In the Media

This article promotes the winners of the annual Faculty Awards which recognizes faculty in the areas of teaching innovation, research, civic engagement, and institutional leadership. This year's winners include Professor Yvonne Antonucci, Professor Shirlee Drayton-Brooks, Professor J. Wesley Leckrone, Associate Professor Jayne Thompson,  Associate Professor Dipendu Saha, Associate Professor Katherine Goodrich, Professor Mark Nicosia, and Professor Nadine McHenry.

This print and radio segment (starting at 00:18) features John Culhane, professor and the H. Albert Young Fellow in Constitutional Law at Delaware Law School, who weighs in on legal challenges filed against the city of Seaford for its new ordinance that requires the cremation or internment of fetal remains from any surgical abortion or miscarriage.

This Q&A features Matthew Kerns, associate dean of admissions at Widener Law Commonwealth. Kerns, who serves as chair-elect of the Association of American Law Schools' (AALS) section on Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School, discusses recent innovations in admissions, how the section recognizes exemplary members of their section, and networking during the pandemic.

This article gives an overview of a senior project led by robotics students Nicholas Lubeck, Jacob Thomas, Natalie Ralston, Mary Flaherty, and Michael Knawby. Sponsored by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division's STEM Outreach Program, the students are working to create an autonomous underwater vehicle. This article also quotes Xiaomu Song, associate professor and chair of robotics engineering.

This article provides a guide to throwing an eco-friendly New Year's Eve party for kids, which not only promotes sustainability but according to Mary Rourke, associate professor and director of Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology, allows families and kids to cope after a difficult year.

Teachers at the Widener Partnership Charter School, including Jessica McIlhenney, Kallee Carney and Jess Telese, created and distributed a wish list of age-appropriate gifts for students in the fourth-grade. The response from neighbors and local residents was overwhelming with 392 games donated in just four days.

See also: Delco Today

Lombuso S. Khoza, executive director of the Center for Civic and Global Engagement, writes about the Center's mission which focuses on partnering with local organizations to connect students with meaningful service learning opportunities in the community.

Marina Barnett, associate professor of social work, was an expert panelist on the Holidays COVID Vaccine Town Hall hosted by Delaware County Council and the Delaware County COVID Task Force. She noted the importance of talking with trusted health care providers, such as primary care physicians, to discuss COVID facts, prevention tips and vaccination.

Widener is recognized as one of the organizations that showed support for the new ACCESS (A Community Center Established by the Surgent Family for Society) Community Center which recently broke ground in Chester.

The following Lancaster County students are recognized for earning degrees in May 2021: Adam Bailey, Eric Graff, Steven Hollern, Alexis Holloway, Mohini Pradhan, Hailey Welchans, Bradley Strickler, and Sarah Moore.

Alan Garfield, professor at Delaware Law School, provides expert commentary on a lawsuit filed by two pastors against Delaware Governor John Carney over claims that the emergency-ordered shut down at the start of the pandemic restricted their religious freedom. (He is quoted in the written story and comes in at 00:24 of the audio version of the story.)

Michal Buchhandler-Raphael, assistant professor of law at Widener Law Commonwealth who researches gender-based violence including sexual assault, comments on the ongoing trial against Ghislaine Maxwell who is accused of recruiting and grooming underage girls for the late Jeffrey Epstein. (She enters the video at the 1:36 mark.)

See also: ABC 27 Tallahassee

Lenín Agudo, director for Widener's Small Business Development Center, comments on the opening of Juniata Supermarket's second location. According to Agudo, the immigrant-owned local grocery store, like other family-owned businesses and BIPOC entrepreneurs, contributes to community development and stimulates the local and national economy.

Harry Augensen, emeritus professor of physics and astronomy, maps out the stars and constellations we can expect to see in the night sky this winter season.

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case related to federal abortion laws, Michael Dimino, professor of law at Widener Law Commonwealth, provides insights into how the ruling could impact Pennsylvania. 

J. Wesley Leckrone, professor of political sciences, co-authors this article on how partisan polarization impeded cooperation between the federal and state and local governments during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roseann B. Termini, adjunct professor at Delaware Law School, writes an expert analysis on the role pharmacists play in the national opioid epidemic, in light of a recent Ohio jury verdict that found select pharmacies liable for contributing it.  

After New York voted to pass a green amendment to help protect environmental rights, John Dernbach, professor and director of the Environmental Law and Sustainability Center at Widener Law Commonwealth, is quoted on Pennsylvania’s Environmental Rights Amendment and how its passage could support future efforts in other states.

See also: Biz News Post

Brent Satterly, professor of social work, shares his personal experience as a social work graduate student and importance of sex-positivity and trauma-informed teaching.

Michael Dimino, professor of law at Widener Law Commonwealth, provides expert commentary on a case in Lancaster County involving a candidate for school board who is challenging the Commonwealth Court's decision to not count certain write-in votes submitted through the county's election software.