The Academic Minute for 2020.05.18-2020.05.22

The Academic Minute from 05.18 – 05.22

Monday, May 18th
Thomas Mackey – SUNY Empire
Metaliterate Learners
Thomas P. Mackey, Ph.D. is Professor in the Department of Arts and Media, School of Arts and Humanities at SUNY Empire State College. His research examines metaliteracy, an empowering pedagogical framework for reflective teaching and learning that he originated with Prof. Trudi E. Jacobson in their article “Reframing Information Literacy as a Metaliteracy” (2011) and in their book Metaliteracy: Reinventing Information Literacy to Empower Learners (2014). In 2019, Mackey authored the framing chapter “Empowering Metaliterate Learners for the Post-Truth World” for their third metaliteracy book entitled Metaliterate Learning for the Post-Truth World. He has been invited to keynote on metaliteracy both nationally and internationally and has published several books, peer-reviewed articles, and conference proceedings about his research. Through his work with the Metaliteracy Learning Collaborative, a team he leads with Prof. Jacobson, he has developed several grant-funded Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) including Empowering Yourself in a Post-Truth World, which was identified by Inc. Magazine as one of the “20 Online Courses That Will Make You More Successful in 2020.

Tuesday, May 19th
Helena Blumen – Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Dancing and Dementia Prevention
I’m a cognitive neuroscientist with particular expertise and training in cognitive and motor aging, magnetic resonance imaging and clinical research methods. I completed my Ph.D in Cognitive Psychology at Stony Brook University in 2008 and an MS in Clinical Research Methods at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2018. I also completed a T32 NIH/NIA postdoctoral fellowship in the Neuropsychology of Cognition in Aging Training Program at Columbia University Medical Center in 2011, and a neuroimaging fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2013. I’m currently an assistant professor of Medicine (Geriatrics) and Neurology (Division of Cognitive and Motor Aging) at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Wednesday, May 20th
Gregg Henriques – James Madison University
A New Definition of Depression
Dr. Henriques is author of, “A New Unified Theory of Psychology,” and he directs the Combined Clinical and School Psychology Doctoral Program at JMU. He is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in depression, suicide and the personality disorders. He has developed a new meta-theoretical system for psychology articulated in many professional journals and is now applying that system to researching well-being, personality and social motivation.

Thursday, May 21st
Rob K. Larson – Luther College
Student Debt and Cost of Attendance as a Predictor of College Enrollment
Rob Larson is an Associate Professor of Management at Luther College in Decorah Iowa where has been since 2003. His teaching assignments focus on marketing, finance-investments and accounting.  From 2008 through 2017 he served in an administrative role as the Vice President for Communications and Marketing.  In his role as Vice President, one of his primary roles was working closely with the Enrollment Management staff in planning strategies to meet admissions objectives.  The challenge of meeting these objectives is significant in a time where the number of high school graduates is flat and in certain student segments declining.  Since returning to the classroom the relationship between student indebtedness, net price of the cost of attendance and sticker price, the complexity and comparison of financial aid practices between colleges and universities, and student enrollment patterns have been the focus of his research.

Friday, May 22nd
Terry Gipson – SUNY New Paltz
How Art Can Help Us Improve Our Communication Skills
Terry Gipson has over 25 years of experience in public relations, marketing, experiential design, and public affairs. He’s a Lecturer in Communications at The State University of New York at New Paltz where he teaches Public Speaking, Public Relations, Argumentation, Social Media, Persuasion, and Interpersonal Communications. Terry is a former New York State Senator, a regular commentator on WAMC Public Radio, and an Adjunct Professor in Communications at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.