Gannon University CHESS

Congratulations to Ms. MC Geinsheimer on her well deserved retirement! MC has served the Gannon community for over 40 years as an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication and the Arts and has had an immeasurable impact on countless students and colleagues. We will miss you, MC!

Congratulations on your much deserved retirement, Dr. Baker!

The English Department attended Springfield Elementary's Night at the Museum event on April 27th. As students walked through different displays of student projects and activities for various subjects, English faculty walked them through a Blackout and Found Poetry activity as part of the literacy exhibit. They handed out stickers, water bottles, and children's books.

The annual Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA) convention was held March 5-8 in Pittsburgh and boasted attendance from all around the globe. Dr. Derek DiMatteo and Dr. Matt Darling in the English department, who serve as the association’s Executive Director and Second Vice President respectively, as well as Sabine Preuss-Miller who provides administrative support to the association, were instrumental to the success of this year’s convention. The convention featured over 520 sessions in addition to over 1,600 presentations focused on literatures, languages, cultures, and pedagogical innovation. Many faculty members from the English department and the School of Public Service & Global Affairs led sessions and workshops or appeared on round table discussions throughout the convention’s run. In addition, English undergraduate student Sophia Messenger participated in one of the Undergraduate Research Forum Poster sessions. The 2027 convention will be held on the campus of Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. Congratulations to all who participated and organized another engaging convention!

The Adjunct Recognition Reception was held last Friday evening to honor the important work of Gannon adjunct faculty. This year's recipient in CHESS was Attorney Edward Betza in the Department of Justice Studies & Human Services. Andrew Paris in the Business Administration program was the honoree for the College of Business and Engineering and Allison DiPlacido in the Villa Maria School of Nursing was the honoree for the Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences. Thank you to all of the adjunct faculty across both campuses for all that you do!

The Gannon Model UN team had the opportunity to attend the Princeton Diplomatic Invitational this past weekend. The delegates competed across three committees debating various interesting topics. Senior Cadence Hoover, a dual Political Science and Writing major who served as this year’s Secretary General at Gannon’s own conference, also won Outstanding Delegate at the invitational. Congratulations to the entire Model UN team on a great performance!

Our English department hosted the 49th annual Writing Awards night this past Thursday. The event honored the winners of our national poetry contest for high school students as well as many students across campus for their outstanding work throughout the year. Copies of the newest edition of Totem, Gannon's student-run arts and literature magazine, were also available.

Matthew Shenoda, an award winning poet with several books of critically acclaimed poetry out, was this year's guest speaker. In addition to writing poetry, Shenoda serves as a professor in the School of Fine & Performing Arts at Columbia College Chicago in addition to serving as their Dean of Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

On Saturday, April 11, Gannon's Department of Psychology and Counseling hosted the 2026 Western Pennsylvania Undergraduate Research Conference (WPUPC). Over 100 students and faculty from around the region attended and presented both posters and papers. We were also joined by Dr. Lee Gilman from Kent State University, who delivered a keynote address about the physiological impact of salty foods on stress. Thank you to all the volunteers who made the conference a success, and congratulations to the department for a successful conference!

Barbara Townsend, a longtime faculty member of the Psychology department who retired from full time teaching in December, was honored by the students in her UPMC Jameson School of Nursing course with a surprise party yesterday! Barbara is a supportive, engaging, and dedicated instructor and it was wonderful to see her efforts honored in this way.

Yesterday, Mayor Daria Devlin came to campus and addressed both the US Government & Politics and Intro to Womens Studies classes. Special thanks to Professor Chido for arranging for the Mayor to come in and talk about local government and policy.

📸: Dr. Anjali Sahay

Earlier this week, Dr. Bradlee Gamblin took his Intro to Psychology students to Purrista Cat Café. At Purrista, students chose a cat, observed them for 20 minutes, and then completed the “Feline Five” – a real personality test created for cats by psychologists at the University of South Australia. The students learned that, like humans, cats have varying traits that define who they are. For instance, undergraduate Hailey Smith determined that Master (pictured here) was outgoing, friendly, and easy-going!