Alison Melnick joined the 乐播传媒 religious studies faculty as assistant professor in August 2015. (Josh Kuckens/乐播传媒 College)

“I think that people often associate studying religion with practicing religion,” says Alison Melnick, “instead of thinking about religious studies in terms of understanding a cultural tradition or a society different from their own.”

But it鈥檚 in the latter sense “that religious studies is really useful for students, regardless of their major or what their interests are,” explains Melnick, who came to 乐播传媒 in August as an assistant professor of religious studies.

Because religion is central to many cultures, “the important part of religious studies is to give students a sense of cultural sensitivity and cultural literacy” that will serve them both at 乐播传媒 and thereafter.

Meet other tenure-track faculty members new to 乐播传媒 in fall 2015:

• Henry Boateng, mathematics
• Carla Essenberg, biology
• Leshui He, economics

Cultural literacy including media literacy, she notes 鈥� “helping students learn to critique what they see in the media, and to understand that there are impressions that they鈥檙e going to develop about religious communities that are very frequently skewed in one way or another.”

“We give them the tools to keep questioning what they鈥檙e exposed to.”

Melnick’s own academic experience demonstrates how powerful an exposure to unfamiliar cultures can be. She is a scholar of Asian religions 鈥� but she was a political science major when she signed up for the University of Michigan study-abroad program in China and Tibet that set her on her current course.

Thanks to that experience, “my entire concept of what I wanted to do with my life shifted,” she says. “In being exposed to and immersed in new cultures, you have opportunities to completely change your perspective.鈥�

Melnick’s study-abroad group visited Tibet and Tibetan cultural regions in western China. The following year she had the opportunity to repeat the experience, this time working with faculty mentors who guided her in creating an independent research project.

“I was traveling to different nunneries and talking to Tibetan nuns,” she explains. “Learning about their daily lives, learning about what their religious practice was like, what their access to religious education was. It was really interesting.”

In turn, Melnick aims to involve her 乐播传媒 students in independent research beyond the confines of campus. “I hope to take students with me into the field in the summer, or possibly Short Term, and work with them on research that I鈥檓 interested in, but also give them a chance to do their own research.

“The idea is bring several students with me as I travel to different monasteries or nunneries, introduce them to interpreters who might help them conduct interviews, and so forth.”

“I feel like 乐播传媒 is just a great embodiment of the liberal arts.”

As a researcher, Melnick says, “I鈥檓 most concerned with bringing forth the story of women鈥檚 lives in the Asian religious world, specifically in the Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist worlds. Especially in the Tibetan tradition, we have a fair amount of unstudied texts about women within Buddhist communities. Sharing those stories is important to me.”

She adds, “I鈥檓 very interested in the role that gender plays in religious institutions and how gender dynamics affect the creation of those institutions” 鈥� and ideally, Melnick would love to collaborate with scholars investigating gender roles within other religious traditions.

A second research focus within Tibetan Buddhism is hagiography. “It’s this fascinating literary genre that talks about the lives of saints,” she explains, “but it incorporates historical material, it incorporates miracles, visions, dreams, and all sorts of other things.

“It鈥檚 one of the most prolific literary genres in Tibet. So it can be useful for us to understand Tibetan history, culture, society, and the evolution of Tibetan Buddhism.”

Melnick was excited to hear about the religious studies opening at 乐播传媒, a school she has admired for its senior thesis program, commitment to environmental sustainability, and especially quality of teaching. “I’ve been blown away by what I鈥檝e heard about 乐播传媒 鈥� about how students and faculty engage with each other in the classroom and in independent research for students.

“I feel like 乐播传媒 is just a great embodiment of the liberal arts.”

With no religious studies major offered at Michigan at the time, Melnick graduated in 2003 with an Asian studies degree, and earned advanced degrees in religious studies at the University of Virginia, where she was introduced to religious studies as a discipline.

Melnick lives in Lewiston with her husband, Eric Dyer, who works for Whole Foods in Portland. They are avid paddlers, campers, and hikers, and Melnick also works with fiber as a spinner and knitter.

Assistant Professor of Economics Leshui He. (Josh Kuckens/乐播传媒 College)

Data must be collected and data must be analyzed. But economist Leshui He believes that his field traditionally gravitates more to the latter than the former. And he’d like to see that change.

“It鈥檚 surprising, actually, how much work has been done in developing techniques to dig out more information from the same set of data,” he says. “I was once very interested in these things.”

But nowadays He, who started at 乐播传媒 in August as an assistant professor of economics, is more interested in practicing economics the way natural scientists do their work.

“For instance, my friend in nutrition science will run an experiment for two years and analyze the data two months,” he says, “whereas an economist will get data in half a month 鈥� or even, for publicly available data, a week 鈥� and analyze it for a year or two.”

