College of Arts and Sciences

Petersheim Academic Expo Honors 26 Years of Innovative Spirit and Scholarship  

The 26th annual Matthew Petersheim Academic Exposition 2022: Share, Honor, Unite will take place Monday through Friday, April 25-29, 2022, in celebration of the scholarly accomplishments and academic interests of the entire Seton Hall community, including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, administrators and staff. 

Georita FriersonRegistration is now being accepted for the in-person Opening Ceremony, which starts at 12 noon, on Monday, April 25, Bethany Hall, Rooms B/C. Georita M. Frierson, Ph.D., Dean, College of Arts and Sciences will present the keynote address "Research Unites Us." There will be a boxed lunch following the presentation. R.S.V.P. for the in-person opening ceremony and lunch »

The week-long gathering honors scholarship and innovation and includes keynote presentations and events delivered in person as well as remotely and in hybrid manner, enabling the University community and the public access through Microsoft Teams. The Expo honors the innovative spirit of Matthew Petersheim, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry, who passed away in 1998.

Frierson is dean of the largest and oldest academic unit at Seton Hall. She is a licensed clinical psychologist trained at The Ohio State University in behavioral medicine/ health psychology and quantitative psychology. Georita Frierson completed her doctoral internship and post-doctoral training at The Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and obtained her B.A. with honors from Hampton University, a historically black college/university (HBCU) located in Hampton, Virginia. 

As an African American woman, Frierson is committed to diversity education and research training among all students in clinical psychology and has held leadership positions, including at The Cooper Institute as Scientific Director and Executive Director of The Cooper Institute Oak Cliff Center. She was also the Director of Diversity Programs and Research Initiatives there. Earlier, she was the Director of Clinical Training (DCT) for the first and longest running American Psychological Association (APA) accredited clinical psychology program at Howard University.

At the national level, she previously held national positions as chair for APA’s and SBM’s diversity special interest groups. Presently, Georita Frierson is a Commissioner for the APA Commission for Accreditation where she has co-chaired eight program panel reviews and was the co-chair of Annual Report Outcome Data/Research working group (2017-2019). Since 2017, she has served on the APA commission’s executive board.  

In addition to her commitment to ensuring the quality of clinical graduate training and diverse student mentoring, Georita Frierson has a productive research career. The two foci of her research with medically underserved populations are in 1) cancer education and control and 2) physical activity randomized controlled interventions or longitudinal designs. Frierson has amassed knowledge of both theory and empirical findings in health psychology and internet-based research, rendering her uniquely qualified to provide health behaviors and cultural sensitivity education to clinicians and researchers alike. Her 35 peer reviewed publications have appeared in journals with broad audiences, such as Health Psychology, Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Psychosomatic Medicine, Medicine and Science in Sports Medicine, and Ethnicity and Disease. She has also delivered more than 100 presentations, lectures, or forums on health behaviors and diversity topics relevant to students, scientists, health professionals and communities.

A Multitude of Events  

Events are still being added to the schedule, so please visit https://www.shu.edu/petersheim/schedule-of-events.cfm for the schedule and event locations. Here is a sampling. 

Tuesday, April 26

Peoples and Cultures of America Symposium I
Undergraduate and graduate students will present their work that will range from racism, sexism classism and religious bigotry. A special presentation on the history of Asian migration into the United States and anti-Asian, Asian Pacific Islander (AAPI) bias will occur.  
11 a.m. – Noon (Virtual)

Making Connections: Using Genomics to Link Genes to Human Conditions
Seton Hall Human Genetics students will provide short oral poster presentations of their class genomics projects. Student projects are part of the OMICs Course-based Research Program implemented in 2018. Each project empowers Seton Hall students to utilize cutting-edge Qiage Ingenuity Pathway Analysis to identify important genetic and molecular connections of the immune system with a human condition or disease. Students will be investigating human conditions including HIV, anxiety, Parkinson disease, Schizophrenia, and more.
2:30 – 5 p.m. (Virtual; click here to join the event live)

Social Work for Social Justice: Teaching to Mission – Integrating Catholic Social Teaching into Social Work Education
The innovative Academy, Catholic Social Thought in Action: Integrating Catholic Studies and Social Work Pedagogy and Practice, presents Dr. Barbara Shank, social work leader and scholar, Dean and Professor Emerita, who will share insights and recommendations for social work social justice pedagogy and practice. Dr. Shank will share lessons from her work to integrate Catholic Social Teaching into the Social Work curriculum as Dean of the University of St. Thomas School of Social Work. Dr. Shank will also invite conversation and dialogue about how Seton Hall and other Catholic institutions might apply these lessons in what Dr. King would call "the fierce urgency of now."
4 – 5 p.m. (Virtual; click here to join the event live)

Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Petersheim Symposium: Accelerating Drug Development Through Innovation for the Stereoselective Synthesis of Cyclic Dinucleotide MK-1454
Keynote Speaker: Nastaran (Naz) Salehi Marzijarani, Associate Principal Scientist, SM PR&D, Process Chemistry, Merck. Poster Session to follow. 
5:45 – 7 p.m. (McNulty Hall, Room 101)

Wednesday, April 27

Catholic Social Thought in Action: Integrating Catholic Studies and Social Work Pedagogy and Practice
Presenting the innovative Academy, Catholic Social Thought in Action: Integrating Catholic Studies and Social Work Pedagogy and Practice. Giving life to Pope Francis' call to institutions of higher learning to be engaged in the work of shaping environments of creative thinking and dismantling structures of injustice, the Academy Leadership Team will provide updates related to their research, upcoming events, and planned courses at the intersection of Catholic Social Thought (CST), Catholic Studies, and Social Work. 
9 – 10 a.m. (Virtual; click here to join the event live)

