Faculty Success Stories: May 2019

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Pace faculty continue to rack up exciting accolades and scholarships for their outstanding work and contributions to the wider world.

Maria Luskay, EdD, was honored by nonprofit ArtsWestchester with the Sophia Abeles Education Award for her work teaching filmmaking in a unique, hands-on program at Pace. Over the past 15 years, Luskay has taught Dyson’s “Producing the Documentary” course, in which students conduct research, travel, film, and edit a documentary, all within a 14-week semester. The documentaries are then premiered at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville. The premiere of this year’s film—Hawaii: Living on the Edge of Paradise? is on May 7, at Jacob Burns Film Center.

“I remember my father who worked for the city of Yonkers for over 25 years telling me that I should love what I do,” said Luskay. “If I did, it wouldn’t be considered work at all. I am truly humbled by this honor bestowed upon me and I am grateful for each day that I spend with these rising filmmakers.”

Seidenberg Professor and Computer Science Chairperson Christelle Scharff, PhD, has been offered a Fulbright to do research in Senegal. Scharff will be stationed at the University of Bambey, around 70 miles from the capital city of Dakar. The title of the project is: Aligning Computer Science Curricula with Mobile Device Literacy and Technology Needs in Senegal.

Scharff will teach courses on mobile app development as well as mobile innovations for the sustainable development goals. In addition, she will coordinate and facilitate several workshops on design thinking.

Dyson Adjunct Professor of English Elliot Hearst has been honored with the 2019 Spirit of Anne Frank Award (SAFA) for Outstanding Educator. The "Outstanding Educator" is awarded each year at the Spirit of Anne Frank Awards to educational leaders who have proven exceptional in their schools, institutions, and communities by carrying on Anne Frank’s legacy of fighting prejudice and discrimination while inspiring the next generation of humanitarians by fostering awareness of these issues.

Through his classes and active participation in the Division for Student Success’ Undergraduate Student-Faculty Research Program, Professor Hearst has guided students through fascinating research on the “helpers of the Holocaust,” through the exhaustive process of documenting stories and identifying photos of one of the families who assisted the Franks at the Secret Annex, including first-person interviews with descendants.