Meet other tenure-track faculty members new to 乐播传媒 in fall 2015:

• Henry Boateng, mathematics
• Carla Essenberg, biology
• Alison Melnick, religious studies

Professor He comes from Kunming, China, and has lived in the United States since 2006. He earned a bachelor’s in business administration from the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, but his first love was for information technology and computer science.

His interest in working with data and mathematical models steered him toward economics, and He received his doctorate in the field from the University of Connecticut in 2013.

“So far I鈥檓 still pretty happy about the decision,” he says.

A microeconomist, He has researched the economics of law and organizations, particularly corporations. A 2014 paper that he has submitted to the Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization transfers the traditional manufacturing model of “make or buy” 鈥� today Apple makes its own glass iPhone screens, but it used to buy them from Corning 鈥� to professional services.

In other words, the research explores the business advantages of contracting for, say, legal or marketing services rather than handling those services in house. (A major advantage, He explains, is that the senior members of outside firms more effectively facilitate interactions between their subordinates and their clients.)

He is increasingly studying economic issues peculiar to developing countries. And China is a strong focus. Currently He is exploring peer effects in education in China 鈥� that is, how the academic success of students is affected by the academic abilities of the students around them.

Part of economics’ appeal, He says, is the broad applicability of its methodological toolkit.

“This is very interesting, because in the U.S. there are a lot of discussions about peer effects in student achievement,” He says. “For instance, if a student is sent to a class that has better peers, will that improve his achievements?”

He is working with data from a Chinese middle school (for ages 12鈥�15) that educates more than 4,000 students divided among three grades, each of which is divided, in turn, into 24 academic classes 鈥� “class” in the sense of a ranking, not a course. A student is assigned to one of those classes on the basis of admission test scores.

“The students are always in the same class, always interacting with the same peers,” He explains. “They don’t swap classes and work with other people.

“My experiment is with two very similar students at the beginning of the seventh grade. I have their exam data and background data all the way to ninth grade. From there, I鈥檓 hoping to learn a lot about how the characteristics of their peers and classmates affect their achievements.”

At 乐播传媒, economics is typically one of the three most popular majors (vying with psychology and politics). How does He explain economics’ appeal?

Part of it, he says, is the broad applicability of economics’ methodological toolkit. “It鈥檚 pretty cool, because it gives you all sorts of freedom. From a career development perspective, it doesn鈥檛 matter which particular industry you get into, you’ll be able to make use of economics techniques.”

He adds, “I think economics has an advantage in that it鈥檚 very connected to what鈥檚 going on in society.” He explains that modern economics takes as its research subjects realms of human decision-making that go way beyond monetary decisions.

“You can pretty much write about anything. It鈥檚 fantastic.”

He met his wife, Mengxi Ying, who is also from China, at the University of Connecticut. “We met on the other side of the world” from home, he says. “It was actually quite nice to meet my spouse in grad school. We would never have met if we hadn鈥檛 come here.” They have a 3-year-old daughter.

Why 乐播传媒 for Leshui He? “My department colleagues are wonderful,” he says. “When I visited 乐播传媒, everyone I met was so friendly and smart. That made me really want to be a part of 乐播传媒.”

Joshua McIntosh becomes vice president of student affairs and dean of students at 乐播传媒 on Aug. 1. (Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University)

乐播传媒 College President A. Clayton Spencer announced today that Joshua McIntosh, dean of academic services at Johns Hopkins University, will become vice president of student affairs and dean of students at 乐播传媒 effective Aug. 1, 2014.

鈥淚 am so pleased that Josh will be taking on this crucially important role at 乐播传媒,鈥� Spencer said. 鈥淗e is an exceptional organizational leader whose creativity and commitment to students have made him enormously effective and highly regarded everywhere he has served. Josh鈥檚 energetic and collaborative style will be invaluable as we work to bring greater strength and cohesion to the overall student experience at 乐播传媒.鈥�

鈥淚 am thrilled to be coming to 乐播传媒 at this very exciting time,鈥� McIntosh said. 鈥淚 enjoyed meeting with students during my recent visit, and I am eager to work with them and with colleagues across campus on the broad range of issues and opportunities of a residential liberal arts college. The 乐播传媒 culture 鈥� built on a history of inclusivity and diversity 鈥� offers powerful opportunities in student life. For me personally, Maine is also a strong draw as I have longstanding family ties to the state.鈥�

In his new position, McIntosh will play a leading role in shaping the student experience and campus culture. He will be a member of the president鈥檚 senior staff, and an important priority will be working with faculty to knit together more closely academics and life outside the classroom.

McIntosh is currently the dean of academic services at Johns Hopkins, where he oversees seven departments, including the registrar, student disability services and multicultural affairs. He has previously held management and leadership positions at Harvard and Syracuse universities.

