Kudos (Summer 2026)
Dickinson scholars and leaders remained prominent voices in national and international conversations in recent months, with appearances and bylines in CNN, USA Today, The Guardian, C-SPAN, U.S. News & World Report, The Conversation and numerous other outlets. Their expertise informed discussions on judicial independence, global conflict, archaeology, climate science, child development, race and infrastructure, extraterrestrial life and public policy.
Featured Faculty
Nadia Alahmed, associate professor of Africana studies, is mentioned in a piece in The Times of Israel for her research on 19th century Black nationalists.
George Allan, professor emeritus of philosophy, received the Founder’s Medal from the Metaphysical Society of America in recognition of a lifetime of distinguished and innovative contributions to metaphysics.
Matthew Biwer, assistant professor of anthropology and archaeology, was quoted in El Planteo discussing research on the Wari civilization and evidence that psychoactive ingredients were added to beer during ceremonial feasts to create social obligations among guests.
Scott Boback, professor of biology, continued to receive attention for Project RattleCam and related rattlesnake research. The project was featured by CBS News, The Cool Down, EarthTouch News, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Yahoo! News and other outlets highlighting Dickinson’s role in advancing snake research, conservation and public education.
Ben Edwards, professor of geosciences and the Jeffrey and Marianne Egenes Chair in Arctic Studies, co authored “Getting the Story Straight: Common Misconceptions Around Volcanoes and Eruptions With Case Studies of Recent Events,” published in the Journal of Applied Volcanology.
Jeff Engelhardt, associate professor of philosophy, was featured in a profile in The Sentinel about his work as a sexual assault counselor with the YWCA of Carlisle & Cumberland County.
Lars English, professor of physics, was mentioned in reporting on synchronization of fireflies and metronomes in the science-oriented publication Abakcus.
Michele Patterson Ford, senior lecturer in psychology, was quoted by U.S. News & World Report, WTOP-FM and The Persistent on stress management, emotional well-being and the social pressures associated with emotional expression.
Margaret Frohlich, associate professor of Spanish, was highlighted by BroadwayWorld, VIMooZ and other outlets for serving as a juror for the 26th Havana Film Festival New York, helping evaluate films competing for the Havana Star Prize.
Sarah Kersh, associate professor of English, was mentioned in a Philadelphia Inquirer article on commencement speakers. Kersh, as the recipient of the 2025 Constance & Rose Ganoe Memorial Award for Inspirational Teaching, delivered the Commencement address to Dickinson’s class of 2026.
Marie Helweg-Larsen, professor of psychology and the Glen E. & Mary Line Todd Chair in the Social Sciences, authored widely republished articles on Danish parenting, child well-being and resilience for The Conversation. Her work was republished by more than 50 outlets, including Yahoo News and Popular Science, and appeared in The Good Men Project, Videnskab.dk and One Planète. She also discussed the piece on Vancouver’s CKNW-FM and on the podcast The Last Show. Her expertise on parenting and child development was additionally featured in The Christian Science Monitor.
Noreen Lape, professor of educational studies and director of the writing program and Norman M. Eberly Multilingual Writing Center, was featured in a story by Higher Ed Dive on the challenges of holding difficult conversations in the classroom. The story also appeared in Yahoo! News.
Janine Ludwig, academic director of the Durden Dickinson Program in Bremen, Germany, appeared on Radio Bremen 2 discussing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aims in Ukraine and delivered a related lecture through the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Civic Education Forum Bremen. Additional German media outlets highlighted her expertise on the conflict.
John MacCormick, professor of computer science, published his latest book, Thinking AI: How Artificial Intelligence Emulates Human Understanding. He penned the opinion piece, “The Next Darwin Moment Has Arrived” for The Washington Post. MacCormick’s leadership of the new Deep Network Understanding Lab was featured in a story on WPMT-TV alongside Aaron Shin ’27 and Adacus Greene ’27. He also discussed the lab on WITF-FM’s The Spark with John Lee ’27 and Biruk Kebede ’29.
Jeff McCausland, visiting professor of international security studies, continued to provide expert commentary on global conflict and security issues. He appeared on The John Batchelor Show discussing the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, Ukraine, China and Venezuela and authored commentary for MS Now on military leadership and civil-military relations.
Sarah Niebler, associate provost for assessment and strategic initiatives and associate professor of political science, was featured on the Voices of Reason podcast from PoliticsPA.
Matthew Pinsker, professor of history and Pohanka Chair in American Civil War History, appeared on C-SPAN discussing Abraham Lincoln’s rise within the Republican Party and America’s 250th anniversary. He also discussed his latest book, Boss Lincoln, on Pennsylvania Newsmakers and with the Washington Independent Review of Books podcast, while River Journal highlighted his upcoming keynote appearance at the Lincoln Society’s 2026 gala.
