Interior Design alumna Kimberly Madeya exhibited a chair made of recycled materials in the “Green’s the Theme” show at Harry Anderson Studio, 1205 N. 4th St., as part of DesignPhiladelphia. Madeya’s chaise longue chair, called “Astray,” won an award earlier this year at the TransAmerican Office Sustainable Furniture Competition. The exhibit is open to the public through Oct. 13, Noon to 4 p.m.

Robert Fryer, assistant professor of architecture, and Gerry DeSeve, adjunct professor, published an article on energy accounting – getting an accurate measurement of a building’s utility usage and cost – in Governing magazine Sept. 2. Fryer and DeSeve teach in the M.S. in Sustainable Design program. Governing is a Washington, D.C.-based publication that offers insight on management, policy and politics to state and local governments. To read the article, go to www.governing.com/column/accounting-sustainability.

The Midwifery Institute would like to thank everyone involved in the Nationwide Webcast hosted on campus Wed., May 13. The event was a celebration of the release of Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein’s book, “Your Best Birth.” They are also producers of The Business of Being Born which the Midwifery Institute at Philadelphia University hosted last year on campus. A special thanks goes to Warren Young and OIR who helped everything come together in the last hour.

Push Pin 2009 Exhibition Ravenhill Chapel May 4 to 8
The SET Foundations Program annual spring show, Push Pin Exhibition, highlighting the best drawings and designs from the fall and spring semesters 2008-09 will be held in The Ravenhill Chapel from Mon., May 4 to Fri., May 8. The reception and award presentations will take place Tues., May 5 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Faculty and students, family and friends are invited to attend!

Dr. Claudia Goetz Phillips, ASLA, director of the Landscape Architecture Program at PhilaU, has recently been elected president of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA). CELA is an international organization that advocates for landscape architecture programs and fosters and disseminates landscape architecture scholarship. Phillips has also been named a founding council member for the newly established National Academy of Environmental Design.

The Academy has been created to address the pressing and catastrophic challenges facing the US and world by utilizing the diverse knowledge and practical expertise of the environmental design disciplines.

Students Erike De Veyra '09, Architecture; Meredith Evans '10, Interior Design; David Guerriero '11, Architecture; and Troy Hannigan '09, Architecture will attend this year's American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) convention, Forum 2008: ENERGY, in Denver, Co., Dec. 29 through Jan. 2. AIAS Forum is an annual gathering of over 1,000 architecture and design students. This years's event will explore issues related to sustainability and "green" design and also the "energy" of great architecture. At the event, two students are running for positions on the 2009 - 2010 AIAS Board of Directors. Guerriero is a candidate for AIAS Northeast Quad Director, director of all Northeast AIAS chapters. De Veyra is a candidate for the AIAS National President, a non-profit organization representing over 6,000 students across the nation.

Les Sztandera, professor of Computer Information Systems, edited a book entitled Recent Advances in Applied Computer Science, based on proceedings from the 8th World Scientific and Engineering Academy and Society (WSEAS) International Conference on Applied Computer Science recently held in Venice, Italy. The book was published in Nov. 2008 by WSEAS Press.

A new multimedia installation, “Eco, Ecco, Echo” by William Cromar, assistant professor in the School of Architecture, Yvonne Love, Mike Brenner, Gabrielle Russomagno will be on display from Nov. 19 to 29 in the The Grey Space at Crane Arts Building, 1600 N. American St., Philadelphia, Pa. A reception for the Artists at Grey Space will be held Sat., Nov. 22 from 5 to 7 p.m.

PhilaU Occupational Therapy student Heather Roseti received Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association (POTA) scholarship for 2008.

Thomas Becker, assistant vice president of Operations for the Physical Plant, recently received the designation of Educational Facilities Professional (EFP) by the APPA – Leadership in Educational Facilities organization. EFP designation recipients are recognized as central to their institutions’ success and as indispensable constituents within the educational facilities community.

