The 2016 FGCU Authors Celebration on Tuesday, Jan. 19 recognized 10 faculty and staff members whose published scholarly works were featured in the FGCU Library from February 2015 through January 2016.
Pictured above (from left to right) are: Thomas Valesky, Arthur Rubens, Lyn Millner, Provost Ron Toll, Kevin Aho, Kristine De Welde, Michael McDonald and David Thomas. Not pictured: James Brock, Duane Dobbert and Irvin D.S. Winsboro.
The FGCU Author Series began as a library initiative in January 2013 to celebrate books written or edited by FGCU faculty and staff. Each month, a recently published book is selected and featured with a promotional poster, blog post and web banner. This year’s honorees and their works:
- Kevin A. Aho, “Existentialism: An Introduction.” Aho is a professor in the Department of Communication and Philosophy. He has authored three books, “Heidegger’s Neglect of the Body,” “Body Matters: A Phenomenology of Sickness, Disease, and Illness” and “Dostoevsky, Notes from the Underground.”
- James Brock, “Gods & Money.” This is his fourth published book of poetry. A professor in the Department of Language & Literature, Brock has been awarded fellowships for his poetry, including awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Alex Haley Foundation. His more recent projects are plays and performances. Brock has taught at FGCU since 1998.
- Kristine De Welde, “Disrupting the Culture of Silence: Women Navigating Hostility and Making Change in Higher Education.” An associate professor of sociology, De Welde has published in prominent journals such as the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Feminist Teacher, Teaching Sociology, Gender & Society and the International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology.
- Duane Dobbert, “Deviance: Theories on Behaviors that Defy Social Norm.” A professor of justice studies, Dobbert is a 46-year veteran of the criminal justice profession and a Fellow of the American Board of Forensic Examiners. He is the author of the books “Halting the Sexual Predators Among Us” and “Understanding Personality Disorders, Psychopathy, Perversion, and Lust Homicide.” This book is of special significance because it was a collaboration by Dobbert, adjunct FGCU professor Thomas Mackey and 14 FGCU graduate students.
- Michael McDonald, “Pilgrimage and Sacred Places in Southeast Europe.” McDonald is a professor of anthropology and a founding faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences. He has received three awards for teaching excellence, pedagogy and course design. In addition to the featured edited book, McDonald is the author of the book “Food Culture in Central America” and also has a food studies textbook currently under development.
- Lyn Millner, “The Allure of Immortality: An American Cult, a Florida Swamp, and a Renegade Prophet.” An associate professor of journalism, Milner founded FGCU’s journalism program. Her print work has appeared in the New York Times, USA Today, Oxford American, the Hollywood Reporter, and Boca Raton magazine.
- Arthur Rubens, “Sustainable Development in the Developing World: A Holistic Approach to Decode the Complexity of a Multi-dimensional Topic.” Rubens is a professor of management and a founding faculty member. Rubens’ primary teaching and research interests include business strategy, leadership, international management, economic development, entrepreneurship, ethics and quality management.
- David J. Thomas, “Understanding Violent Criminals: Insights from the Front Lines of Law Enforcement.” An associate professor in the Department of Justice Studies, Thomas serves as editor for a book series in forensic psychology and has previously published textbooks on topics in policing and psychology. He also serves as an editor for several journals.
- Thomas Valesky, “Organizational Behavior in Education: Leadership and School Reform” (co-authored by Robert G. Owens, professor emeritus at Hofstra University). A professor and program leader for the Department of Educational Leadership, Valesky co-authored the books “Training for School-based Decision Making” and “Challenge to Change: The Memphis Experience with School-based Decision Making.”
- Irvin D.S. Winsboro, “Florida’s Freedom Struggle: The Black Experience from Colonial Time to the New Millennium.” Winsboro is a professor of U.S. history whose research and scholarship are primarily focused on African-American history and the history of Florida and Southwest Florida. “Florida’s Freedom Struggle” won the Florida Historical Society’s Stetson Kennedy Book Award.