Professor of Music Robert Pound’s visual album, When Creation Fables Meet, was released on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Deezer, Tidal and Idagio by Parma/Navona Recordings on Feb. 20. The films became available on YouTube on March 20. Made possible in part by support from Dickinson College Research & Development grants, the album combines new studio recordings of Pound’s two trios, when we three meet (1999) for clarinet, bassoon and piano and creation fables (2006) for flute, cello and piano, with two stop-motion films created by Elizabeth Phelps and edited by Alden Phelps, parents of Dickinson alumnus Samuel Phelps ’19. Creation fables garnered numerous laurels during the 2024 season, including official selections from the Atlanta Movie Awards and the Religion Faith International Film Festival, a semifinalist designation from the Brooklyn International Short Awards, the Award of Merit Special Mention from the Best Shorts Film Festival and the New Work Award from the Chain Film Festival.
Mireille Rebeiz, associate professor of francophone studies and women’s, gender & sexuality studies, authored widely syndicated analyses for The Conversation, including commentary on U.S.-Iran relations, Lebanon and regional security, with her work appearing in more than 150 publications worldwide. The BBC’s World News featured her in a TV interview on the clash between Lebanon and Israel as it relates to the war in Iran. Rebeiz also discussed the conflict on the Rogue Thoughts podcast, on WBAI-FM’s Frontline Voices and on True Talk from WMNF-FM. She published an opinion piece in PennLive/The Patriot-News, participated in a panel discussion covered by The Slate (Shippensburg), appeared on South Africa’s Newzroom Afrika and was quoted by China’s The Paper on Middle Eastern politics and conflict.
Cotten Seiler, professor of American studies, continued receiving national attention for White Care: The Impact of Race on American Infrastructure. The book was featured in Dollars & Sense and on WITF-FM’s The Spark, and Seiler led an “Ask Me Anything” session on the subreddit r/AskHistorians that generated approximately 43,000 views. He also appeared on WUNC-FM’s Due South to discuss the book’s themes and impact.
Adrienne Su, professor of creative writing and poet-in-residence, was mentioned on KCSB-FM’s Poetry Pick to Click program and podcast with a reading of her poem, Peaches.
Olivia Harper Wilkins ’15, assistant professor of chemistry, authored a Conversation article explaining how scientists identify potential biosignatures in distant planetary atmospheres and why confirming extraterrestrial life can take years. The article was republished in more than 20 outlets.
Amy Witter, professor of chemistry, the Alfred Victor duPont Chair in Chemistry and Dickinson in Otago faculty director, authored a letter published in New Zealand’s Otago Daily Times reflecting on mentoring international students and directing Dickinson’s study abroad program in Dunedin.
Administrator Accolades
Samantha Ha-DiMuzio, director of regional partnerships and programs at the Center for Civic Learning & Action, received a Project Pericles Civic Fellowship grant with Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Heather Plumridge Bedi to pilot civic storytelling initiatives focused on data centers and energy usage.
Jenn Halpin, director of the College Farm, was featured in a story by WPMT-TV on the farm’s Summer Music Series.
President John E. Jones III ’77, P’11, remained a prominent national voice on constitutional law, democracy and judicial independence. He appeared on CNN News Central twice and was featured in coverage by MS Now, USA Today, The Guardian, Straight Arrow News, WHTM-TV and WGAL TV. On NPR’s Morning Edition, he discussed why he supported an inquiry into President Trump’s lawsuit settlement with the IRS. He penned an opinion piece in PennLive/The Patriot News on his opposition to the settlement. Jones also appeared on NPR’s 1A, journalist Scott MacFarlane’s Substack and podcast, and in an NBC News feature on threats to the judiciary and the erosion of confidence in the judicial system. He also participated in a trio of widely syndicated long-form interviews for The Conversation examining the departure of federal government lawyers, mail voting and the U.S. Supreme Court’s most recent term. The pieces each appeared in more than 150 outlets worldwide. Jones co-authored a piece in the New York Law Journal on former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s plea deal. He served on a panel of experts on the rule of law during the Committee of Seventy’s Promise of Democracy Summit in Philadelphia, which was covered by WHYY FM. Jones delivered keynote remarks during Tamaqua’s semiquincentennial celebrations and continued to speak publicly about threats to the judiciary, election administration, voting rights and the rule of law.
Don Nichter, head cross country coach and assistant track & field coach, was featured on the Strength Running Podcast. Nichter, Eric Bologa, head track & field coach, and Trevor Richwine ’26 appeared in a WHTM-TV story on Richwine’s record-breaking running career.
Matt Steiman, assistant director and energy projects manager at the College Farm, was featured in Lancaster Farming, Morning Ag Clips and AgFarmNews stories about the farm’s anaerobic digester. He appeared as a guest on WIOO-FM’s Garden Talk. Steiman also discussed composting on WPMT-TV and that story later appeared in Yahoo! News.
Kudos April 17 – July 17.
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Published September 8, 2026