Dr. Heather Bennett, assistant professor of biology, recently served as a peer reviewer for a manuscript for the journal, Limnology and Oceanography: Methods. In addition, her article, “Intramantle inking: A stress behavior in Octopus bimaculoides (Mollusca: Cephalopoda)” was published in the November 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science.

Dr. Beth Capo, associate professor of English and gender and women’s studies, presented her paper, “Performing Global Feminism: ‘Seven’ from Page to Stage,” at the National Women’s Studies Association’s annual conference in Atlanta, Ga., November 11-12, 2011.

Dr. Cynthia Cochran, associate professor of English/director of The Writing Center, organized an intercollegiate panel and presented “Multiple Roles and Divergent Goals: Weaving an Effective Web of Writing Center Relationships at Small Liberal Arts Colleges,” at the Midwest Writing Centers Association Conference in Madison, Wis., on October 21, 2011.

Linda Cockerill, instructor in biology, presented “Professional Nursing in a Complex Nursing Environment” to nursing students at Capital Area School of Nursing in Springfield on January 18.

Dr. Jim Kerbaugh, professor of English, had his poem, “Doors,” published in The Listening Eye in 2011. His poems, “Houses” and “Spooked,” have been accepted for publication in Tribeca Poetry Review and Plainsongs, respectively.

Dr. Timothy Kramer, professor of music, recently received several performances of his works. Last fall, his “Three Pairs Suite” for chamber ensemble was performed twice by the Ars Nova Ensemble at the Dallas Festival of Modern Music, and his band piece, “Mosaics,” was performed by the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Wind Ensemble. This spring two of his solo pieces, “Key Fragments” (for clarinet) and “Meditation” (for organ), were performed at the Iowa Composers Forum Festival at Luther College February 4-5. His choral work, “Lux aeterna,” will also be performed on the Illinois State University Red Note Music Festival on March 22.

Dr. Todd Oberg, associate professor of mathematics, was elected to a two-year term as president of the Illinois Mathematics Teacher Educators Association at the group’s annual business meeting on October 22, 2011. The general mission of the association is to promote the improvement of mathematics teacher education in all its aspects.

Dr. Caryn Riswold, associate professor of religion, had her article, “Shop Away the Fear, Girls! Man Up, Boys!” published in the January issue of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics. She also had two essays published online at TheReligiousLeft.org, “Who’s Afraid of a Mormon” and “Trust Women. God Does.” in November 2011 and December 2011, respectively.

John Rush, associate professor of accounting, collaborated with three Illinois College accounting majors, Brittany Staake ’14, Corey Wilson ’13 and Clinton Everetts ’13, to instruct Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Site Coordinators at training hosted by the Internal Revenue Service in Springfield on December 15, 2011. These students will also instruct volunteers when assisting local residents prepare their tax returns this spring.

Dr. Almut Spalding, associate professor of modern languages, presented “Gevatternshaft (baptismal sponsorship) across Social Class in Early Modern Hamburg: Kinship or Patronage?” as part of a series of panels on kinship at the annual meeting of the German Studies Association in Louisville, Ky., on September 24, 2011. In addition, an article co-authored with husband Paul Spalding, professor of religion, “Living in Enlightenment: The Reimarus Household Accounts of 1728-1780,” was published in Between Philology and Radical Enlightenment: Hermann Samuel Reimarus last year.

Dr. Paul Spalding, Joel Scarborough Professor of Religion, published his article, “Germaine de Staël’s Role in Rescuing Lafayette,” in Germaine de Staël and the Politics of Mediation: Challenges to History and Culture in 2011. He also presented “Beyond Necessity: Luxury in the Life of an 18th-Century Hamburg Family” for a panel at the 35th Annual Meeting of the German Studies Association in Louisville, Ky., September 22-25, 2011. In addition, he reviewed The World’s Christians: Who they are, Where they are, and How they got there by Douglas Jacobsen in the November 2011 issue of Choice, Islam and Christianity: Theological Themes in Comparative Perspective by John Renard in Choice (August 2011), God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution by Thomas S. Kidd in Choice (March 2011), and Enlightenment and the Creation of German Catholicism by Michael Printy in the March 2011 issue of Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture.

Dr. Nancy Taylor Porter, associate professor of theatre, reviewed The Acting Company’s performance of “Romeo and Juliet” which was published in Shakespeare Bulletin 29.1 in Spring 2011. She also attended the Association of Theatre in Higher Education’s national conference in Chicago in August 2011 where she viewed a performance by “Babes with Blades,” a female acting troupe she is studying that engages women in stage combat during every production.