Elizabethtown College News 
Back to top 1/31/2007 Social work prof publishes study of sexual abuse A mother’s experience of sexual abuse may not increase the risk of her physically abusing her own children, but how she resolves it may, according to a study by an  Elizabethtown College social work professor.Susan Mapp’s study – published in the November issue of the journal “Child Abuse & Neglect” – investigated factors from the individual, family and community that might contribute to the physical abuse of children. Those that proved statistically significant were depression and locus of control, a person’s belief as to where the power to control his/her life is located. “Locus of control is where you feel control is for the things that happen to you,” Mapp said. “An external locus of control – the belief that things happen to you – tends to go along with depression,” Mapp said. “Mothers believe they can’t control their own lives, so how can they be expected to believe they can control their children.” The path from sexual abuse as a child to the current risk of physical abuse by mothers doesn’t appear to be a direct line, according to Mapp. The results of her study – which involved a sample of 265 women – indicate that sexual abuse as child was found to impact maternal depression, which, along with locus of control, impacted risk of committing physical abuse. “In other words, sexual abuse as a child does not lead directly to her physically abusing her children, but can create other risk factors that can affect it.” The key to working with women who’ve experienced sexual abuse as children, according to Mapp, is focusing on the resolution of the trauma. “If the mother is able to talk about her trauma with someone – if she feels she is believed – and can work through it, she’ll be able to move past the abuse. She’ll be less likely to experience the depression and sense of lack of control over her life that can lead to mothers physically abusing their children.” Back to top 1/29/2007 Lancaster Symphony concert to feature violinists This event is sold out. Under the direction of Maestro Stephen Gunzenhauser, the  Lancaster Symphony Orchestra will present Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” and Bartok’s “Divertimento for Strings” at a 7 p.m. concert on Feb. 19 in Elizabethtown College’s Leffler Chapel and Performance Center. Free tickets for the concert are available by calling 717-361-1410. A light reception will be held after the concert to allow audience members to meet the musicians.The program will showcase the skills of four of the world’s finest violinists: Igor Yuzefovich, Michael Jamanis, Odin Rathnam and Mauricio Gonzalez. Elizabethtown College’s Concert Choir will also perform during the event, which is sponsored by Lancaster residents Linda Castagna, an Elizabethtown board member and alumna, and her husband Patrick. Back to top 1/26/2007 Students meet privately with Chief Justice Roberts For the third consecutive year, a group of Elizabethtown students, led by political science professors April Kelly-Woessner  and Scott Hendrickson, met with Supreme Court Justice John G. Roberts Jr.Before meeting with Justice Roberts, the group sat in on an oral argument before the court. "It is always a great experience for students to actually see the court in operation, and they were, as usual, a bit surprised by how normal and routine it all seemed," Kelly-Woessner said. "They were even surprised by how small the court room feels. I think they expect a bit more grandeur - more pomp and circumstance." Roberts met with the group for about 45 minutes, answering questions from students and sharing a number of stories, including some from his days clerking for Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Due to the limited availability of the Chief Justice, the trip was scheduled over winter break. "I was impressed by the number of students who were willing to take time during break to travel to Washington, D.C., for this," Kelly-Woessner said. "I think that this is proof that education isn't merely about earning grades and credits to obtain a diploma. Rather, students are hungry for enriching experiences and will go to great length to take advantage of these opportunities, even during winter 'break.'" Pictured, from left to right, are Jason Theobald, Kyle Kopko '05, Luke Heselden, Vanessa Idle, Marisa Wirfel, Maurice Rapp, Valerie Reed, Paul Edger, Chief Justice Roberts, Chris Miller, Janell Bogert, Matthew Sembach, Kevin Busher, Lauren O'Donnell, Drs. April Kelly-Woessner and Scott Hendrickson, and Dan Mallinson. Photo by Steve Petteway, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States Back to top 1/24/2007 Alum named Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College President On Jan. 22, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) named Elizabethtown College alumnus David G. Behrs, Ph.D., as its 15th president. as well as the first lay Catholic  president. Behrs – who will be the College’s first lay Catholic president – will take office June 30, 2007.“We are confident that he embodies the characteristics, experience and vision necessary to build on the successes of the past and strengthen the institution in the future,” said SMWC Board of Trustees Chairman Mary Barrett. The 47-year-old Behrs earned a bachelor’s degree in history and social science at Elizabethtown in 1981. After his graduation from the College, he earned a master’s degree in counseling and student personnel from Shippensburg University and a doctorate in counseling and student development from American University. Currently working as both the associate provost for university initiatives and vice president of student affairs and enrollment management at Dominican University of California, Behrs boasts more than 22 years experience in higher education. Throughout his extensive career, Behrs has exemplified the Elizabethtown College motto “Educate for Service” by lending his experience to various community organizations, including the North Bay Business Council, Marin Education Fund, and the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities. He also volunteered with Catholic Charities and worked as a tutor in the San Rafael Canal Area. The native of Binghamton, N.Y., has been married for 23 years to wife Maureen, and they have two daughters, Beth, 21, and Emily, 14. Back to top 1/23/2007 Book by prof calls Hinduism ‘universal’ religion An Elizabethtown College religion professor has written a book that presents Hinduism as the ‘universal’ religion, capable of providing a model for global inter-religious cooperation and world peace.  “A Vision for Hinduism: Beyond Hindu Nationalism” builds upon Jeffery Long’s arguments for religious pluralism developed in his doctoral dissertation for the University of Chicago. In his book, he argues for a traditional pluralistic understanding of Hinduism – as articulated by such figures as Sri Ramakrishna and Mahatma Gandhi – in opposition to the narrow identification of Hinduism with Indian nationality and ethnicity that characterizes contemporary Hindu nationalist movements. Long asserts that Hindu nationalism is not only destructive of communal relations, but that it also prevents Hinduism from emerging as a world religion in the true sense of the term. He presents a vision of Hinduism as a tradition capable of pointing the way toward a future in which all the world's religions manifest complementary visions of a larger reality - and in which they all, in various ways, participate. Reviews of Long’s manuscript have described it as “both highly relevant and timely” and “fascinating, ambitious and represents an important foray into inter-religious exchange.” Long has taught at Elizabethtown College since receiving his doctoral degree at the University of Chicago in 2000. He is the author of the forthcoming “Jainism: An Introduction” and has published in Prabuddha Bharata, The Journal of Religion, Science and Spirit, Creative Transformations and several edited volumes. Long has presented papers for a variety of scholarly organizations, including the American Academy of Religion, the Association for Asian Studies, and the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy. Back to top 1/19/2007 22 students travel to Thailand over winter break Social work professors Susan Mapp and Peggy McFarland led 22 Elizabethtown students  on a trip to Thailand over winter break. Sites the group visited include the Grand Palace and several temples in Bangkok; Ayutthaya (former capital of Thailand); the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market and Rose Garden near Bangkok; the Maesa Elephant Center; and the Old Chiang Mai Cultural Center, established to preserve and promote the history and culture of the ancient northern kingdom of Lan Na, its royal tradition of dances and music, its unique food and the folk art of the people of the valleys and of the hill-tribes. At the Wat Suan Dok temple, students engaged in the “Monk chat” program, where interested visitors join an informal question-and-answer session to learn about Buddhism, meditation and the life of a monk.The group also made several visits to service organizations, including Holt Orphanage in Bangkok, where they delivered donated toys and learned about services for abused and abandoned children; the Sangha Metta, a project that works with Buddhist monks and involves them in helping people with HIV; and the International Justice Mission, a U.S.-based agency whose Thailand office focuses on helping women who have been victims of sex trafficking. In addition, the Elizabethtown group visited the social work department at Thammasat University and spoke with students and professors there, comparing educational systems and costs. They also delivered textbooks to the University, as it is difficult to access English language texts there. The group is pictured at the Population and Community Development Association with founder and chairman Mechai Viravaidya. A former Senator and Cabinet Minister in the Thai government, he has won numerous international awards for his work in AIDS prevention, family planning and community development. Back to top 1/8/2007 Arctic photography exhibit at Lyet Gallery Photography of the Arctic by Elizabethtown College professor Robert Wheelersburg  will be exhibited in the College’s Lyet Gallery from Jan. 29 through March 1. The opening reception for “Twenty Years in the Cold: Photographs by an Arctic Anthropologist” will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Feb. 2. Both the exhibit and reception are open to the public free of charge. Hours for Lyet Gallery, which is located in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center, are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.Wheelersburg has worked in the Arctic for nearly 20 years studying indigenous peoples and the loss of traditional resources. An associate professor of sociology/anthropology, he earned a doctorate in Arctic studies from Brown University. He was a Fulbright Scholar twice to Sweden’s University of Umea, at the Center for Arctic Cultural Research and the Department of Saami (Lapp) Studies, where he helped start the doctoral program in Arctic studies. Most of his work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Arctic Social Science program. In addition to his main research area of Scandinavia (including the Russian Arctic), Wheelersburg worked for nearly 15 years on Iceland as a U.S. government representative with the Icelandic Civil Defense Office. He was also part of a team of American and Russian researchers studying the role of human dynamics on the ecosystem of the Kola Peninsula of Russia, one of the most populated and polluted regions in the Arctic. Back to top 1/8/2007 Women's basketball program reaches 900 wins Elizabethtown College became the first NCAA Division III women’s basketball program ever to amass 900 all-time victories with a 76-56 Jan. 6 win  over Trinity College (Conn.). The win improves the Blue Jays to 7-3 overall in 2006-07 and makes them only the third NCAA women’s basketball program in any division to reach the 900 win mark. The other two are Division I members Tennessee and Louisiana Tech. The closest NCAA team behind Elizabethtown in victories is Division II member Delta State, which began the 2006-07 season with 862 wins. The team with the second-highest all-time win total in NCAA Division III is Southern Maine, which had 790 victories at the start of the season. 623 of Elizabethtown’s 900 all-time wins have come under current head coach Yvonne Kauffman, who owns the third-highest win total of any women’s basketball coach in Division III. Story continued ... |
Back to News Index
