Dyson College of Arts and Sciences

D Y S O N Y E A R I N R E V I E W 2 0 2 2 – 2 0 2 3 28 Grace Lamacchia-Paris, PhD, professor emerita Grace Lamacchia-Paris, PhD, professor emerita, passed away on January 25, 2023. A Pace alumna, 1961, Professor Lamacchia-Paris served on Pace's Board of Trustees during Pace's transition from a college to a university from 1971 to 1977. She was a professor in the Literature and Communications depa ment on the Pleasantville campus from 1990 to 2002 and was a director of the Leadership Development and Freshman Studies programs during this time. Upon retirement, Professor Lamacchia-Paris joined the Dyson Dean's Office. She loved Pace's mission and worked to ensure Pace served its students well—she identified with them as someone who, through education, had defied expectations for what her life "should be." Professor Lamacchia-Paris will be remembered as a caring and dedicated professor who took a personal interest in her students' success. She was a generous mentor to many—kind, always helpful—and had a wonde ul sense of humor. Donations can be made to the Grace Lamacchia-Paris Scholarship on the Pace Alumni website. Michèle Newman, PhD, professor emerita Michèle Newman, PhD, professor emerita, passed away on October 22, 2022. Professor Newman taught in the Modern Languages and Cultures depa ment on the Pleasantville and White Plains campuses. She began her career at Pace as an adjunct professor in 1969, became a full professor, and chaired the Modern Languages and Cultures depa ment from the late '80s until she retired in 1993. She received the Kenan Award for Teaching Excellence in 1987. Her great passion was the illustrious French woman of le ers, Madame de Staël, about whom Newman wrote her disse ation from Fordham, L'enthousiasme chez Diderot et Madame de Staël. Professor Newman and Madame de Staël share many qualities: wit, intelligence, worldliness, beauty, eloquence. Professor Newman will be remembered as a stellar faculty member who was devoted to, and adored by, her students, and respected and admired by her colleagues. Sister Mary Celesta Kelley, MS, professor emerita Sister Mary Celesta Kelley, a Sister of the Divine Compassion, passed away on April 24, 2023. With a long-time commitment to helping students succeed, Sister Kelley served Pace for 35 years. She joined the Depa ment of Chemistry and Physical Sciences, Pleasantville campus, in September 1968 as an assistant professor of physical sciences and retired in August 2003. She traveled to significant geological sites to fu her her understanding of the forces of the Ea h, once melting her sneakers in Hawai'i while standing on a new lava field. Her love of teaching, travel, and nature made her a repository of stories for her students. When Pace began the Challenge to Achievement (CAP) program, she eagerly took on not only teaching "her ladies," but also shopping for ou its for them to wear to their interviews. Her fidelity, kindness, and wonde ul sense of humor will be remembered by all who knew her. In Memoriam Grant Funding Nancy Krucher, PhD, Receives NIH Grant to Study Therapy Resistance in Breast Cancer and Melanoma Cells Professor of Biology Nancy Krucher, PhD, received a three-year $400,241 grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study new methods to combat cancer cell development of resistance to targeted treatments. Targeted therapies— which involve ce ain drugs used to specifically focus on the ways in which cancer cells grow, divide, and spread—are becoming more common in cancer treatment. However, cancer cells can acquire resistance to the targeted agent, making the treatment less effective. Krucher hopes her work can provide new insight for cancer treatment, including the development of novel drug combination regimens. Emily Bent, PhD, Launches the Feminist Girls Project Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies Emily Bent, PhD, has received a three-year, $33,000 grant from the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) for her initiative, the Feminist Girls Project. The project, which builds on Bent's research on girl activism and leadership at the United Nations, is a gender equality and human rights training program developed in collaboration with girl-centered nonprofit organizations involved with the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Through the program, which includes oppo unities to network with activists, meet with government officials, and actively pa icipate in the CSW, over 100 high school delegates from Girls Learn International will gain strategies to advocate for their rights. The grant went into effect in January 2023. $849,052 The total amount of continued ($363, 576) and new ($485,476) funding during the 2022-2023 academic year from both the governmental and private sector. News & Notes

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