SABBATICAL ARCHIVE

2009-2010

Katherine Barone: An examination of mentoring dyads of faculty and students - a comparison of experiences leading to clarification that would allow these chosen connections to be more successful.

Aziza Braithwaite Bey: A multi disciplinary memoir consisting of photos and text that will weave together her personal development story, adding to African-American Women's History within the oral tradition of African-American culture.

Judith Beth Cohen: A study of yoga theory and pedagogy through the use of primary texts and literary representation. 

Michael David: Creating a body of paintings and prints, as the first Printer-in-Residence at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown.

Gene Dorgan: Developing a manuscript draft of a compositional design textbook for college students. 

Christine Evans: A study of French refugee writers published in the United States during WW II and its immediate aftermath (1940-1946). 

Danielle Georges: Two writing projects, one in the field of literature and poetics, the second in history and historiography, branching out into the area of micro-history.

Susan Gere: Research and the development of articles, looking at Clinical Work, Academic Leadership, and Trauma Therapy.

Solange de Aambuja Lira: Section I of a book that is part of an ongoing research project by an interdisciplinary team of Brazilian linguists and psychologists from Lesley and Harvard University.

David C. Morimoto: Two publications, one reporting in a regional ornithology journal on his extensive collaborative Ovenbird research, and one reporting in an on-line journal of science and civil engagement about the Community-Based Environmental Research initiatives coming from his division at Lesley.

Louise M. Pascale: Continued work on the Afghan Songbook Project, especially critical research, reflection, writing, and assessment of this project.

Rick Reinkraut: Analysis of the Learning Goals Contract that he wrote and revised for the Division of Counseling and Psychology. 

Nancy Roberts: Research to better understand the needs of SOE alumni, based in research that indicates at least 60% of teachers leave the profession within the first five years, the findings will inform the efforts of SOE faculty to create a support system for recent alumni.

Joan Thormann: An examination of recent research about on-line pedagogy and examine new and emerging developments.

2008-2009

Bill Barowy: Organize and edit a textbook for the Technology in Education program, that encapsulates the knowledge of the program's core faculty for more consistent instruction across courses.

Vivian Carlo: A study of dimensions of spirituality in multicultural teaching and how spirituality can encourage students at every educational level to take personal responsibility in creating caring communities where diversity is affirmed and social justice honored.

Linda Dacey: Developing innovative approaches that improve student's performance in mathematics through inclusive teaching strategies that address the diverse needs of student. 

Arlene Dallafar: Ethnographic field work among Middle Eastern diaspora and trans-national communities, focusing on Jewish and Muslim Iranians, living as immigrants in the United States. 

Priscilla Dass-Brailsford: Writing her second book, tentatively entitled, Disaster and Crisis Response: Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina. 

Lisa Fiore: Research through visits to classrooms of Boston-area alumni, to gather documentation, which will influence teachers' pedagogy and practices while responding to national and state standards and guidelines for early childhood education.

Karen Frostig: Continued research regarding the Holocaust history of her family with an exhibit of new works at the University of Vienna. 

Jared Kass: Work on a full draft of a new book, Building Communities of Peace and Well-Being: Contemplative Practice as a Tool for Personal and Social Transformation. 

Michaela Kriby: An exploration of the intersections of art, neuropsychology and expressive therapy. 

Kristina Lamour: Documenting the effects of graphic design-based visual literacy on student engagement, behavior and learning outcomes demonstrated in two Boston public high school classrooms, with a focus upon students who are potential dropouts.

Janel Lucas: Research to inform the development of the undergraduate social work specialization, and the preparation of students committed to working in the service of fulfilling unmet human needs. 

Sarah Nieves-Squires: An examination of the impact that Western feminist ideology has had (or has not had) on the quality of women's lives in China since the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, Ching in 1995.

Anne Pluto: Editing an Oxfordian edition of William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure for publication in 2009. 

Bonnell Robinson: Continuing work on her project to focus on the Eastern Front (Poland, Hungary, Northern Italy, Greece, and Turkey) and produce exhibitions of her photographic work and an exhibition catalog documenting this endeavor. 

Robert Shreefter: An exploration of his own development as an artist and teacher; serving as an artist-in-residence in Bellagio, Italy and the Vermont Studio Center.

Stephanie Spadorcia: Document the interconnectedness of developmental needs, literacy instruction, program development, and learning for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. 

Jane Tuckerman: Travel to Burma (Myanmar) to continue photographing rituals and celebrations among cultural groups that have remained less affected by recent globalization, but are at risk of quickly disappearing. 