Community Research and Engagement in Action
The Center for Community Research and Engagement (CCRE) will host a session where students who have been working with CCRE throughout the past academic year will share their research findings from projects on topics including immigration, environmental justice, and the digital divide in education during the COVID-19 pandemic.
10 a.m. – Noon (Beck Rooms – TLTC, Walsh Library and Virtual; click here to join the event live)

Virtues of Inquiry Across the Continuum: The Need for Ethics in Research at Every Level
Leading scholars in research ethics as well as researchers will discuss the importance of ethics in research at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels. This session will feature Dr. Ana Iltis (Director of the Center for Bioethics, Health and Society and Professor of Philosophy, Wake Forest University), Dr. Rachel Annunziato (Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives, Fordham University), and Seton Hall's own Drs. Kathy Nagle (SLP) and Richard Boergers (AT). A questions and answer session will follow their interactive presentations. The session will be moderated by Dr. Bryan Pilkington (IHSA), with an opening welcome from President Joseph E. Nyre, Ph.D.
Noon – 1:30 p.m. (Virtual; click here to join the event)

Bishop Bayley's Conversion and Legacy in the Church in New Jersey 
The Department of Catholic Studies at Seton Hall University is pleased to host a lecture in celebration of the 180th anniversary of Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley’s conversion to the Catholic faith. Rev. Msgr. Raymond Kupke, PhD, presenting "Bishop Bayley's Conversion and Legacy in the Church in New Jersey," will discuss this watershed event in the life of the Catholic Church in America—and in particular, of our state and University. 
2 – 3:30 p.m. (Beck Rooms, Walsh Library and Virtual)

Bioethics: Undergraduate Research in Ethics, Health, and Medicine
Following the Petersheim Keynote Session, Virtues of Inquiry Across the Continuum: The Need for Ethics in Research at Every Level, in this session undergraduate student scholars present their research on ethical issues in healthcare, medicine, and global bioethics.
3:30 – 4:45 p.m. (Virtual)

Thursday, April 28

The Ukrainian Icon: A Piece of Heaven on Earth
A one-day symposium featuring two distinguished scholars from the Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia, His Grace Boris Gudziak and iconographer extraordinaire Maestro Andriy Demyanchuk, Ph.D. of Lviv. Maestro Demyanchuk will speak about the history and creation of traditional icons in Ukraine. Bishop Boris will speak about the newest iconography in Ukraine. These icons written by soldiers, veterans, and invalids of the ongoing hybrid war in Ukraine, are on the discarded boxes of war material. When he was enthroned as Metropolitan of Philadelphia in 2019, he put these heartfelt icons in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, so that the faithful can pray for the cessation of hostilities to this day.
2 – 4 p.m. (Bethany Hall and Virtual)

14th Annual Biological Sciences Symposium: Observe, Explore, Achieve
The schedule of 2022 BioSymposium includes:

  • 3 p.m.: Opening Remarks, Heping Zhou, Ph.D., Chair of Biological Sciences
  • 3:05 p.m.: Poster Session - Research and Senior Seminar, Graduate and undergraduate student presentations
  • 5:25 p.m.: Keynote Seminar, Speaker: Dr. Barbara Mason, Scripps Research Institute
    "Current Status and Innovation Strategies for Medications to Treat Alcohol Use Disorders"
  • 6:25 p.m.: Closing Remarks

3 – 6:30 p.m. (McNulty Hall, Atrium and Lerner Amphitheater (Sc 101)

Mission Mentors Program Presentations
Five sets of Faculty "partners" were approved as the first participants in the "Mission Mentors Program" in summer 2021. The goal of this program is to advance the Catholic mission of the university. In each case, a faculty member with experience in/with the Catholic intellectual tradition was partnered with one or two other faculty members who were interested in deepening their knowledge of that tradition. Working together, the teams developed a project—a new course, a symposium, a paper, etc.--and those will be the basis of their presentations in this Petersheim session. There will also be time for Q&A.
4 – 5:30 p.m. (Virtual; click here to join the event live)

Friday, April 29

Core III and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Session I
Student presentations arising from STHO / HSTD 6585: Creation and Science
9 – 10:30 a.m. (Virtual; click here to join the event)

Core III and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Session II
Student presentations arising from CORE III course: Logic, the Limits to Knowledge, and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition
11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (Virtual; click here to join the event live)

Mandela King-Symposium on Global Justice
MLK Scholars will present a review of Catholic saints who made contributions in the realm of social justice. Faculty will present research, or review directions in their disciplines or their personal perspectives on diversity, equity and inclusion directions devoted to the visions and energies of Mandela and King Jr. They will also discuss what advocacy efforts the men might collaborate on in today's society.
11 a.m. – 1 p.m. (Virtual)

Mathematics, Computer Science and Data Science Petersheim Day
Events include Charles H. Franke Memorial Lecture, Pi Mu Epsilon Honor Society Induction Ceremony, and John J. Saccoman Graduation Awards Ceremony. The day will conclude with the mathematics, computer science, and data science students’ research poster presentations.
1 – 4:15 p.m. (Virtual; click here to join the event live)

2022 Petersheim Academic Exposition Closing Celebration and Awards Ceremony
The formal close to the week of events will feature a keynote address by Rev. Forrest M. Pritchett, Ph.D., Senior Advisor to Seton Hall University's Provost on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, titled "Science and the Human Community."
3 – 5 p.m. (McNulty Hall, Amphitheater)

Core III and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition: Literature and Faith 
The session will include presenters from Core III courses by Nancy Enright, Ph.D. and Angela Weisl, Ph.D. 
4 – 5 p.m.

To learn more about the entire program and activities, please visit the Petersheim Academic Exposition website.

Categories: Arts and Culture