Faculty and Staff Highlights: Gorga, Lee-Johnson, Martin, McIlhaney, Hwang and Pennington
November 19, 2025
Webster University faculty and staff highlights offer a roundup of recent Webster faculty and staff activity and achievements.
Gorga Publishes Sociology Paper in Health and Illness Journal
Professor Allison Gorga published a sociology paper and video abstract in the Journal of Sociology of Health and Illness. Gorga is an assistant professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences in the Department of Law, Crime and Social Justice at the Webster Groves campus. Her research primarily focuses on the intersection of gender and punishment, and has interviewed people who are incarcerated, work or volunteer at women’s prisons.
Lee-Johnson Gives Virtual Workshop at University in Taiwan
Professor Yin Lam Lee-Johnson, Director of the EdD program at the School of Education, delivered a professional development workshop for faculty at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan in October. The virtual workshop, titled, “When Global Ambitions Meet Local Realities: Problematizing English-Medium Instruction in Taiwanese Higher Education Institutions,” examined the current status, challenges, and implications of implementing English-Medium Instruction (EMI) in Taiwanese universities.
She invited Professor Yi-Ju Lai from the University of South Carolina to co-facilitate the session. The workshop was very well received, attracting more than 50 registered participants and generating engaging discussions among faculty members.
Martin Presents at Counseling Conference in Romania
In October, Claire Martin, assistant professor in the Department of Professional Counseling, presented at the 66th Annual European Branch of the American Counseling Association (EB-ACA) Conference in Timișoara, Romania.
In her solo session, "Ethnocultural Empathy for Trauma-Informed Interventions with Marginalized Clients", Martin highlighted the crucial role of ethnocultural empathy in providing socially just, trauma-informed care to clients from marginalized backgrounds.
Her second presentation, "Group Work to Strengthen Communities Amid Injustices and Geopolitical Conflicts", co-facilitated with Professor Jennifer Culver, explored culturally responsive group approaches that foster healing and affirmation for communities impacted by conflict and violence.
McIlhaney, Hwang and Pennington Give Presentations at Conference on British Studies
Professors Anne McIlhaney, Sheila Hwang and Dave Pennington each gave presentations at the Western Conference on British Studies in October.
Hwang, a professor in the English Department, presented, "'Curiosity and pleasure': Cartographic Games, Geographies of Knowledge, and Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park."
McIlhaney, also a professor in the English Department, presented, "'Lodged in my heart': Petrarchism and Genre in The Spanish Tragedy and Love's Labour's Lost."
Pennington, a professor in the History, Politics, & International Relations Department, presented, "Divisions, Majority Rule, and Political Culture in the Tudor and Early Stuart House of Commons."