Barbara Vacarr: An investigation of evidence for transformative learning theory in the experiences of educators and students; examining instances of mutual change - shifts in thinking that affect the educator's development as well as the student's, and using these as evidence for co-transformative learning. 

Marjorie Wechsler: An examination of the political and religious agenda of the Intelligent Design movement in America through the study of court cases, historical precedents, and the public relations strategies of its proponents.

2007-2008

Linda Brion-Meisels         Spring 2008

Professor, Education Division, Lesley College

As a founding member of the Peaceable Schools Advisory Board, Professor Brion-Meisels has worked throughout her career to strengthen the role social justice plays in teacher education.  Professor Brion-Meisels proposes to use her sabbatical to write and to publish articles for educators that link social justice to concerns for the achievement gap.  This sabbatical research will enable her to contribute to the critical transformation of teacher education and to Lesley’s participation in fostering peaceable school environments that promote academic achievement for all. Professor Brion-Meisels started at Lesley University in 1969.

Donald Boyle         Spring 2008

Assistant Professor, Professional Programs Division, Lesley College

The goal of Professor Boyle’s sabbatical is to research and develop a redesign for the Management and Communication Technology internship program to support students’ access to relevant work experience consistent with their academic goals, aptitudes and professional interests. The sabbatical research will be focused on creating a field-based internship program and curriculum, which integrates the students’ theoretical knowledge and their competency to apply this learning. The sabbatical accomplishments will be two-fold: the establishment of an on-going relationship with selected organizations, a three-phase student oriented internship program designed to ensure a meaningful pre-professional work experience. The professional growth derived by the applicant through this sabbatical will serve to benefit the student, the organization and Lesley College as a leader in field-based experiential learning.  Assistant Professor Boyle started at Lesley University in 1995.

Gene Diaz        Academic Year 2007-2008

Associate Professor, Creative Arts in Learning, Graduate School og Arts and Social Sciences

Dr. Diaz’s goals during her year-long sabbatical are three-fold. She will complete a draft of her book on critical arts-based action research that will serve as the foundation for the research courses in the Creative Arts in Learning CAGS programs.  Secondly, she will focus on producing a body of work (paintings and photography) inspired by the natural beauty of Colombia, through which she will pay particular attention to the development of aesthetic knowledge.  Finally, Dr. Diaz will collaborate with colleagues in Colombia at two universities and at a bi-national cultural center in developing arts-based and culturally-informed qualitative research projects.  Dr. Diaz will use her sabbatical time to focus on her artistic work as a visual artist, and her academic work as a teacher and researcher at Lesley University.  Associate Professor Diaz started at Lesley University in 1999.

Caroline Heller        Academic Year, 2007-2008

Associate Professor, PH.D. Division, School of Education

Dr. Heller will be completing her book entitled, Reading Claudius: Searching for the Meaning of a Cultural Inheritance, which chronicles the cultural and literary legacy of her European Jewish family as it carried into, through, and out of the Holocaust years. Random House has bought the rights to Dr. Heller’s book in the hopes of bringing this story to the scholarly communities in history, comparative literature, and education, as well as a broad general public. The aim of Dr. Heller’s work is to better understand how educators might provide both adults and children of more recent immigrations, dislocations and exoduses, as well as the ever-growing numbers of adults and children who live with the hopelessness engendered by poverty, with the sorts of encounters with texts that could maximize opportunities for their own construction of possibility. Associate Professor Heller started at Lesley University in 2001.

Frances Osten       Spring 2008

Instructor, Threshold Program

Ms. Osten will undertake a study to examine the life histories of Threshold graduates and the efficacy of the program, which is entering its 25th year.  The study will focus on the graduates from the first 12 graduating classes of Threshold, to assess their more recent histories and current level of functioning and to compare these data with those collected previously on this group, and with data gathered on recent graduates. The study will combine quantitative and qualitative approaches including surveys and structured interviews.  Ms. Osten will prepare her findings for publication and for presentation at the International Learning Disabilities Association of America Conference.  Threshold is an important example of the University’s commitment to serving the under-served.  Ms. Osten’s work will contribute to the dissemination of the impact of this fine program. Ms. Osten started at Lesley University in 1986.

