LYCOMING COLLEGE SUMMER MAGAZINE 2023

Leah Bedrosian Peterson , professor and chair of film and video arts, was awarded a Faculty Research and Production Grant by The University Film and Video Foundation to support the post production color grading of her short narrative film, “Brave Little Hawk.” The screenplay she wrote for the film placed in the quarterfinals of the prestigious ScreenCraft Film Fund and the Outstanding Screenplays Shorts Competition, both of which are juried by Oscar winning screenwriters and filmmakers. “Brave Little Hawk” follows the story of two families struggling with their home lives in rural Pennsylvania. The families become intertwined when the Oberlin family’s grandmother wanders off after tensions rise in the house. “Themes related to single parenthood, elderly dementia, teen angst, sibling rivalry, unstable living environments, and relationship dynamics reflected in multi-generational family units are introduced in the film,” said Peterson. Cast and crew members consisted of students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the Lycoming College community, including Emily Doherty ’23 , Lycoming College Gaul Scholar; Chip Edmonds, Ed.D. ’98 , executive vice president; Gavin

Maninno ’25; Elizabeth Shaffer ’24 ; Emily Shaffer ’19 ; John Shaffer , buildings and grounds supervisor; Stephen St. Francis Decky , visiting assistant professor of film and video arts; Rosemary Tovar ’23 , Gaul Scholar; M. Mitchell Wheary ’20 ; and Achilles Wice ’24 , Gaul Scholar.

NEWS FACULTY & STAFF

Professors Rogers and Wagner were presented teaching excellence awards during Honors Convocation on April 23, 2023 The 2023 Plankenhorn Alumni Award for Faculty Excellence, bestowed upon a senior faculty member for faculty excellence at Lycoming College, was presented to Amy (Shaner) Rogers, Ph.D. ’92 , professor and chair of the education department, and associate provost for assessment and accreditation. Rogers’ area of expertise lies in the correlation between local history and a student’s level of civic-mindedness and engagement. Her teaching and research areas include teacher leadership, instructional coaching/mentoring of teacher educators, civic engagement, and local history. Phoebe Wagner, Ph.D. ’14 , assistant professor of English, was awarded the 2023 Junior Faculty Teaching Award, given to those in their first 10 years of teaching at Lycoming College. Wagner is a writer, editor, and academic whose work and

Murray Hanford , director of visual communications, is the recipient of several advertising awards. Submissions to the 38th Annual Educational Advertising Awards and the Collegiate Advertising Awards earned him gold for both Lycoming’s President’s Report/Fall Magazine and admission’s confirmation folder, as well as merit for the College’s digital holiday card. research focuses on the intersection of climate change and speculative fiction. She combines her experience in the world of publishing with the skillsets of her students to help them broaden their horizons and elevate their writing.

Allison Saunders, Ph.D. , assistant professor of biochemistry, and alumnus Joseph Feerrar ’02 , owner of Bald Birds Brewing in Jersey Shore, Pa., were awarded funding for their collaborative project, “Development of a Sonication Method to Rapidly Age Bourbon,” as part of the PA Manufacturing Fellows Initiative. Lycoming College was added to a list of 19 Pennsylvania colleges that participate in this program.

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