Castaldi, Cristina: (2022 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, School of Music)
Move Without Pain by Martha Peterson
“As a singer, performer and voice teacher, I am continually researching and implementing how to optimize technique. When I was faced with an injury nine years ago, I was not being helped by typical healing modalities and doctors. Thinking I was going to have to live with chronic pain, I found the author, Martha Peterson, near me when I was living in New Jersey. After one Essential Somatics clinical session with her, my pain was greatly relieved and my singing was noticeably different. After that day, I integrated Essential Somatics into my daily life and my teaching. I am certified to be an Essential Somatics movement teacher and have created a course at Wichita State for Singers. A new course is being developed for instrumentalists. Essential Somatics has influenced how I teach singing and help singers release chronic tensions. Essential Somatics was life changing for me and for those who have been introduced to it. The best part…I’M PAIN FREE!”
Castro, Susan: (2018 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy)
Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals by Immanuel Kant
"I selected this book because when I first read Kant's Groundwork in a graduate seminar, I thought it was the worst ever. Why would anyone study this? Kant didn't define or explain his terms. The argument seemed to leap from one undefended claim to another. Central theses seemed preposterous, e.g., the moral law requires me to act as if the maxim of my action were to become by my will a universal law of nature. How dumb is that? But a very smart professor whom I respected immensely said, ‘Kant's no dummy.’ I trusted that she knew what she was talking about, so I did the work. I still think it's a really bad argument - on the surface. Research is what gets us past the surface, to where the real action is. Kant's Groundwork helped me learn what it is to study something. Once I learned that, I could have gone on to do anything. I chose to be here, still studying Kant. Everyone needs a Groundwork or two. Hope you find one here at WSU. Who knows where yours will take you?”
Celestin, Denise: (2019 Professor Incentive Review, PA)
"I selected this book because when I was young dancer, training for my professional ballet career, the world was stunned by the incredible Russian dancers who escaped the Soviet USSR in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, and defected to the West. The most prominent of these were Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov. The breathtaking precision and power of their technique and the exquisite depth of their artistry had rarely been seen before, outside of Russia. They were trained at the legendary school currently called the Vaganova Ballet Academy. My own pedagogical approach to Classical Ballet completely shifted into new territory when I studied the teaching method of Agrippina Vaganova, the artist for whom this world-renowned academy is named. The impact of her method on my teaching has shaped the technique and artistry of all of my students through many years, in ways I had never imagined. Her work infuses my teaching daily in the WSU studios, and wherever in the world I may teach ballet class. This book is more than a foundational text. Written in Vaganova’s own authentic voice, it gives a clear impression of the meticulous attention to detail, the unwavering dedication and integrity, the caring love for students, and the art of a truly masterful teacher."
Chand, Masud: (2015 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Management)
"It was one of the first writings to make the point that the government's purpose is safeguarding the individual and his/her inherent inalienable rights, and hereditary government is inherently unjust.”
Chand, Masud: (2021 Promotion to Professor, Management)
"I selected this book because it was one of the first writings to point out government's purpose is safeguarding the individual and his/her inherent inalienable rights and that hereditary government is inherently unjust. It also emphasizes the importance of universal public education."
Chang, Doris T.: (2009 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Center for Women's Studies)
Taiwan: A Political History by Denny Roy
"This book provided me with the historical background and the political context to write my book on Women’s Movements in Twentieth-Century Taiwan.”
Chaparro, Barbara: (2016 Promotion, Psychology)
"It is a fantastic compilation of theories, principles, and examples in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. Comprehensive and thorough – very useful for researchers as well as practitioners. It also demonstrates the breadth of the field and how the understanding of humans is the secret to the design of high quality technology solutions.”
Chaparro, Barbara: (2009 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Psychology)
The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman
"I selected this book because it is a classic. It opened my eyes to the importance of good design, whether it be a coffee cup or a computer display.”
Chesser, Amy: (2018 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Services)
"I selected this book because of Sagan’s compelling description of the juxtaposition of science and theology and the conclusion that relationships are the key to life.”