Vivien Poey        Spring 2008

Assistant Professor, Creative Arts in Learning Division, Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences

Professor Poey will continue her photographic scholarship while developing expertise in digital media, particularly digital photography and web-based technology.  Through technical training and research, Professor Poey will be current in the field of photography and it will drive her artistic investigation into new ways of researching, constructing, and disseminating her work.  Through photographs Professor Poey has taken of Mexico and Brazil, she will connect tangible history of a place to family stories whose sense of place is grounded almost exclusively in memories and imagination.  This work will reflect upon critical social issues and cultural authenticity through the lens of more intimate examination of personal perceptions of time and space.  This experience can be directly tied to Professor Poey’s teaching, including her Art, Culture and Community Course, which is based on making connections across the arts and the communities they impact.  Assistant Professor Poey started at Lesley University in 2000.

Branca Telles Ribeiro        Fall 2007

Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies Division, Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences

Professor Ribeiro intends to use this sabbatical to collect and analyze data on the experiences of immigrant Brazilian women in the US, specifically in Boston. The study will focus on women’s narratives in health related matters, including access to healthcare. Particularly, Professor Ribeiro wants to investigate the acquisition of voice, how these women express – through language – identity shifts and stories of displacement. Arriving, locating, and integrating oneself into a new society can lead to unexpected shifts of identity. Mental health has been a major concern for heath care providers dealing with this population. Research indicates that women in particular bear a heavier burden as they perform several roles in the family, community, and the work place. Professor Ribeiro will research what constitutes moments of social and linguistic discomfort, mismatches of interpretations, or different understandings regarding how the interviewee views herself and others in various clinical encounters.  Associate Professor Ribeiro started at Lesley University in 2001.  

Robin Roth        Spring 2008

Professor, Social Sciences Division, Lesley College

Professor Roth will undertake research on older female college students, usually referred to as “nontraditional students,” who attend college while simultaneously juggling family and work roles. While a body of sociological research examines the “second shift” experiences of women who work outside the home, research is needed on the “third shift” responsibilities women encounter when they add college attendance to already overloaded lives. Professor Roth will use sabbatical leave to interview nontraditional women college students to explore the ways in which they manage their complex social roles and multiple responsibilities to work and family along with college attendance. This research will help us to better understand the lives of this growing segment of college students today.  The research connects to Professor Roth’s ongoing research on mothers and college attendance under the changes brought by welfare reform.  Professor Roth started at Lesley University in 1988.

Sunanda Sanyal        Fall 2007

Associate Professor, Art History Department, The Art Institute of Boston

Dr. Sanyal’s work will focus on contemporary changes in the visual culture of a religious/social festival observed in India.  While numerous descriptive documentaries of this festival have been made, none sheds lights on its visual opulence, which is central to this particular project.  As a pioneer of its kind, Dr. Sanyal’s project, which will be done completely in a video-taped documentary format, will make a unique contribution to the field of Art History, Critical Theory and related studies in augmenting critical awareness of the complexities of a local visual tradition in responding to global current affairs.  This project explores contemporary global issues in cultural representations and cross cultural exchanges on various levels that will immensely benefit cultural dialog with Dr. Sanyal’s students.  This documentary will also directly serve Lesley University’s multicultural mission in education.  Associate Professor Sanyal started at Lesley University in 1999.

Nancy Waring        Academic Year 2007- 2008

Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies Division, Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences

Dr. Waring will complete the final draft of her new book entitled, Turning Toward the Bandaged Place: A Brain Tumor Odyssey in which she will interweave accounts of meningioma survivors’ experiences with a history of neurological, medical, surgical, and technological advances that have made their survival possible.  Dr. Waring, who is herself a survivor of two brain tumors, hopes to dispel the myth that a brain tumor is always a death sentence, and at the same time deepen the public’s awareness and understanding of what meningioma patients will go through as part of their treatment.  Because brain tumor survivors are a stigmatized and invisible minority, Dr. Waring’s work will serve as a vehicle for exploring uncharted territory. The ongoing focus of her work has allowed Dr. Waring to focus on deepening her knowledge of mindfulness meditation, which translated into an interdisciplinary course at Lesley University.  Associate Professor Waring started at Lesley University in 2001.

Robert Wauhkonen     Spring 2008

Associate Professor, Humanities Division, Lesley College

The primary purpose of the sabbatical will be for Professor Wauhkonen to complete the final stages of a doctoral dissertation that he is writing for Boston’s University’s School of Education tentatively titled, How General Education Changes Students: Student’s Understandings of the Attainment of General Education Learning Goals. The dissertation will provide a deeper understanding, from the perspective of the student, of the ways in which undergraduate study achieves the intended learning goals of general education.  The dissertation will focus on Lesley undergraduates’ perspectives on the attainment of the university’s general education learning goals, and thereby offers an opportunity for the university to discover ways to improve student attainment of those goals.  Associate Professor Wauhkonen started at Lesley University in 1978.