Seven faculty from the School of Arts and Sciences were celebrated at the annual book party.

La Salle University celebrated seven faculty members from the School of Arts and Science who published this past year. 

“These recent publications by our Arts and Sciences faculty are a testament to La Salle’s commitment to critical inquiry and deep learning,” Interim Dean Frank Mosca, Ph.D., said. ” Their innovative work enriches our academic discourse and fuels the intellectual curiosity that is central to our educational mission.”  

The event featured a panel discussion and conversation the authors as well as providing faculty and staff in attendance an opportunity to visit with each faculty member. 

Stephen Andrilli, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Math and Computer Science 
Andrilli has been a member of the mathematics faculty in the Mathematics and Computer Science Department since 1980. Andrilli received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1990 and is well-known for blending his unique style of humor with a serious and rigorous approach to mathematics. Andrilli spent almost half his career at La Salle serving as the Department’s mathematics-education supervisor, mentoring all the secondary education undergraduate and graduate mathematics students, including serving as the supervisor for each student during his/her student-teaching semester. In this role, Andrilli served as the liaison with the Education Department and worked with faculty from that department on Pennsylvania Department of Education accreditation matters as well as within his own department on all curricular matters related to that program. 

Elementary Linear Algebra is published by Elsevier/Academic Press, and is co-authored by Andrilli and Dr. David Hecker, Professor Emeritus, Department of Mathematics, St. Joseph’s University. The sixth edition received a 2024 Textbook Excellence Award from the Textbook and Academic Authors Association. 

Randy Fingerhut, Ph.D., Professor, Psychology
Fingerhut is a professor of psychology at La Salle University where he teaches ethics and psychotherapy courses and supervises graduate students within their doctoral program. Fingerhut’s research interests include perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and self-care for graduate students. Fingerhut is a fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, an adjunct faculty member of The Beck Institute of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, has been practicing and training others in cognitive behavior therapy for over 20 years, and is a fellow of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association, serving on their Ethics and Legislative and Governmental Affairs committees. 

To all those who want to practice ethically and to have a framework for addressing the many complex ethics issues and dilemmas that arise in the practice of psychology, this book is for you. Practical Ethics for Psychologists lives up to the promise of its title and really does provide very practical and user-friendly guidance for addressing and responding to the ethics issues common to the practice of psychology today, with each issue illustrated by realistic and relatable case examples. Every psychologist and psychologist-in-training should purchase and regularly read and use this book.—Jeffrey E. Barnett , PsyD, ABPP, Professor of Psychology, Loyola University, Maryland

J. Manuel Gómez, Ph.D., Associate Professor; Director, The Hispanic Institute
Gómez is an associate professor and director of the Hispanic Institute. His research interests encompass the Latin American Colonial period with a focus on cultural and transatlantic studies. In recent years, he has focused on the interpretation of imperial discourses through early maps, chronicles, letters, and privateer travelogues, and on how the latter shaped knowledge and politics during the early age of transatlantic voyages. His current research focuses on ecocriticism, and how early travel narratives inform and announce the spoliation of natural resources as a consequence of “civilization” and “industrialization.” 

Ibero-American Ecocriticism presents a distinct view of the diverse social and physical geographies of the Americas, their political and cultural connections to the Iberian Peninsula and their relationship to the environment in its diverse representations. Through visual and plastic arts, as well as poetic narratives of social utopias/dystopias, this book proposes a new reading on the effects of societal views and struggles to protect and consciously exploit the natural world.  

John Hymers, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Philosophy
Hymers is an associate professor teaching modern philosophy. He earned his Ph.D. at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. His main research interest lies in the Latin and German textbooks that Immanuel Kant used for his lectures. He also publishes on the just war tradition. 

Alexander Baumgarten’s Ethica Philosophica (1740) served as a chief textbook of philosophical instruction in German universities for several decades, and was used by Immanuel Kant for his lectures on moral philosophy between 1759 and 1794. Accompanied by an introduction to Baumgarten and his work, this translation features an explanation of the main themes of the Ethica Philosophica , touching upon its relation to Christian Wolff and G.F. Meier’s practical philosophy, but focusing especially on its role in Kant’s lectures. Based on a thorough knowledge of the original text, Hymers’ clear translation and supporting material makes it possible to distinguish Kant’s own remarks and insights from his attempts to expound and summarize Baumgarten’s ideas. This is a much-needed contribution for anyone working in the history of modern philosophy.” 

Rachel McCabe, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, English 
McCabe is a scholar of composition and rhetoric, with specializations in reading studies, visual rhetoric, and affect theory. Her publications and presentations explore the affective relationship between texts and their audience, particularly film. Her most recent work examines the impacts of identification and empathy on the reading process. Her scholarship has been published in Composition Studies, Studies in Documentary Film, Compass, and Pedagogy.  

Composition and Rhetoric in Contentious Times poses critical questions of representation, accessibility, social justice, affect, and labor to better understand the entwined future of composition and rhetoric. This collection of essays offers innovative approaches for socially attuned learning and best practices to support administrators and instructors. In doing so, these essays guide educators in empowering students to write effectively and prepare for their role as global citizens. 

Brendan Young, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Social Work  
Young is an assistant professor of social work, leading courses on human behavior and research methods, and integrative and capstone seminars. He has a doctorate of social work from Kutztown University. As a practicing social worker, Young has worked in hospice and in Medicaid managed care. His research interests include exploring how social work education currently addresses political and policy themes. He has served in the Office of Senator Barbara Mikulski and the Office of Congressman Frank Kratovil. Young is also engaged in local politics in Philadelphia, serving as an elected committeeperson in the 21st ward, 40th division. 

Few social work students express an interest in politics, but now more than ever those voices are necessary in the political arena. Social programs and policies central to the client systems of social workers are determined in the political space. Brendan Young has written this book to inspire students to bring the unique value system embraced by social workers to the political process. Like all titles in the Social Work Modules series, the chapters in Political Social Work Practice follow courses in the standard social work curriculum. This allows the book to be used as supplementary reading to add a political component to any social work course, as well as in a stand-alone course on political social work.