2022 Promotion and Tenure Recognition

The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life, 20th Anniversary Edition by Parker J. Palmer

Palmer’s book on teaching was first published the year I received my Ph.D. and continues to shape how I teach. “Teaching holds a mirror to the soul. If I am willing to look in that mirror and not run from what I see I have a chance to gain self-knowledge.”

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm by George Orwell was an eye-opening book for high school me. It helped shape who I am today.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." This quote, and this novel, emphasizes the importance of advocating for others whose voices, for whatever reason, are often not heard.

Jurassic Park by Michael Chrichton

This book is a literary classic! It has everything- action, suspense, chaos theory...oh, and dinosaurs. Lots and lots of dinosaurs.

The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene

When traversing through graduate school there is little to no formal "training" on the politics and social constructs of academia. Most graduate students are protected from this arena. This book has been a great reference to learn and interact more effectively with humans on many social arenas :)

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Philip H. Knight

A good read for those who are interested in sport business and entrepreneurship. 

Writing Technology: Studies on the Materiality of Literacy by Christina Haas

A book that helped me figure out my own academic path early on, Haas' study brings together discourse studies, technology studies, and writing studies in an elegant and still powerfully relevant series of historical, philosophical, and empirical examinations of the relationship between writers and the tools they use to write.

Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World by Maryanne Wolf

As a scholar who studies reading and writing, as a reader, and as a father, I love this book for what it teaches us not just about the changing nature of reading in a digital age, but more fundamentally about how digital reading is changing thought and information processing.

Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States by Albert O. Hirschman

The concepts, frameworks, and cases presented in "Exit, Voice, and Loyalty" are thought-provoking and applicable in a wide range of contexts. As a political scientist, I appreciate how the book helped me "connect the dots" for different types of political perspectives and behaviors.

Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith

As a critical media scholar, I am always on the hunt for fresh and illuminating takes on popular culture. I also love a good pleasure read. Smith's book scratched both itches perfectly and hit me just as I was receiving word on my promotion. Now, that's serendipity.

Paula Scher: Works by Paula Sher

Paula Scher has been, and continues to be, an inspiration to me. She is the most prolific female designer whose work spans typography, branding, environmental graphics and more. She inspires through exploration, innovation, and a unique voice, all while breaking through the very thick glass ceiling of a male-dominated field.

Rock Opera by Ellis Nassour

I had the opportunity in Summer 2022 to see the play, Jesus Christ Superstar, after waiting 52 years. The play impacted me: a remembrance of lost naïveté and youth. No longer controversial, I wanted to remind today’s youth how genuinely remarkable the work is.

Design Funny: A Graphic Designer's Guide to Humor by Heather Bradley

This straightforward visual humor showcase reminds me of my days as an ad agency Creative Director and those magical moments when concept and comedy converged to create fun audience connections. Thumbing through this collection reminds me that we don’t always have to take ourselves or design so seriously.

Death and the Dervish by Meša Selimović

Meša Selimović is one of the greatest writers to out of Bosnia and Herzegovina, my native country. Death and the Dervish is one of the most important literary works published in the Balkans. This was one of the few books I brought with me to the United States.

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

I grew up in two worlds, one of music and one of books. Jitterbug Perfume struck a deep chord within me as a teen and as an adult. "A sense of humor...is superior to any religion so far devised." Let us remember to have fun in life!

The Colored Conventions Movement Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century by P. Gabrielle Foreman

This book was edited by my closest scholarly collaborator and others who have made my own scholarship possible. It collects ground-breaking work on the history of Black activism in the US nineteenth century. This collection inspires me to explore understudied, undervalued histories of community organizing and collective struggle.

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

This is the first book I fell in love with. It combines mystery with creativity in ways I had never encountered. I have read it a number of times and marvel at how Larson is able to marry two stories so brilliantly and convincingly, with neither detracting from the other.

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World by William H. McRaven

This book is an excellent resource for successfully dealing with life's challenges. It lines up with Paul's teaching in the bible "... forgetting those things which are behind and pressing toward the mark…". Reading this book further strengthened my approach to life in our changing world.

Hannah Fowler by Janice Holt Giles

This book is about a strong pioneer woman in Kentucky who had to make her way after her father died and left her alone on their way to a new life in Kentucky. It depicts courage and strength, struggles and triumphs of a woman surviving in a harsh world.

Directional Statistics by K. V. Mardia

It is probably the most influential book in circular statistics ever written. It is a must have in our library and unfortunately it is not available at this time. It is important to have it for doing research in this area.

Africa in my blood: An autobiography in letters by Jane Goodall

This is one of several books by Jane Goodall that I read during my biology undergrad work. Reading her stories and seeing how successful she had become as a woman in her field was so inspiring. She was and still is an inspiration to me as a woman in science!

In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind by Eric R. Kandel

Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel combines his quest to understand the mechanisms of memory with his personal journey from Nazi-occupied Vienna to present. This book choice is personal (my parents experienced the same atrocities of World-War II) and scientific (my mentors, who trained with Kandel, inspired me to follow their steps).

DNA: The Double Helix : Perspective and Prospective at Forty Years by Donald A. Chambers

X-ray diffraction experiments help determine the shapes of molecules. The DNA duplex proposed in the mid-20th century is considered one of the most significant discoveries – resulting in pioneering work (see articles in the book) by scientists – thus leading to the dawn of modern disciplines in bioscience and biotechnology. I treasure the structures of DNA, proteins, and carbohydrates.

Win-Win Ecology : How the Earth's Species Can Survive in the Midst of Human Enterprise by Michael L. Rosenzweig

Rosenzweig argues that to achieve a sustainable planet, humans need to learn to "share our habitats deliberately with other species". This perspective helps guide my work to restore degraded habitats to benefit both humans and nature.

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

This book is called the 'Bible of the Evolutionary Medicine" which explains many aspects of human diseases from 'how do we become sick' to 'why do we get sick'. Interesting opinions were given to encourage readers to think about diseases from different angles which might lead to novel treatment strategies.

Tam Lin by Pamela Dean

The fifth book in a series that makes me profoundly happy. Pamela Dean's Tam Lin combines an early 70's liberal arts college experience with the world of faerie. A twist on a classic tale, spun from a Scottish ballad – it’s a rich combination of powerful nostalgia.