Faculty and Staff Highlights: Belo, Carter, Hughes, Lee-Johnson, Turaeva, Visconti

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

Belo Co-Authors Canadian Foreign Interference Paper

Department of History, Politics, International Relations and Religious Studies Assistant Professor Dani Belo co-authored “Foreign Interference in Canada: Transnational Linkages, Diaspora Mobilisation and Grey Zone Conflict” as part of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.  

Belo is both a teacher and scholar of international relations specializing in conflict management and security. His research focuses on gray-zone and hybrid conflicts, transatlantic security, NATO–Russia relations, ethnic conflicts and the post-Soviet region. 

Carter Performs in December, Plans January Concert 

Jeffrey Carter, professor of music in the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts, performed a sold-out holiday cabaret at the local Blue Strawberry venue on Dec. 15. He was joined by Zach Neumann, collaborative pianist in the Department of Music and by soprano Gina Malone. The cabaret, “Holidays at Home,” featured stories and songs for the holiday season, both as solos and duets. Adjunct professor of music Leann Schuering also stepped in for one of the numbers. 

Carter's next public performance is a solo cabaret themed “Wedding Day: Still Waiting” on Monday, Jan. 27, where he will be joined by adjunct professor Tali Allen as music director.

Hughes Appointed to Harry Bertoia Foundation

Professor Jeffrey Hughes (Department of Art, Design, and Art History), director of Webster’s Hunt Gallery, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Harry Bertoia Foundation. This foundation is dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of Harry Bertoia, a significant and innovative twentieth-century American sculptor and designer.  

As a member of the Harry Bertoia Foundation's board, Hughes will help to steward this remarkable legacy, ensuring that Bertoia's vision continues to inspire future generations of artists, designers and scholars.  

Lee-Johnson and Students Represent Webster at CPED Convening 

Webster University’s Doctor of Education (EdD) program recently attended the 2024 Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) Convening. Held in October at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, the conference brought together educational leaders and scholars from CPED member institutions across the globe.

Professor Yin Lam Lee-Johnson, Webster’s EdD program director, along with three doctoral students, Trish Iaiennaro, Ethel Smith and Andrea Jackson, represented Webster at the convening. Since joining CPED, Webster’s EdD program has actively participated in these annual events, underscoring its dedication to advancing the field of doctoral education. Lee-Johnson participated in the CPED delegates’ business meeting, where institutional representatives shared updates, challenges and recommendations for enhancing EdD programs.  

Lee-Johnson also joined a session titled “Alternatively Alternative: How Are We Doing Dissertations Differently? Insights from a Special Issue of Impacting Education.” Lee-Johnson, Iaiennaro, Smith and Jackson co-presented “Huliau: Reframing Transformative Learning with an Anti-Colonialist Lens Among EdD Candidates.” In addition, Smith and Jackson showcased their research through poster presentations during the convening’s poster session. Their posters, displayed in a central ballroom, attracted significant attention and sparked engaging discussions with attendees interested in their research topics. 

Turaeva Publishes New Research Article

Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Professor Nigora Turaeva recently published a new research article titled, “Understanding Catalyst ‘Volcano’ Dependence Through Fermi-Level Controlled Kinetics Using Electronic Theory.” 
  
Turaeva is a visiting researcher and research fellow for Biological Sciences. Her areas of expertise include nanoscience, biophysics, radiation physics of condensed matter, and self-organization in physics, chemistry and biology (synergetics).

Visconti Publishes Italian Migration Book

 

Francesco Arese Visconti, deputy academic director and head of the Media Studies Program at Webster Geneva Campus, recently published his latest research with Palgrave Macmillan. Titled, “The Invisible Diaspora: Rethinking Photographic Portraiture of 21st Century Italian Migrants in the Arc Lémanique Area,” the book offers an insightful exploration of Italian migration through the medium of photographic portraiture. 
  
Focusing on the Arc Lémanique—a region encompassing Lausanne and Geneva in Switzerland—Visconti examines how Italian migrants have been depicted over the decades. Drawing on archival material from Swiss-French illustrated magazines, including L’Illustré and L’Hebdo, as well as various online publications, he traces the evolution of these representations from the 1960s to 2019. 
  
In addition to reviewing archival imagery, Visconti’s work breaks new ground by producing 24 original photographic portraits of contemporary Italian migrants in the region. These portraits challenge established narratives, such as the concept of "brain drain," and offer a more nuanced and dynamic perspective on the Italian diaspora in today’s globalized world. 
  
“The book aims to uncover the unique and complex nature of this new wave of Italian migration,” said Visconti. “It’s about giving visibility to stories that are often overlooked and reframing them through a lens of creativity, identity, and cultural dialogue.” 
  
Interdisciplinary in scope, the research integrates theories and methodologies from culture, photography, and the creative arts. Visconti’s personal experience as an Italian migrant in Switzerland adds depth and authenticity to this exploration of migration and identity in the 21st century.