The Design Center has been awarded $82,500 from the William Penn Foundation for "A Clean Break", an architect-designed prefabricated housing exhibition highlighting innovative and sustainable design and implementation policy challenges in affordable and sustainable housing. The curators of this exhibition are Eugenie Perret and Elizabeth Oliver of Minima gallery in Old City. The exhibition will open October 16, as one of the kick-off events for DesignPhiladelphia 2008.

Janelle Murray-Magee, PhilaU M.S. in Occupational Therapy student, received a scholarship from the Upper Gwynedd American Business Clubs (AMBUCS(TM)) Chapter.

Shawn Dougherty, visiting assistant professor of architecture, and Milena Bica will have their submission for the White House Redux competition exhibited at the Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York. Their work also will be published in the White House Redux book. The competition posed this question: what if the White House, the ultimate architecture symbol of political power, were to be designed today? For more information, go to www.whitehouseredux.com/projects/473.

Les Sztandera, professor of Computer Information Systems, was invited to deliver a plenary lecture on Designing Products with Desirable Consumer Characteristics at the 8th WSEAS International Conference on Applied Computer Science in Venice, Italy, Nov. 21-23, 2008.

Steven Sergi and David Cremer, fourth-year Architecture students, each have been awarded $5,000 scholarships this year by the Carpenters’ Company of Philadelphia. The scholarships, which are based on academic merit and need, are designed for students in the fields of architecture, structural engineering and construction management and engineering. The Carpenters’ Company, founded in 1724, is caretaker of historic Carpenters’ Hall in Independence Historical Park.

Open, vol. 3 recently received an Award of Excellence in the 38th Annual University and College Design Association (UCDA) Design Competition. The project was selected from nearly 1,600 print entries, and was among only 178 Awards of Excellence. This was the third volume of Open produced by Philadelphia University as a Writing and Design Collaboration, and each volume has won this same award.

PhilaU's Delta Mu Delta, a national honor society in business administration, Delta Upsilon Chapter has received the society’s Star Chapter Award presented each year to outstanding chapters. The University’s chapter will be recognized at the next Delta Mu Delta Triennial National Meeting.

Principal Investigator Prof. Alex Messinger, Interior Design; together with graduate assistant Bhalchandra Dhamankar and colleagues Associate Professor Diana Cundell, Biology; Associate Professor Rob Fleming, Architecture; and Brian George, Associate Professor, Textile Engineering won first prize in the NTC Fabrication category for their research project entitled "Development of Environmental Wall for Fabric and Breathing Systems."

The competition included projects from Cornell University, North Carolina State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Clemson University, Auburn University, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and University of California- Davis.

Graphic Design Graduates Finalists in Prestigious Competition

The Graphic Design Communication program at Philadelphia University is very pleased to announce that six students from the class of 2008 are semifinalists in the very prestigious student design competition, the Adobe Design Achievement Awards 2008. The work of these students--all of whom are 2008 graduates--was accepted into several categories and the final round of judging will take place in New York City in June. Work was selected from many schools both nationally and internationally (for a list of semifinalists, go to: http://www.adaaentry.com/submit; for more information about the competition, go to: http://www.adaa.com).

Here is the list of our semifinalists:

Illustration: Sarah R. Jensen, "Know Your Rights;" Kathryn Stracquatanio, "Tragedy! A Musical Comedy"

Packaging: Kelly Harper, "Edge Packaging;" Sarah R. Jensen, "Living Harmonies"

Print Communications: Sarah R. Jensen, "Ban the Bag" poster; Barry Lane, "Backbeat" book; Liz Mock, "Hone Bunch Bakery" identity; Sujatha Moraes, "Vote 2008" series of posters; Kathryn Stracquatanio, "Zurich 2018" identity, pictograms, environmental graphics and signage.

Architecture student David Cremer was recently awarded the gold prize in the sustainable design competition sponsored by the Delaware Valley Green Building Council. Cremer, who will be a fourth-year student this fall, received a $500 award and a paid internship at W.S. Cumby, a Springfield, Pa.-based firm specializing in sustainable design and construction, to work on a LEED Platinum building.  In addition, his design will be entered into the national U.S. Green Building Council competition, which will be announced at the group’s November meeting.

