Judge Alberto Gonzales was published in the column section of USA Today on Feb. 24 with his piece, “Seize Chance to Reform Immigration.” Co-written by David N. Strange, the piece details a judge’s ruling that “provides Republicans a chance to stop saying ‘no’ and start fixing the problem.”

The article says, “U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen’s recent decision enjoining Obama’s executive actions on immigration has ironically created unique opportunities to move forward on immigration reform.” It goes on to explain the belief that “Republican members of Congress now have the opportunity to take the initiative on meaningful immigration reform that enhances our national security and our economy.”

Judge Gonzales and Strange are co-authors of the recently published book “A Conservative and Compassionate Approach to Immigration Reform: Perspectives from a Former U.S. Attorney General.”

To read the full USA Today column, click here.

Professors in the College of Pharmacy Drs. Eric Hobson and Alisa Spinelli and Dean of the College of Pharmacy Dr. Philip Johnston were published in The American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education with their article, “Staging a Reflective Capstone Course to Transition PharmD Graduates to Professional Life.” The article is the scholarly findings from a case study of a Belmont capstone class.

The objective was to develop and implement a course that would allow students to reflect on their development as a professional, assess and share achievement of the college’s outcomes, complete a professional portfolio, establish a continuing professional development plan and prepare to enter the pharmacy profession.

Findings concluded that the course provided an opportunity for student-based summative evaluation, direct observation of student skills and documentation of outcome completion as a means of evaluating readiness to enter the profession.

To read the full journal article, click here.

School of Music Lecturer Dr. Virginia Lamothe recently won the SAI International Faculty Fellows grant to spend a month in June living in Rome, Italy. Dr. Lamothe will be conducting research and lecturing in Italy on a project that focuses on the musical festivities in Rome in the 16th and 17th centuries for the Holy Roman Empire and members of the Habsburg family.

Dr. Lamothe’s completed research will then be published in a collection of essays by Brill in the spring of 2017.

Chair and Associate Professor of Mathematics Dr. Andrew Miller was recently elected to serve as Chair Elect of SIGMAA QL, a special interest group of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) which focuses on Quantitative Literacy (QL). This will be Miller’s second term as Chair. QL is the ability to adequately use elementary mathematical tools to interpret and manipulate quantitative data and ideas that arise in an individual’s private, civic and work life.

Like reading and writing literacy, QL is a habit of mind best formed by exposure in many contexts. SIGMAA QL aims to provide structure within the mathematics community to identify the prerequisite mathematical skills for QL and find innovative ways of developing and implementing QL curricula. The group also assists colleagues in other disciplines to infuse appropriate QL experiences into their courses and stimulate general, national QL dialogue. The leadership of SIGMAA QL coordinates its activities with the many other groups, both internal and external to the MAA.