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

Recent honors, publications and presentations include the following:

Honors

Laura E. Helton, associate professor of English and history, was recently featured on the National Humanities Alliance site "NEH for ALL," which highlights the impact of National Endowment for Humanities funding across the United States. 

Martha Narvaez, lead policy scientist at the Institute for Public Administration(IPA) and associate director of the UD’s Water Resources Center (UDWRC), was recently featured in a video on WITN Channel 22 news for her work with the city of Wilmington’s youth. In collaboration with UDWRC, Delaware Nature Society and First State Montessori Academy (FSMA), The Green Trailblazers program provides Wilmington students with hands-on environmental education. This after-school club, comprised of 15 seventh- and eighth-graders, explores local natural spaces, learns about pressing environmental issues and engages in conservation activities. Each month, students walk from FSMA to the DuPont Environmental Education Center, where they participate in activities such as invasive species removal and water seining in the Christina River. The program emphasizes the impact of litter on local water systems and teaches students how to protect and restore the environment. Through this initiative, students actively contribute to preserving Southbridge Wilmington Wetlands Park, a once-contaminated area now restored for public use. Their work fosters a greater understanding of environmental responsibility and strengthens their connection to the community. The entire segment can be viewed here.

Publications

Rudi Matthee, John and Dorothy Munroe Distinguished Professor of History, published “Shah ‘Abbās I: The Myth, the Monarch, and the Man,” in Iranian Studies 58 (2025), pp. 1-20.

Heinz-Uwe Haus, professor emeritus in the Department of Theatre and Dance, published in English in Lumina Lina/Revista de spiritualitate si cultura romaneasca (An XXX/Nr. 2, Aprilie-June 2025, New York) an article "The Actor's Art and the Estrangement in our Age" (p. 121-125).

Presentations

On March 26, 2025, Margaret Stetz, Mae and Robert Carter Professor of Women's Studies and professor of humanities, delivered the 36th annual John D. M. Brown Lecture at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. This event, which is supported by an endowed fund, has in past years featured as its invited speaker academics and literary critics such as Stanley Fish, Gerald Graff, Andrew Delbanco and Marjorie Perloff. Stetz's talk, "The Enemy of My Enemy: Oscar Wilde and George Egerton, Writing Resistance," focused on how the Irish "New Woman" writer Mary Chavelita Dunne (1859-1945), who used the pseudonym "George Egerton," responded to Britain's sudden rightward cultural swing, atmosphere of fear and censorship in the publishing world, following Oscar Wilde's conviction in 1895 for "gross indecency" (meaning sexual relationships) with men. Stetz emphasized Egerton's courage in attempting through her writing to support Wilde and to attack the hypocrisy of those who turned against him or retreated into the supposed safety of silence. Her lecture ended with the 20th-century Black lesbian poet Audre Lorde's warning that, in dangerous times, "Your silence will not protect you."

Persephone Braham, professor of Spanish and Latin American studies, presented the paper "Cataclysm and Science Fiction in the Caribbean" in Montevideo, Uruguay on March 20, 2025. This presentation outlines the latest chapter in Braham’s ongoing research on Caribbean responses to the overlapping crises of climate change, neocolonialism, and population displacement.

On March 6, 2025, 131 professional women representing every institute of higher education in Delaware attended the Delaware ACE Women's Network (DAWN) annual Leadership Summit hosted at Wilmington University’s New Castle campus. DAWN is the Delaware chapter of the American Council of Education (ACE) Women's Network and seeks to promote women’s leadership roles in higher education. Seventeen faculty and professional staff members from the University of Delaware participated in the event, including several colleagues from UD’s Institute for Public Administration (IPA). This year’s summit brought together women from different roles and career stages who spent the day learning from, networking with, and celebrating one another. The summit was organized by the DAWN Executive Committee, including Kathy Murphy, associate director of IPA and president of DAWN; Joy Jordan, assistant policy scientist at IPA and secretary of DAWN; and Sarah Marshall, associate policy scientist at IPA and co-chair of DAWN’s communications committee. During the opening ceremony, LaVerne Harmon, president of Wilmington University, encouraged attendees to believe in themselves and continue their leadership journeys in higher education. Breakout sessions provided opportunities for personal and professional development discussions to strengthen leadership capacity. One of the sessions included “TeamwHERk: NetwHERks That Spark Growth Forge,” led by three UD staff and faculty members. Among those session leaders included Teresa Hickok, program coordinator for the Associate in Arts Elementary Teacher Education Wilmington program and assistant professor at UD’s School of Education; Jessica Slade, program coordinator for the Associate in Arts program in early childhood education and assistant professor at UD’s College of Education and Human Development; and Rosalyn Washington, clinical assistant professor in UD’s Department of Human Development and Family Sciences. This interactive session empowered higher education leaders to exchange insights and build meaningful relationships, providing practical tools and a renewed sense of community to enhance their professional growth. As part of the day’s programming, more than 100 items were collected for The Den food closet, Wilmington University’s food pantry. The pantry provides food for students in need or those experiencing food insecurities. The Institute for Public Administration is a research and public service center in the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration. 

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