Milo Watson ’26 published a research paper titled, “Is the Field Guide Sustainable? Rethinking Genre in the Face of Ecological Catastrophe,” in Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment.
The paper argues that the field guide genre’s established conventions leave readers unprepared to understand how human-caused environmental problems affect their local ecosystems, and it analyzes how a selection of recent field guide authors have challenged these conventions to better direct readers towards meaningful environmental action.
This publication is the result of a project that began during the 2023 summer Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, & Creative Activities (URSCA) program. Watson’s experience was supported through the Professor Chester A. Darling Student-Faculty Research Fund.
The open-access paper can be viewed here.
Prince David Dwamena ’28
Prince David Dwamena ’28 was selected as a representative to the United Nations High-Level Political Forum over the summer, and received the Association of Independent Colleges & Universities of Pennsylvania (AICUP) Commonwealth Good Citizen Scholarship (one of eleven scholars in the state to be awarded).
Alexis Hart, Chair of English and Director of Writing, and her team of co-researchers from the Elon University Center for Engaged Learning 2023-2025 research seminar on Mentoring Meaningful Learning Experiences presented the results of their research at a poster session and a panel presentation titled “Mapping Mentorship: Facilitating Student Agency in Creating Constellations of Support” at the 2025 Conference on Engaged Learning held at Elon in June.
In late July/early August, Hart helped to train discussion leaders for a National Endowment for the Humanities Dialogues on the Experience of War grant-funded project at the University of Texas at Permian Basin.
Ron Mumme, Professor Emeritus of Biology, has recently published two articles on avian molt in collaboration with Robert Mulvihill (National Aviary, Pittsburgh) and David Norman (Merseyside Ringing Group, United Kingdom).
The first, published in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology, is entitled “Estimation of molt phenology under molt- and date-dependent sampling bias: a comparison of conventional and recapture-based methods.” It evaluates methods for accurate estimation of the timing of molt under different types of sampling bias that occur in studies of wild birds.
The second, published in Ornithology (The Journal of the American Ornithological Society), is entitled “Sex- and age-related differences in post-breeding molt phenology are phylogenetically and ecologically widespread in passerines.”
It shows that in the great majority of songbird species, males and young adults initiate the annual molt consistently earlier than females and older adults, and molt duration is usually shorter in females, findings that are likely to have important implications for other aspects of the songbird annual cycle, including the timing of breeding, late-season parental care, and migration.
Both papers are based on an extensive dataset on songbird molt that Mulvihill and Norman collected at Powdermill Avian Research Center, the biological field station of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Christopher Normile, Assistant Professor of Psychology, along with his colleagues Mary Catlin (University of Mississippi), Kyle Scherr (Central Michigan University), and Kimberly Clow and Daniel Ralph of Ontario Tech University, recently had their paper “Adverse Inferences: The Impact of Suspect Silence on Lay Perceptions,” accepted to the journal Law and Human Behavior.
Legal precedent in the United States has implied it may be appropriate for triers-of-fact to use a suspects’ invocation of their rights to silence and counsel as indicators of guilt. Testing this idea across three experiments across the United States and Canada, Normile and his colleagues found that laypeople judged suspects who invoked silence as more guilty, despite the same evidence existing against suspects who waived their rights. They suggest that reforms to suspect rights and interrogation practices may be necessary to protect suspects from adverse inferences associated with silence.
Tim Bianco, Assistant Professor of Economics, published an article in Economics Letters titled “Financial Reform and Mortgage Lending by Systemically Important Financial Institutions” with Gary Cornwall (Bureau of Economic Analysis) and Beau Sauley (Murray State University).
This study is the first to use transaction-level mortgage data to analyze the effect of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 on risky mortgage lending. They find that the reform successfully contributed to the reduction in mortgage lending risk by the largest and most heavily regulated systemically important financial institutions.
However, this activity shifted to smaller, less regulated institutions post-reform, suggesting a potential unintended consequence of the reform and partial repeal in 2018. Research assistance was provided by Sean Heintzleman ’24 and Graham Kralic ’25.
Open access to the article can be found here.
Grace Moon ’28 and Anna Westbrook ’26
Grace Moon, ’28, and Anna Westbrook, ’26, were honored with scholarships from the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals (PAEP) at the organization’s annual conference at Pennsylvania State University on September 11.
The scholarships were open for applications from all undergraduate students in Pennsylvania pursuing studies in environmental science or a related major with the intention of working in the environmental science field.
Moon is looking to pursue a career as an Interpretive Park Ranger with the National Parks Service, which would allow her to focus on current wildlife conservation and teach the next generation of students to value the environment.
Westbrook plans to dedicate their career to public service and is interested in supporting environmental law.
Both received funding from the Office of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (URSCA) and the Department of Environmental Science to attend the PAEP conference to receive their scholarships in person.
Moon’s URSCA award was supported through the Carol Darnell Freund, Class of 1954, Dean’s Discretionary.
Guo Wu, Associate Professor of History, was invited to join the editorial board of China and the World, a peer-reviewed academic journal that explores the multifaceted and evolving relationships between China and the global community.
Based in Singapore and published in English, the journal provides a platform for rigorous, policy-relevant scholarship that illuminates how domestic developments in China intersect with global trends across a range of fields. Wu will serve as the journal’s section head for historical perspectives.
Quentin Hoegerl ’27
Quentin Hoegerl ’27 was selected to participate in the Naylor Workshop for Undergraduate Research in Writing Studies held at York College from September 26 to 28, where he considered ways in which to extend and refine his 2025 URSCA research project.
Alexis Hart, Chair and Professor of English and Director of Writing, served as a faculty research mentor at the workshop.
Matthew Stinson, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, presented “Reimagining the Boardroom: Strengthening Board Engagement and Impact” at the Nonprofit Partnership’s Keystone Conference on October 29 in Erie, PA.
Stinson and Melissa Mencotti, Director of Gift Planning, wrote an article titled “Invite, Inspire, Invest: Leveraging a History of Relationships,” which was published in the July 2025 issue of Planned Giving Today. View a reprint of the copy here.
Brian M. Harward, Professor of Political Science, participated in an “Author Meets Critics” session at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association in Vancouver, British Columbia.
He and his coauthors of their new book, Strategic Responsiveness: How Congress Confronts Executive Power (University of Michigan Press), discussed the implications and limits of the themes of their analyses with panelists from West Virginia University, Marquette University, the University of Georgia, and Vanderbilt University.
