studies 323 World Languages and Cultures 333 *Not Available 2 COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES ANNUAL REPORT Executive Summary The 2018-19 academic year was noteworthy for the College of Arts and Sciences in that it marked our 50th year as an academic unit at Northeastern Illinois University. The 2018- 2019 CAS 50th anniversary celebration featured a plenary session at NEIU’s Annual Faculty Research and Creative Activities Symposium, as well as a series of guest lectures in the College’s anchor areas of Humanities, Fine Arts, Social/Behavioral Sciences, and STEM. The 2018-2019 academic year was bookended by a fall reception to launch the 50th anniversary celebration and a spring picnic to wrap up the year’s commemorative activities. The 50th Anniversary Lecture Series opened with a talk on “The Linguistic Significance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Implications for Sociolinguistic Justice,” by Walt Wolfram, William C. Friday Distinguished University Professor at North Carolina State University. Jason Lazarus, Assistant Professor of Art and Art History at the University of South Florida and co-founder of the Chicago Artist Writers, gave a talk entitled “Photographic Drift.” This was followed by a lecture on “Wearable and Implantable Devices ‘On The Go’” by Canan Dagdeviren, Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Sciences and LG Career Development Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab. The last lecture in the series was on “The Politics of Millennials in the Age of Trump: Race, Rage and Vulnerability,” presented by Cathy Cohen, the David and Mary Winton Green Professor at the University of Chicago. Sustaining its 50-year tradition of delivering the General Education curriculum at NEIU, the College of Arts and Sciences continues to house the University’s Distributive Learning Program, to offer its developmental education program, and to offer 27 majors and 50 minors across the Fine Arts, Humanities, Social/Behavioral Sciences, and STEM areas. The CAS also continues to serve graduate students in 16 disciplines and to offer three certificate programs. In the 2018-2019 academic year, the CAS conferred a total of 1022 degrees and continues to generate the most credit hours in the University by offering approximately 68% of the total credit hours generated this year. The College of Arts and Sciences, with a faculty of world-class faculty and researchers, offers a vibrant and ever-evolving curriculum in the liberal arts and sciences. CAS faculty foster an exceptional teaching, learning and research environment, working closely with and mentoring students inside and outside of the classroom. The College 1 leadership of department chairs and coordinators work with more than 150 tenure-track faculty and over 200 instructors to deliver our 34 programs. The CAS focuses on providing an exemplary student experience and preparing students for successful professional, civically engaged, and personal lives. The CAS aims to deliver a curriculum that reflects the very best principles of the liberal arts and sciences tradition, and to equip students with the skills and knowledge to pursue careers and service to the community that responds to the needs and challenges of our diverse and rapidly changing world. The College of Arts and Sciences welcomed eight new tenure-track faculty in the fall 2018 semester: Adrian Castrejón (Justice Studies), Ashley Elrod (History), Adam Goldstein (Communication, Media and Theatre), Ahmed E. Khaled (Computer Science), Juan R. Martinez (Sociology), Noe Mojica (Social Work), Judith S. Rocha (Social Work), and Sarah West (World Languages and Cultures). The CAS also continues to actively engage in community partnerships with local organizations, schools, and universities that we hope positively impact our city, region and world, and improve the lives of our students and our surrounding communities. CAS graduates engage in the larger community, not only as life-long learners, but as life- long change-makers. This year, for example, the CAS spearheaded NEIU’s partnership with Chicago’s world-renowned Black Ensemble Theater in producing the “Jackie Taylor Anti-Racism Drama Series.” The Series featured the production of three plays on NEIU’s campuses that speak to issues of race, equity and inclusion and that engaged our campus community in discussions about what we