Connor, Fran: (2018 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Department of English)
The Nature of the Book: Print and Knowledge in the Making by Adrian Johns
"I selected this book because the printing press is usually considered one of humanity's greatest inventions: a device that was able to widely circulate ideas previously cloistered among an elite few. But The Nature of the Book reminds us that the engine of this first communications revolution did not simply reside in the metal and wood of printing presses, but in people invested in the cultural and social utility of books. Johns outlines how scientists, publishers, booksellers, authors, readers, philosophers, political theorists, and many other groups created the social frameworks that allowed print culture to flourish. Written in a historical moment when a new communications revolution was ascendant, The Nature of the Book is a vital reminder that humanity–and the humanities!–remain fundamental to technological innovation.”
Consiglio, Catherine: (2017 Promotion, School of Music)
Principles of Violin Playing and Teaching-third edition by Ivan Galamian
"A healthy approach to Violin/Viola playing is mandatory to achieve a level of musical artistry on the Viola. My mentor in Graduate school at New England Conservatory, Heidi Castleman, taught by the principals of Galamian because her teacher, Dorothy DeLay, was a student of Galamian. Therefore, I consider myself a member of the fourth generation of Galamian pedagogues! This is an invaluable source for understanding how to play the viola and I share it with all of my students!”
Countryman-Roswurm, Karen: (2018 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, School of Social Work)
Heartbreak: The Political Memoir of a Feminist Militant by Andrea Dworkin
"I selected this book because engaging in the anti-exploitation movement with an undying firm persuasion can feel lonely, if not utterly isolating at times. Not only does the work call you to face horrendous acts of violence and walk alongside survivors on their winding journey of survivorship, but it demands that we challenge and strive to change the deep-rooted political structures that contribute to the degradation of human rights. The first time I read Andrea’s ‘Heartbreak,’ I felt as though I had come ‘home’ to a sisterhood with other women who have been on the same path toward freedom and justice. Her words reflected the realities of abuse and exploitation in all its forms and connected such forms on a larger continuum of violence—from childhood sexual abuse to human trafficking. Her book not only gives a historical account of the movement but also illuminates a path for the manner in which we must continue to forge ahead.”
Craft, Timothy: (2006 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Finance Real Estate & Decision Science)
Portfolio Selection: Efficient Diversification of Investments by Harry Markowitz
The entire basis for my dissertation comes from this seminal book on optimal investment. Researchers to this day still build upon the foundations he created almost 50 years ago.
Crane, Rachel: (2007 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, University Libraries)
Bound For Glory by Woody Guthrie
"I selected this book because this is one of Woody Guthrie’s best known works and I have Guthrie in mind quite often. He continues to make an impression on my life in different times and in different ways.”
Davis, Lynne: (2021 Promotion to professor, Music)
"I selected this book because it has been a permanent resource in finding the catalogued works of Bach in an orderly manner. His output was so enormous that it takes a book of more than 700 pages to classify them all into categories. It has been a constant companion for all of my career."
DeFrain, Darren: (2009 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Department of English)
Selected Stories by Andre Dubus
"I love Dubus’ attention to larger ideas within very personal stories. Like all acts of faith, his stories work best when you’re not sure where you’re headed. He was also my adjunct thesis advisor and I couldn’t imagine a more heroic writer.”
Dehner, George: (2011 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Department of History)
Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900 by Alfred W. Crosby
"I read the Crosby book in my masters program at the University of Denver, and it opened my eyes to the possibility of doing historical research in a broad world and environmental context. Plus it’s a delightful read.”
DiLollo, Anthony: (2017 Promotion, Communication Sciences and Disorders)
Lessons of Loss: A Guide to Coping by Robert A. Neimeyer
"The author, Dr. Robert Neimeyer, has been a mentor and friend throughout my career, and this was the first book that I used in the first class that I took with him in my PhD program many years ago. This book played a foundational role in shaping my thinking about ways of helping people deal with change, and it served as the inspiration for my own textbook on counseling in speech-language pathology and audiology, published in 2014, with Dr. Neimeyer as my co-author.”
DiLollo, Anthony: (2009 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders)
A Theory of Personality: The Psychology of Personal Constructs by George A. Kelly
"Kelly’s seminal work on personal construct psychology introduced me to the concepts of constructionism which have played a major role in shaping my philosophy for both the teaching and research aspects of my career.”
Elder, Betty L.: (2009 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, School of Nursing)
"I selected this book because it is a unique text in providing cellular and molecular biology of the diseases we encounter in the clinical environment. It is a good mix of theoretical and in-depth clinical practice. I believe it will be an asset to graduate students in nursing, physician assistant, pre-med, and other allied health fields.”
