Spring 2011 Faculty Book Reception: “One of Our Best Yet”

Sharing the impressive range of their scholarly and creative pursuits with their students and colleagues, professors from St. John’s various Schools and Colleges showcased their most recent publications in April at the University’s 14th Annual Faculty Book Reception.

The reception featured 38 books written or edited by 31 faculty members — “a celebration of our faculty as researchers and writers of the highest quality,” said Julia A. Upton, RSM, Ph.D., Provost. “Showcasing the tremendous breadth and depth of books authored by our professors is one more way that our University promotes intellectual discourse on campus.”

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More than 60 guests attended the reception, held at the Institute for Writing Studies in St. Augustine Hall on Wednesday, April 13. “By far, this is one of the best Faculty Book Receptions we’ve had,” said Anne Geller, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English and Director of St. John’s Writing Across the Curriculum program. “Our faculty authors and our guests were energized by the remarkable range of scholarly and creative work that is generated by this University’s faculty.”

This year, five of the faculty authors conducted a panel discussion about their books and the ways they approached their work. The panelists were Frank Brady, Ph.D., Professor of Communications Arts, College of Professional Studies; Linda Carozza, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Communications Sciences and Disorders, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Glayol Ekbatani, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Coordinator of ESL, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Thomas Kitts, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, English and Speech, College of Professional Studies; and Steve Sicari, Professor and Chair, English, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“It was so refreshing to be among so many St. John’s authors,” said Dr. Brady. “I enjoyed having the chance to talk with some, and I look forward to talking with others about their research, their ideas for subjects, their writing styles. It would be wonderful to meet as a group periodically and discuss our works in progress.”

Dr. Brady’s book — Endgame; Bobby Fischer’s Remarkable Rise and Fall From America’s Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness — was favorably reviewed in The New York Times. Other widely reviewed faculty books include The Philosophical Breakfast Club: Four Remarkable Friends Who Transformed Science and Changed the World, by Laura J. Snyder, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy. The Wall Street Journal praised the book for its “full command of the scientific, social and cultural dimensions” of its subject.

We invite you to experience the full range of faculty work at the Spring 2011 Faculty Book Reception.