Weekly online Faculty Senate lecture series launches with a talk on the coronavirus

Dawn Wooley, professor of neuroscience, cell biology and physiology, will discuss “COVID-19: What You Need to Know” as part of the SiP Lecture Series on April 9.

The global coronavirus pandemic will be the focus of the first talk in a new online lecture series organized by the Wright State University Faculty Senate.

Dawn Wooley, professor of neuroscience, cell biology and physiology in the College of Science and Mathematics and the Boonshoft School of Medicine, will open the lecture series on Thursday, April 9, from 4 to 5 p.m.

During her lecture, titled “COVID-19: What You Need to Know,” Wooley will present the basic facts about the coronavirus pandemic and help to separate the facts from fiction.

Giancarlo Mariani, associate director of international enrollment management for the University Center for International Education, will also participate in the lecture on April 9. He will discuss how UCIE is adapting its efforts to recruit students.

Wooley, an expert in virology and genetic engineering, currently serves as a co-chair of the Biological Agent Containment Working Group of the CDC and is a member of its Board of Scientific Counselors. She is a member of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee and has been a long-time senator for the College of Science and Mathematics.

The SiP (Shelter in Place) Lecture Series will take place weekly on alternating Thursdays at 4 p.m. and Fridays at 3 p.m.

Lectures in the series can be watched live on Webex at bit.ly/2ULEYsD; participants should use the password: Raiders. Lectures will be recorded and available to watch later at wright.edu/streaming.

The lecture series is a way to build and promote Wright State’s academic community during a time of physical distancing, said Laura Luehrmann, professor of political science and president of the Faculty Senate.

“Our hope is that this series will help showcase our amazing faculty, promote continued learning and development, and, if we do it right, help bring some reassurance to our students,” Luehrmann said. “While there is so much uncertainty during these times, we can share what each of us understands about this crisis from our disciplinary perspectives.”

The series will feature lectures on timely topics by Wright State faculty experts. The Faculty Senate Executive Committee is working with faculty from across the university to plan weekly lectures through at least the beginning of the summer.

“As faculty members, we thrive on sharing our scholarship with others, and we welcome the opportunity to do so,” Luehrmann said. “If we can’t do that from our classrooms, labs and clinical locations, then we’ll find other ways to share our passions and areas of expertise.”

Lee Hannah, associate professor of political science in the School of Public and International Affairs, will give the second lecture in the series on Friday, April 17, from 3 to 4 p.m.

Hannah will discuss how the novel coronavirus may impact the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Jeremy Schumm, associate professor in the School of Professional Psychology, will lecture on the psychology of trauma and COVID-19 on Thursday, April 23, at 4 p.m.

All talks in the SiP Lecture Series are open to Wright State students, faculty and staff, as well as the public. During each live webcast, participants will be able to submit questions for the speaker.