For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Recent publications and honors include the following:

Publications

Philip Goldstein, professor emeritus of English, Is the author of The Theory and Practice of Reception Study: Reading Race and Gender in Twain, Faulkner, Ellison and Morrison, recently published by Routledge Press. The book examines novels of William Faulkner and Toni Morrison, as well as Mark Twain and Ralph Ellison in order to show that their works forcefully undermine the racial and sexual divisions characterizing both the South and contemporary culture in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Honors

The 18th and 19th Webber Award Celebration and Ceremony was held Thursday, May 19, at the Trabant University Center Theatre. Awards were presented to 2020 winners Michelle Cirillo, associate professor of mathematical sciences, and Diana Roscoe, assistant STEM director in the Center for Secondary Teacher Education, and 2022 winners Faith Muirhead, senior associate director in the Professional Development Center for Educators and assistant professor in the School of Education, and Charlotte (Charlie) Webb, UD alumna and coordinator of instructional programs in math for the Appoquinimink School District. Speakers at the ceremony included Andy Webber, grandson of the man for whom the award is named, Dr. G. Cuthbert Webber, professor of mathematics at UD from 1937-81. Given biannualy in his memory, the award, consisting of a plaque and a financial gift, is presented to a member of the University community or a mathematics educator in the state of Delaware for distinguished service in advancing mathematics education.

Melissa Minor-Brown, clinical coordinator for graduate services in the School of Nursing, has been recognized by the Delaware Healthy Mother and Infant Consortium (DHMIC) for her continued work to break down barriers. Minor-Brown, a state representative from the New Castle-area and a staunch advocate for vulnerable women and children in Delaware who has worked tirelessly to promote equity and dismantle structural racism, won the Kitty Esterly MD Health Equity Champion Award. “Her policy agenda reflects her passion to address disparities for Blacks and indigenous people of color. She’s willing to do the things others will not. She’s brave, authentic and transparent,” said Karyl Rattay, director of the Delaware Division of Public Health, in presenting Minor-Brown with the award on April 26. Called an “infant health hero,” Dr. Esterly, who died in 2014, was among the first pediatricians in the country to specialize in neonatal care. Her honors included UD’s Medal of Distinction. Minor-Brown is credited with legislating an extended postpartum period for Medicaid coverage and creating space for doulas as an integral part of the healthcare delivery team. She’s also introduced the 2022 Delaware Momnibus, a package of seven bills that focuses on maternal and infant health, inspired by her experience as a Black mother and nurse. “My work is driven by real-life experiences. Being a teen mom, relying on Medicaid and state assistance, I remember those days walking into social services and feeling I had to prove myself and the possibilities that I was going to create for my future. Those spaces were never really welcoming; they were never empowering,” said Minor-Brown. “I’m going to continue this work until all women feel valued, and they feel empowered in the healthcare and social services spaces.”

Senior Megan Reeves has received the 2022 Delaware Association of School Administrators Award (DASA), an award presented to a graduating senior in a teacher education program who has demonstrated outstanding qualities of scholarship, leadership and character and who exhibits promise in making a meaningful contribution to the teaching profession. Reeves was nominated by faculty and chosen from the more than 1,400 students currently enrolled in the various undergraduate teacher education programs offered at UD within the colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Arts and Sciences; Health Sciences; Business and Economics; Earth, Ocean, and Environment; and Education and Human Development. In the fall, she will begin UPenn's Master's Degree Program in Teaching as part of the Independent School Teaching Residency. 

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