Westfield State’s Ely Library Presents Faculty Author Series to Highlight Research and Publication Achievements

Throughout the 2022-2023 academic year, Ely Library has been home to not only the books and journals that we enjoy but also the authors who encourage us to think. The “Faculty Author Series” brings Westfield State faculty members out of their classrooms and into public to share their research and writing projects in the Emilee Dawn Gagnon Event Space. Guests include students, fellow faculty members, and the public, gathering to enjoy intellectual enrichment and camaraderie.

This effort, in part, is to showcase the hard work and dedication Westfield State community members have to their respective crafts.

One of the more recent events of the series introduced Dr. Katherine Walsh of the Social Work Department and her work, Grief and Loss: Theories and Skills for the Helping Professions. Walsh’s book shows how those from “helping professions” (educators, advocates, case managers, counselors, health care providers, etc.) can learn how to process and self-regulate after experiencing tremendous personal loss. Walsh also discussed approaches to publishing textbooks and including student authors in texts, helpful information for faculty who are also interested in publishing textbooks.

Dr. Mao-Lun Weng of the Biology Department also recently presented his research “Is Mutation Random?”, a dialogue about the occurrences of natural mutation on both the molecular and ecological levels, and how that in turn affects the environments around them. Weng additionally discussed methods on how to work with students in correlation with this research.

The Faculty Author Series will resume in the upcoming semester, and will feature a new round of educators, researchers, and authors looking to start dialogue and discussion around a various array of academic topics and pedagogical approaches.