Faculty Accolades

James B. Ball, Ph.D.

James B. Ball, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Theology, authored an article titled "Why Don't They Love Jesus?" in a forthcoming issue of U.S. Catholic.

Bonita Dattner-Garza, Ph.D.

Bonita Dattner-Garza, Ph.D., “The Strategic Raiding of a Campaign Discourse of Change” was published in The International Journal of the Humanities. She also gave a presentation at the Eighth International Conference for New Directions in the Humanities held at UCLA. Dattner-Garza has been invited to serve as Associate Editor for the The International Journal of the Humanities.

Diane Gonzales Bertrand

Diane Gonzales Bertrand's, St. Mary's University English and Communication Studies Department's Writer-in-Residence, children’s bilingual book, "The Party for Papa Luis/la fiesta para Papa Luis," (Arte Publico Press 2010) won the Austin Public Library Foundation Award for children’s literature. Her young adult novel, “The F Factor”, (Arte Publico Press, 2010) is a finalist for the Texas Library Association Lone Star Reading List.

Bertrand’s new bilingual children’s books include "Adelita and the Calabacita Cousins/Adelita y las primas Verduritas" (Arte Publio Press, 2011) and The Park Our Town Built/El Parque que nuestro pueblo construyó” (Raven Tree Books, 2011).

Alex Briseno

Alex Briseno, Professor of Public Service in Residence, served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the San Antonio Water System for over five years. He was originally appointed by Mayor Phil Hardberger in 2006 and re-apponted by Mayor Juian Castro in 2009 and 2010.

Eva Bueno, Ph.D.

Eva Bueno, Ph.D., Chair and Associate Professor of Portuguese, Spanish and M.O.S., was published in several editions of the Revista Espaco Academico. Read some her articles online here and here.

Adam Burke

Adam Burke, Visiting Assistant Professor of Drama, has taken over as the artistic director of the outdoor drama "Tecumseh." He is working with some St. Mary's University students on a project at Heritage Middle School. The project is based on the exploration of the identification of violence in schools and the promotion of peace at a young age.

Gwendolyn Diaz, Ph.D.

Gwendolyn Diaz, Ph.D., professor of World Literature, Literary Theory and Director of the Graduate English Literature and Langueage Program, is serving as President of the South Central Modern Language Association. This year her presidential address for the six state-wide association is titled “The End of Books?” Her latest book, "Text, Context and Post-Text: The Narrative Journey of L. Valenzuela," has been nominated for a book award. Her article “Sacred, Profane and Quantum Spaces in Contemporary Narratives” has appeared in the Fall issue of Revista Iberoamericana, U. of Pittsburg Press.

Henry Flores, Ph.D. (B.A. '74)

Henry Flores, Ph.D., Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of Political Science, was recently presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the School of Law during their annual Chicano Civil Rights Banquet, as part of the Minority Pre-Law Symposium. Flores was honored for his contributions and continued dedication to Latino voting rights issues.

Palmer Hall, Ph.D.

Palmer Hall, Ph.D. authored a book of short stories titled, Into the Thicket, published by Ink Brush Press. He also has several poems and stories published in the Connecticut Review, Valley Voices, San Pedro River Review, Connecticut River Review, Valparaiso Poetry Review, and Concho River Review.. Hall also is a member of the Texas Institute of Letter.

Heather Hill, Ph.D.

Recent publications:

Hill, H., Kahn, M., Brilliot, L., Roberts, B, Gutierrez, C., & Artz, S. (2011). Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) bubble bursts: Surprise, protection, or play? International Journal of Comparative Psychology, 24, 235-243.

Hill, H., & Kuczaj, S. A. II. (2011). The development of language. In A. Slater & J.G. Bremner (Eds.), An Introduction to Developmental Psychology, 2nd edition. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.

Hill, H. M., & Lackups, M. (2010). What and where do marine mammal researchers publish? A
review of journal publications regarding cetaceans since 1950. International Journal of Comparative Psychology, 23, 414-534.

Conference Presentations:

Collier, B., & Hill, H. (2010). Response to a novel enrichment device by two mother-calf beluga pairs. Poster presented at the Association of Zoos and Aquaria (AZA), Houston, TX, Sept 11-16.

Artz, S., Gutierrez, C., Kahn, M., Roberts, B., Brilliot, L., & Hill, H. (2011). Bubble burst production depends on the beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) and context. Poster presented at the Animal Behavior Society Meeting (ABS), Bloomington, IN, Jul 25-30.

Campbell, C., Griego, C., & Hill, H. (2011). Allomaternal care by belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in the care of humans. Poster presented at the Animal Behavior Society Meeting (ABS), Bloomington, IN, Jul 25-30.

Glenn Hughes, Ph.D.

Glenn Hughes Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, has authored the book A More Beautiful Question: The Spiritual in Poetry and Art, published by University of Missouri Press. Erato: Twenty Elegies was published in 2010 by Pecan Grove Press. Hughes gave a paper on “Eric Voegelin’s Use of Metaphor,” at the American Political Science Association annual conference in Seattle. Hughes's essay "The Concept of Dignity in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights” appeared in the March 2011 issue of the Journal of Religious Ethics. This was the result of his Fulbright Scholar Research Grant work at the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO) in Fall 2008.

Bill Israel, Ph.D.

