Faculty and Staff Highlights: Chaudhuri, Corrigan, Fan, Gaal, Kaiser, Muyco-Tobin, Werfelmann, Yuasa

Webster University faculty and staff highlights offer a roundup of recent Webster faculty and staff activity and achievements. 

Chaudhuri Contributes to Webster International Case Study in U.S. White Paper Report

 

Samrat Ray Chaudhuri, assistant vice president for International Enrollment, contributed to a “case study U.S. White Paper Report” on international student diversity. The report is titled, “Whitepaper: A Lack of Diversity Spells Adversity: Why U.S. Institutions Need to Attract Diverse International Students.” The report was led by Rajika Bhandari, a principal at Rajika Bhandari Advisors. Chaudhuri’s quotes and thoughts were part of Bhandari’s report which was in partnership with Oxford International.  

The report was also covered by Times Higher Education’s “US Urged to Diversify Overseas Intake Ahead of ‘Enrolment Cliff’” and the PIE News Diversifying US International Recruitment “More Critical Than Ever.”   

Chaudhuri’s primary roles at Webster are oversight and management, international recruitment management for U.S. campuses, Global University Systems tactical management, alignment of global recruitment initiatives among the University’s global campuses, management of agent relationship and business development and international recruitment events. Learn more about the international student enrollment process at Webster.

Corrigan Hosts Book Signing 

Don Corrigan, emeritus professor in the School of Communications, presented his new book, Manhood: American Men’s Movements Past and Present, at the Webster Groves Bookshop in early November. 
  
Corrigan was inspired to write the study, in part, after he began noticing men's groups popping up in the St. Louis area in the 1980s. As editor of the local Webster-Kirkwood Times newspapers, he began covering the activities of the Promise Keepers, Million Man March, Fathers Rights Inc. and men’s militia groups. 
  
As a professor at Webster University, he presented papers based on his coverage at nation conferences of the Men’s Studies Division of the American Culture Association (now Popular Culture Association). His book will debut next spring at the Popular Culture Association Convention in New Orleans. 
  
Corrigan kept his notes and published clips from his reporting on men’s groups for four decades, knowing that at some point he would publish a book on the subject. Corrigan cited the book as especially pertinent now because gender has become a political issue with the 2024 election. The book is published by McFarland. 
  
Upon graduation from the University of Missouri Graduate School of Journalism, Corrigan was hired as the first male on the Women’s Pages of the daily Bloomington (Ill.) Pantagraph in 1976. He writes with some humor in the postscript of his book as to what that “gender experiment” was like. 
  
Corrigan’s book is available on Amazon and McFarlandpublishing.com.

Fan, Yuasa Use Grant Money to Fund Asian Identity Webster Events 

Elsa Fan

Noriko Yuasa

Elsa Fan, associate professor of Anthropology and chair of the Global Languages, Cultures and Societies Department; and Noriko Yuasa, professor of Graphic Design and the chair of the Department of Art, Design, and Art History, were awarded a Missouri Humanities Council mini-grant in 2024.  
  
Using the grant money, they organized two events: "Exploring Asian Identity, Belonging, and Community: The Adoptee Experience" and “Exploring Asian Identity Community and Belonging Multiracial Experience.” Both on-campus panel discussion events, which were held in September and November respectively, were well received drawing a notable turnout from the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in St. Louis, including many area adoptees. 
  
The panel discussion for the November session “Exploring Asian Identity Community and Belonging Multiracial Experience” was led by Anna Crosslin, former President and CEO of International Institute of St. Louis. Introductory remarks were made by Missouri State Representative Jo Doll.  
  
This event featured a panel of speakers of biracial/multiracial Asian heritage and explored similar themes of identity, belonging and community. Those who attended learned about Asian American community groups including the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), Missouri Asian American Youth Foundation, Asian American Chamber of Commerce and much more.  
 
In addition to the moderated panel discussions, Fan and Yuasa’s events also included community resource fairs, receptions and the opportunity for networking. 
  
Fan is a 2024 Fulbright Scholar winner is a faculty member in Webster’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She also recently published a book with University of Minnesota Press: Commodities of Care: The Business of HIV Testing in China. 
  