Rams and Lady Rams Tennis Teams Selected to NCAA Division II Championship Tournaments

The following scientific posters were presented at the 2008 Sigma Xi Annual Poster Conference at St. Joseph’s University on April 18.

Posters highlighted undergraduate research projects involving the analysis of potentially hazardous chemical in apparel and textiles. These projects were completed under the direction of Dr. Jeff Ashley as part of his upper level “Methods of Instrumental Analysis” course. Philadelphia University’s Institute for Textile and Apparel Product Safety (ITAPS) and the Academy of Natural Sciences (ANS) co-sponsored the projects.

Phthalates in Children’s Clothing
[PHOTO] Mike Griages (Pre-Med 2008), Paul Bially (Sci + Bus 2008), David Velinsky and Jeffrey Ashley

Assessing the Levels of Trace Metals in Imported Apparel
[PHOTO] Ritchie Ardito (Sci + Bus, 2008), Gregory Granato (Biochemistry 2008), Madison Hagburg (Biochemistry 2008) and Jeffrey Ashley

Is Our Clothing Exposing Us to Pesticides? An Assessment of Cotton Apparel from International Sources[PHOTO]
Beth Krause (Biochemistry 2009), Kaitlyn Bendik (ECBIO 2009), Carolyn Stienberg (ECBIO 2010) and Jeffrey Ashley

Assessing Levels of Formaldehyde in Imported Apparel [PHOTO]
Marcel Vasquez (Biochemistry 2008), Kelly Niven (Biology 2008), David Brookstein, Herb Barndt and Jeffrey Ashley

Fashion Design Students Strike a Hollywood Pose

Three Fashion Design majors have gowns in a fashion show sponsored by Bloomingdales, King of Prussia Mall and Fashion Group International, on Friday evening, May 1. One of these three students will win a $2,500 scholarship that evening. The scholarship is sponsored by the Educational Foundation of the Philadelphia Chapter of Fashion Group International. To celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Screen Actors Guild, each student choose a specific Hollywood star that would best suit their design inspiration.

Congratulations to the following Fashion Design majors: Shannan Carlino, Jessica Gardner and Amy Lyddane.

Rams Ranked third in Women's NCAA Division II Varsity Eights [MORE]

Biochemistry senior Alisa Turner received a Scholastic Achievement Award from the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Chemical Society at an event at the Cynwyd Club on April 17. Alisa plans to pursue a graduate degree in biochemistry.

Tyler Mentzer, Kyle Noonan and Shannon Shippey Earn Weekly Conference Honors.


Three Philadelphia University student-athletes were honored by their respective conferences for performances during the week of April 7-13, 2008. From the baseball team, second baseman Tyler Mentzer (shown above) was named Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Player of the Week; while Kyle Noonan took home CACC Co-Pitcher of the Week accolades. Shannon Shippey then collected Player of the Week honors in women's lacrosse from the East Coast Conference (ECC). Mentzer, a sophomore from Gettysburg, Pa. (Delone Catholic), hit .577 (15-for-26) in a 6-2 week for the Rams; with a .686 on-base percentage, 12 RBI and 11 runs scored. He also hit two home runs, four doubles, and stole three bases. Mentzer collected multiple hits in five games, including three, 3-hit performances. He also had three, 3-RBI games. Noonan, a junior right-hander from Morristown, N.J. (Morristown), pitched brilliantly in his two starts, both wins. He allowed one earned run and scattered seven hits in 16.0 IP, striking out 10 batters. His victories at Caldwell and at home versus Chestnut Hill helped the Rams vault their way to second place in the CACC standings at week's end. Shippey (shown below right), a senior attacker from Freeport, N.Y. (Freeport HS), scored nine goals on 17 shots and added eight assists in a 3-0 week for the Lady Rams. She notched six points (4g, 2a) against Georgian Court including the game-winner, and picked up eight points (4g, 4 a) against St. Thomas Aquinas. She then added three points (1g, 2a) and scooped up three ground balls against Wilmington. Paul Flynn, a senior Interior Design major, was awarded the first-place prize in the 2008 student competition sponsored by the International Interior Design Association’s Philadelphia chapter.