can do to recognize and denounce racism. The following are highlights of the accomplishments of CAS faculty, staff and students during the 2018-2019 academic year: CAS faculty produced over 300 scholarly publications, presentations, creative works and/or performances in the 2018-2019 academic year. CAS graduate and undergraduate students also presented their research and/or creative activities at NEIU’s 27th Annual Student Research and Creative Activities Symposium. Social Work and Inner City Studies student Ashlei Ross was named NEIU’s 2018 Lincoln Student Laureate. In June 2018, NEIU’s Board of Trustees awarded Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor to seven CAS Faculty: Nathan Mathews (Art), Cindy Voisine (Biology), Adam Messinger (Justice Studies), Christopher Owen (Music), Milka Ramirez (Social Work), Melinda Storie (Geography and Environmental Studies), and Jing Su (Chemistry). In May 2019, five retiring CAS faculty, were awarded Professor Emeritus status: Rodney Higginbotham (Communication, Media and Theatre), Mary Kimble (Biology), Dragan Milovanovic (Justice Studies) and Jade Stanley (Social Work). Former CAS Dean Wamucii Njogu (Sociology) was also named Dean Emerita. 2 While we had many events and accomplishments to celebrate this year, we also mourned the passing of Professor Emeritus Bernard J. Brommel. Dr. Brommel taught at Northeastern for 28 years in the Department of Speech and Performing Arts, and after his retirement, he continued to generously support the University. Just one example of his contributions to Northeastern is his establishment of the Bernard J. Brommel Distinguished Research Professor Award, which is annually awarded to the Northeastern faculty member who best demonstrates excellence in research and scholarship. CAS faculty member Ruth “Breckie” Church (Psychology) was awarded the 2019 Bernard J. Brommel Distinguished Research Professor Award. We also recognize the ongoing generosity of CAS Professor Emerita Audrey Reynolds (Linguistics), who established the Audrey Reynolds Distinguished Teaching Award, which is awarded annually to the Northeastern faculty member who best demonstrates excellence in teaching. CAS faculty member Laurie Fuller (Women’s and Gender Studies) was the recipient of the 2018 Award. Six CAS instructors received NEIU Instructor/Academic Support Professional/Academic Resource Professional Excellence Awards in 2019 for the 2017- 2018 Academic Year: Nikolas Hoel, History Nancy McVittie, Communication, Media and Theatre George Maxim, Communication, Media and Theatre Marijo Readey, Biology John Ross, Communication, Media and Theatre Emma Turian, Mathematics We also recognize the following CAS recipients of NEIU’s Faculty Excellence Award for 2019 for their achievements in the academic year 2017-2018: Teaching/Performance of Primary Duties Cristina Ciercierski, Economics Matthew Graham, Mathematics Alex Peimer, Geography and Environmental Studies Cindy Voisine, Biology Research/Creative Activities Rachel Adler, Computer Science Sangmin Bae, Political Science Lisa Hollis-Sawyer, Psychology Scott Hegerty, Economics Adam Messinger, Justice Studies Joshua Salzmann, History Aaron Schirmer, Biology Service Pam Geddes, Biology Laura Sanders, Earth Science 3 The following CAS faculty members were awarded sabbatical or educational leaves for the Fall 2018 or Spring 2019 terms: Sabbatical Leaves Awarded for 2018-2019 Brandon Bisbey, World Languages and Cultures Lesa Davis, Anthropology Brooke Johnson, Sociology Adam Messinger, Justice Studies Sue Mungre, Biology Ana Nieves, Art Joel Olfelt, Biology Kristen Over, English Shannon Saszik, Psychology William Sieger, Art Michael Tuck, History Educational Leaves Awarded to Full-Time Instructors for 2018-2019 Evan Cantor, English Nikolas Hoel, History Kara Nuss, Biology Patricio Rizzo-Vast, World Languages and Cultures Educational Leaves Awarded to CAS Administrators/Department Chairs for 2018-2019 Lesa Davis, Chair, Anthropology/English Language Program/Global Studies/Philosophy/ TESOL Lidia Filus, Chair, Math/Math Development Tim Libretti, Chair, English Shayne Pepper, Chair, Communication, Media and Theatre The College of Arts and Sciences continues to be proud of the accomplishments achieved by our faculty and staff and to recognize their important contributions to the teaching and learning environment at NEIU and the personal and professional