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Colby-Sawyer College Showcases Faculty Research in Sabbatical Salon

Five Colby-Sawyer College professors showcased their research during a Sabbatical Salon held Wednesday, May 6. The event, attended by faculty, staff and members of the Board of Trustees, informed the college community of professors' interests outside the classroom and demonstrated how sabbaticals inspire teaching experiences when they return to the classroom.

Kerstin Stoedefalke, Ph.D., professor of Exercise and Sport Sciences, discussed her sabbatical in “Exercise Down Under,” a three-pronged presentation that covered multiple research interests. Stoedefalke received a Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation grant to attend the sixth annual Exercise and Sports Science Australia Conference in Adelaide, Australia. Professor Stoedefalke also traveled to England, where she conducted a six-year longitudinal study with the University of Exeter examining heart size in competitive youth swimmers. Closer to home, Professor Stoedefalke worked with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to research the effects of exercise on breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy treatment. Professor Stoedefalke is a resident of Enfield. Read more about Professor Stoedefalke's research in the Spring 2015 issue of Colby-Sawyer Magazine at www.colby-sawyer.edu/news/alummag.html.

Presenting “Financial Education: Inside and Outside of the Classroom,” Associate Professor of Business Administration Jody Murphy, Ph.D., a resident of Grantham, explained how she partnered with the Claremont nonprofit Good Beginnings and worked with Colby-Sawyer alumni and students to educate young mothers in Sullivan County on personal finance. In addition to impacting the larger community during her sabbatical, Murphy is integrating her research of the available personal finance educational resources into her classes. Professor Murphy was recognized by the college with the 2012 Jack Jensen Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Associate Professor of Humanities Melissa Meade, Ph.D., gave a multi-faceted sabbatical presentation “Sonic Women and Cyberfeminists: A Year of Feminist Scholarship and Community” that explored her research on the all-girl sonic culture of the second-wave feminist movement as a site of gender construction and performance. Having drawn on the era's music and radio to shape her book-length manuscript, Professor Meade spent her sabbatical researching film history at the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, Calif. ​Professor Meade is a resident of Newbury.

Chris Kubik, D.B.A., associate professor of Business Administration, presented “Engaged Learning: Professor as Student.” He studied for the IRS certification required to work with the AARP Foundation's Tax-Aide program at Lake Sunapee Bank in New London to assist elderly clients with tax preparation. He also examined how his trip to small-scale agriculture cooperatives and production facilities in Costa Rica complemented his own knowledge of fair-trade business models and his work in that area at the college. Colby-Sawyer was the first private college in New Hampshire to earn Fair Trade certification. Professor Kubik is a resident of Hanover.

Associate Professor of Humanities Ewa Chrusciel, Ph.D., presented “Translation, Mistranslation, and Contraband of Hoopoe,” which detailed how her whirlwind, yearlong sabbatical included translating the poetry of others as well as revising the manuscript that became Contraband of Hoopoe, her second book of poetry in English. Contraband was released in Oct. 2014 and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. A mix of prose and poetry, fact and fancy, it is Professor Chrusciel's meditation on the act of smuggling, and her second collection in English. In it, she explores the porous borders between countries, languages and historical eras. Professor Chrusciel is a resident of New London. Read more about Professor Chrusciel's latest work at www.colby-sawyer.edu/news/smuggler.html.

The professors are already at work integrating new perspectives into their courses and passing on their new knowledge to Colby-Sawyer students. Kubik, who toured farms with fair-trade contracts with Keurig Green Mountain Inc., a company that Colby-Sawyer's student managed investment fund owns shares in, noted, “I've come back to the classroom to talk about social responsibility through the lens of its beneficiaries.”

- Jaclyn Goddette '16

Jaclyn Goddette is an intern with Colby-Sawyer's Office of College Communications.


About Colby-Sawyer College

Colby-Sawyer College is a comprehensive college that integrates the liberal arts and sciences with professional preparation. The College's faculty, staff and students strive for excellence in an engaged teaching and learning community that fosters students' academic, intellectual, and personal growth. With a strong emphasis on learning outcomes, including breadth and depth of knowledge, self-growth, creative and critical thinking, and effective communication, Colby-Sawyer prepares students to thrive post-graduation and make a positive impact upon a dynamic, diverse, and interdependent world.

Founded in 1837, Colby-Sawyer is located in the scenic Lake Sunapee Region of central New Hampshire. Learn more about the College's vibrant teaching and learning community at www.colby-sawyer.edu.