Engber, Kimberly: (2012 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Department of English)
The Scent of Apples by Robert Frost
"I selected this book because it contains a future possibility as well as a past connection. This book represents my experience teaching American literature in Zagreb, Croatia. I came across this book while I was there. I cannot (yet) read Croatian well enough to read Robert Frost, but I find it wonderful to imagine how others have read this poet--one of the most American of the American poets--in languages other than English. The dual-language edition exists because of the very simple conviction that a national literature is never only a national literature. Literature can and should leap its national boundaries.”
English, Doug: (2010 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry)
The Chemistry Maths Book by Erich Steiner
"I have many 'favorite books.' I selected this particular book because it is similar to a book I read as an undergraduate that gave me the mathematical foundation to tackle physical chemistry. Now when I teach math-heavy chemistry courses, I like to put this book on hold for my students to use."
Eslami, Ali: (2021 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering & C.S.)
"I selected this book because as a pillar of Persian literature and culture, this book has influenced my life and many others, and continues to do so. To this day, I read portions of this book every week. In Iranian culture and conversation, it is endlessly quoted to either illustrate or prove a point. A famous verse of this book is crafted on the carpet installed at the entrance of the United Nations building in New York. This book has also traveled abroad. Voltaire, Goethe, Arnold, Longfellow, Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, and Franklin discovered, read, and took inspiration from the work."
Farmer, Steve: (2021Successful Completion of Professor Incentive Review, Department of Management)
The Universe and Dr. Einstein by Lincoln Barnett
"I selected this book because, when I was young, it shaped my intellectual curiosity and my love of the scientific method."
Ferguson, Jason: (2013 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics)
"As a teenager the Cosmos TV-series and book helped show me the wonders of the universe.”
Ferguson, Jason: (2006 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics)
"Foundation is the first 'real' science fiction that I remember readily. Being able to predict and form the future is a fascinating idea. I have no idea how this fits into my career as an astronomer, however."
a teenager the Cosmos TV-series and book helped show me the wonders of the universe.”
Figy, Terrance: (2022 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Physics)
Spinors and Space-Time by Roger Penrose and Wolfgang Rindler
“I selected this book because it represented one of the earlier attempts to unify quantum mechanics with general relativity. I became aware of the book through the local library and ordered it from Cambridge University Press with support from my mother. In some ways it represents how curiosity, if followed, can open doors.”
Flynn, William: (2020 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, School of Music)
Zen Guitar by Philip Toshio Sudo
"This book transformed the way I think about music and the guitar by challenging my perceptions of process, craft, and perfection."
Foley, Mark: (2017 Professor Incentive Review, School of Music)
Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner
"Mr. Werner explains how to overcome some of the problems musicians have with overthinking, which I think is a universal problem. He is also one of my favorite living musicians.”
Fox, Charles: (2010 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, College of Health Professions)
The Place of Value in a World of Facts by Wolfgang Kohler
"Wolfgang Kohler, physician, physiologist, philosopher, and one of the founders of Gestalt Psychology, has been an important influence on my career. His body of work, which this is an accessible exemplar for, created a framework that that not only allows but requires one to analyze human behavior and experience in term of macroscopic organization and the dynamics of contexts. I think of this framework as a relationally deterministic approach to human behavior/experience. The details of Kohler’s work were hampered by the poor understanding, in fact misunderstanding, of the human nervous system dominant in the 1920s and 1930s but this framework of seeing human neurology, behavior, and experience in a ‘Gestalt’ has strongly influenced all my work as well as systems theory in biology, perceptual theory, cognitive science, and brain and behavioral science."
Gong, Maojun: (2018 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry)
"I selected this book because this book covers fundamentals, development, and applications of microfluidics, which is a hot research field involving engineering, chemistry, and biology. I have read Editions 1, 2 and 3 over the last 15 years.”
Griffith, Jean: (2011 Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor, Department of English)
Collected Essays by James Baldwin
"I selected this book because: No one could understand and articulate what it means to be an American better than James Baldwin did.”
Gupta, Deepak: (2020 Promotion to Professor, Department of Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing)
The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox
"It is a classical representation of industrial engineering and management principles at work! The book is written as a story while talking about specific technical tools."
