Penn State Abington professors earn awards and recognition

Penn State Abington professors earn awards and recognition

Credit: Debbi Casey Fulbright Specialist Grant recipient Steve McMillan in Belgium. Waffles anyone?

Several professors at Penn State Abington have been in the spotlight lately, releasing and re-releasing books, and earning awards and recognition in their fields of study.

Karen Weekes, division head of arts and humanities and associate professor of English, has updated her entertaining, full of wit and wisdom book, “Women Know Everything! 3241 Quips, Quotes and Brilliant Remarks.” First published in 2007, this new edition has been updated with a beautiful new design and an assortment of new quotations from leading luminaries--everyone from Lady Gaga to Betty White to Michelle Obama. The revised edition is now available in book stores.
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Steve McMillan, associate professor of business, has received his second grant from the Fulbright Program. McMillan, recipient of the Fulbright Specialist Grant for the second time in three years, traveled to Belgium for three weeks in January where he conducted researched and lectured on the topic of his area of expertise, bibliometrics, which is citation analysis of scientific publications and technological patents.
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Lisa V. Chewning, assistant professor of corporate communication, was awarded the 2010 W. Charles Redding Dissertation Award. The Redding Award, given by the International Communication Association, recognizes dissertations that are theoretically driven, methodologically rigorous and that contribute significantly to the field of organizational communication. Chewning received the award for her dissertation, “Network rebuilding after disaster: A communication theory of transitional space,” which explored how organizations in New Orleans rebuilt inter-organizational networks following Hurricane Katrina. Chewning accepted the award in Singapore at the 2010 conference of the International Communication Association.
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Friederike Baer, assistant professor of history, has been awarded the St. Paul’s Biglerville prize for her recent book, “The Trial of Frederick Eberle: Language, Patriotism and Citizenship in Philadelphia's German Community, 1790 to 1830.” The book explores the effects of the Pennsylvania trial -- in the summer of 1816 -- of 59 German-Americans on charges of conspiracy and rioting. The accused had, according to the indictment, conspired to prevent with physical force the introduction of the English language into the largest German church in North America. Baer will accept the prize, which includes a $3,000 award, in May at the annual conference of the Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic held in Gettysburg.

In addition to the St. Paul’s Biglerville prize, Baer recently has been awarded a 2011 Society of the Cincinnati fellowship for research at the Society's library in Washington, D.C. This fellowship supports research related to her current book project about the experiences of a German baroness in the American Revolutionary war. Baer joined the Penn State Abington faculty in July 2010.
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Sean Patrick Griffin, associate professor of criminal justice and best-selling author, has released his new book, “Gaming the Game,” which details the notorious betting scandal surrounding the NBA and the professional gambler who made it happen. Griffin's recent absences on campus can be attributed to his many television interviews and book signings in the Philadelphia region.