Physician Assistant (PA) Studies alumna Ryann
Rood’s ’06 article, “Haemophilus aphrophilus Bacteremia and Vertebral Osteomyelitis and Discitis in a Patient with Active Liver Cirrhosis,” was recently accepted for publication in the

article will be published on March 30. Rood currently serves as a physician assistant in Infectious Diseases at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pa.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Russell Frederick
Men's Basketball
Sophomore, Guard
Joppa, Md./Calvert Hall
Earned MVP honors for the 2008 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship, helping the Rams to the title.  Opened the tournament with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists in a 65-44 quarterfinal win over the University of the Sciences on March 1.

, is on display in The Design Center through April 9. For more information, contact Carla Bednar, assistant director of The Design Center, at x2862.

Philadelphia University Textile Design graduate student Jung-Yeon Choi was recently named a 2008 Searchlight Artist by The American Craft Council. She is one of 25 artists selected from a pool of national nominees. For her achievement, Choi’s work was showcased alongside professional artists’ crafts at The American Craft Retail Show, Feb. 22 through 24, in Baltimore, Md. The Council is a national, nonprofit public educational organization that promotes understanding and appreciation of contemporary American craft. Its Searchlight Artist award is a newly created honor to feature emerging artists.

Associate Professor of Graphic Design Jack Carnell’s photography exhibition,

Physician Assistant Studies junior Janine Noble, who has a love for languages, recently completed a writing assignment for Associate Professor and Clinical Coordinator of the Pre-Medical Studies Program Diana Cundell’s immunology course, going beyond the requirements of the task. For the assignment, which asked students to write a news story about a famous immunologist, she fused her scientific and liberal arts knowledge to draft a mock interview with French immunologist and hematologist Jean Dausset, winner of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Medicine, in both English and French. Noble had studied French for several years and also took Spanish courses at Philadelphia University.

D.K. Malhotra, professor of Finance, was named Thomas J. Herzfeld Term Chair for Finance on Feb. 19. The endowed position, which provides a $25,000 research fund, was created by Craig Benson, former governor of New Hampshire and founder of New Hampshire networking-computer-equipment company, Cabletron Systems. The position is named for chairman and president of Thomas J. Herzfeld & Co., Inc., Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors, Inc., and The Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund, a 1966 business alumnus. Widely regarded as a leader and expert in closed-end mutual funds, Mr. Herzfeld ’66, is the author of various publications, including the first textbook on the subject,

(McGraw-Hill, 1979). Mr. Benson’s donation will be used over three years to support the scholarship or practice of a distinguished faculty member. Mr. Benson is also the namesake of Josh Owen’s, associate professor of Industrial Design (ID) and academic coordinator of the ID Study Abroad Program in Milan, recently awarded term chair, which was created by an anonymous donor.

Textile Engineering graduate student Yan Liu’s article, “Scent Infused Textiles to Enhance Consumer Experiences,” was recently published in the Journal of Industrial Textiles ... Full Story >>

Philadelphia University Fashion Design seniors Michelle Guan and Casey Saccomanno created fashions made from paper for the window of Janice Martin Couture, located at 41 Cricket Ave. in Ardmore, Pa., as part of the First Friday events that took place on Feb. 1 in Ardmore’s shopping and dining district. The designs are currently on display for all to view. One of the two dresses will remain in the store window until the end of February.

Physician Assistant Studies junior Trevor Bonney is currently featured on the Northern Home for Children web site in an article discussing a holiday toy drive, benefitting the Philadelphia nonprofit, which he helped coordinate at Philadelphia University in December 2007. Through the drive, members of the University community donated more than 300 gifts that were given out to Northern Home children and families. “It was really fun to get everyone involved,” he noted. To view the article, CLICK HERE >>

Architect Brendan Miller, who graduated in May 2007, was awarded second place in Vitetta’s eighth-annual Best and Brightest architectural student competition. 

Women’s Basketball Head Coach Tom Shirley, who is in his 19th season at Philadelphia University, is just two victories shy of 550 career wins. Coach Shirley and the Lady Rams take on Wilmington University Feb. 2 at 1 p.m. (away).

