Meet Your Faculty In Residence
Dr. Michele Hammers, Hannon Hall
Associate Professor, Communication Studies Department
B.S. Boston University
M.A. Arizona State University
J.D. University of Texas at Austin
Ph.D Arizona State University
Dr. Hammers is a former lawyer whose graduate studies focused on rhetorical criticism, critical media studies, and social movement and public sphere studies. In addition to her training in rhetoric, Dr. Hammers is trained in qualitative research methods and utilizes field research and interviews in her ongoing study of the ways in which the female body is perceived and understood in various public and professional arenas. Dr. Hammers teaches introductory and advanced research methods; she also teaches a course on the rhetoric of popular culture and one on persuasion and social influence. She has presented her scholarship at professional conventions and is active in the National Communication Association’s pre-conference seminar series as both a participant in and co-organizer of the public sphere studies seminar. Her article critiquing the ways in which Ally McBeal constructed images of female professionalism appeared in a 2005 issue of The Western Journal of Communication. She is also the author of a chapter in an edited volume on Ally McBeal. Her most recent publication, a rhetorical analysis of The Vagina Monologues, is appeared in the Fall 2006 issue of Women’s Studies in Communication. Dr. Hammers is currently working with student research assistants on a qualitative study of college students’ discourse surrounding weight and fitness and the impact of popular media resources on both body image and knowledge of health-related issues.
Contact Dr. Hammers at
mhammers@lmu.edu
Dr. Erin Stackle, Rains Hall
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
B.A. Gonzaga University
M.A. Boston College
Ph.D Boston College
Dr. Stackle completed her graduate work in Philosophy at Boston College. With a year under her belt, she is eager to make a difference in the Faculty Engagement program. Dr. Stackle has an breadth of experience in working and attending Jesuit Institutions. She comes from Boston College, Georgetown and Gonzaga. She won the Residence Life programming award from Boston College for co-creating, with a student, a monthly series called “Pop Culture and Philosophy”. Dr. Stackle is currently the advisor for the LMU Phi Sigma Tau and the minors advisor for the Philosophy department.
She has many creative ideas to bring to the table for programs. She is excited about bringing academics into the halls in her own special way while cultivating the individual and community experiences. Dr. Stackle is working in Rains Hall with sophomores, honors and RISE (Rains Intercultural Suite Experience).
Contact Dr. Stackle at
estackle@lmu.edu
Dr. Eric Strauss, Leavey 4/O'Malley and Leavey 5/Leavey 6 Halls
Presidential Professor of Biology
B.A. Emerson College
PhD. Tufts University
Research Interests:
Biological and human social dynamics of urban ecosystems
Behavioral ecology of animals in urbanizing habitats
Public engagement in the doing and teaching of science
Other Professional Interests:
Director of the Ballona Discovery Center
Editor in Chief, Cities and the Environment Journal
Co-Director of the Cape Cod, Massachusetts Coastal Field Station
Interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate program development in urban ecology, sustainability and social justice
Professor Strauss comes to us from Boston College where he has served for 15 years as the Founding Director of Environmental Studies and a faculty member in the Biology Department. With research specialties in animal behavior, urban ecosystem dynamics and science education, Eric has extended the model for faculty activities by helping to co-found the Urban Ecology Institute in Boston, which provides educational, research and restoration programs to underserved neighborhoods and their residents.
Contact Dr. Strauss at eric.strauss@lmu.edu