Prior to teaching at Webster in the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts, Yuasa’s professional experience includes branding, editorial design, package design, product design and advertising. Her diverse background helps her teach students visual language and systems for culturally-centered communication. 

Gaal Honored at White House 

John Gaal, an adjunct professor in the Management Department for 29 years, recently attended an invitation-only event at The White House. He was one of 75 people honored for helping to save lives with Narcan from opioid overdoses in an event called The White House Challenge. Above, Gaal is pictured with Dr. Rahul Gupta, President Biden’s Drug Czar, in Washington, D.C.

Kaiser Presents at Language Conference in Honduras 

DJ Kaiser, a professor and the director of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages in the Global English Language Teaching Institute Department on the Webster Groves campus, was selected as an English Language Specialist through the U.S. Department of State's English Language Programs to be the opening plenary speaker for the fifth International Conference for Language Teachers held in October. The conference was sponsored by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras and co-sponsored by the U.S. Embassy of Honduras. 
  
Kaiser participated in the conference virtually (through Zoom) delivering the opening plenary (titled: Artificial Intelligence and the English Classroom: Challenge or Opportunity?) and participated in a panel of experts discussing artificial intelligence in language teaching. He also delivered two different presentations, each two times. One presentation was on AI Tools for Teachers for Materials Development and Preparing for Class Instruction and the second on Engaging Students in Using AI for Language Practice and Development. This was Kaiser's fourth year as a featured presenter for a conference for English language teachers in Honduras. 
  
This is the third time that Kaiser has been selected as an English Language Specialist through the U.S. Department of State. In 2020, he was the plenary speaker for another conference for English teachers in Honduras. In 2021, he developed and delivered two series of seminars for English teachers in southern Brazil on teaching pronunciation. 

Muyco-Tobin Essay Featured in Filipino Magazine 

Trish Muyco-Tobin, a professor in the Communications and Journalism Department and the Webster Journal faculty adviser, was featured in Positively Filipino magazine for her post-election reflection, "The Morning After." The essay was written in response to her students, aspiring journalists who covered their first-ever presidential election for the Webster Journal, and their need to refocus the morning after and in the days ahead. The essay not only delivers a message of hope and resilience for student-journalists but also provides context as Muyco-Tobin shares her backstory as an immigrant and as a young girl growing up in the Philippines under a dictatorship.  

When student-reporters from the Webster Journal and the Webster Insider worked to cover the election, Muyco-Tobin penned this reflection as a way to remind her students about journalism's role in a democracy. 

Muyco-Tobin is marking her 30th year as a working journalist.

Werfelmann Awarded Regional Arts Commission Grant 

David Werfelmann, associate professor and associate chair in the Department of Music, has been awarded a grant from the Regional Arts Commission (RAC) to produce and share high-quality recordings of three original compositions. The project will showcase Werfelmann’s unique compositional voice and artistic vision through a digital release of these recordings. 
  
"I am thrilled to receive the support of the Regional Arts Commission for this project and to have the opportunity to work with such extraordinary musicians from the Saint Louis region," said Werfelmann. "I look forward to sharing the recordings with the Webster community once the project is complete." 
  
This grant will enable Werfelmann to create lasting representations of his recent works, reaching a broad audience and contributing to the ongoing conversation about contemporary music. His compositions blend innovative techniques with reflections on the natural world, inviting listeners to explore their relationship with nature and the inherent beauty of American landscapes. 
  
The project will feature distinguished local musicians, including St. Louis Symphony violinists Erin Schreiber and Nicolae Bica, who will record Violin Duo; Kurt Baldwin and Mieko Hironaka Bergt, who will record and premiere Walking Through for cello and piano; and the Chamber Project Saint Louis String Quartet—Kyle Lombard, Jane Price, Laura Reycraft and Marta Simidtchieva—who will record In a Vast Edifice of Stone and Space for string quartet and electronics. Michael Silverman, an experienced recording engineer, will oversee the recording and mixing process. 
  
This grant complements a Faculty Research Grant from Webster University, awarded last spring, further enriching Werfelmann’s professional pursuits and contributing to the cultural landscape of St. Louis.