August 28, 2008                                                     Vol 10. No. 1

Weber Named Assistant Director of Annual Fund
Mark D. Weber MSEd ’08 is the new assistant director of the annual fund. He manages the telefunding efforts for the annual fund, and assists in the cultivation and stewardship of the young alumni, parent and student divisions.

Previously, Weber worked for Canisius as a graduate assistant in the call center, which raised a historic $750,000 last year. He holds a bachelor’s degree in literature from Excelsior College and a master’s degree in education from Canisius College.

Sauer Receives Service-Learning Award
The Canisius Business Advisory Council presented Paul L. Sauer, PhD, professor of management and marketing, with its Service-Learning Award.  Established in 2007, the award recognizes a professor from the Richard J. Wehle School of Business who promotes service-learning in his or her coursework. As the 2008 award winner, Sauer received a $500 stipend. 

Sauer was recognized for his marketing research course, in which his students conduct marketing research studies for local non-profit organizations, which are financially or technically unable of conducting this type or level of research.  Based on their findings, students then compose written reports of their results, present their reports to the organizations’ management and make sound managerial recommendations for improvements.  Sauer’s students have conducted service-learning projects for such agencies as The United Way, the Boys and Girls Club of Buffalo, and the Community Music School. 

Canisius Professors Participate in CASTL Summer Institute
Rev. Patrick J. Lynch, S.J., associate professor and chair of religious studies, Gordon W. Meyer, PhD, associate professor of management and marketing and Ann W. Wright, PhD, professor of biology, participated in the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL)   Institute at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska from June 4-7. Each CASTL scholar presented on a particular topic related to the 2008 theme of Jesuit professional dispositions and values. Scott A. Chadwick, PhD, vice president for academic affairs, served as co-facilitator for the pre-institute leadership forum for administrators.

Nida to Share $1.2 Million Research Grant
Robert E. Nida, PhD, associate professor of teacher education and a member of the Autism Spectrum Disorders Research Consortium, is a co-investigator on a three-year, $1.2 million research grant awarded to the consortium by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences.  The grant will be used to conduct a feasibility study of a comprehensive school-based intervention that addresses the cognitive, communicative, social and behavioral needs of elementary school children who are diagnosed with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASDs). 

“I congratulate Dr. Nida and his colleagues at SUNY Buffalo and Summit Educational Resources on the receipt of this prestigious grant,” said Margaret C. McCarthy, PhD, dean, School of Education and Human Services at Canisius College.  “Through the Connections Program, they have positively impacted the lives of dozens of children and their families.  This grant recognizes the value of their work to date, and will support their continuing efforts to increase our understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Canisius is very proud to be part of this ongoing research.”

The Autism Spectrum Disorders Research Consortium organizes and examines the effectiveness of its summer intervention for HFASD children.  The treatment program, called Connections, is conducted on the Canisius campus and has produced positive outcomes for children, across a range of areas.  A subcontract of the Institute of Education Sciences grant will help support the continuation of the Connections program. 

For more information, click here.

Hertz is Co- Recipient of NSF Grant
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Matthew A. Hertz, PhD, assistant professor of computer science, a three-year grant worth $118,657. He will collaborate with Chen Ding, PhD, associate professor of computer science at the University of Rochester, on a research project entitled “Adaptive Memory Management in Shared Environments.” The NSF awarded Ding a three-year grant for $234,638.

Hertz and Ding will work to develop tools that will allow garbage-collected programs to automatically work together and fully utilize a PCs RAM memory without slowing down its system.  Garbage-collected programs are a form of automatic memory management and are used to reclaim any memory the program does not need (the “garbage”). The programmer then does not have to manually decide when they are finished using data and when the memory it requires can be reused.

Erickson Book Examines Crime, Punishment and Mental Illness
A new book co-authored by Patricia E. Erickson, PhD, JD, examines the response of American society to mentally ill persons who commit crimes.  Crime, Punishment and Mental Illness: Law and the Behavioral Sciences in Conflict draws upon high-profile cases to analyze the current policy of criminalizing mental illness, the reasons for the policy and the problems it creates for the mentally ill in society.  Erickson also explores the roles of mental health experts in criminal cases where the defendants are mentally ill.

Erickson is chair and associate professor of sociology, anthropology and criminal justice.  She co-authored Crime, Punishment and Mental Illness with (her son) and colleague Steven K. Erickson ’95, PhD, JD, LLM, a forensic psychologist, attorney and a Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Centers fellow at Yale University.

Crime, Punishment and Mental Illness is available at local bookstores and on-line at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com and www.target.com for $21.95.  
 
Computer Science Department Receives Robotics Award
The Institute of Personal Robotics in Education (IPRE) awarded the Computer Science Department with $1,500 in funding and a Scribbler robot, to help further its curriculum.  Canisius was one of 28 colleges and high schools across the country to receive the award.

“At a time when student interest in science and technology is declining across the country, we have found, here at Canisius, that these personal robots attract students who might not otherwise have considered computer science, physics or engineering as fields of study,” says Paula M. McNutt, PhD, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences.

The Scribbler robot comes equipped with three wheels, two motors, light sensors and a speaker, and contains a circuit board that allows for more complex programming. 

Established in 2006, IPRE is a partnership between Georgia Tech College of Computing, Bryn Mawr College and Microsoft Research.  It was created to reinvigorate computer science through robots.  The awards were made possible through a gift from the Microsoft Foundation.