For the Record, May 8, 2026

For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Recent grants, honors, presentations and publications include the following:

Grants

The Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center (IHRC) has announced its support for the following faculty grants, awarded for the 2026-27 academic year:

• Julia Domíguez, professor of Spanish in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures; Monica Domínguez Torres, professor and chair of the Department of Art History, and Carla Guerrón-Montero, professor in the Department of Anthropology/Africana Studies and CMCS, for their project, "Memory in Motion."

• Chrysanthi Leon, professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, for her project "Delaware Punishment Stories: Oral Histories of Correctional Workers."

• Jennifer Trivedi, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, for her project "Tutorial in Applied Anthropology."

• Sunmin Yoon, assistant professor in the School of Music, for her project "Ecology, Sound and Music."

The IHRC mission is to strengthen faculty research and creative activity while also enhancing its integration into the curriculum; support initiatives involving multidisciplinary research teams, both within the University as well as with external partners; and foster intellectual community and public engagement.​

Honors

Megan Wenner, associate professor of kinesiology and applied physiology, was awarded the American Physiological Society Environmental and Exercise Physiology (EEP) Section 2026 Impact Award at the annual American Physiology Summit in Minneapolis, held from April 23-26. The Impact Award honors a mid-career investigator who has established a line of impactful research or made a seminal discovery in the field, while also contributing as a collegial colleague of the EEP Section and scientific community. Wenner's research focuses on cardiovascular health in women throughout the lifespan.

Presentations

On Friday, May 1, 2026, leaders of UD's Delaware Center for Civics Education (DCCE) hosted a Mock Second Continental Congress organized as part of the Delaware 250 commemorative events. Fran O'Malley, director of DCCE, and Mike Feldman of the Delaware Department of Education chaired the proceedings with support from Scott Abbott, assistant director of DCCE. This event gathered 58 middle and high school students from around the state in Legislative Hall to participate, with each playing the role of a conservative, moderate, or radical. The students debated five key issues that dominated discussions in 1776, and then cast their votes for or against independence. In a surprise move, the middle school delegation voted against independence, citing concerns about the lack of a central government, the might of the British military and dependence on the British economy. Organizers were somewhat relieved when the high school students voted in favor of separation. Several organizations partnered to make the Mock Second Continental Congress a success, including Delaware 250, Delaware Center for Civics Education, Delaware Historical Society, Delaware Heritage Commission, Delaware Public Archives, Delaware First State Heritage Park, Delaware Department of Education and The Social Studies Coalition of Delaware. DCCE is part of the Institute for Public Administration (IPA), a research and public service center in the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration.

Publications

Olga Gorbachev, associate professor of economics, is the coauthor, with Maria J. Luengo-Prado and J. Christina Wang, of "Better late than never? Quantifying funding and liquidity effects of the PPP on pandemic-era employment recovery," published in The Journal of Public Economics, Volume 258, June 2026, 105641.

Ravi Ammigan, vice provost for global engagement and UD alumnus, and former employees Lisa Chieffo, Meng Fan, Noel Shadowen and Andrea (Rujia) Wei, published "Short-Term Education Abroad and Global Competence: Assessing Student Outcomes and Program Impact" in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education. The study reinforces the value of short-term education abroad programs as impactful pathways for developing intercultural skills. It also explores how students experience and understand resilience while immersed in new environments. Data and analysis support was provided by graduate student Kelvin Dankwah Agyei and Matthew Drexler, director of study abroad in the Center for Global Programs and Services.

Trevor A. Dawes, vice provost for libraries and museums and May Morris University Librarian, coauthored with Russell Michalak and Ava Wallace, "Envisioning AI's Role in Libraries: Perspectives from an LIS Student, a Library Director and a University Librarian, that was published in the May 2026 issue of C&RL News. Generative AI is no longer a distant horizon for libraries. It is already reshaping how we teach, preserve and connect communities with knowledge. The question is not whether AI belongs in libraries, but how we integrate it in ways that are ethical, equitable and aligned with our missions. This article is distinctive in that it is framed as a dialogue among colleagues at three different career stages, offering distinct but complementary perspectives. Russell brings the view of a library director, Wallace contributes the perspective of a library and information science student, and Dawes shares reflections from his work as a university librarian.

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