Claudia Phillips, director and associate professor of Landscape Architecture, was recently designated president-elect/first vice president of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA), which analyzes the content and quality of professional education in landscape architecture. She will begin her term as president in January 2010. In addition, Prof. Phillips was also nominated to represent CELA on a steering committee for establishing a National Academy for Environmental Design. The academy would provide expert advice and assistance in the sustainable design and maintenance of landscapes, cities and buildings worldwide. In her position, alongside other planning and urban-design professionals, she will work to secure national support for the proposed organization.

Josh Owen, Craig R. Benson chair for Innovation, associate professor of Industrial Design
and academic coordinator of Study Abroad Program in Milan, Italy, was recently awarded The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design 2007 GOOD DESIGN Award for his

. Her design, done as an assignment for a typography course taught by Associate Professor of Graphic Design Communication Frank Baseman, draws parallels between the human body and modernism through an intricate arrangement of scanned and cropped images. Held annually by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the competition challenges students from the Philadelphia region to create designs that are critiqued by industry leaders from around the world.

David Brookstein, dean of the School of Engineering and Textiles, was recently invited to serve on the Project Oversight Panel of the Fire Protection Research Foundation, an affiliate of the National Fire Protection Association. As a panel member, Dean Brookstein will participate in a two-day workshop, held Jan. 30 and 31 at independent, product-safety certification organization Underwriters Laboratories Inc.’s headquarters in Northbrook, Ill., where he will help develop a plan to address upholstered-furniture fire hazards in the United States.

Assistant Professor of Taxation Andrew Lafond’s article, "Make Tax Research Less Taxing," co-authored with Villanova University associate professors of accounting Anthony H. Catanach Jr. and Shelley C. Rhoades-Catanach, is currently featured in the January 2008 issue of The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

. Prof. Lafond’s article provides information on each of the web-based electronic tax research services to help practitioners select the best web-based tax research service.

Josh Owen, associate professor of Industrial Design (ID) and academic coordinator of the ID Study Abroad Program in Milan, was named Craig Benson Chair for Innovation on Dec. 18. The endowed position, which provides a $25,000 research fund, was created by an anonymous donor in honor of Craig Benson, former governor of New Hampshire and founder of New Hampshire networking computer equipment company Cabletron Systems. The donation will be used over three years to support the scholarship or practice of a distinguished faculty member.

Michael “Rocky” Rackover, director of Philadelphia University’s Physician Assistant Studies Program and associate professor of Physician Assistant Studies, was recently elected to serve a second term on the National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics ( NCHPEG) Board of Directors. Prof. Rackover will begin his three-year term on Jan. 1, 2008. NCHPEG seeks to promote health professional education and access to information about advances in human genetics to improve the health care of the nation.

Philadelphia University’s Director of Institutional Research Mark Palladino, with Dr. Kenneth Hartman, academic director of Drexel University’s e-Learning Program, presented the results of a joint research study entitled

Les Sztandera, professor of Computer Information Systems, edited a book entitled

that year.

Adjunct Professor of Taxation Ted Kurlowicz is currently featured in an article about estate planning on

Randy Gentzler, vice president for Finance and Administration and treasurer, who serves as a board member at large was recently appointed Program Prefect to the Board Executive Committee of the Eastern Association of College and University Business Officers (EACUBO). In addition, Gentzler, who has held various positions at EACUBO, recently joined nearly 500 business officers representing colleges throughout the Northeast for the Association’s annual meeting about the importance of colleges and universities “going green,” where Robert Kennedy Jr. spoke.

Midwifery Program Director Katy Dawley’s article, "The Nurse-Family Partnership," co-authored by Joan Loch and Irene Bindrich, is currently featured in the November 2007 issue of the

Congratulations to sophomore Jillian Sokolski, winner of the University Bookstore’s iPod Nano giveaway as part of its Apple Department Grand Opening Oct. 22! The new department offers customers a variety of Apple devices, accessories and more.

Mark Palladino, Philadelphia University’s Director of Institutional Research, has been elected to serve on the Steering Committee of the North East Association for Institutional Research (NEAIR)...