“The 乐播传媒 culture 鈥� built on a history of inclusivity and diversity 鈥� offers powerful opportunities in student life,” McIntosh said.

McIntosh will lead a staff of approximately 45 in the Dean of Students Office 鈥� a team that oversees, among other things, student life, the residential program, off-campus study and campus security. The office also plays a vital role in helping students strike a balance between the intellectual rigor of the classroom and their co-curricular pursuits.

At Johns Hopkins, McIntosh led investment in programs designed to better support first-generation students and low-income students. He and his team also used information technology to facilitate data-driven decision making; he led the development of a plan to deepen and broaden student engagement with public service; and McIntosh helped lead an initiative to generate new support for social entrepreneurship and innovation.聽Prior to Johns Hopkins, he served at Harvard and Syracuse in the areas of residential life, housing, assessment, fraternity and sorority affairs, student activities, policy, finance and human resources.

McIntosh鈥檚 appointment as vice president for student affairs and dean of students follows a national search conducted by a committee composed of faculty, students and staff and chaired by Associate Professor of Medieval Studies Margaret Imber. The search included broad outreach to the campus community as well as visits and open forums by three finalists.

McIntosh was born in Lexington, Ky., and received his undergraduate degree from Elon University in North Carolina. He has a master鈥檚 of arts in college student development from Appalachian State University and a doctorate in higher education administration from Syracuse University. McIntosh will be joined in Maine by his partner, William Lumpkin, an associate professor of music and artistic director of the Boston University Opera Institute.

McIntosh succeeds Tedd Goundie, who stepped down on May 31 after 10 years as dean of students. Stephen W. Sawyer, associate dean and director of the off-campus study program, is serving as acting dean of students until Aug 1.

A consortium of Maine schools has honored a 乐播传媒 College student from Virginia and a 乐播传媒 anthropology professor for their commitment to civic engagement.

The Maine Campus Compact, a statewide coalition of 18 colleges and universities, honored the pair in an April 7 ceremony at the Maine State House.

Sarah Davis, a senior from Great Falls, Va., was one of four students at Maine schools to receive the MCC’s Heart and Soul Award. During her time at 乐播传媒, she has led or taken part in programs that help integrate new immigrants and refugees into the Lewiston-Auburn community.

Elizabeth Eames, associate professor of anthropology, was one of three faculty members teaching in Maine to be honored with the Donald Harward Award for Faculty Service-Learning Excellence. The award salutes faculty who integrate community or public service into the curriculum and who work to institutionalize service-learning.

Among other endeavors, Eames has initiated research projects designed to lower the barriers that keep new immigrants from full participation in the local economy. For example, she led students to study , who are bound by their religion not to pay or benefit from interest payments.

Tapping the fields of sociology, anthropology and politics, Davis designed her own major at 乐播传媒, exploring how difference and inequality affect the advancement of social justice.

She espouses a deep interest “in connecting people who might initially see themselves as very different and allowing them to recognize that they’re not actually so different,” she explains, “and to realize that they can still build relationships and conduct really incredible initiatives.”

Davis was a coordinator for the in 2008, and is now president of the 乐播传媒 Immigrant Rights Advocates, a student group.

Her own project, the Refugee Volunteer Program, works through the Lewiston/Auburn Time Bank to enable 乐播传媒 students and immigrants, many of them from Somalia, to exchange services on an hour-per-hour basis. For instance, 乐播传媒 students might help immigrants with English-language needs or homework. The immigrants, in return, offer cultural programs at 乐播传媒.

In the past two years Davis has recruited 33 students and 12 refugee families to the Time Bank, and matched them all with cross-cultural volunteer partners for service exchange.

“Sarah embraces all the qualities we look for in Heart and Soul Award recipients,” says Liz McCabe Park, executive director of Maine Campus Compact. The other recipients of the award are Rachel O’Brien of Unity College, Elaine Tsai of Bowdoin College and Christina Young of Southern Maine Community College.

What appeals to Davis about community involvement is the wealth of ideas and real-world perspectives that a diverse group of people can bring to an issue. “There鈥檚 tons of knowledge and wisdom that you can really only discover from actual hands-on experience and engaging with people,” she says.

Eames has been a robust and imaginative advocate for service-learning at 乐播传媒. In 2008, “Production and Reproduction” produced a that expanded and augmented a Maine Department of Labor report on Somali employment. In the 2009, the course worked with Androscoggin Bank and Somali immigrants to explore the requisites of Islamic banking practices.

Eames’ students have presented their results in such formal settings as bank meeting rooms and the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce. “What I love,” says Eames, “is that, at such moments, my theoretical and geographically remote readings on alternate moral philosophies spring to life!”

Maine Campus Compact aims to lead the way in reinvigorating the public purposes and civic mission of higher education. Its participating institutions seek to transform their campuses so as to develop better-informed and proactive citizens, stronger communities and a more just democratic society.