Bill Israel, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Journalism and Political Communication and Director of Graduate Communication Studies, has recently published a book titled "A Nation Seized: How Karl Rove and the Political Right Stole Reality, Beginning with the News." In the book, Israel, who is a former New York Times reporter, a public relations officer, and press secretary to California Senate Majority Leader Barry Keene, delves into the political workings of Karl Rove and his effect on American politics and journalism both in past and future elections.

Celine Jacquemin, Ph.D.

Celine Jacquemin, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science and the Associate Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, presented a paper at the Africa Conference 2011 in Austin. Click here to see a video of her presentation. Jacquemin's paper is under review for publication.

James Joffe

James Joffe, Visiting Assistant Professor of Art, had an artwork selected to be included into the 81st annual San Antonio Artists Exhibition at the San Antonio Art League Museum. The juror was Jéssica Flores Garcia who is the associate Curator of Contemporary Art, at the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Ray Leal

He was recently recognized and honored by the Intermountain Region (Denver, CO) of the National Park Service for being instrumental in the preliminary planning, facilitation, and implementation of a new initiative, the ProRanger Program located at San Antonio College. This program was recently started at SAC this January of 2010. It took two years to fully implement it.

The ProRanger program can benefit any St. Mary's student who is interested in a federal law enforcement career with the National Park Service. It includes two paid summer internships at national parks, some short classes, a seven week law enforcement training academy and finally permanent placement as a federal law enforcement officer with the National Park Service. Our students can complete this program with no disruption to their degree programs at St. Mary's.

This current semester he designed a law course, LW 7784 – Restorative Justice, that he and Dr. Milo Colton have taught at the St. Mary's School of Law. This is the first law school course that Dr. Leal has taught.

George Montague

A second, revised edition of "Companion God: A Cross-cultural Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew" was just released by Paulist Press on March 1, 2010.

John Moore

He has been invited to once again serve on the Advisory Board of the San Antonio International Piano Competition. During two weeks in February, he coached and rehearsed with nearly 70 individual high school music instrumentalists on their UIL competition solos. He accompanied all of them at the competitions. He continues to serve on the Education Committee of the Board of The San Antonio Opera Company. He still serves on the Advisory Board of The Texas Bach Choir, an early music ensemble for which I have also been the accompanist since 1977.

Megan Mustain

Recent publications:
"Ritmos utópicos: Ralph Ellison e a estética do jazz," translated by Eva Paulino Bueno, Revista Espaço Acadêmico, n° 96, May 2009. The article in Portuguese
"Utopian Rhythms: Ralph Ellison and the Jazz Aesthetic," Revista Espaço Acadêmico, n° 96, May 2009. The article in English
Presentations:
"The Community of Healthy-Mindedness: Examining the Social Character of New Thought," Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy's annual meeting, March 2009. SAAP's website
Editorial Board Membership:
Editorial Board Member, 2004-present, Questions: Philosophy for Young People, an annual journal devoted to philosophical exploration at the pre-college level. The journal's website.

Steve Neiheisel, Ph.D.

Dr. Neiheisel wrote a chapter for Latino City Catholicism: San Antonio Catholic Schools in Hunt, Thomas and Timothy Walch (editors), Urban Catholic Schools: Tales of Twelve Cities, ACE Press at the University of Notre Dame, 2010.

Steve Nivin, Ph.D.

A study that Dr. Nivin did for the SABER Institute on the economic impact of NAFTA on South Texas was mentioned in The Economist magazine.

Richard Pressman, Ph.D.

Richard S. Pressman's essay "'The Inevitable Hardness of Human Life': The Song of the Lark as Naturalism" will be published in a forthcoming collection of new essays on Willa Cather's novel.

John M. Rankin, Ph.D.

Dr. Rankin was featured as a trumpet soloist with the San Antonio Brass and The Heart of Texas Concert Band on March 7, 2010 in concert at Our Lady of the Lake University.

Dan Ratliff, Ph.D.

Dr. Ratliff has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar Award to teach five courses over the fall and spring semesters and facilitate a regional NGO consensus conference in the spring semester in Romania. His project is titled "Enhancing Social Services for Children and Families in Romania."

Daniel Rigney, Ph.D.

Dr. Rigney's book, "The Matthew Effect: How Advantage Begets Further Advantage," was published by Columbia Press in 2010. Here is an interview with Dr. Rigney about the book.

After twenty-nine years—including twenty-three as director of the Honors Program—Dr. Rigney has retired from the classroom. He was named Professor Emeritus at the end of the Spring 2010 semester in recognition of his noteworthy term of service to the University community and his many professional accomplishments in the field of sociology.

Brian St. John

Brian St. John is serving as a co-chair at the San Antonio Art League Museum on the education committee. Professor St. John working with Professor Miguel Cortinas from The University of the Incarnate Word helped organize and installed the 5th Annual Collegiate Exhibition at the Art League. Retired faculty members from UIW Eloise Stoker and Nancy Powell also worked in organizing the exhibit. Fourteen St. Mary's students along with students from UIW, UTSA, Trinity, and SAC exhibited art works this year.

Alex Velez, Ph.D.

He has been interviewed twice by UNIVSION news show in Spanish recently. The interviews were done by their reporters on campus for two stories: a solar energy initiative on the part of City Public Service and a program looking at the economic impact of Chile's devastating, recent earthquake.

Watch a video clip of one of Dr. Velez's interview here.