Faculty and Staff Highlights: Assner-Alvey, Faizullaev, Jensen, Steed, Stevens

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

Assner-Alvey Lectures and Displays Art at SIUE

 

Robin Assner-Alvey, professor in the Department of Art, Design & Art History, gave a lecture on her work at the 61st annual Society of Photographic Education conference in March. One of her photographs was also part of a juried members exhibition. Her work, titled “New Realities,” was displayed at the gallery on Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville's campus.  

Global Teaching Fellow Faizullaev Presents at Syracuse University

 

Alisher Faizullaev, a professor in the History, Politics and International Relations Department at the Webster Groves Campus, participated and made a presentation at the (hybrid) conference “Central Asian Regionalism: Insights from Inside and Out” in February.

Organized by the Central Asia Program at Georgetown University and the Program on Central Asia at the Davis Center, Harvard University, Faizullaev spoke to the participants of the Central Asia and the Caucasus Initiative at Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University on “Citizenship in Perspective: Central Asia-Diplomacy-International Negotiations.”  

In both cases, he acted as a Leif J. Sverdrup Global Teaching Fellow and visiting professor at Webster University in St. Louis.

Jensen Presents Sports Research at Communications Conference 

Scott Jensen, professor of Sports Communication in the School of Communications, recently gave three scholarly presentations at the Central States Communication Association in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Jensen presented “Making a Statement—But Not Really?:  Sport, Choices, and Incidental Activism” and “Thinking About Parents, Child-Athletes, and Navigating Issues of Control in Youth Sport Contexts” as a part of two research paper panels.  
  
Additionally, he presented a pedagogical workshop, “Quality in Numbers:  The Pedagogy of Teams in Communication and Performance Learning Spaces.” The workshop was a “Missouri Showcase” program, having been selected for submission to the April conference by the Board of Governors at the Speech and Theatre Association of Missouri conference, held last September. Jensen also chaired three programs for the Sports Communication Interest Group and the States Advisory Committee and worked during the conference as an officer in the Sports Communication Interest Group. 

Professor Martina Steed Inducted in the Fellows of the AANA 

Associate Professor Martina Steed, chair of the Nursing Anesthesiology Department in the College of Science and Health, was inducted into the Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology. 
  
“This is an incredible honor for Dr. Steed,” said College of Science and Health Dean Michael Hulsizer. “Her induction is in recognition of the incredible work and contributions she has made to the field of nurse anesthesiology.” 
  
According to the AANA website, to be considered as a fellow, a potential member must show excellence in the following areas of their career:

• Clinical practice
• Education
• Research
• Professional advocacy
• Meet the high standards of AANA 
   

Steed was notified of the honor earlier this month. An official induction ceremony will be held during the luncheon at the annual AANA National Conference, scheduled in San Diego on Saturday, Aug. 3. 

Stevens Writes Cover Story for Catholic Magazine 

Annie Stevens, adjunct professor in the History, Politics, and International Relations Department at the Webster Groves campus, authored the cover story "Beyond Boundaries: Reverend Charles Nerinckx and the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross." The article was published in American Catholic Studies 135:1 (Spring 2024) issue. The commemorative piece covers the bicentennial of the death of Nerinckx, priest and founder of the Sisters of Loretto. Stevens’ article delves into Nerinckx’s experiences as a fugitive from Napoleonic religious persecution in his native country of Belgium gave him a strong sense of Christian conscience regarding human suffering. Soon after his arrival in borderland Kentucky in 1805, he envisioned a new type of religious community, one that allowed multiple forms of belonging, including an interracial group of oblates and a Black Sisterhood. 

More can be learned on the American Catholic Historical Society Facebook page. 

Founded by the Sisters of Loretto, Webster University is a living legacy of this commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion worldwide.