The Donald Harward Award for Faculty Service-Learning Excellence recognizes faculty who integrate community or public service into the curriculum and who work to institutionalize service-learning. The award is named for 乐播传媒 President Emeritus Donald W. Harward, a valued founder of Maine Campus Compact and former board member of national and Maine Campus Compacts.

This year’s other Harward recipients are Craig McKewen of Bowdoin College and Lorrayne Carroll of the University of Southern Maine.

During the 2008-09 academic year, 乐播传媒 College and the Lewiston Public Library are commemorating these anniversaries with Darwin at 200, a series of events illustrating the importance of Darwin’s theory to our understanding of life on Earth and to human culture.

The series, which began earlier this month with a reading-discussion series at the , continues at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, in the Lewiston Public Library’s Callahan Hall with a screening of the 2006 film written and directed by Randy Olson.

All Darwin at 200 events are open to the public at no cost. For more information about this screening, please call the library’s reference desk at 207-513-3135. For more series information, please visit the Darwin series .

In February (date, time and venue to be determined), the series presents the British Broadcasting Corporation documentary. Also from 2006, this piece examines the 2005 court case against the Dover, Pa., school board, which attempted to inject intelligent design into the public school curriculum. The film presents commentary by proponents of both evolution and intelligent design.

Science historian presents the lecture “Charles Darwin: After the Origin and Before the Descent,” focusing on Darwin’s correspondence relating to his Descent of Man and The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. A visiting scholar in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University, Dean speaks at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, at a 乐播传媒 location to be announced.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsNdxW6HLuc

A t-shirt worn by AESOP leader Erin Bond ’09 represents the delights of moving into 乐播传媒 housing.

A monthly collection of photo highlights from September 2008.

A former dean of the faculty at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., Reich was most recently executive director of education for the American Psychological Association. From 1977 to 1994, she was a faculty member, department chair and associate graduate dean at Loyola University of Chicago. A graduate of Regis College, Reich received her Ph.D in experimental psychology from Dartmouth.

“As a scholar and teacher, her achievements are profound,” Harward said. “She has championed scholarship and teaching excellence within arenas of professional disciplines and in interdisciplinary contexts. We look forward to her leadership at 乐播传媒.”

The challenge of the academic vice president, Reich said, “is to foster the scholarly and teaching expertise of the faculty, while recognizing the times in which we live. These times demand a grounding in the liberal arts and sciences, shaped within a context that enhances applications to the community and the rapidly changing global marketplace.”

Reich said she looks forward to “my opportunity to help advance a liberal education of excellence, one that prepares its graduates to engage in the intellectual, economic, scientific, ethical and social challenges of the global community in which they live and for which many will serve as leaders.”

The endowed 乐播传媒 College Class of 1997 Scholarship Fund, established last May by the 1997 graduating class, gives preference to children of hourly employees in secretarial services, Facility Services, custodial services, Security and Dining Services.

Gousse, a senior at Lewiston High School, will use his $500 scholarship to help defray the cost of tuition at Wyoming Technical Institute of Technology, where he will study business and automobile body repair and custom painting. He is the son of Dan and Diane Gousse of Sabattus and Kathy and Donald Arsenault of Lewiston. Arsenault, Gousse’s mother, is secretary to the dean of admissions at 乐播传媒.

Houston, a senior geology major at the University of Maine, will use his $500 scholarship to help finance a three-week geology field trip to the Himalayan mountains in June. He is the son of Joan Houston, a secretary in the Facility Services department at 乐播传媒, and Homer Houston of Poland.

The Class of 1997 Scholarship Fund was established through the traditional Senior Gift effort undertaken by each graduating class at 乐播传媒. The Class of 1997 raised $19,000, the largest Senior Gift ever, which was matched by Dr. Helen A. Papaioanou, a 1949 乐播传媒 graduate and college trustee. Seventy percent of the class participated in the gift effort, also a 乐播传媒 record.

In announcing the gift last spring, Senior Gift chair Stuart Abelson of Andover, Mass., said the fund is an expression of gratitude. “We are very pleased to honor those who befriended us and contributed so positively to our 乐播传媒 experience. We hope that this fund reminds everyone who works, learns, and teaches here that what is most important about 乐播传媒 College is 乐播传媒 people.”

The Class of 1997 Scholarship Fund supports a broad range of learning opportunities, including tuition support for secondary or post secondary education at the institution of the designee’s choice. Eligibility for a Class of 1997 scholarship is limited to children of 乐播传媒 staff with priority given to hourly employees in secretarial services, Facility Services, custodial services, security and dining services. Nominations for scholarships are directed to a committee composed of 乐播传媒 employees that makes one or more scholarship awards annually.