Fisher Community Making News
Faculty, staff, and students at St. John Fisher University make headlines every day. Here’s a round-up of their accomplishments throughout the spring semester.
Awards and Appointments
Dr. Susan M. Schultz, a professor in the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. School of Education, was awarded the 2025 Eagle Award for Lifetime Leadership in Rural Special Education from the American Council on Rural Special Education. The award honors her exceptional leadership and contributions to rural special education over her career.
Research and Scholarship
Dr. Alexey Ignatchenko, associate professor of chemistry, has recently published a research article in the Journal of Organic Chemistry. An image representing his research was also placed on the front cover for the issue. The image shows a beautiful network of carbon atoms forming interpenetrating channels. This new type of material is called Schwarzites, after the 19th century German mathematician, Herman Schwarz.
Ignatchenko and student Degraj Suberi have also both given oral talks at the International Conference on Materials Research and have described their computational efforts to design new and unusual forms of carbon materials. Ignatchenko discussed highly symmetric chambers with windows and Suberi talked about his work on making connections between chambers by attaching nanotubes to those windows. Throughout the spring semester, student Charlie Illingworth joined the computational research efforts, designing novel structures with carbon atoms as part of the honors program.
Dr. Katharine A. Burakowski, associate professor of sport management, and Paul Hemingway, director of experiential learning and outreach for the department, published a new textbook, The Sport and Social Media Playbook.
The Department of Psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences hosted the first meeting for RocTOP, the Greater Rochester Teaching of Psychology. Attendees included educators from local school districts who engaged in discussions about how to improve the teaching of psychology. Dr. Emily Dane Staples, a professor in the Sport Management Department, delivered the keynote address, sharing active learning pedagogical and assessment techniques. Faculty members from psychology presented on team projects, experiences with going gradeless, and creating playful classrooms, among other topics.
Students from the Sports Science Research Team presented at the International Rugby Strength and Conditioning Conference, a virtual meeting that brought together a global audience of professionals in the field. Students Makena Evans and Connor McJury joined Dr. Bob Enck, visiting assistant professor, in delivering two presentations, “Building a Foundation for Effective Force Plate Use in Athletics” and “Applied Force Plate Data Analysis: Strategies for Teams and Individuals.”
Expert Commentary
Dr. Tim Franz, professor of psychology, and Dr. Lauren Vicker, a long-time professor in the Department of Media and Communication, published commentary in Inside Higher Ed, sharing their opinions on group work and class discussions.
Dr. Yi Liu, assistant professor of finance in the School of Business, has been featured by ConsumerAffairs discussing home warranties.
WalletHub featured Dr. Daniel J. Connolly, dean of the School of Business, on Amex Gold Card benefits.
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