The Academic Minute from 03.14 – 03.18
Monday, March 14th
Rogelio Minana – Drexel University
Global Engagement in the Post-Pandemic Era
Rogelio Miñana is Professor of Spanish and Global Studies and Vice Provost for Global Engagement at Drexel University in Philadelphia. In both his scholarship and teaching, he explores the interplay between the traditional humanities, youth organizations, and community activism. He has published three books on early modern prose, including Living Quixote: Performative Activism in Contemporary Brazil and the Americas (Vanderbilt UP, 2020). He has lectured in over 20 countries and published extensively on Spanish-language community-based learning, instructional technology, and the academic configuration and social location of language departments.
Tuesday, March 15th
Kara Spiller – Drexel University
Harnessing the Body’s Immune System for Better Wound Healing
Dr. Kara Spiller is an Associate Professor in Drexel University’s School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems. Her research interests include the role of immune cells in tissue regeneration, the design of immunomodulatory biomaterials, and international engineering education. Her research is funded by the NIH, the NSF, and private foundations. Her awards include a Fulbright fellowship, the NSF CAREER award, and the United States nomination for the ASPIRE prize.
Wednesday, March 16th
Jordan Hyatt – Drexel University
The Dollar-a-Lot Program
Dr. Jordan Hyatt is an Associate Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. He also is the Director of the Center for Public Policy. His work broadly focuses on the development, implementation and evaluation of interventions and policies relevant to correctional and justice-involved populations. These efforts have recently focused on post-secondary education in prison, legal financial obligations, vaccine hesitancy, and drug policy, among others. He is the Vice-Chair of the Division of Experimental Criminology of the American Society of Criminology.
Thursday, March 17th
Sharrelle Barber – Drexel University
Ubuntu: A Human-Centered Approach to Advancing Antiracism and Population Health Equity
Dr. Sharrelle Barber is a social epidemiologist and scholar-activist whose empirical research focuses on the intersection of “place, race, and health” and examines the role of structural racism in shaping racial health inequities among Blacks in the United States and Brazil. Dr. Barber is the Inaugural Director of The Ubuntu Center on Racism, Global Movements & Population Health Equity and a faculty member in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health. Dr. Barber has lectured and taught nationally and internationally about the impact of racism on health inequities and serves on the Group for Racial Equality (GRacE) International Advisory Board for the Lancet. Deeply rooted in the rich legacy of “Black Women Radicals” from the South, the legacy of activism of her beloved alma mater, Bennett College, and experiences that have taken her to cities across the United States and Brazil, Dr. Barber seeks to use empirical research and scholarship to make the invisible visible and mobilize data for action.
Friday, March 18th
Franco Montalto – Drexel University
Building Urban Climate Resilience Through Integrated Research, Teaching, and Engagement
Dr. Montalto is a civil engineer interested in the development of ecologically, economically, and socially sensible solutions to urban environmental problems, with a focus on water resources, nature-based solutions, sustainability, and climate resilience. He directs the Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Lab at Drexel University, and is the Founder and President of eDesign Dynamics LLC, the Director of the North American Hub of the Urban Climate Change Research Network, a Member of the 4th New York City Panel on Climate Change, and an author of the Northeast Chapter of the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5).
